Yesterday saw the return of the boys to the school, and the overriding emotion was excitement.  A touch of nervousness too, of course, and possibly some trepidation, but overall, mostly it was 'can’t wait to get stuck in’. You would be forgiven for assuming I refer just to the boys; however, I must tell you that the adults experience these same feelings too. I was delighted to see the boys back in school. A school feels odd without pupils in it. Initially it is quite nice, and one certainly gets a lot of paperwork done! But soon one yearns for the boys to arrive and provide their fizz and vim and vigour. At Assembly, I talked about how a new school year brings excitement and opportunity, and also a new start. The chance for renewal is one to be grasped, and I spoke about some of the ways that this can be done.

In opposition to the excitement of yesterday morning, last night and today has brought a completely different set of emotions. The death of our beloved Queen is a moment that we have dreaded, but expected; and even though it was expected, it is no less easy to comprehend. What I have found most difficult to process is the mixture of emotions. Sadness of course, but also deep appreciation of her life and the way she did things. In all the rolling news that I watched last night, the statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury resonated most with me. I provide a short part of it below:

As we grieve together, we know that, in losing our beloved Queen, we have lost the person whose steadfast loyalty, service and humility has helped us make sense of who we are through decades of extraordinary change in our world, nation and society. As deep as our grief runs, even deeper is our gratitude for Her Late Majesty’s extraordinary dedication to the United Kingdom, her Realms and the Commonwealth.

We feel grief for her loss, but even deeper gratitude for what she stood for, which Nicholas Witchell, the BBC Royal correspondent summed up as 'Decency, humility and duty'. 

Today, the school gathered in the Yard to mark the death of the Queen by taking down the Pilgrims’ flag and raising the Union Flag. We did this to acknowledge both our grief and our gratitude. The boys were magnificent. In the coming 10 days there will be more opportunities to express our feelings about the Queen, and that is an important part of the process. Some have asked whether our planned community events will go ahead, and as I write, the answer is a stoic yes. I say this for two reasons: firstly, I can think of no better way to acknowledge and share our emotions than by coming together as a community; secondly, given the example that she set, I can’t help thinking that Her Late Majesty would rather like us to do this too.

I ended the Flag Ceremony with this: 'Boys, this is a sad day, but also a day for thinking about what was important about our Queen. One quality which made her so beloved was her resilience and sense of duty. We all have our duty now - to make the most of our day, and I encourage you to do so.

That sums up my emotions: a sense of great sadness and a determination to follow her example. 

Alistair Duncan
Interim Head