From April 2020, the Headmaster's letters to parents can be found in the weekly mailing.

Letter from the Headmaster, 17 April 2020

17 April 2020

Dear Parents

In normal circumstances I would be looking forward to welcoming the boys back to school next week. The school site is looking beautiful; blossom on the trees, the grass on the cricket pitches lush and green. But of course we will have to wait a while longer until we see the school back to its normal, vibrant, self.

I do hope that you and your families are all fit and well. I am conscious that this is a stressful and challenging time for everyone. I am grateful to those in our community who continue to work so hard on the frontline against the coronavirus and am pleased that we have been able to look after the children of key workers over the course of the holiday. This provision will continue and my thanks also go to the staff at Abingdon and Abingdon Prep who have volunteered to supervise.

It was a busy Easter for members of the Design and Technology department who spent a lot of time making protective visors for local hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes. The Abingdon Science Partnership has also been hard at work preparing online resources for teaching science and their endeavours were highlighted by the Daily Telegraph in a recent article describing collaboration between the independent and state sectors.

I think we are all learning that our new ways of working require higher levels of collaboration and cooperation than ever and I know that colleagues have been working together in departments to ensure that resources and ideas are in place to support the boys’ online learning. The School will continue to run to its normal timetable, starting with registration at 8.35am from Tuesday 21 April. There will often be a ‘live’ element to lessons via Zoom but the boys will also be set tasks which give them a break from interacting on screen.

A key focus during the first half of term will be to confirm provisional grades and rank orders for our GCSE and A Level candidates and we will be working hard to ensure that these are fair, realistic and consistent. The exam boards have made it clear that schools should not reveal provisional grades to candidates or their parents.

As you know, at Abingdon we believe that there is much more to education than the acquisition of qualifications and this is particularly important at this time of lockdown. Our staff have therefore been working hard to put together ways of operating our Other Half programme remotely and there will be lots of stimulating and rewarding activities on offer for your son; indeed, it’s been great to see many boys responding to various online challenges over the Easter break. Some of the activities on offer next term will be a continuation of activities that your son may already be involved in; some are quite new and ideally suited to time at home. Boys will receive the list of available activities early next week and I hope you’ll take the time to discuss it with your son.

We have been thinking carefully about the implications of our new ways of working for the health and wellbeing of the boys and Mr Hindley, the Deputy Head (Pastoral) will be in touch shortly with a letter about how we will be managing our online interactions with your son. I hope you will read this carefully; we will also be writing to your sons.

Finally, I would like to reassure you that, although we are working in a different way, everyone at Abingdon is committed to supporting your sons and you as we navigate our way through this crisis. I hope you won’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any concerns that you would like to discuss. Your first port of call would be your son’s tutor or Housemaster and they will certainly be able to pass on concerns to the correct member of staff.

We will continue to communicate regularly with you and I very much look forward to catching up with the boys next week when term gets underway on Tuesday.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 27 March 2020

27 March 2020

Dear Parents

At times of crisis or challenge, we often turn to the arts for solace or escape. Recent events have certainly brought to my mind these well-known lines by John Donne:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

At times of challenge, we depend on our friendships and relationships more than ever. The particular difficulty we are faced with at this time is that in exceptional and unprecedented times we have been deprived of our normal opportunities for socialising and getting together with our friends and companions, while spending more time than we might be used to with our families! Seeing the School so strangely empty while bathed in sunshine this week just underlines the incredible energy and purpose that the School has when it is in session.

But while I have missed the boys’ physical presence around school, it has also been exciting to see them engaging so positively with their digital learning. I suppose that this is a space in which they have essentially grown up and with which they are familiar. The statistics from Zoom, gathered on Wednesday evening, are staggering in themselves. In the few days of working online, we held more than 4000 meetings. 29,000 participants joined those various meetings, meaning there was an amazing 467,000 minutes (just under a whole year) of participation.

I would like to thank the boys for throwing themselves into their online schooling with such enthusiasm. It’s been great to stay in touch with them via social media. I particularly enjoyed the hockey obstacle courses shared by the hockey club on Twitter (@hockeyabingdon) and am grateful to the parents of the boys concerned for their tolerance at letting their houses and gardens be converted! House debating has also proved to be a great online success.

