Headmaster's Blog: 30 November 2017

This morning we hosted the Bank of England’s SW quarterly inflation briefing in our Burrell Theatre. The wonderful set used last week in our major production The Snow Queen was still in situ. Donna Kehoe, one of twelve agents for the Bank who cover all regions of the UK, gave a very interesting update about current economic conditions, what led to the recent raising of interest rates from 0.25% to 0.5%, and the Bank’s outlook to 2020. If you’ll excuse the irresistible segue, the chill winds (and snow) that were expertly projected as a backdrop for Saturday night’s show, seem to be blowing through the economy, given recent downgrades to UK economic growth forecasts.

The Snow Queen on the other hand was a triumph of optimism, ambition and sheer hard work. What a unique and wonderful show it was.   As ever, the quality of the acting was captivating but I was especially impressed by a couple of things; current and former students and current and former parents came together under the guidance of our talented staff as a great example of the Truro School community at its best. Secondly, the way technology was successfully integrated into the theatre was awesome. The tech team had to master a new suite of software and hardware in order to project different media onto the intricate set. This was no mean feat which added movingly to the show.

Sticking with the theme of creative and performing arts, the 5th Year GCSE Art students recently went on an exciting two-day field trip to London, an excursion that will help towards their GCSE coursework. The pupils had the chance to visit the National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Saatchi Gallery, which currently has a thought-provoking exhibition entitled ‘Art Riot: Post Soviet Actionism’.  After what must have been an immersive gallery experience they took to the West End for a production of Mamma Mia, a visit to China Town and Covent Garden.

A gang of our artists from the Prep and Senior school put a great deal of effort into building a float for the annual Truro City of Lights parade. It is such a shame it had to be cancelled, although the weather on the night was grim indeed. Perhaps the Snow Queen was prowling around!

Seventeen of our top musicians performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Music for Youth Proms, a huge countrywide festival that involved around 40,000 children and celebrates the best young musical talent the UK has to offer. The Music for Youth is a national youth arts charity that gives young people life-changing performance and progression opportunities. Truro School pupils account for approximately a quarter of the Cornwall Youth Orchestra, and many of our musicians are section leaders.

Speaking about the occasion, Music Scholar Molly Carleston said:  “It was an amazing experience performing in the Royal Albert Hall and definitely not something that happens every day. The Cornwall Youth Orchestra is a great way to meet like-minded people and develop communication skills.”

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Truro School Christmas Fair on Saturday afternoon. There is some super Christmas shopping to be done. I will be helping to sell the lovely Truro School Christmas cards that we have had printed as well as the recently published CD which features our choristers and the BBC symphony orchestra of Wales.