Head Master's Weekly Notes - 18th September 2015

It’s been difficult to ignore over the past few months but today sees the biggest World Cup in the history of rugby union kick off, pardon the pun. 20 countries will compete in 44 matches over the next 48 days and England start their campaign this evening against Fiji at Twickenham. At Sexey’s, we have a proud tradition of playing the game and we will no doubt be watching with great interest and hope that England can repeat their emphatic win of the Webb Ellis trophy as they did back in 2003. Our Sexeians have been competing in tough rugby fixtures this week and our U14s were victorious against Beechen Cliff, but our own 1st XV lost in a tough game. And school rugby has come under the spotlight this week as momentum for the World Cup begins. Is it the preserve of the independent schools and should more state schools, like Sexey’s, be playing the sport? In the past, England teams would have predominantly been made up of those who were educated in the private sector (rugby is a major sport at such schools), but the tide is changing – the current England squad boasts 21 players from the independent sector and 10 from the state and I hope that schools like us and Beechen Cliff continue to play the sport and develop the sportsmen and sportswomen of the future. Creating a level playing field (sorry!) is what is needed and I have been working with our local MP to lobby the Government in order that we can secure fair funding that will allow our students such valuable opportunities. Sport, as well as art, music and drama are crucial in developing the whole person and I hope that we are providing an education which develops character and builds resilience. And speaking of resilience we will be hosting Balmoral College this weekend, a school from Argentina, and our U15 and 1st XV rugby teams will be playing them on Sunday afternoon and enjoying the World Cup afterwards. It will be a tough afternoon but a wonderful way of bringing the world and the community closer together.