I am very grateful to my colleagues who have grasped the mettle in moving online with such determination and commitment. It requires considerable time and planning to set up a successful online lesson and I know that teachers have worked extremely hard to ensure that the transition to remote working was successful, often while juggling childcare and family responsibilities. We will be reflecting over Easter on our experiences of the past week to refine further our offering for the Summer term.

I would also like to thank you all for everything that you have done to ensure that the transition has gone well. I am very much aware that many of you are facing very challenging work situations and are also in a period of rapid transition and adjustment. Thank you therefore for supporting your sons and enabling them to thrive. I am also very grateful indeed to the many parents who have written in to thank colleagues and with constructive feedback, which has been much appreciated. My thanks also go to the parents who have been in touch following the letter from the Chairman of Governors and me earlier this week, offering to pay full fees as normal in order to support families who are facing hardship.

The current situation is of course particularly tough for the boys in the Fifth Year and the Upper Sixth. We are very much aware that they are in need of guidance, especially as the Easter break is about to start. We are putting much thought into ensuring that they receive clear direction and support. This is taking some time to put together as we are also waiting for some further information from the exam boards but we will be communicating a detailed plan with these cohorts very soon. Until then, I suggest that the boys concerned enjoy a well-earned break from their studies over the weekend.

We will be sharing further information about the plans for the Summer term for other year groups shortly.

This will be an unusual holiday. Our provision for the children of key workers will continue, with cross-Foundation support available at Abingdon Prep School; please see the separate message in today’s Weekly Mailing for more information. In my podcast, which the pupils will also receive today, I have emphasised the importance of routine, even in the holiday period, and particularly the need to support their parents at this challenging time; I hope they live up to this!

We want to continue to support the boys through the break as we know that some may find it very challenging. Our counsellors will be running their normal service through the first week of the holiday and your son’s tutor is on stand-by should he need support; email will be the best means of contact. Housemasters have shared lots of ideas and challenges with their Houses in case boys need further stimulus during the break and our librarians have shared lots of suggestions for reading with the boys via email and Firefly.

Although the term has inevitably been overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis, it is important that we celebrate everything that the boys have achieved, both on- and off-line. I hope therefore that you will enjoy the ‘Term in Pictures’ which captures many of the highlights of the past few months.

Finally, I would like to express the Foundation’s appreciation for all those people who are integral in helping our countries get through this crisis. Many parents, relatives, partners and OAs are putting their own health at risk to help us. We cannot thank them enough.

Wishing everyone in the Abingdon community all the very best,

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 13 February 2020

13 February 2020

Dear Parents

The first half of term has been packed with highlights, including two tremendous joint drama productions with St Helen’s, some outstanding sporting performances and evidence of great commitment and focus in academic work. Do have a look at the news pages on our website to get an insight into what the school community has been up to.

Giving Day

After half term we are looking forward to our first ever 24-hour Giving Day on 18-19 March. This is a digital fundraising and awareness campaign in support of the Abingdon Bursaries Fund. We are one of the first UK schools to do this and I hope as many of our community as possible will participate. Abingdon has a long tradition of offering free and assisted places and we want to continue to broaden access to the School to as many pupils as possible.

We have set ourselves an ambitious target of raising £3m for bursaries by 2025 and our Giving Day is the first initiative in our campaign. Ahead of Giving Day, I would encourage you to start following the Abingdon Twitter accounts (@abingdonschool and @abingdon_head) and keep an eye out for more information closer to the day. Further information as posted on Weekly Mailing is here.

Coronavirus update

We continue to monitor the situation very closely and are following the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Public Health England (PHE), the Department of Health & Social Care and the school doctor.

We have advised our boarding community not to return to China and other affected areas during half term. We have also suspended all visits to the school for prospective parents travelling from these areas, unless they are outside the 14-day quarantine period. The situation is dynamic and we urge parents to follow the travel advice given by the FCO and the Department of Health & Social Care.

