I didn’t think I’d be one of those dads, but as the possibility of my eldest studying at my alma mater became real, an unexpected tide of emotion guided my actions in the months leading up to her first term away from home.  

I never wanted to live my life vicariously through her.  Loughborough University from 1991 to 1995 was a different time, and we do different things.  However, what I realised is that what I wanted for her was a sense of happiness and challenge from one of the world’s best institutions for her subject.  This is what I had experienced, and so as with many ill informed conversations about Higher Education, it was my only reference point for many years.

The Higher Education team at Shrewsbury is far from ill-informed.  Ms Dunnham’s arrival offers the students an additional US counsellor to compliment the legendary Ms Overton and the extraordinary Ms Fretwell, Ms Walker and Mr Markes.  The knowing looks I’ve had from them all tell me they understand the ‘legacy’ concept as much as any parent.  

Recently Mr Markes and I met some Shrewsbury alumni mums.  Extraordinary people from a time when Shrewsbury was in its infancy, with clear and cherished memories of a very special time.  They are curious and forensic in looking to understand what has changed at Shrewsbury over time, and especially keen to hear where Shrewsbury is going in the future.  In them I saw myself, loving parents looking to provide the best possible life chances for their children.

I met my wife at Loughborough, and Shrewsbury has also had its first Shrewsbury wedding.  Selection of Alumni of the Year for 2020 (soon to be announced) took a very short time this year as incredible achievements now litter this widening and ever growing family.  Each year it will get easier to celebrate the achievements of our incredible alumni, and we will be filled with pride in all that they do.

In turn alumni can often underestimate their impact on current students.  The role modelling is obvious, but sometimes self deprecation can miss the inspiration our alumni offer.  Knowing and understanding what our alumni are doing shapes our strategic planning, it informs us about how to prepare young people better, and bring joy and pride to all those connected.  

Mature schools with well organised and passionate alumni associations offer certainty, diversity and inspiration. The pull of the old school becomes stronger as we get older, broader and better. Our alumni association, SISBAA, is a key part of who we are, and will be a key part of where we are going.  I look forward to meeting many more alumni mums and dads in the future.
 

You can’t beat something new.  The smell of a new car, the crispness of a new bank note, the thrilling early stages of a new relationship.  

Every school year brings this sense of newness.  Some new facilities to explore and enjoy, new students to settle and nurture, and new parents to welcome into our wonderful community.  The new staff offer the opportunity to reflect on the complexity and excitement of Shrewsbury Riverside.  

Their slightly bewildered faces as they exited quarantine some weeks ago now are memorable, and not so different from the ones we see most years in my apartment for a post flight coffee.  This bewilderment lingers for a while as they get to grips with a school of nearly 1,800 students in a relatively small corner of Bangkok.  It reminds us that our community is complex, diverse and vibrant.

Now that the term is in full swing, the bewilderment has changed to purpose and enjoyment.  Strings Festivals organised, trips out with artists, sports teams being managed, lessons delivered confidently and with the skill we expected from recruitment processes.  New staff becoming current staff.

For a while we will be talking about Philip Stewart as the new Vice Principal (Head of Junior).  When he joins in 2021 he will bewildered by the variety and quality of what we do.  It will take him time to transition from the new VP, to our current VP.  This process is normal and far from new, but along the way we will also gain from the newness that we welcome.  

We hope he doesn’t smell like a new car, and in the Bangkok heat his shirts won’t stay as crisp as a bank note for long, but the excitement of a new relationship will benefit us all.  He will learn what Shrewsbury is, and we will learn much from him.  His experience is considerable, his intellect strong, and his enthusiasm for providing the best environment for young learners is fierce.

But finally, new is only one piece of the complicated jigsaw puzzle that we call education.  

Shrewsbury is rightly proud of our wonderful community and all the sections within.  We celebrate those who have worked here for 15 years or more, the students who stay here longer do better - old is good!  So it can’t be out with the old and in with the new.  Instead we look forward to the new complimenting the old, as Bertold Brecht once said ‘mixing one’s wines may be a mistake, but old and new wisdom mix admirably’.

It has been truly wonderful to complete this week at Shrewsbury.  A week where the co-curriculum roared back into life, a week where lessons and home learning picked up pace and intensity, a week where the leadership teams moved the school forward again.  

This was a week where we held the first joint Heads of School lunch.  Junior and Senior Heads of School, joined by Senior Prefects, Sports Captains, Deputy Heads of School, Music Captains and the staff involved in their selection.  It was a wonderful moment to bring together students across the school who have asked for the responsibility of representing a growing and diverse culture.  The noodles were good, the ice creams enjoyed and the conversations urgent and tinged with excitement.

Coming together over a meal we reaffirmed our relationships.  We are working together to make this school greater, and this was echoed by a meeting held earlier in the day with two of our most respected students.  They came to offer flowers as part of the Wai Kru celebration.  As we completed the celebration, and I received the flowers on behalf of all the teaching staff we connected over the meaning of Wai Kru.  The cultural tradition so valued in schools is important and respected, but increasingly important is the communication between student and teacher in gaining a shared understanding of what this moment means.  

For staff at Shrewsbury it does not mean deference. We neither expect it nor demand it.  We want young people to challenge themselves and others throughout their education within the vital framework of mutual respect.  We learn much from our students, and only do so in collaborating and offering freedoms that build confidence and courage.

Courage comes in many guises, and this week we also welcomed the new EY1 parents to come together and learn more about how we will support their children in the years to come.  Holding their nerve in recent months required courage, and this show of faith in Shrewsbury will be repaid by the hard work, skill and brilliance of our teachers.  Mutual respect will foster open, honest and courageous communication in good times and more difficult ones.

