6 minute read
A message from the Governors
not have asked for a better team - the wisdom and dumbfounding intelligence of Dylan and the enthusiasm and untiring energy of Ben has made our little trio great. We will always be the Head Brothers. (Inside joke, you won’t get it).
Although I am no expert on how global pandemics will affect your time in school, what I do know is that as a community, we will continue to be guided by the two fundamental pillars of Aylesbury Grammar School - respect and aspire. Respect the hard work that everybody involved in the school has done to ensure that you remain educated. Respect the fact that not everybody’s experience with this situation is the same. Respect the virus as it is still here, so wash your hands and stay safe. Aspire to not allow this roadblock to halt you from reaching your rightful destination. Aspire to, please, for all that is good and holy, wash your hands and stay safe.
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And so, as I write my final piece to you as a student of AGS, I wish you all the best. You will all forever be in my heart. Thank you, everybody, who has made the last 7 years worthwhile. I wish the best to Tobi, Ben and Albie, they have a great task ahead of them and I wish them every success.
And for one last time, thank you. Work hard, play hard and stay safe.
Denzel Asamoah - Denson 13
Many of you will recall the excellent article written last year by my predecessor as Chairman of Governors, Jim Collins, regarding his life and times as both AGS pupil and Governor, and outlining some of the things
we do as a Governing Body. We
thought it would be a good idea for me as the (still relatively) new current Chairman of Governors to write a follow up article.
When I agreed to write this back in January I suspect what I would have written would have looked somewhat different. What a challenging period it has been since then for all concerned. The Headmaster, the Senior Leadership Team, all the AGS staff, and last but by no means least, the students (and behind the scenes, their parents) have, in the opinion of the Governors, all risen to the challenge of COVID 19 magnificently.
As a Governing Body we have had our own challenges, not least our inability to visit the School and conduct our normal business face to face. We have therefore, as many others have, had to become familiar with the celebrity squares approach of meetings on GoogleMeet and return to the time- honoured practice of putting one’s hand up in order to be able to speak: a real throwback to my schooldays if ever there was one. Our meetings normally last for between 2 and 3 hours so we have had to be very disciplined at managing our very full agenda to avoid screen fatigue.
Never has it been more important for us to keep abreast of what is happening, and to provide support to the School. Before the School closed in March we formed a small Covid Sub-Committee which has been meeting on line on at least a weekly basis with the Headmaster and Resources Director to deal with the many instant issues and requirements for decisions which the last few months have thrown at us. I would like to place on record my thanks to Andrea Ward (the ViceChair of Governors) and Jim Collins for the many hours they have put in as members of that Committee.
How did I become the Chairman of Governors? One of my three sons Jamie attended AGS (Phillips ’15). When he arrived here in 2008 it was not long before my wife Helen became heavily involved in the PTA. The PTA had been in something of a lull at that time, and a number of committed parents became involved to give it a much-needed boost. It was therefore not long before I was being co-opted into supporting various activities such as helping out at the Summer Fete, assisting at the Summer Ball and the like. Some of you will have seen me regularly tossing coins on Heads and Tails at functions, or making the Toast to the Lassies at Burns Night.
Eventually I was approached by the previous Headmaster in 2013 to see if I might like to put forward myself for a role as an Appointed Governor. Initially my reaction was to think I was too busy. However, this coincided with my business adopting a policy to encourage its employees to take 25 hours’ leave annually for activities related to Corporate Social Responsibility. It also helps that I come from an educational upbringing, with my father having taught for nearly 40 years, and my mother having been involved as a governor of various schools in her local area for several decades. Lastly, as a lawyer, used to advising boards of directors in difficult circumstances and with 30 years’ experience of the infrastructure sector and project management generally, I thought I could add something to the Governing Body. So somewhat to my own surprise I decided to apply, and I was voted in. I later became Chair of the Resources and Finance Committee during which time I was involved in the new Library, the 6th Form Centre and the completion of the Science Labs Project. In December 2018 I was elected as Chairman of Governors.
How has the last 18 months gone? Very quickly from my perspective, during which I have experienced moments of great pride, and witnessed huge enthusiasm, dedication and talent, and in latter months seen great fortitude.
I began with a 100 day programme during which I introduced some new simple measures such as: weekly meetings with the Headmaster: moving the times of Governor meetings from afternoons to early mornings to fit in better with Governors’ other commitments, and from the end of term to the beginning so that we could be on the front foot with the termly agenda: and encouraging through various initiatives more contact between the Governors and the staff/School generally. I have also taken on the role of Safeguarding Governor, a role that I consider to be of great importance in these times.
One of the things that Jim Collins mentioned in his article last year was the work done to formulate a strategy and create a purpose underpinning it. We have been lucky enough to recruit several governors with backgrounds in business in strategic planning and marketing. With their expert input we have been able to drive forwards the implementation of the strategy and to energise our approach to our marketing of the School.
You will have already seen some evidence of this on the new website and in the Headmaster’s updates. There is much more to come. I am genuinely excited at the prospect of our moving all of this forwards, not only enabling AGS to make the most of its traditions, excelling in the provision of education in our local community, but also enabling our young men to meet the modern world and all that it entails with confidence.
As governors we are always interested in getting feedback about the School and having discussions with all our stakeholders. You can find out who we all are by looking on the website. Please take the time to seek us out when we have all returned. If you are a parent and interested in taking on this rewarding role there will be a couple of elections coming up this term. Please look out for the announcements and think about whether you would like to join us.
May you and yours all keep safe.
