cranleigh-matters-issue-25

Cranleigh Matters Headmaster’s Letter, September 2006 Issue No 25 SPECIAL EDITION www.cranleigh.org

Cranleigh School, Cranleigh Surrey GU6 8QQ Telephone 01483 273666

It's unusual for me to be writing to you before the Michaelmas Term has even started, but there are some compelling reasons for doing so this time. Cranleigh is about to embark on some far-reaching school developments, and so the beginning of the new academic year seems the appropriate moment to be telling you about them. I hope you'll approve of our plans!

THE PRESENT 2005/6 has probably turned out to be the most successful year in the School's history.

On the academic front, it is with real pleasure that I'm able to record our best-ever results at all three of the external exam levels: A2, AS and GCSE. The principal aspect of a pupil's life is always the academic challenge, and so I'm especially pleased with this outcome because it reinforces our conviction that Cranleighans achieve more when they continue to make the most of their talents across a wide spectrum. It's interesting to compare Cranleigh's statistics looking back over the past five Augusts.

Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

GCSE % A *A 47.6 44.2 58.7 60.1 63.9

A S Level % AB 67.9 66.1 64.3 67.6 71.4

A 2 Level % AB 61.4 78.5 76.5 77.1 80.0

Tom Avery, Polar explorer, presents a prize to Michaela Bell

The 2006 candidates comfortably beat the previous best results at both GCSE and AS, and the A2 results are one and a half percent up on our previous best in 2003.

'Les MisĂŠrables'

In the sporting world, the boys' rugby 1st XV and cricket 1st XI could reasonably claim to be among the very best teams in the country: each defeated twelve schools in a very competitive fixture list and lost to none.

In the sphere of music, we enjoyed several ensemble and individual performances of nearprofessional standard, and the quality of other creative and performing arts was equally high. So many of you spoke to me about your reaction to last March's stunning production of Les Misérables that I lost count. It really was quite a year!

1st XV: Ben O’Neill catches at a lineout in the Wellington match

The Summer Term ended with the news that Mrs Del Cooke is to become the next Head of Sir William Perkins's School, taking up her appointment in September 2007. We'll miss Mrs Cooke, of course, but her thoroughly-deserved promotion certainly reinforces Cranleigh's strong reputation in the sector. Over the past eight years, six members of Common Room have been promoted to Headships and two to Deputy Headships: a proud record.

The Director of Music, Mr Marcus Pashley, acknowledges one of Cranleigh’s talented pianists, Adam Crowther

1st XI: Phil Roper bowling in the MCC match

THE FUTURE Management - The overall structure of Senior Management will undergo some significant changes in September 2007: Mr Andrew Griffiths, the present Housemaster of Cubitt, will become Deputy Head, and an Assistant Deputy Head will be appointed to broaden the management team. I anticipate that this latter post will attract a large and capable field of applicants, and I intend to make the appointment soon after Long Leave. The Director of Studies, Mr Martin Allison, will be third in the new management structure, and the Assistant Deputy Head fourth.

These changes are a response to three particular factors, each of which is requiring an increasing amount of management time: - the large number of pupils now applying to the School; - the diversity and uptake of extra-curricular activity by today's Cranleighans; - the range of building developments planned for the next five to eight years.

Curriculum - The number of pupils in the country studying Modern Languages, Sciences and Maths has been dropping at an alarming rate. I believe that the independent sector needs to address this worrying situation, and so Cranleigh is seeking planning permission for an Academic Centre capable of providing outstanding facilities for Languages, Maths and the Sciences. The new buildings will absorb the existing Maths Department and our aim will be to open them in September 2008. They will occupy two floors, enclosing a covered court at the heart of the Academic Centre, along with a Lecture Hall capable of seating a hundred and fifty.

Buildings - The first steps will be taken in March 2007, when the existing Physics Block will be demolished. For a fifteen-month period, the Physics Department will share laboratory and teaching facilities with the Chemistry, Biology and Design & Technology Departments. I'm confident that careful timetabling will enable us to maintain the very high quality of our teaching and learning in the Sciences.

First floor plan of Academic Centre

View of the Covered Court Ground floor plan of Academic Centre

But the plans don't stop there‌ we're also aiming to construct a new Art & Design School. Some very exciting architectural designs have been submitted to the planners, and this second set of designs shows how the remaining Science, Modern Languages and Design & Technology buildings will become a truly exceptional facility for Art & Design.

Ground floor plan of proposed New Arts Building with Old Gym and Rhodes Block to be internally refurbished

Funding - I'm pleased to be able to let you know that the financing arrangements for the new Academic Centre are almost complete, but I am not yet able to say the same for the second phase of our plans. We hope to build the Art & Design School immediately following the first phase, but the realization of this hope will depend on the degree of help we'll get from the many friends of the School. I myself feel very optimistic about the prospects and I'm greatly looking forward to bringing these plans to fruition before the end of my time at Cranleigh!

I hope you and all the family have enjoyed a restorative summer break and that your sons and daughters are ready for the challenges of the most important teaching term of the year.