SPEECH DAY 2013
Thank you Mr Sinclair and a warm welcome to governors, parents, friends, teachers and
pupils as we come together to celebrate the end of the school year. It is with particular
pleasure that we welcome Mrs Helena Morrissey, our Guest Speaker this evening. I am
delighted that the girls will receive the opportunity to hear something of the fruit of her
experience as a courageous and insightful woman who has met the challenges of a successful
‘high octane’ career with sagacity, integrity and passionate vision. It is also a great pleasure
to welcome as our guest today the new Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Councillor
Frances Stainton.
I would like to begin by thanking the parents for the excellent support they have offered their
daughters and the school this year. The girls are thriving and this is in large part due to the
good-spirited collaboration between school and home which allows the best of our combined
intelligence and love to be directed purposefully towards their development.
The challenges which surround the rearing and education of young people do not diminish;
indeed, in my opinion they are growing at an alarming rate. When we consider human
development and welfare there is a simple principle which applies: whether they be good or
ill, the ideas and influences we absorb, form the basis of our mental, emotional and spiritual
experience. Indeed, the condition of our minds and hearts reflect the quality of everything
they have received: in many respects this process is very mechanical. Over the last few years
we have witnessed a rapid growth in the power of the internet. The degree to which people of
all age-groups now have access to it has grown enormously. This has brought huge benefits
to society in many respects but it is also responsible for a frightening level of harm. We must
ask ourselves: What is the quality of the material our young people are feeding upon? What
effect is it having?
The horrendous problem of children’s easy and often unintentional access to pornographic
material is a specific issue which has received much recent media attention. This is
undoubtedly a corrupt influence which is having a terrible effect on young people’s
understanding and moral compass. Certain government initiatives have been undertaken to
minimise the problem and others are under consideration. However, there is an equally
negative and very dark culture of self-destructive misery which is being rained upon the
1
minds of our young with relentless persistence. It robs them of any sense of self-worth and
delivers a message of sheer hopelessness.
One of the country’s foremost child psychotherapists, Julie Lynn Evans, was recently quoted
in the Telegraph saying: “…the internet revolution is having a profound effect on our
children, taking many into a dark world that is doing them untold harm.”
The most pernicious locus is internet chat rooms where, she goes on to say, “The misery in
those chatrooms is overwhelming and heart-rending – the sheer weight of it. …Teenagers
haven’t got anybody with a good, strong sense of self-worth to protect them when they are in
there. The chatrooms become their reality.”
Furthermore, in the past when young people felt unhappy, they would communicate face to
face with an older person who would be able to help them through a difficult patch.
Nowadays, they tend to get deeply involved with those who are equally immature and who
are themselves lost in or even encouraging the dark substance of misery. The worst are those
websites which are solely focussed on promoting anorexia and self-harming. In the 25 years
of her professional experience, Lynn-Evans claims that she has never seen such a destructive
influence.
The essence of this culture of misery is that it lures the young into a confined mind-set which
is totally obsessed with body-image. One cannot reduce the limitless potential of human
intelligence so drastically without a cost to well-being. Our human nature is designed to
prosper through expansion of mind, intelligence, creativity and service; it degenerates when
confined to the prison-house of self-obsession. A good education which is rich in content is
obviously essential to an expansive perspective. In addition, it is now well known that
psychologists dealing with depressive conditions in their patients have come to the view that
the best possible cure is not necessarily to be found in medication or therapy, but through
engagement in voluntary service. Why, because we are designed to find happiness through
service to others: the act of giving sets us free. As Shakespeare describes through the words
of Juliet: “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
2
Whilst I wholeheartedly support the initiatives which are in place to restrict access to
dangerous sites, and agree that schools must play their part in providing necessary
information and education about safe use of the internet, Evans makes a forthright point: as
parents, we should know what our children are looking at on the web. Internet privacy is
dangerous. She explains further: “(Monitoring our children’s use of the web)…has to be an
integral part of our parenting – like how children do their homework, what curfews they are
set and how they brush their teeth. It is not up to the Government or the people making the
software; it is up to us to be responsible.
“An awful lot of people say they don’t want to go into their child’s Facebook account
because they don’t want to invade their privacy. I think children have a right to privacy and
their own space, and I also think they have a right and a vital need to use the internet. But I
don’t think they have a right to privacy on the internet.”
