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Acting Principal's Speech at OL Civic Dinner

Posted 13/10/07

My Lords, My Lord Mayor, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

I have to begin by saying what a great honour it is to be here as Acting Principal of Liverpool College, an institution that has been, is, and will continue to be, one of the great British Public Schools.

I would also like to thank Lord Hunt and Mr John Swift for giving me the opportunity to address this wonderful occasion and to reflect briefly upon the last 12 months at Liverpool College.

It was, I think, the eighteenth century economist, John Stuart Mill, who said that 'an education ought to be very good to justify depriving a child of its liberty' I think the College passes the John Stuart Mill test of a great education with flying colours

Let me quote from the school magazine:

'We are not a mere factory of learning. The ability to share in the social, athletic and cultural sideshows which figure so prominently in the calendar is as important a part of education as the prowess to win base authority from the books of others. Far be it from us to scorn the continual plodder, provided he is not deep versed in books, yet shallow in himself.'

This quote sums up the last year quite beautifully - yet this was not written this 2007. This comes from the Liverpool College Magazine of February 1951.

In great schools, there is continuity and time does not change the important things.

We are not a mere factory for learning but the academic achievements of the College continue to impress and it is pleasing to report that, this year, once again most of our Sixth Form leavers took up places at their first choice universities. One of our GCSE students finished in the top 5 in the country in Spanish and just last week one of our ten-year-old pupils won a national science prize presented by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

A great Public School also recognises that there is a world beyond the school gates and as we approach the city's year as capital of culture, this is brought sharply into focus.

'There is no life that is not in community'

So said TS Eliot and I think he was right. And I think deep down we all know it.

There is conflict however, as our children are immersed in this world where materialism and commercialism are so influential. Only last summer I was watching a cricket match. After the cricket ball struck the batsman on the pads I heard one boy shout 'BMW'

And I read in one child's book:

'Archimedes rose from his bath after he thought about his latest discovery and he shouted 'IKEA' '

'There is no life that is not in community'.

Over the last year, pupils in all parts of the College have raised thousands of pounds to support Claire House, Alder Hey, Children in Need, victims of Leprosy in Brazil and children in Nepal and the Upper School community programme continues to thrive. The Myriad Jazz and theatre groups extends the College arts programmes out into the community and, at the moment, we are establishing links with Liverpool Football Club to support their coaches who are developing training programmes for members of the disabled community.

And of course, the College looks beyond the city to the global community. In the summer, the CCF took the pupils to southern France to complete their Duke of Edinburgh training. There have been visits to the USA, Italy and France and the sports teams are looking forward to their tour of Australia and New Zealand next summer.

And I have yet to hear of another school where pupils, form the age of 3, have the opportunity to be taught foreign languages by staff from Japan, China France and Spain from the age of three.

We also continue to follow the progress of our former students who have recently left the College. Two girls represented Scotland at Lacrosse during the summer, while another ran for the Great Britain athletics team in Prague. Following a different career path, I hear that one former pupil is making it big with his band, The Wombats, and getting a great deal of airplay on Radio 1! I have to admit, the last achievement, wonderful as it is, has rather passed me by.

I believe that at Liverpool College, learning comes first. It is a school:

Where children learn that it is just as important, and sometimes much more interesting to colour outside the lines; where children learn how to learn, rather than what to learn; where children learn that service and leadership are inextricably linked - that it is only by learning to serve does one learn to lead;

where children learn to balance the heat of competition with the good grace of sportsmanship; where children learn that showing kindness and consideration for others is a sign of strength of character not a weakness; where children learn to be fair with others but make sure that others are fair with them; where children learn to make distinctions. And by making distinctions, we can be tolerant, and we can get to the heart of our problems instead of wrestling endlessly with their gross exteriors.

A school where children learn that it is sometimes better to be wise than it is to be clever; where children learn that the soul needs to be developed and nurtured as much as the brain and the body; where children learn that life is for living and that their precious duty is to leave the world a better place for them having been in it.

And that what cannot be achieved in one lifetime will happen when one lifetime is joined to another.

This is what Liverpool College has always, and will always, believe in.

And what of the future?

The future is a gentleman called Hans Broekman who, I am delighted to say, is with us this evening. He will be joining the College as its 17th Principal next June. He has spent the last five years establishing one of the most successful and highly regarded schools in America and we look forward to Hans, his wife Eleanor and their five young children joining us next summer.

Brian Christian's vision for Liverpool College in the 21st Century is well established. It will be Mr Broekman's mission to ensure that many of the initiatives developed over recent years become reality. I have no doubt however, that he, working alongside the Governing Body, will shape the future of the College in his own way and stamp his own personality on developments over the next few years.

There is a Hebrew proverb that says,

'Do not confine your children to your education, for they were born of another time'.

All communities have to move forward if they are not to grow stale. The cranes across the city skyline are testament that Liverpool is a community moving forward. The College, like the city is also about to commence a major phase of re development.

The history of this College tells us that it has always recognised the need to change, to rebuild, to re equip and it has always embraced the future, while holding firm to its traditional values.

Courage and vision are required to consider, plan and initiate change to enable the school and its pupils to meet the challenges and demands of a society where there are very few certainties and even fewer boundaries. The link between the past, the present and the future is important, and during this time of development we are even more conscious of this than ever.

The re development of the College has now reached a very exciting and important phase. The plans have been submitted to the planning authorities for approval. If all goes well, work will begin in Beechlands in 2008 to transform the building from an administration block into a new nursery. I can think of no more wonderful and inspiring setting for our youngest pupils to begin their educational careers.

It has always been the intention at the College, since the early decades of the last century, that the Lower and Upper school children be educated on the 'same side of the bridge', alongside Queen's Drive and next to Sefton Park. This should become a reality in 2010, when the new Upper School will be developed. I can assure you however, that the sports facilities and playing fields on the Upper School site will be retained and improved.

The great author and first great journalist, Daniel Defoe visited Liverpool three hundred years ago and wrote about his experiences. He saw a city about to grow and develop. He concluded that 'What it may grow to in time I know not.' Were he to revisit the city today, I would guess that he would reach the same conclusion. The same is true of the school that shares the name of the city, Liverpool College.

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