It is a cutting phrase, the one that goes… “jack of all trades but master of none”. Knowledge and skills seem to be becoming ever more specialised, our focus ever narrower. It was therefore with great interest that I watched the 165th men’s university boat race last Sunday and the 74th women’s boat race. This venerable British institution sees the rowers of Oxford University pit themselves against those from Cambridge University in what amounts to a private challenge on the Thames from Putney to Mortlake. These crews are not the world’s best crews although there is a great deal of talent sitting in those narrow shells. They aren’t even the best university crews in the country, but they represent something interesting and perhaps this explains why hundreds of thousands line the banks of the river to watch and 6.2 million tune in to witness the spectacle on television. The race itself is absurd, it is very long and takes place on a tidal, meandering river. Winning the coin toss can be as important as making a good start or finishing strongly. It is sport, but not as we now know it. The amateur ideal is fused with a professional approach. Whilst I’m sure that there are some “degrees of convenience” being studied to facilitate participation, this isn’t a case of sports professionals masquerading as academics, nor is it the other way round. All of the participants are studying, even the one who is 46 years of age. They balance study and rigorous training. I was particularly interested in Callum Sullivan 19 year old musician and athlete. He must be a busy man. Other boat race rowers have shown a prowess in differing fields, notably Hugh Lawrie writer, comic, musician and actor; Sandy Irvine, mountaineer; Lord Melbourne the Australian Prime Minister.

So it would seem that it is possible to excel in more than one field. Whilst we may not quite match up to the last man who knew everything – Thomas Young who proved Newton wrong, helped decode the Rosetta Stone and was an accomplished gymnast or to Dorothy Dunnett, novelist, scholar and artist or to Hildegard von Bingen they may also point the way to successful engagement in many fields.

And so we come to the end of this Spring Term. A period of time in which we have seen many pupils do many fine things. There are schools in the world that are larger than ours, but I do not see this as a problem, rather it is a virtue. Our musicians who played in the excellent Senior School concert this week are also the pupils who turned out for sports teams, went to debate, have excelled academically and have been the backbone of numerous societies. Many have given back in the form of service activities and charity fundraising this term. This is as true for the Junior School as it is for the Senior School; life has been about so much more than what has gone on in the classroom. The size of our population means pupils have to do everything, and I think that this is healthy indeed. It has been a term well spent. A term in which an enormous amount has been achieved. From plays to pitches there has been so much to celebrate. So here’s to the “jacks of all trades”, I believe that you have gained mastery in many. There can be no better measure of a term well spent.

Have a wonderful holiday.

Nicholas Hammond

Headmaster

www.britishschool.fr

Reality television and school inspections are two of my least favourite things. It was therefore with a degree of concern that I learned that the plot of the latest Year 6 show contained not only those modern plagues but also the presence of a power crazed Health and Safety Inspector. I should not have been worried, Year 6 put on a remarkably assured, extremely amusing and professional show. They danced, they sang, they acted and all were involved. Six days is all it took them to go from script to performance including all of the technical aspects of the show which they operated themselves. Great support was given by Year 5 as the chorus and a massive vote of thanks is due to the teachers who supported and inspired a most memorable performance. Indeed, I have never been told to get out of the hall by a pupil, but I have now… Nothing short of terrifying. A splendid effort from all concerned and a big thank you to the performers and crew from us, the audience, who enjoyed the show immensely.

I often am guilty of forgetting that we live on the edge of one of the most culturally and artistically rich environments in the world. There is, I suspect, a concert happening somewhere in Paris every single evening of the week. Yesterday was one of those rare times when I actually did something about it and booked to see a concert a little later in the year. Having the opportunity to see and hear music being performed live is something that I rather take for granted having lived and worked in schools for most of my adult life, so it came as a surprise to learn that the concept of a concert is a relatively recent one. If Wikipedia is to be believed the concert in the present form came into existence in the latter part of the Seventeenth Century, whilst informal music making in groups must have been going on for as long as humans have created instruments. Whilst the growth of audio recordings has meant that one can enjoy a concert in the comfort of home, there is nothing quite like the experience of seeing and hearing a live performance. The conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was clear that music has a role in what is an ever busier and more distracting world when he said that “The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought.” But then he also said “the English may not like music, they absolutely love the noise it makes.” For me it is sometimes the bits in between. The moment of stillness when the music has come to an end; if you need persuading have a look at this compilation from last year’s Proms:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/rxfhzc/play/p06kgcx4

Next week gives all in the school community the opportunity to experience a concert as our Senior School musicians will be performing on Tuesday evening. The Spring Concert programme focuses on the Baroque and Classical periods and will give us all a chance to enjoy the virtuosity of our pupils as they perform as individuals or ensembles. Please do come, it promises to be a fantastic evening. The whole school community is welcome, it is not simply an event for those who spend their time on the Senior School campus.

Nicholas Hammond

Headmaster

www.britishschool.fr