October 9th 2022
Moulsford is a member of The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS), which held its annual conference for Heads in Edinburgh this week from Wednesday to Friday. This year’s event is a joint enterprise with the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), which is the IAPS equivalent for senior schools. In total there were 1,200 delegates who attended a series of thought provoking and inspirational talks and seminars, as well as social gatherings which allowed for important networking across the sector. The photo above was taken at Thursday’s conference dinner at the National Museum of Scotland.
Highlights of the conference included an excellent ‘in conversation’ with Marc Randolph, co-founder and the first CEO of Netflix. It was fascinating to hear his thoughts on: decision making in times of uncertainty; the responsibilities of leadership; and getting comfortable with risk. The latter is an especially important skill which we aim to instil in Moulsford pupils from an early age. On a lighter note, we enjoyed hearing about the evolution of the Netflix concept, which emerged after many other ideas were explored and dismissed such as personalised shampoo (developed from individual’s hair samples mailed in) and personalised dog food. Marc also reminded us of basic common sense principles which can often be overlooked, such as ensuring that ideas survive collision with reality.
Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh and regular contributor to 'Thought for the Day' on Radio 4's Today programme, and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of Britain’s top Paralympic athletes and active crossbencher in the House of Lords, also gave excellent talks, followed by Q&As. However, for me, the most powerful address came from Professor Sir Geoff Palmer, the Chancellor of Herriot Watt University and Scotland’s first black professor. Sir Geoff linked equality, education and progress, through his own life journey, arriving in London as an immigrant from Jamaica in 1955. Specifically Sir Geoff focused on the role that conscientious and kind individuals can play to make a difference to those for whose progress is impeded by the ‘system’, and the importance of education in changing attitudes. Later today, we hear from Dharshini David, BBC’s Global Trade Correspondent, and Sarah Brown (wife of Gordon) and Founder and Chair of Theirworld, and Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education.
The conference is such a good opportunity for Heads not only to reflect, but also to catch up with colleagues from the sector. I had a number of very useful conversations with senior school Heads, which develops and strengthens the relationships between our schools.
While I have been away there has been plenty going on at school, particularly on the sporting front. All of Years 5 to 8 (roughly 230 boys) represented Moulsford in football fixtures against Summer Fields on Wednesday, with every boy in Years 3 and 4 in action on Tuesday against the Oratory Prep School. This was followed by House matches for many on Friday.
There is a record turnout for the Headmaster’s Quiz this evening, with 240 attending, I believe. Thank you to the hard work of the Parents Association in ensuring the success of this event, and to Jim Hamilton-Smith and Tiffany Squire who are very kindly running the quiz in my absence. I’m staying up north for the weekend to celebrate my son’s 21st birthday in Newcastle.