I thoroughly endorse this statement: internet privacy for your daughters at this stage of their
development is dangerous. I would also urge a restricted time period for internet use and an
insistence that all digital technology is withdrawn at bedtime. Too many young people
complain of problems getting to sleep or suffer poor sleep. Many of them spend long periods
at night on their mobile devices when they should be sleeping. We need a robust approach,
and I make no apology for urging you as parents to adopt a strong line with your children.
We must all play our part fully in protecting our young people from harm.
The real challenge for education is first to inspire the young to love the pursuit of knowledge
and understanding; secondly, it should enable them to glimpse a future which offers
fulfilment and happiness through the giving of their particular talents, in the service of
mankind. In essence, the challenge for the educator is to give students access to the wonders
of the universe and to the best that has been thought and said; that is, time-honoured material
on which our culture and civilisation is founded. Indeed, this is one of the principles of St
James Schools and should lie at the heart of any good education.
I am greatly encouraged that the Secretary of State for Education should place the need for
good material, rigour and high expectations for all children at the top of his agenda.
Regardless of the political ‘noise’ which surrounds any attempt to raise standards, his move
to reform GCSE and A level is entirely in the right direction. In a recent address at Brighton
3
College Conference Mr Gove said: “I have a clear view of what an educated person should
be - literate, numerate, historically aware, culturally curious, engaged by science and
technology, aware of the demands of the workplace, ready to take their place as an active
citizen in an open democracy.”
When the influences which young people are subjected to become increasingly detrimental
to real well-being, it is all the more important that parents and teachers provide inspiring and
extensive material which reminds them of what human life is really all about. Our curriculum
is designed to do just that and our teachers work phenomenally hard to offer a multitude of
opportunities to enrich their spirit of enquiry.
We will be hearing examples of the excellent work which has been done by the subject
departments this year during the pupils’ presentations this evening, but one particular
initiative which affects the entire curriculum is proving to be very useful indeed.
There are many ways to analyse the process of learning. Since last year we have developed
an approach which we have called The Learning Pathway, the aim of which is to couple
academic rigour to depth and breadth of understanding in all subjects, from the arts to the
sciences. The Pathway identifies and describes seven essential aspects of learning. We have
begun to implement this across the year groups from Year 6 upwards, in order to train girls
from the start in how to take responsibility for their learning and use the different aspects of
mind effectively. Teachers have been extraordinarily creative in doing this and girls are
beginning to appreciate that whatever the subject, the intellectual tools are the same. There
have been assembly presentations by girls on how they have used the Pathway, extensive
discussions amongst staff and new schemes for study and revision, as a result of this exciting
initiative, with much more to come. In June the whole school embarked upon a most unusual
investigation into the nature of space. A full day was given to this project in which teachers
and pupils ventured into entirely new territory together. It was magnificent: a real example of
deep intelligence and open ended enquiry which served to highlight the interconnectedness of
all subjects. Next year we will look in depth at those aspects of the seven skills that were not
covered this year and start to investigate the emotional qualities that lie at the roots of the
learning process. St James is working with Rugby School, who masterminded the Extended
Project Qualification, on the development of the Learning Pathway. Steps are underway to
extend this deeper approach to learning to other schools.
4
This year the Physics department has been working successfully with the engineering
organisation Smallpeice. Thanks to our girls’ wonderful attitude and focus during the
workshops held at school, we are the first of only 16 schools nationwide chosen to take part
in a new STEM initiative with Year 10 pupils. This project, sponsored by the government as
well as Rolls-Royce, British Aerospace, Bentley and National Rail is designed to promote
positions in engineering and leadership among women. It represents a wonderful opportunity
for our pupils who will begin by engaging in the design and building of their own take-home
loudspeaker system. Two female ambassadors will then support an after-school STEM club.
Some candidates will be selected to take part in a 5-day residential course in the Spring Term
run by the Outward Bound Trust focussing on leadership skills. Furthermore, an after-school
Employer Insight Club will take place where the girls will work with an animation design
company to learn presentation skills, including interview skills and CV writing.
