Issue 27 • September 2014 • Record of Summer Term 2014
THE
OCELLUS From the Headmaster
The early summer of 1914 was, by all accounts rather like this year, warm and languid. But there were portents of a conflict which would accelerate into an unprecedented cataclysm in just a matter of months. An aspect of World War I we might particularly recall is the very large number of idealistic young men from schools just like this one, commissioned as junior officers, who lost their lives in that conflict. Many Headmasters in 1914 may even have seen their task as that of turning out patriotic and courageous teenagers to take the lead in the great adventure. Of course, many of those high ideals died with them in the mud and barbed wire. Young people now live in a world that is morally far more ambiguous than it was a century ago, and that highlights our responsibility in 2014. Few will be called upon to sacrifice their lives. But what will they make of the portentous issues of today? What sense can be made of the endless conflicts in the Middle East? Can there be any ethical foundation for religious fundamentalism? Should people near death be allowed to make a quicker end? Are open borders an opportunity for greater tolerance and understanding, or a threat to jobs and to national identity? They will still need courage to face these questions, and perhaps a balanced patriotism too. But they also need more subtle skills: perceptiveness, the ability to deal with moral ambiguity, tolerance and the willingness to be constant learners. I think perhaps it is a harder task than the one faced by my counterparts in 1914, but it is also a more agreeable one!
Editor’s Notes
The icon idicates that a longer write-up and/or further photographs are available on the School website. Lower House pupils will be referred to as First Form and Second Form to reflect the change at the beginning of the new School year. Front Page Photo: The Maintenance Team installing the Book Exchange Telephone Box.
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