As we applauded Abby from Lower Sixth for becoming a solo glider pilot during last week’s celebration assembly, I was both delighted for her achievement and transported back thirty years when a clean-shaven young man, with a good head of hair, pursued the same pathway.
Just as Abby’s stomach will no doubt have been brimming with butterflies, despite having flown the same two-seater glider numerous times before, and her highly trained instructors being entirely confident in her capabilities, I too once sat there unsure if I was quite ready for that moment. No doubt her father, an experienced pilot himself, beamed with pride, just as mine did, and other members of the club likely rejoiced as another young member earned their wings. I know first-hand that this was a special day for Abby, and for all of those who have helped her reach that point.
Gliding, like many hobbies, has its fair share of procedures and terms that are specific to it as a sport. One slight difference, perhaps, is that if those protocols are missed then the consequences can be somewhat catastrophic.
Before launch, whether being towed by a light aircraft or dragged into the air at a speed of up to 70mph by a winch, a whole series of checks must be carried out on the glider. Once ready for take-off and strapped in, the last checks are made by asking your wing-holder to look if it is ‘All clear above and behind?’ Nobody wants to crash into a low flying or landing fellow pilot. This is followed by the instruction to ‘Take up slack’ in the tow rope or cable, and once it does tighten the adrenalin-fuelled yell of ‘All out!’ gives the instruction for the winch driver, or aircraft pilot, to hit the throttle, so that within seconds you are airborne.
I’ve not used those three terms for quite some time, my hobby put on hold as wider-life took over, but I like them. They kept me safe. They launched me into so many exciting, yet also peaceful, experiences in my early adulthood. Now, embracing my life at The Abbey, Abby’s success has inspired me to recycle those three terms to take on new meanings in this more recent, also exciting (but rarely peaceful!) chapter.
‘All clear above and behind?’ That’s what teachers do every day isn’t it? For students of any age to soar in their academic or personal development, we need to constantly check that the dangers to their safety and progress are cleared. Whether that be learning barriers, pastoral concerns, or even simply reassuring them about their self-doubt, I watch my colleagues constantly help their students to have the confidence to take take-off, to fly their own flight, and to look for thermals to take them higher and further than they have flown before.
‘Take up slack’ is perhaps most relevant for our Nursery, Lower III and Sixth Form teachers. They are with our students until the very last moment before take-off, knowing that there will shortly be a metaphorical, and sometimes literal, rush as they depart and take on new, exhilarating challenges. Those seconds before launch require trust, and our students know that their teachers will never drop their wing, they will never send them into a dangerous situation, they will care for them until they are up to speed.
As for ‘All out!’: we see this each year when our Upper VI leavers return for drinks and a reunion after their first term away, typically from university or their gap years. We proudly launched them and they are now on their own, racing into their own wonderful lives. They are able to fly solo, using what they were taught to stay safe and to set off for new horizons.
George Morton, Deputy Head at The Abbey Senior School
