The Headmaster reflects on the summer term

June 29th 2024

The Headmaster reflects on the summer term...

It is impossible for me to summarise the myriad of activities and events that have taken place across this busy summer term. I do urge you to take time to read this year’s magnificent Dolphin magazine and activate the QR codes. The Dolphin is a tour de force and it will give you a detailed and fascinating insight into what makes King’s Bruton such a successful and vibrant community.

I am grateful to all the staff who made the complex organisation of all our external examinations run so smoothly, and I wish each boy and girl who sat exams, the very best for results day in August. I know, as a parent, that the wait for exams results day is nerve-wracking. Most pupils will achieve the required grades to fulfil their plans, but others, inevitably, will fall short. I know that this can be upsetting, but I also know that those who need to rethink their plans virtually always get to where they want to go, albeit often by a different route.

I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing the 30-plus L6^th Form pupils who applied to be Senior Prefects, although I never enjoy telling the unlucky ones that their application has been unsuccessful. I ideally want a balance of Senior Prefects across all Houses, so the process is never a level playing field. However, I am very much looking forward to working closely with my sixteenth and final group of Senior Prefects next academic year.

I was quite rightly not involved in the selection process for my successor, apart from meeting the short-list candidates to answer any questions that they might have and to show them the Head’s House. I was delighted that none of the candidates tried to open any cupboard in my House, as my tidying process had relied heavily on cramming cupboards full of sixteen years of flotsam and jetsam.

My successor as Headmaster, Matt Radley, contacted me last Sunday, as a courtesy, to say that he was visiting Bruton to show his young family the town and the School from the outside. Helen and I invited Matt, his wife Sally, and their two children (aged 9 and 7) to tour the Heads’ House again, and also tour the School, including a visit to the Head’s office for the children. Helen and I enjoyed chatting to Matt and Sally on an informal basis and it was very clear that they are both excited about moving to King’s and that they will fit in very easily to the school community.

I am indebted to the Governors, the Bursar, the Senior Management Team, staff and pupils who were involved in the new Head recruitment process for all their hard work. I am determined that I will maintain my focus on King’s Bruton over my final three terms at the helm to ensure that the School is in the best possible health for the future. We will need to react nimbly and effectively to what seems inevitable challenges of a new Labour Government, but King’s and Hazlegrove are in a very strong financial position. I am confident that this remarkable school will continue to thrive and prosper next year - and for many years to come. Floreat Brutonia!

Ian Wilmshurst - Headmaster