We ask any parents who have travelled to the UK from China or other affected areas not to have direct contact with their sons until they have been in the UK for at least 14 days and remain free of any symptoms of the coronavirus. Boys who are in direct contact with people from affected areas are asked to take a period of quarantine in which the boy would not be allowed back to school. The quarantine would be the responsibility of the family to organise and not something the School could undertake. Materials will be available via Firefly so that pupils will be able to continue with their learning.

We would remind parents and guardians that boys should not return to school at the end of half term (or at the end of any holiday period throughout the year) if they are feeling unwell. We would advise general hygiene precautions at all times, such as using tissues and washing hands regularly.

Looking ahead to the Easter holidays, we advise families planning to travel that restrictions are very likely to still be in place and periods of quarantine may be needed. We cannot say for certain at this stage, but parents of boarders who live in affected areas should assume that restrictions may prevent their sons travelling home over the Easter holidays, and begin to make contingency plans with guardians accordingly.

I appreciate the added complications that may be caused to Abingdon families by these measures and am grateful for your ongoing support. The wellbeing of the whole school community is our priority and we will ensure that all our pupils are appropriately supported and cared for.

We will continue to monitor the situation and are taking a proactive approach to what is a complex and ever-changing picture. We will continue to update the Abingdon community over the coming weeks.

Faringdon Lodge

Despite Storm Ciara, work on the new building on Faringdon Road remains on track for completion by the end of the academic year. We look forward to showing parents in September our new facilities for Economics and Business, and Computer Science, as well as new houserooms for O’Doherty’s and Donnelly’s. The new building will also house a new reception area and the Second Hand Uniform Shop.

Abingdon Prep School

We were delighted that we recently received planning permission for development of our teaching facilities at Abingdon Prep School. This will provide a specialist music school, a second science lab, improved facilities for CDT and much more. Further information about the new development is available here.

I’d like to congratulate the boys on all their hard work so far this term. The mornings and evenings are (finally) beginning to look lighter and there is lots to look forward to in the second half of term.

I hope all the boys who are out on trips over half term enjoy their time away and I will look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday 24 February.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 12 December 2019

12 December 2019

Dear Parents

As I write, the term is coming to an end in a crescendo of amazing achievements; the Christmas Concerts, the Middle School play Every Brilliant Thing, a hugely successful season for the Rugby Club, second place for our intermediate team at the English Schools’ Cross-Country competition, the Abingdon Film Academy presentation; all this alongside the stories of academic endeavour and focus that are captured by the boys’ end-of-term reports.

Election fever has gripped us too with representatives of the various parties crossing swords at hustings and assemblies over recent weeks. The school poll took place earlier this week and we look forward to the announcement of the results at final assembly on Friday morning, just as we begin to process the results of the General Election.

Every Brilliant Thing, the Middle School play which I referred to earlier, was an interesting choice for us as it was written by Duncan Macmillan in collaboration with an Old Abingdonian (OA), Jonny Donahoe. We were delighted to welcome Jonny back to the School to lead a workshop with the cast. Our dramatic connection with former students does not end there as two more drama productions this year are also by OAs. Next term our senior production is King Charles III by Mike Bartlett while the Lower School are putting on a new adaptation of Macbeth by Ed Rowett.

The close link between our OAs and the School is certainly worth celebrating. We know that some form of alumni association has been in existence since 1743, when ‘The Gentlemen Educated in Abingdon School’ met that year on 6 August. We are now in contact with more than 6,500 Old Abingdonians.

I met some of them at the Sixth Form Careers Evening, which was held at the School in November. There were over 50 OAs, from a wide range of professions, who had happily volunteered to share their wealth of career advice with the 150 pupils who made the most of this valuable opportunity. I am extremely grateful to all the OAs who supported not only this event but also the Medics and Oxbridge advice evenings held earlier in the term.

I was able to meet a lot more OAs at the Club’s very popular London Drinks Reception. This excellent occasion, with 200 OAs and members of staff in attendance, was held at the Cavalry and Guards Club on Piccadilly. It was great to see so many year groups represented, enjoying one another’s company.

The Club regularly hosts networking events for OAs and current parents, such as a recent event at the National Liberal Club in London which included representatives from the law, investment, financial, environmental, technology and public sectors. OAs generously provide opportunities for our students to undertake work experience at their companies and give small grants to support students who are wanting to travel overseas.

