One of the great pleasures of my role is having the opportunity to do this every Tuesday when I sit opposite prospective parents on the sofa in my office and engage in conversation about this wonderful school. Whenever I do so, I am reminded afresh of just how well Pilgrims’ serves a diverse range of boys and of my own experience as a boy, which was a fantastically all-round one. Albeit it [*clears throat*]…years ago, that truth has never changed to the present day.  

The acronym USP is too-frequently used: how often can a ‘selling point’ be genuinely ‘unique’ when the majority of prep schools are striving towards broadly the same admirable ends? But here at Pilgrims’ I feel that the ‘U’ is there in ‘Rockwell Extra Bold’ font. Ask yourself to express it though, and things become a bit trickier. Whatever ‘it’ is, it is certainly linked with our unique community and strong links with both Cathedral and College. Wherever a boy’s destination school ends up being, the spirit that learning is a quest and a joy and an enrichment that serves an end in itself has – as if by capillary action – been drawn across College Street over the decades. But ‘it’ is also there in the deeply caring relationships between staff and pupils borne of real knowledge of the individual; and in the breadth of engagement in outstanding musical and sporting opportunities.  

What I tend to find myself doing is trying to illustrate the ‘U’ with examples: the Year 8 from the not-too-distant past who just loved his knitting and drew his friends into it, ending with them selling their wares at a fête stall; or the current Year 6 who took a book on the Roman military as his discussion object to his WinColl interview, but retrospectively wished he had taken the Cicero he was currently reading; or another Year 6 boy who has just been awarded a Headmaster’s Commendation for showing just outstanding care and help towards another boy in a way that showed a true understanding of them. 

There are also many features of the Pilgrims’ week or term that contribute. Each Thursday, Dr Bryant shares a Thursday Reflection for tutors to go through with their tutees. This week’s was a great thought piece around the conversion of Saul to the apostle Paul, centring around ‘living our best life’: we each of us have a chance to leave mistakes of the past behind and turn things around. As Dr Bryant explained, Saul, who was a murderous villain became, through the grace of God, one of the greatest saints the world has ever known.? 

And the reinstatement of our Twilight Talks this week serves another such role within the make-up of a term. On Wednesday, I was delighted that Rebecca Shivji so kindly came and gave the first of these to boarders and others who stayed on site to listen at 5pm. She entertained the boys with an excellent, often visceral account of her participation in the 50th anniversary FastNet sailing race last year. Through the narrative of the race, the most striking themes had been the revelations of sailing through two serious storms, the practicalities of living on a boat with a crew of 9 when there were only 4 sleeping berths, the deficiencies of even the most modern sailing suits, lifejackets and safety tethers, the sheer wetness of everything… Although there was a deep satisfaction a few hours after the end of the race, let’s just say that it had been a no-holds-barred account. 

The talk was super, yet my favourite moment came afterwards at tea. As we were lining up to be served, a Year 8 quietly turned to me and asked simply, ‘Sir, do you have pay to get onto the weekly sailing activity?’ 

There ‘it’ is again. 

Tim Butcher
Headmaster