A Note from the Head

Dear Old Witleian, I trust this finds you and your loved ones safe and well wherever you may be in the world and that by reading the latest edition of Kestrel you will continue to feel connected to the wider King Edward’s Community and enjoy another incredible past year in pictures and stories.

I am sure in March 2020 when the world slowed down for COVID, none of us would have imagined that more than a year and a half later we would still be adapting our ways of working. I remain inspired by the resilience and flexibility shown by the numerous teams at King Edward’s as we have continued to deliver the best teaching and pastoral care to all our pupils under the most challenging of circumstances.

Schools are all about journeys, the different paths that are available within them and the people we meet along the way. This year we welcomed Dan Rogers to the School as our new Director of Finance and Operations as Andrew Lewis, Director of Finance and Administration, stepped down after 11 years as the School’s Bursar. Richard Davies was promoted to Assistant Head Academic as Zeba Clarke becomes Deputy Head at St Paul's in Sao Paulo, Brazil after helping King Edward’s keep our teaching outcomes on track throughout the pandemic. Pat Enticknap, Sewing Room Manager, and Bettina Waters, Teacher of Modern Languages, retired after an astounding 30 years and 17 years respectively at the School. We wish them all the very best as they start their new journeys away from King Edward’s.

Whilst our renovation plans for the new Upper Sixth Boarding House were temporarily put on hold last year, we are delighted that work will start in September. Further, we have exciting additional development plans for the site including repurposing the current Exhibition Hall into a new Reception, Centre for Learning and café. Work to create a significantly improved vehicular entrance is already underway and all of these projects (including the new Upper Sixth Centre) should be completed by the end of next year. By upcycling our existing buildings rather than dismantling and building anew, we benefit by avoiding costly, disruptive demolition and reconstruction work, as well as allowing our buildings to be brought back into use again after a shorter period of time. However, not all of our plans were delayed, and we were delighted to open our new 70 seat Studio Theatre, where the old Green Room was located, in the Autumn Term.

The Summer Term started with the welcome return of all pupils to our beautiful grounds as our global community reunited once again. We were able to hold our 42nd Annual Golf Day and to celebrate the life of Bertie Mawer at an inspiring and moving memorial. The event was attended both in person and virtually by many Old Witleians, friends and family who remembered Bertie very fondly and shared their memories of all the amazing things Bertie had provided and achieved for the School. Bertie's memorial service can still be viewed online using this link: hiips://www youtube com/watch?v=25qucdZ17uc.

Whilst we have had time to reflect, we are already looking forward to starting new traditions. We were disappointed to have to cancel the KESW Community Day – a day that promised to bring together so many parts of our KESW family with sport, drama, family entertainment and music. We look forward to hosting the event in June 2022 as a true embodiment of all that is wonderful about our School and the individuals who make up our family.

I hope very much that when you read this edition of Kestrel, you will continue to feel connected to the School and you will be inspired to remain a part of our active and supportive community.

I hope that you continue to be safe and well.