The OA Club will look forward to welcoming all our students in time and I hope they will enjoy being part of the OA community and the camaraderie and fellowship that the Club brings – as well as the opportunity to reminisce about their schooldays.

It’s always a pleasure to welcome OAs back to the School and to show them round. Soon they will be able to visit Faringdon Lodge which remains on track for completion at the end of this academic year. Economics and Business, as well as Computer Science, will be moving into the new building over the summer break, and they will be joined by O’Doherty’s and Donnelly’s who will move out of their current houserooms. O’Doherty’s will be converted to provide further space for the boys to access our catering services at break and lunch time, while Franklin’s will expand into the space liberated by Donnelly’s. I will look forward to showing parents round the new space in Michaelmas term 2020.

As the term comes to an end, I’d like to thank all the boys for their commitment and enthusiasm. I am also grateful to parents for the support that they have shown our students and the School all through this term; I hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have. Do have a look at the news pages on our recently revamped website to see more about recent events.

I hope all Abingdon families enjoy a restful Christmas and I wish everyone all the very best for 2020 – and the new decade!

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 10 October 2019

10 October 2019

I have just emerged from the annual House Singing Competition which is always one of the highlights of the calendar. It was great to see all the boys involved and it’s always really impressive to see the respective conductors rising to the significant challenge of getting a hundred boys or so to sing in time and tune! There was a bit of a retro feel to this year’s event with three Houses opting for songs by Queen, including Bohemian Rhapsody; an ambitious choice!

I’m grateful for the support of parents in ensuring that students made it into school for our Open Day on 28 September. It was a very busy morning and the boys did a fantastic job guiding our visitors around and explaining what they were doing in the different academic departments or Other Half activities. They really were a credit to the School.

I am also really grateful for the terrific support that many parents gave to the campaign being coordinated by the Independent Schools Council and the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference in response to the Labour Party conference motion calling for the abolition of independent schools. So many of you wrote in support and I am delighted that we have collectively been able to make the case against this proposal. I believe that we all want to see the quality of education in the country improved for all our children but I cannot accept that the way to do this is to destroy some of our most successful institutions. Abolition would be damaging to the pupils affected and would place an even greater burden on the state system, and makes no financial sense.

At Abingdon, we believe that the way to improve education for all is through effective and meaningful partnerships between state and independent schools and this is expressed through our burgeoning partnership programme, led by Mr Southwell-Sander. These partnerships yield significant benefits for the pupils and staff from all the schools involved. Our partnership programme is ambitious and wide-ranging, extending from academic mentoring to film-making, from peer mentoring to the Abingdon Science Partnership, from primary school workshops to sports coaching.

We have included further information about the partnerships programme in an Impact Report which will be shared with you shortly. The report celebrates the contribution that pupils, staff, parents and OAs have made both to the School and to the wider community. I hope you will enjoy reading more in the report when you receive it.

With regard to the wider community, the Charity Committee recently selected its charities for the coming academic year. These are The Abingdon Bridge, Close the Gap, Unicef, Save the Children and Mind. The first event in support of these charities is tomorrow’s Home Clothes Day and boys are invited to give £3. I hope the boys will enjoy the chance to wear their own clothes to school, or rather the opportunity to wear their alternative uniform of a hoody, jeans and trainers…

Over half-term, work will continue on our project at the Faringdon Road end of the campus. It’s been exciting to see the steel frame taking shape this week and I’m pleased to report that we are still on schedule to open the building in September 2020.

I hope that you have had the chance to catch up with the latest news from the School on the website or by following the links from the weekly mailing. It’s been a very productive few weeks and I hope the boys enjoy some rest and recuperation over the half-term break.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor
Headmaster

Letter from the Headmaster, 5 September 2019

5 September 2019

Dear Parents

It’s been a great pleasure to welcome the boys back to school this week and to hear about their experiences over the summer. They seem collectively in good heart, refreshed and ready for the new school year. 

