“We cannot bring the dead back to life, but we can bring their memory back to life and ensure they are not forgotten. We can undertake in our lives to do what they were so cruelly prevented from doing in theirs.” – Jonathan Sacks
November is associated with many things, leaves turning, Bonfire Night and people endeavouring to grow facial hair, but above all it is the season of remembrance. Remembrance is sometimes a topic that excites debate as to what it is for or indeed what it is about but in the British educational system it holds a particular and important place in the school year. It has a purpose beyond its associated ritual.
Here at the BSP, remembrance assemblies have been held. Mr. Brown spoke movingly to the Senior School about the experiences of his Great Uncle Tommy, one of those men shaped by the Great War as a survivor. Mr Potter talked to the Junior School about the idea of bringing conflict to an end. On Tuesday we will have a small act of commemoration on the Senior School lawn, a poem or two will be read, we have a period of silence, and the Last Post will be played. After that school life will carry on. This year a group of pupils will represent the School at the Arc de Triomphe on the 11th and others will read at the commemoration held by the Royal British Legion at Les Invalides. At the end of next week Year 9 will visit the battlefields of the Somme and the scenes of conflict around Ypres.
As we move further in time from the conflicts of the twentieth century, we run the risk of forgetting the price of conflict. Our assemblies, school trips, acts of commemoration and assemblies can seem ineffective or rather useless in the face of the reality of a world in which conflict and loss is all too real for many families. If we achieve anything through these small acts of remembrance it is planting the seed of understanding in the minds of the future generations that there can be other ways of solving disputes, that discussion is always possible and that we can disagree agreeably.
The History Department visited the remains of the extermination camps at Auschwitz Birkenau over the half term. A difficult visit for anyone but perhaps an important one for many. In our season of remembrance, we challenge our young people to think carefully about the nature of conflict and its cost.
It is a privilege to have the opportunity to develop the minds and thinking of the next generation as parents and teachers. We must empower the young to question political leaders when they are pursuing policies in promotion of violence. We must be ready to provide reasonable answers to difficult questions, develop their acumen to see beyond rhetoric and to search for commonality rather than division. Our community is one of many nations and many beliefs. I believe that our pupils have an extraordinary opportunity to develop a world view that encourages understanding. It will be their responsibility to act upon this education when it is their turn to lead.
Nicholas Hammond
Headmaster
