David Clark, Headmaster of Battle Abbey School - Blog, 31st Jan 2014.

Dear Parents,

Despite the incessant rain, it has been a remarkably active and inspiring couple of weeks at BAS. Only last night, a full house at the PAC was treated to an evening of both curricular and extra-curricular dance. The audience gained a valuable insight into the thinking and ideas behind the performances and came to understand and appreciate the multifaceted nature of the subject. The energy, skill and creativity were captivating and the final dance, performed by the senior dance company, had us all entranced. It was a piece entitled Hourglass that they had performed to rave reviews at the recent Chelsea Dance Festival in Eastbourne. Well done to Miss Bryant and all those involved.

The Saturday before, Battle Abbey School hosted the regional meeting of the Open Discovery Space Project and combined it with a conference discussing how new technologies can help in schools. First up, speakers from the Prep and student speakers from the Senior School gave engaging and brilliantly researched presentations. The latter part of the afternoon focussed on the latest innovations in astronomy and participants got to ‘play’ with a stunning range of telescopes and learnt about the likes of ‘The Space Elevator’, ‘Extreme Astronomy’ and  ‘Target Asteroids’. Many thanks to Dr. D for all his hard work in, bringing Science to life once again in the historic surroundings of the Abbey.

I was delighted with the excellent turnout at our Careers Evening and I would like to thank both Mrs Morgan and Mrs Valentino for their efforts in staging such an informative occasion. Feedback from both students and parents was very positive and the intention is to continue holding such events in the future with talks from a wider range of different professions.

There are many more exciting events to look forward to in the coming weeks not least the Spring Disco and the next Evensong in the Abbotts Hall. In the meantime I would like to wish good luck to the students awaiting mock results and I look forward to catching up with Year 9 parents at the Options Evening next Wednesday.

Best wishes

David Clark

David Clark, Headmaster of Battle Abbey School - Blog, 17th Jan 2014.

Dear Parents,

I very much hope that you all spent a peaceful and enjoyable Christmas break and that 2014 proves to be a successful and fulfilling year.

The school term has resumed in earnest and the student body has readjusted to Abbey life in a typically positive and purposeful manner. Last Saturday, we hosted a very successful enrichment day and I would like to thank all the year 8 students for their help and support. Junior and Senior School play auditions have been in full flow too and we have been overwhelmed by the dramatic talent at the School. Equally, I would like to congratulate both James Slacke and Sultan Babaev who have been selected to represent England at the World Kickboxing Championships in Spain later this year – an exceptional honour for both of them.

The senior students have taken their mocks this week and I have been generally impressed with the way in which they have approached these exams – and by how hard they have worked. Additionally, our Upper Sixth students returned in good heart – buoyed by a flurry of fantastic UCAS offers (including some rarely granted unconditional offers) that has given them added motivation to face the challenges of their last few months in School.

As many of you probably know, Mr Payton sadly announced his impending retirement last term after 17 years of outstanding service to the School. He will be sorely missed by the whole student body and by his colleagues as well as by countless former students and parents. His retirement however, has given me the opportunity to potentially restructure the senior management of the school and details of that restructure will become clear over the course of this term.

Like us, you have all no doubt endured some punishing weather conditions over recent weeks. Alas – the end is not in sight and I daresay we will soon experience the chaos that is Britain’s transport system under snow. Can I stress that due to the boarding students living at the Abbey, the school will never fully close and we will make every effort to offer some sort of programme to as many students as possible. Could I therefor ask that you follow the instructions in this newsletter which will outline the procedures we will follow if and when the snow comes?

Best wishes

David Clark