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome parents who are new to the School to the Abingdon community. I hope that your sons will be very happy at Abingdon and that you too will feel part of the community. You are very welcome to the many events that take place during the school year – fixtures, concerts, drama productions and so on – and I’d also urge you to take advantage of the great opportunities to meet other parents at events organised by ASPA (our Parents’ Association), Touchliners, the Music Society and the Friends of the Boat Club. I will look forward to getting to know you over the years ahead.

It has been a superb summer for the School with an exciting blend of achievements in the Other Half and in academic life; the hallmark of Abingdon. 

We achieved some of our best-ever results in public examinations. Over 30% of A Level results were at A* and just under 70% at A* or A. Over 90% were A*-B. At GCSE, 58% of results were at 9/8 or A* and 87% at 7-9/A-A*. 44 boys in the year group achieved all their results at 9/8/A* and there were some powerful individual stories of endeavour and commitment which allowed boys to achieve results of which they can be very proud. Our new Lower Sixth have certainly established a strong platform for success at A Level. You can see more detail about academic results on the school website

There were also some wonderful opportunities for the boys in the Other Half over the summer. These included the music tour to Japan and Hong Kong, the CCF Central Camp, the Sixth Form trip to Moldova, sailing at Cowes, shooting at Bisley, the GB rowing trials and the rugby tour to Chile and Argentina. A group of students from Abingdon and St Helen’s also took a production to the Edinburgh Fringe. I’ve received excellent reports of the boys’ conduct on all these trips; they showed themselves to be superb ambassadors for the School. I was also very pleased to see so many pupils taking part in the multi-activity and rowing camps as well as pre-season training for the rugby season.

Work has continued on site on our new building on Faringdon Road. This will be completed by the start of the next academic year in September 2020 and will include facilities for Economics/Business and Computer Science, as well as two day houserooms and a new Reception area and Porters’ Lodge. The zebra crossing on Faringdon Road to the War Memorial pitches has been completed and this will enhance the boys’ safety as they make their way across the road. They have been reminded to take care and also to exercise caution when they use the traffic lights to cross Stratton Way and go into town.

At our beginning of term assembly, I also reminded the boys of the need to use the litter bins around the site as all our rubbish is taken off site for separation and recycling. We are trying to eliminate the use of single-use plastic water bottles in school whenever possible so please encourage your son to bring in a reusable water bottle. There are plenty of water fountains around the school where they can top them up. 

We have welcomed a number of new teachers to the School this term and I hope that your sons will enjoy working with them. They are:

Mr Stephen Bates – Rugby Coach
Mrs Maris Elmore – Maths
Mrs Clare Hamilton – Biology
Dr Becca Justice – English
Mr Nick Laws – Boathouse Manager/Rowing Coach
Mr Philip Lowther – Physics
Dr Glyn Meredith – Chemistry
Miss Alix Merrifield – History
Mr Harry Moulder – Physics
Mr Steven Richards – PE
Mr Callum Richardson – Economics/Business
Mrs Behnoosh Sabah – Maths
Mr James Taylor – Physics

A reminder that Mr Morgan has taken on the new role of Director of the Other Half and Mr Donnelly has taken over his day house. Mr Evans, who led the Other Half for over twenty years, has stepped back from full-time teaching but retains a role as Director of Activities. 

Finally, I would like to wish you and your families all the very best for the academic year ahead. I will look forward to meeting you over the course of the year. 

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 4 July 2019

4 July 2019

Dear Parents

It has been a busy run-up to the end of the academic year and I have enjoyed catching up with parents at the many events that have taken place recently. Lots of pupils have been out and about too, involved in activities ranging from Henley Royal Regatta to Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, from the cricket festival in Surrey to the music tour to Japan and Hong Kong. I’m looking forward to meeting up with our musicians in Hong Kong this weekend and to spending some time with the parents of some of our Hong Kong-based boarders over the course of next week. 

At the Middle School Prize Giving yesterday, I reflected on the 50th anniversary of the first landing on the moon, which will no doubt be dominating the media as the end of July approaches. I spoke about the spirit of curiosity and adventure which informed the mission, a spirit which brings the best out of all of us. I believe it underpins our lives together at Abingdon and it is hugely exciting to see our students engaging so vigorously with the challenges that the curriculum and the Other Half have to offer. 

