What do you stand for?
In this day and age – with the posturing, virtue signalling and the easy politicising of public discourse on mass messaging and communication platforms – this question is perhaps being asked, if only implicitly, more than ever before. However, I would argue that the degree to which it is truly connected with and given proper thought is likely to be far less than ever before. In some part, this is because opportunities to be undistracted enough to search one’s mind, memory and morals are at risk of dwindling entirely.
Which is why it was so important for me that this was precisely the question that the whole staff body (teaching and support) were engaged with as a collective before term started in September. What do we, Pilgrims’, stand for? How will this fit with looking to the future while honouring and building upon the past? How will it underpin, more explicitly, the ways in which we live as a vibrant community and in which we plan the way forward?
And so began an iterative process of distilling our values. Now, more on this whole piece of process in the not-too-distant future. However, for the time being, here, on Comic Relief Day, I thought it was a suitable opportunity to share one of the five values-related words we arrived at: ‘Joy’. And how pleased I was that the sentiments within it were right up there among the staff’s thoughts.
The word itself was a point of discussion in the senior team: was it a little ‘old fashioned’, even a little twee? Was there a different word that would better capture the essence of what so many of us, pleasingly, felt was crucial? Namely, a sense of enjoyment, enthusiasm, positivity and fun. In the end we felt ‘Joy’ was right. Not all learning can – or should – be ‘fun’. However, ‘Joy’ can be taken from a challenging learning journey that comes to fruition as much as from the more light-hearted moments and laughter that should also exist aplenty.
Today, the boys have connected with the back stories that make Comic Relief so meaningful and important, and have had tremendous fun into the bargain, thanks to Mr Duncan’s efforts pulling together the fantastic ‘Pilgrims’ Got Talent’ showpiece. (See below.) What a variety-packed, entertaining 45 minutes it was! The boys were an interactive and supportive audience for the performers and the whole thing was a salutary reminder of how important it is to share good times and fun as a community. Traditions, fun and an insider’s vocabulary for certain places, times and events, are all an important part of developing a strong community. Pilgrims’ has all three in abundance and a community that laughs together is all the better equipped to learn together. Bravi, boys!
Tim Butcher
Headmaster