We were delighted to welcome over 40 professionals, most of whom were parents and former
pupils, to speak at our biennial Careers Forum, held this year in February. The event buzzed
as the school filled with parents and pupils from Years 10 and above. Mrs Helena Morrissey,
who has kindly agreed to come back to talk to us today, was our keynote speaker. She spoke
to the girls and boys of both senior schools about her own impressive journey, decisions and
challenges. It was a riveting presentation which commanded our admiration and raised the
aspirations of all those who attended. Sincere thanks to all those who supported the event:
parents, alumni and well-wishers from business, industry, the arts, science, engineering,
medicine and many more disciplines.
As far as Information and Communication Technology is concerned it was encouraging to
have our decision to abandon the ICT GCSE in favour of a Computer Science GCSE,
endorsed by Michael Gove. He recently said the following: “The ICT curriculum we
inherited was a tedious run-through of the use of applications which were becoming obsolete
even as the curriculum was being written. For children who have become digital natives and
who speak fluent technology as an additional language, the ICT curriculum was clearly
inadequate.
So we have ditched it. And in its place we have asked teachers, tech experts and tech
companies to draw up an alternative computer science curriculum which teaches children
5
how to code - so they can design new applications instead of simply being asked to use tired
old software.
Thanks to the work of Ian Livingstone, the British Computer Society and gifted teachers
across the country, excitement and innovation are returning to one of the most important and
testing intellectual disciplines in modern education.
Technology will change our lives in ways we cannot anticipate in the years to come, and it
will certainly transform teaching, as the revolution in higher education is proving.
But one thing we can be certain of is that the acquisition of coding skills, the ability to think
computationally, and the creativity inherent in designing new programmes will help prepare
all our young people better for the future. It will be impossible to call yourself educated in
years to come unless you understand, and can influence, the changes technology brings.”
This year we started the new AQA Computer Science GCSE and our pupils are learning to
program.
In order to make the unique opportunity to study Sanskrit available to all St James pupils,
girls joining in Year 7 next year will be given some introduction to the Sanskrit language and
its philosophical riches. They will be given a lesson a week in their first term, then those that
wish to do so, and who are sufficiently able, will be able to continue further with the study
right up to GCSE, AS and A level.
The academic life of the school has borne good fruit: last year’s public exam results were
excellent. I would like to congratulate pupils and teachers alike for their superb endeavours.
The commitment which the teachers give to their pupils’ success is second to none and I am
delighted to note that, almost without exception, the pupils respond by applying themselves
wholeheartedly.
Once again the School was awarded the Good Schools’ Guide Award for Best Results in
Classical Greek GCSE 2012 achieved by girls in an English school; we also received this
award in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
6
In addition to some wonderful musical performances across the school by a very large
number of pupils who now study musical instruments, there are some particularly excellent
achievements which deserve special mention. We are delighted to announce that Milly
Forrest, who left last year, gained a well-deserved place to study singing at the Royal
Academy of Music. In addition, Gemma Cselko, Year 9, achieved Grade VII Distinction in
Violin; Amanda Waters, Year 11, Grade VIII Distinction in Cello; and finally, Jessica
Cselko, Year 11, Grade VIII Distinction in Violin. We are also very pleased that two of our
pupils, Jessica Cselko and Rose Johnson, serve the wider musical world as members of the
London Schools Symphony Orchestra.
There are also some great achievements in the Sports’ Department. Claudette Hewitt was
selected to represent England U19 for lacrosse; Eve Caldwell and Florence Fowkes were
selected to represent Middlesex U15 in lacrosse; Anoushka Wooller has been selected to
represent England U15 in squash; and Maia Galberg, Celia Willis and Emily Morris all
represented Hammersmith and Fulham in this year's London Mini Marathon. Congratulations
to you all.
Plans for the development of the new Sixth Form Centre and improvements to the main
building are making encouraging progress. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the
Governors and to Mr Paul Moss, Director of Development, who have given their unstinting
support to this project. There has been a heart-warming swell of support from parents; I have
been very moved by their huge generosity without which very little could have happened.
Thank you so much. As you know, we are still very much in need of extra financial support
to meet the costs of the Sixth Form building but there is a strong team on the case.
In this regard, there is one fund-raising initiative by one of our very courageous parents, who
is also a Governor. Mr George Cselko is someone who loves a real and somewhat crazy
challenge. Here it is: The idea is to invite people to sponsor a 3 man Channel Relay that he
will be attempting during the last week of July. This will involve each person taking turns to
swim for 1 hour and is likely to take around 16-18 hours: 5-6 swims each. It could take
longer or they may simply run out of steam or get sick. If one person is unable to continue,
that is the end of the attempt. He tells me that there is going to be a spring tide with strong
currents making things difficult to predict. His fellows are a 38 year old Spaniard and a 50
year old barrister. He says: I am 53!