There has been much to savour this year and I’ve enjoyed seeing the progress that has been made; I hope the boys will take collective pride in all that they have done. Many will be involved in school activities over the summer, including the Sixth Form visit to Moldova to undertake teaching and leadership activities with our partners there and the rugby tour to Chile and Argentina. I am sure the boys will make lifelong memories and I look forward to hearing their stories on their return. 

A group of upper sixth students from Abingdon and SHSK are also taking a new play called Contact Light to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 19 to 24 August. If you’re heading that way, do go and support them. Tickets are available here.

While we have held a number of events to mark the departure of our upper sixth leavers over the past weeks, culminating in the Griffen Ball last Saturday, we have also been preparing to welcome the next generation to Abingdon with induction days for new first and third years and boys joining the Sixth Form. Our existing boys had an important role to play hosting these new pupils and I was impressed by the kind and friendly welcome that they offered. 

There will be lots of work underway on site over the summer, including the replacement of boilers in Big School which will lead to improved regulation of heat and a higher level of energy efficiency. Work will of course also be continuing on our new building on Faringdon Road, which is scheduled to be completed by September 2020 and which will offer new facilities for two day houserooms, Computer Science and Economics/Business, as well as a Reception area and a new home for the Second Hand Uniform Shop. Happily the work will have limited impact on the rest of the site as the building site is accessed directly from Faringdon Road. We hope too that the final work to complete the zebra crossing across Faringdon Road might take place over the summer and improvements will also be undertaken at the 4G pitch at Tilsley Park. We will soon be hosting our first international event at Tilsley Park when the GB American Football team take on Russia on 19 October!

I am sure that the boys are looking forward to a good break over the summer holiday. I hope that they will seize the opportunity to spend some time reading for pleasure. There are so many benefits to reading. As well as developing vocabulary and understanding, it allows us to escape ourselves, to see the world through different eyes and to develop empathy and broader perspectives. I hope therefore that parents can encourage their sons to make reading part of their holiday plans.

Parents may like to pick up a book I’ve been reading recently called Inventing Ourselves by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, currently Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. It gives a fascinating insight into how the brain develops through adolescence and endeavours to explain some typical behaviours in the teenage years. One of the aspects of my job that I love the most is the opportunity to see how young people change and mature during their school careers and this book explains why that process is so dynamic – and why that change should be celebrated. 

Finally, I would like to thank all my colleagues for their commitment and endeavour over the past academic year. I would also like to thank all our parents for their continued support, which is much appreciated. 

I look forward to welcoming everyone back to school in September and wish you a restful and happy summer. 

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor
Headmaster

Letter from the Headmaster, 23 May 2019

23 May 2019

Dear Parents

The School inevitably feels very different now that the Fifth Year and Upper Sixth have departed on study leave. I wish them all the very best with their exams and would remind them that teachers remain on hand if they would like any guidance or support with their revision.

This week has been designated Eco Week and we have focused on questions of sustainability and climate change. This included an excellent forum on Tuesday about climate change which many boys attended, asking some thoughtful questions. As I left the forum, I went to watch the cricket on Upper Field and I couldn’t help noticing a large number of plastic bottles scattered around. As the weather gets warmer and pupils get thirstier, I would encourage every pupil to bring in a reusable bottle so that we can avoid having single-use plastic in school. There are plenty of water fountains around the School where boys can top up their bottles and if everyone could have their own bottle, it would really cut down on our waste.

There’s lots to look forward to in the second half of term as we mark the end of the academic year with concerts, the Lower School ‘Be the Best’ evening, Prize Givings, cricket festivals, Henley and so on. I would particularly like to draw your attention to a new event, a Celebration of the Arts which will take place on Wednesday 19 June from 5 to 8pm. This will be a multi-faceted event, including an exhibition of the work completed for GCSE and A Level Art, poetry readings and drama. There will also be an open-air concert – weather permitting – outside Beech Court, featuring rock and pop music as well as jazz. It will be a great opportunity to hear some of the School’s bands and singer-songwriters. The Arts play such a crucial role in the life of the School, providing a vital outlet for creativity, imagination and emotion, as the recent Lower School production Futures showed, and I am sure the event on 19 June will be a great way to celebrate them.

