Headmaster's Blog: 19 November 2018

New York City, the setting for the original West Side Story musical, has picked up various nicknames over the years. Having popped my head into the technical rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday, it seems to me that ‘the city that never sleeps’ might equally be applied in Cornwall – we appear to be the school that never sleeps! Wonderful to see how much time, effort and energy are going into what will surely be our own spellbinding performance of West Side Story. For the first time in many years, the show is being staged in our Old Sports Hall. It’s being done in the round, with our school orchestra on the far side and then tiered seating overlooking the stage from the other three sides. Whether you have a child in the production or not, whether you are a former or prospective pupil or family, if you don’t yet have tickets, then FOMO* should drive you to this ticket site (found here) with haste and speed. *fear of missing out!

All current parents are Friends of Truro School. The FTS committee are all geared up for tomorrow evening’s AGM to which you are warmly invited. It’s at 6.30pm in the Heseltine Gallery.  The committee would love for more parents to be engaged in supporting FTS events. Why not come along and enjoy some refreshments with other parents before making your way to the opening night of WSS at 7.30pm?

Elsewhere on campus this weekend was also a hive of activity. The 1^st XV rugby match against Shebbear College was such an exciting encounter. Our boys played with great intensity for the full 80 minutes and really deserved the win, having soaked up a great deal of pressure from a well drilled team which included a couple of man-mountain South Sea island rugby players currently in the Shebbear sixth form. The other home game was the U15s who ran out comfortable winners.

I positioned myself on the try line between the 1stXV rugby pitch and the netball courts where we were hosting the Under 16 county netball championships. Our Under 16 girls have always been a sporting force to be reckoned with and they went through the tournament without losing a game, emerging as county champions 2018. We wish them well as they progress to the Regional Finals.

It’s always gratifying to observe how our sixth form prefects grow into their leadership roles, developing qualities and skills for life. Last week they did a fine job helping out at the 3^rd Year parents’ evening which was held in the Graham Smith classrooms for the first time. The format seemed to work well and it was super to see the prefects engaging with parents and pupils and helping to oil the wheels of the busy schedule of meetings.

At a time when the mental health of teenagers is a grave national concern, I had heart-warming feedback from a group of our sixth form prefects who attended a Mental Health Training Course run by the Rev, our chaplain, who is a qualified mental first aid trainer. They told me how useful it was to build on the training they had received in the lower sixth as part of our school’s ACHE programme which develops young peer counsellors.  More than ever, our sixth form is living up to its reputation as a ‘springboard to your future’ preparing students both for where they will be at 18 and hope to be at 25.