Eight days is a very short time in which to put on a play. It could be regarded as being enough time to put on a bad performance but in most cases a director would want considerably more time with cast, chorus and crew to ensure the desired, assured performance. Those of us who were able to enjoy the recent Year 6 show Superstan know that for those who are possessed of superpowers eight days is indeed long enough not only to put on a show but to put on one of the very highest quality! Great work by the Year 6 actors, the Crew, the Year 5 Chorus, Mr. Lockwood and Mr. Young and all of the other staff who played their parts to provide such an extraordinary performance.
Quite simply it was brilliant.
As a play, Superstan might not enter the great canon of western literature but I will remember “how tickled I was ” not only by the splendid performances but the puns. Particularly the one about corduroy pillows (no I won’t repeat it, you had to be there). Puns are one of the great joys of languages and English is no exception. The educational world is not immune to its fair share of punning… Maths it seems is a favourite subject, after all it is worth noting that firstly decimals have a point and secondly that I always prayed before trigonometry tests. I was hoping for a sine from above. If you like something a touch more technical then the following might tickle you… Finding all possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets is not a matter of If but Venn.
Science is not immune. After periodic doubts about his vocational calling the young chemistry teacher concluded that he was out of his element. Literacy does not escape the “fun”. The poor speller tried to express his reluctance to repeat the spelling test but words failed him. Nor should teachers. There are two skeleton teachers at school. One is humerus, the other is very sternum. I could go on. No really, I could but in a spirit of human charity I won’t. As this is a short week, this is a truncated column. I hope that everyone enjoys a relaxing long weekend and that we all return ready to make the most of what little is left of the term. I hope that you can excuse the frivolous nature of this week’s theme but it may well have something to do with the proximity of the coming month, its first day in particular.
Please be assured that I will be spending the weekend working hard – on my hot cross puns.
Nicholas Hammond
Headmaster
1 RIP Ken Dodd. For those unfamiliar with the Squire of Knotty Ash you might like to start with: https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/stars-pay-tribute-to-true-comedy-legend-sir-ken-dodd-36695180.html then have a look at https://www.bigissue.com/ interviews/sir-ken-dodd-i-say-thank-happiness/