Many boys also face internal exams during the second half of term. Although these exams are important, we need to keep them in perspective and recognise that they are primarily an opportunity to develop study skills and exam technique, as well as to refresh material covered earlier in the year. There is lots of revision advice available on Firefly and the key message is that simply reading through notes is very rarely effective. Revision needs to be active and I’d urge the boys to use their revision time to make flashcards with which to test themselves, to construct mind-maps, to complete practice questions, and use a program like Quizlet. Each pupil needs to discover what works best for him but the emphasis must be on the active. You might like to read the blog that Sarah Beynon from our Learning Support department recently wrote about revision.

While I hope pupils will spend a suitable amount of time studying over half term, it’s also important that they strike a balance with their other interests and activities, and in particular that they find time for fresh air and exercise. Recent research indicated the beneficial impact that taking part in sport has on academic performance, so I hope pupils are able to give themselves the time to get outside over the half term break.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your support over this first part of term. I will look forward to catching up with many of you at the events of the second part of term.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor
Headmaster

Letter from the Headmaster, 28 March 2019

28 March 2019

Dear Parents

As I write, the grounds are bathed in spring sunshine as the annual Road Relay comes to a close. This is always one of the highlights of the Abingdon calendar and this year was no exception as we saw a record number of teams participating on the 50th anniversary of the race. The emphasis is very much upon sport for all and it’s heartening to see students cheering one another on as they make their way around the course.

There has been so much to celebrate this term and I would like to congratulate students on their collective commitment to their studies and to the Other Half. It’s a great privilege of my role to be able to drop in and sample what our boys are up to day-by-day and I feel fortunate to be able to revel in the sheer range and diversity of life at Abingdon; be it debating or football, hockey or Young Enterprise, our students show exemplary engagement in everything that the School has to offer.

I have particularly enjoyed seeing boys committing themselves to the activities that we undertake in partnership with local primary and secondary schools. A notable example was the recent Family Science Day that took place in the Yang Science Centre as part of the ATOM Science Festival. A large number of students were involved, conducting experiments and welcoming guests. The Abingdon Science Partnership is just one part (a significant and successful one) of our growing partnership programme which this week included a Humanities day for pupils from six local primary schools. The partnership programme is overseen by Mr Southwell-Sander.

This is the season when we launch the Extended Project Qualification to lower sixth formers. This gives students the opportunity to write an extended piece of work or to produce an artefact related to their A Level studies. The focus is as much on the process as the final product and students are allocated to supervisors who guide them through to completion. I’m excited to be overseeing work in Physics and Psychology this year, which will take me some way away from my specialist subject area, but I’m looking forward to learning much more about black holes and schizophrenia, respectively.

Issues relating to climate change and sustainability have been in the news recently and I continue to work with our eco-committee to address these topics here at Abingdon. Next term we will experiment with a ‘meat-free Monday’ to highlight the impact of western high-protein diets and we are also keen to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that we use in school. We would encourage all students to bring in their own water bottle which can be topped up at one of the many water fountains around the school site. The boys have a long and busy day at school and it is important that they remain hydrated. Using their own water bottles would be an easy way to reduce the amount of waste that we generate.

There are many school trips taking place over the Easter holidays and I wish students and staff all the best with them. Of course the focus for many will be on revision. The key to success is to draw up an achievable revision timetable which allows time for relaxation and exercise alongside study – and then to stick to it. There is plenty of advice available on Firefly, including sample revision timetables. I’d also direct students and parents to a blog about revision recently written by Mrs Beynon from our Learning Support department which is available here.

It will be busy on the school campus over Easter as we get underway with the construction of a new building next to the Yang Science Centre. This building will house the Economics and Business department, as well as Computer Science, and will also provide two day houserooms. It will include a new reception area and the Second Hand Uniform Shop, providing improved access to these facilities both during the school day and out of hours. The building is scheduled for completion by September 2020 and I will ensure parents get regular updates.

