Dear Parents
I have just watched ten intrepid teenagers set off for Snowdonia. They will be training all weekend in preparation for their Icelandic adventure in the Summer. Miss Bryant will be leading the expedition with her brother who is an outdoor adventure specialist. I think that there will be some bleary eyes in assembly on Monday morning. But “you cannot discover new oceans unless you lose sight of the shore”.
As educators, we should all have this in mind for our young people. They must grow up adventurous and questioning.
They must dare to take on new challenges, to make mistakes and get things wrong to make progress. They must learn to fall over, because they are trying new things, and then get up again. I hope that our pupils do not fall over too often in Snowdonia but I admire their sense of adventure and commend the teachers who give our youngsters so many opportunities to be physically or, indeed intellectually adventurous.
I will finish with a prayer attributed to Sir Francis Drake:
“Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.”
Best wishes
Roger Clark
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