headmaster's address

This time 3 years ago, Orley Farm had faced one week of remote teaching, and we were all desperately hoping that the Easter break would signal the end of this new ‘lock-down’ response –how little did we know!?! However, 3 years later and I’m delighted that we look back with increasingly distant memories on those times but also the sense that we really did make the best of it!

Our Y6 and Y8 students are in their final stages of preparation for moving on to their senior schools - I am always so impressed with the way that Orleyans go about facing adversity and challenge, I’d almost say that they go looking for it! As I write this, I’ve just come from talking to visiting prospective parents and I worry that some of them see their role as to reduce the challenges that their children face. I fear that this outlook cannot sow seeds of resilience in young people!

Talking of resilience, I hope that Orleyans enjoy reading the attached articles, especially those on the sports pitches. We continue to throw ourselves into every physical encounter with heart and soul. I was recently contacted by the Headmistress of a senior school who asked how we managed to get our girls to happily throw themselves into sport – her point was that many of her students were too worried about not getting sweaty!!!! I love that Orleyans don’t care about how they look, they’re too busy playing the game!

I am delighted that this publication appears to generate more and more contacts from former Orleyans who are able to share remarkable insights into life at OFS across different decades. I often wonder what recent leavers will recall in 30, 40 and 50 years from now; I do hope that they remain connected to friends from this period as these relationships become more and more important in the years ahead. Thank you again to Chets for getting this publication together, it’s invaluable in these times!

MR HOGG BROUGHT OUR YR8 PUPILS TOGETHER FOR A FORMAL DEBATE, TO ARGUE FOR OR AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

STATEMENT:

THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY, BIG DATA AND AI WILL BRING ABOUT A SOCIETY WITH AN INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE THAT OUTWEIGHS ANY PRIVACY OR ETHICAL CONCERNS

THE BOYS WERE ALLOWED ACCESS TO CHATGPT FOR THEIR RESEARCH! I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE QUALITY OF INFORMATION BEING USED FOR AND AGAINST WAS CERTAINLY MORE SOPHISTICATED AND DETAILED. HOWEVER, THE EVENT STILL BOILED DOWN TO WHO COULD CHALLENGE, REBUT AND ARTICULATE THE INFORMATION BEST.