Our household is now halfway through the annual two-month march towards my oldest daughter’s birthday. Despite our best distraction techniques, daily discussions continue apace: what will be worn, the type of cake that friends will like, and of course the unsubtle hints alluding to what gifts might be desired. On our kitchen table I habitually find a Smyths Toys Superstore catalogue, accidentally left open on pages where certain items are highlighted.
I’m not really sure how it happened. Yes, I like to think we’ve always made birthdays seem special, but with two daughters we now spend a third of the year in full battle-birthday preparation mode. Am I wrong to say that it has led me to possibly prefer the birthday celebrations of the students at school more than I do those of my own flesh and blood? At least here they sneak up on me: I occasionally get to join in an impromptu rendition of Happy Birthday in the School Dining Rooms; I live vicariously as I hear about all of the lovely weekend treats; and, most significantly this year, I don’t have to brave the terrifying waterslides at Coral Reef, the chosen destination of next month’s party.
Indeed, birthdays in schools are special. We of course value every individual all year round, publicly recognising their achievements and getting to know their interests, but that one day a year, which is just their day, sees some students walk ten feet tall – unless of course they are weighed down by numerous oversized badges. Their friends are extra-specially nice, their teachers share in their delight, and should a younger girl spot that an older one shares their birthday then, my-word, they gain an instantaneous role-model and older ally.
Students also enjoy reaching landmark birthdays that allow them to access new experiences. An Upper V student this week delighted in telling me that now she had reached 16 she would be able to have an alcoholic drink with her meal when she went out to a restaurant with her family; she seemed less impressed when I told her that she could also drive a tractor. Similarly, our students never seem to tire in finding out which celebrities or historical figures they share a birthday with. A girl last week told me that she shares her birthday with Nick Jonas, which I have to admit meant very little to me, but if it’s your birthday today, the 26th September, then you apparently share it with two fabulous role models for our students. Playing the role of Sarah Connor in the first batch of Terminator films, Linda Hamilton who turns 69 today, proved that you didn’t have to be a body-building, mono-syllable-speaking man to be an all-action hero in Hollywood. Meanwhile, where do you begin when describing the impact that the now 44-year-old Serena Williams has played in helping break down sporting and diversity barriers across the globe?
We also curiously celebrate the birthdays of schools themselves, and in fact parts of schools. Our partner school and friends around the corner at Reading School are staggeringly embracing their 900th birthday this year. Although pailing somewhat in comparison, our beloved Richards Hall in the Senior School has just hit 50 years old, and has been rewarded with some delightfully comfortable and attractive new chairs (and we got some for the Junior School Hall too, just so that it didn’t feel left out). Many alumnae may be sad to see those original wooden chairs gone, but they have possibly forgotten how numb their derrieres felt after enjoying musical or dramatic performances, or sitting through a lengthy exam. Indeed, those chairs and the hall itself have borne witness to so many young women realising exam success and securing the grades that have opened doors, allowing them to go on to become such successful leaders, and in some cases pioneers, in their fields over the last 50 years. Thank you Richards Hall: Happy Birthday, and here’s to many more years of hosting exam success!
George Morton, Deputy Head