7
Then he told me that the next idea is that if the funding reaches a certain level, say £10,000,
he will organise a Channel Relay next year for 6 people (which is the standard version)
including at least 3 pupils from the Senior Girls’ School, a parent, a teacher and himself.
And, if that wasn’t enough, he says that if the funding reaches a fantastic level of around
£50,000 he would attempt a solo crossing. I have to say that I rather hope that it doesn’t – we
are rather fond of George.
Thanks also to the Friends of St James whose support remains crucial to the well-being of the
School. Many parents give so much time and support to the School in so many different ways
from invigilating public exams to raising funds for the beautiful trophy cupboard which has
been recently purpose built. I would like to say a fond farewell to Mr and Mrs Stefanowski
who will be returning to the USA this summer. They have been a major force behind the St
James Friends and offered so much support to the school in very many ways over these last
few years. We will miss them greatly and wish the family all the very best for the future.
Thank you Bob and Amy for your wonderful generosity and steadfast good will.
I would like to turn now to the Sixth Form leavers, many of whom will have been a pupil at
St James for 13 or 14 years. I thoroughly admire the women they have become and the
sincere manner in which each and every one of them has made use of the opportunities
available to them. I love the fact that they are all so different and, more importantly, that they
have become genuinely happy to be just who they are. They have grown their talents and feel
some sense of their own strength – without pride but with the dignity which accompanies a
growing vision of responsibility towards the world at large. In their many different ways, they
have each contributed generously to the school, making it a happier and more colourful place.
Thank you for all you have given, Year 13.
Information regarding staff changes has been conveyed to you by letter. For the sake of
brevity I will not repeat any detail except to wish those who are moving on to new
opportunities all the very best and to thank them sincerely for everything they have given to
the school. There are, however, one or two people who do need particular comment. Mrs
Patricia Martin has given steadfast and loyal support to the school in various capacities for 21
years. Her devotion to duty has been unfailingly exemplary; indeed, she has been one of
8
those steady pillars of the school who with unstinting good will has kept everything quietly
and safely ticking over. She looks forward now to a well-earned retirement and I wish her
every possible happiness in this new phase ahead. The Governors would like to express the
sincere thanks of the entire school for the wonderful work she has undertaken.
Another significant departure is Mrs Helen de Mattos. Many of us will know that Mrs de
Mattos was one of the first pupils of St James in 1975 who returned to serve in the school as
teacher of Drama and Form Teacher in 2002. Latterly she has assumed increasing levels of
responsibility, first as Head of Drama and secondly as Head of PSHE. For 11 years she has
contributed invaluably to the school through her extraordinary creativity and insightful care
of the girls; she is now ready to move on to new pastures. We will, of course, miss her
greatly, but wish her every possible happiness in her new school.
I am sure that you would wish to join me in thanking those wonderful teachers who make St
James all that it is. Their devotion to the pupils’ development is unique; together they share a
vision for education which permits our girls to flourish. I would also like to convey my
particular thanks to the Senior Leadership Team and to my two deputies, Mrs Sarah Labram
and Mr Christian Daw, without whom my role would be impossible. As you know, they
really are superb: it is truly a privilege to work with them. Thanks also to the administrative
and support staff who make sure that everything happens and especially to my sweet-natured
and hard-working PA, Trisha D’Sa. Special thanks must be offered to our trusty Bursar who
provides such magnificent support to me and to the running of the school as a whole. Finally,
we do indeed owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Governors who voluntarily offer so much of
their time and attention to the care of our schools.
I suppose it must always be the case that the quality of any human activity is ultimately
dependent upon the vision which informs and inspires it. Our challenge is to keep that vision
clear and not allow it to be obscured by the dust storms of social pressure and the mechanical
thinking of which it is made. We are first and foremost human beings: our existence is rooted
in the depth of being which is immutable and eternal; our intelligence has the capacity to
reflect universal ideas and to understand the causes of things; our hearts recognise the allembracing nature of love which is all and everything. Living on earth together as we do, our
challenge is to realise all of this, and to accompany each other compassionately as we travel
together along the way.
9