Everyday life is full of endings and beginnings. On any given day, midnight is one such moment, one we celebrate especially on 31 December and 1 January. One of my all-time favourite books Gone With The Wind ends with our heroine, Scarlett O’Hara, reminding herself that Tomorrow is Another Day and with that new day comes a new opportunity to start again, to do better, to sort herself out.
Some endings are more meaningful than others. Ending a school year is a Big Deal. And beginning the next one is a new opportunity – with so many rich possibilities. Perhaps a change of uniform, a change of classroom, a change of teacher, no uniform at all, new friends, new subjects. A lot to think about, to plan for and to look forward to. But it is also worth taking a moment to reflect on the ending. What have I learned about myself this year? What am I really proud of? What do I wish I had done differently? Self-reflection is such a useful part of growing and changing and becoming your best self. Flicking through the photos on your phone can be a useful trigger, reading your diary can do the same thing.
I am a particularly disorganised individual. I often surprise myself by getting to a meeting or event with my notes, my keys, my glasses and my mobile all present and correct. I make so many resolutions about being tidier, being a better timekeeper, remembering birthdays, remembering to take a shopping list when I go to Waitrose. I enlist the help of those around me but still there are times when everything goes to pot. But each morning, each week, I remember that tomorrow is another day and maybe today I can arrive on time, fully equipped, with my act together.
At The Abbey, this week contains a very special ending that demands and deserves thought and reflection. Mr le Fleming ends his role as Head teacher. A role he has filled with distinction and a role he has relished. Of course it is for him to say why he has loved it and he will be doing so at the various Speech Day events and Assemblies this week and next. I have had the honour and privilege of being alongside him for some of the challenges and excitements these past five years. It has been wondrous to watch him grow as a leader of people and a shaper of ideas and events. If he were to indulge in a moment of reflection as I suggest, what would he see? Well I don’t think he would be able to flick through photos on his phone. I have never seen him take a selfie or a picture. But he has a laptop that is absolutely crammed with text, with analyses and with records. He is brilliant at taking notes and at incorporating the new into whatever he was thinking or doing last week, last month or last year. He has a vast record of everything that he has done, thought or speculated about at The Abbey. People have really wanted to talk to him and to share their experience, their ideas and their thinking with him; and he hoovers it all up at the time and shares and builds on it later.
The ability to do that is a great gift and I suspect may be one of the core aspects of his strength as a leader and as a person. He is also a restless seeker for innovation and improvement. I don’t think he has ever seen a laurel on which he would choose to rest, though he easily could, given the range and significance of the prizes and accolades the school has won with him at the helm. Our Abbey values of courage, honesty and kindness sit very easily with him. He introduced a new set of mantras into Abbey life – leading with confidence, learning with purpose and living with joy – and they have stuck. Why is that? Endless repetition has helped, and more the fact that we have all been able to understand and engage with them. Who amongst us wouldn’t love those ideas to be true of the life we live today and the life we will live tomorrow, and the next day, and the next? We all have opportunities to lead, so let’s do it with confidence. Life without learning would be a very dull adventure. And joy in the small things as well as the big things is something we can all give as well as receive.
But for Mr le Fleming this is as much about a beginning as an ending. He has, of course been heavily involved in his new headship for much of this past year; designing his new curriculum, appointing his top teams, approving his impressive and extensive new premises. So hopefully the transition from The Abbey to Thomas’s College will be smooth. But he should be confident that he leaves with our profound thanks for all that he has achieved for our very special school. We will watch his onward journey and, as he becomes even more successful on a broader canvas than ours, we will take great pride in the fact that we knew him first!
Elizabeth Harrison, Chair of Governors