Great schools are built on great communities, which in turn come from strong relationships.  A new term, many new relationships, but the same commitment to build these in a positive and respectful way.  Welcome to Shrewsbury!
 

Yesterday I met with Shrewsbury Parents and then took to making a video to address some concerns about our return to Riverside this term.  As ever, I was disappointed to hear there were areas of our operation that hadn't quite reached everyone's expectations. Yet, I was strangely pleased to be dealing with issues about parking, the shop and the boat. Not once was the 'C' word mentioned….

These conversations are the meat and drink of being Principal. Ever seeking to improve what we do - the feedback of parents, students and staff forms a critical part in ensuring we are always moving forward. In the past, I would then respond with a carefully constructed letter, but times have changed. Blessed with a face for radio, I am no media superstar, but these past few months have shown us that we can and should do things differently. Therefore, there will be more videos to come this year!

Increased agility is a focus for our leadership group this year. More meetings, more often but of much shorter duration. Listen to the feedback, assess and consider, devise a response, and move on. A swifter, more agile set of actions and reactions. In doing this, we hope you see the school change - not in a reactive and scattergun way, but in a carefully considered and positive fashion that brings incremental improvements as we move through a year.

Some things don't change—the professionalism of our staff, both teaching and non-teaching. Preparing a school for opening is always a colossal effort and Mr Pinks' team once again stepped up. The design department looks incredible, and the new admissions, marketing, reception and shop areas all a significant improvement. In the classroom, our teaching staff have responded to the challenges around masks and distancing superbly. In exercising their agility, they have found ways to adapt their outstanding teaching to the new term.

As I write a rather odd case of local transmission has been found in Thailand. The nation will hold its breath, the economists again turning into pessimists, and we all hope and pray that this can be contained. In the weeks ahead, we must continue to enjoy what we have. Face to face lessons, sport returning, music beginning to emit from the fourth floor and grumbles about the traffic are all part of being back together as a community. These moments can be good, bad or indifferent, but all are moments to savour in a way we might not have done before.

This week has been an absolute joy.  Students on campus and finally an opportunity to wish our graduating students a farewell.  Not the one they deserved but an unexpected opportunity nonetheless.  Here are my words to them as we said goodbye.

Welcome back, and goodbye.  Another bitter sweet moment for us all.  The moment we had in this hall just before closure, will I think, remain one of my abiding memories of this period.  Given all that I had heard and read at that time, I never expected us to return this year, and genuinely thought that was goodbye.  How pleased we all are then that I was wrong again! 

In having you all on campus over the last few days, there are some thank yous.  To Mr Cornforth and Mr Millar who led the way with the arrangements, to the incredible academic team who organised us all so well.  To the 6th form exec for driving the consultation with you and the thinking behind our events and the event next year.  To you, for enjoying all that we could do.  To your parents who tolerated our dithering.  Thank you all.
To be able to say goodbye, offers us all the closure we had never expected to need.  The period we have experienced has robbed you of so much, and yet we hope has provided you with opportunities and experiences that will never be forgotten.  
Bitter, sweet.  Rough and smooth.  Dark and light

You have in three months experienced what those of us with grey hair know to be true about life in general.  Some of it is easy, some of it enjoyable, some of it dark and disturbing.  But in all things, life is varied, abundant and filled with moments to satisfy your curiosity.  We could be lulled into thinking that these past months are the hardest ever, so many new and unprecedented things.  Zoom, teams, meets?

But many of you were born in 2001. On September the 11th 2001, planes were crashed into the twin towers.  War in Afghanistan the month after and that same October the iPod was launched.  In December 2001 China joined the World Trade Organisation and January 2002 saw the Euro born as a currency.  The winter olympics held in February and the football world cup in May.  And 2002 was designated the international year of ecotourism.
A rather random collection of happenings from history, large events and small.  Significant and not so.  Rough with smooth.  Light and dark.  Life will throw these things at you, and does so without asking for your permission or response.

What you choose to do is down to you and how you react is a personal and variable response.  But one thing I do know is that life will be more interesting if you can share your choices and responses with others.

You’ll meet fascinating people.  Some horrible, some lovely.  Rough and smooth.  Significant and not so.  But one constant is that you will have your classmates.  The Class of 2020.  The COVID class.

The moments you have spent here in the last 48 hours we hope reinforce the togetherness you have, reestablish the friendships and lasting bonds. Give you closure and offer you hope.

• You are an extraordinary group.  I’m a little bit biased as you know, but I’m very fond of this year group. 
• You have been welcoming, friendly and supportive
• You are able, fiercely loyal and yet independent
• You made a difference, and worked as one
• You have potential and have yet achieved so much
• You will be missed and have already been so

I wasn't sure what and how much to say today.  If I've bored you again, then I’m sorry.  I just wanted to reflect how one dad, and one teacher feels about this year group and grasp the opportunity to wish you well.  Unusually for me I want to end with poetry

Goodbye, My Dearest Friend (adapted)
Leilani Hermosa Peterson

The hardest part of any friendship
is when it is time to say goodbye,
and even though we wished we could make you stay,
we know we have to let you spread your wings and fly.

For life is a journey that needs to be traveled,
and we are certain you'll make it through,
we just want you to know and never forget
that we will surely miss you.

So follow your heart and never give up,
as dreams and wishes do come true,
we know that someday we'll meet again,
so never forget we will be praying for you.