You can also find updates on the new facilities and other news items on the school website. Rather than providing a long list of links to news at the end of my letters, we’ve decided to put links to news items in the weekly mailing, together with links to blogs and articles that my colleagues or I have written. You can also follow us on social media if you want more!

I’d like to finish by thanking our parents for the excellent support that you give the School in many different ways. It’s always good to catch up with you on the touchline or at concerts, productions and parents’ evenings and I’m grateful for the collective role that parents play in our community.

I wish you all the very best for Easter and I will look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Wednesday 24 April.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor
Headmaster

Letter from the Headmaster, 13 December 2018

13 December 2018

Dear Parents

This has certainly been a busy half term for the School and I am very grateful for the fantastic support that you have given us over the past few weeks.

As ever, it’s been a great privilege to witness boys hard at work in lessons and to see their involvement in the many activities and trips that you can read about by following the links below. It seems unfair to mention only one particular item but I would like to emphasise the success of our first ever Abingdon Model United Nations conference, which took place in early December.

This event brought about 150 pupils from nine different schools to Abingdon in order to follow and enact the procedures of the United Nations, and in doing so discussing and debating the key global issues of the day. Different factors combined to make this such a satisfying event. Its planning and organisation were largely driven by Abingdon and St Helen’s students, with the support of members of staff, and pupils chaired the various committees through the day. The level of debate was highly impressive as delegates wrestled with complex issues such as disarmament and the environment and I would like to pay particular tribute to some of our international boarders who spoke with great erudition and fluency; no mean feat in their second language. It was immensely uplifting, at a time of political turmoil and uncertainty, to see young people come together to spend a day engaging with the challenging and controversial issues which face us all.

Congratulations are due to upper sixth former, Alasdair Czaplewski, a founder member of the Model United Nations at Abingdon when he was in the 2nd Year, whose brainchild ‘AbingMUN’ was and who acted as Secretary General for the whole event with great sophistication and clarity.

There were many different ethical issues up for discussion at the Model United Nations conference and everyday school life is full of opportunities to explore our values and discover what is right and wrong. Our programme of assemblies, PSHCE lessons, chapel services and sixth form Mindset lectures and lessons are designed to explore different values and virtues and to emphasise the importance of respect, kindness and courtesy.

By and large, our pupils nurture and embody these values and I am proud of the way they conduct themselves around school and especially when we have visitors, for instance when our Community Service team recently welcomed some older local residents to their Christmas party. From time to time though, young people will, of course, get it wrong. In these cases, it is important that we act with compassion as well as clarity. We need to give pupils the chance to make mistakes – as we all do – as well as the chance to put things right. It is not only events like the Model United Nations or Community Service Christmas Party that gives me faith in the kindness and generosity of spirit of Abingdonians but also the response I see from pupils who might have made a mistake but want to get it right next time.

As part of the reshuffle of departments that was made possible by the completion of Beech Court, my study has moved into Big School and is right next to the chapel. This has meant that I have become increasingly imbued with Christmas spirit as I have heard Advent hymns and choirs rehearsing for our end-of-term services, which promise to be a wonderful way in which to round off the term, along with our traditional dinner for boarders on Thursday night. I also got to see some quite extraordinary Christmas jumpers on Tuesday as part of our fundraising efforts for The Magic Breakfast, a charity that delivers nutritional breakfasts to schools across England and Scotland, ensuring that ‘no child is too hungry to learn’. I’m sure these pullovers will be making an appearance in your homes over the festive season…

Finally, I wish all our families a happy and peaceful Christmas and all the best for 2019. I look forward to welcoming the pupils back to school on Tuesday 8 January.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

News

Outstanding Economics success
Four Arkwright Scholarships won
Senior Team Maths Challenge
Sixth formers lunch with the lords
Physics in Action
Academic scholars visit Oxford
MFL debate at Cheltenham College
ASP shortlisted for Tes Independent School Awards 2019
Lower School: Scrapheap Challenge, Casper Craven, Thinking Supper with St Helen’s, Backpack Challenge, Lunchtime Concert, Inter-tutor group competitions
Beech Court opened by Will Gompertz
Community Christmas Tea Party
Primary Schools’ Business Challenge

CCF: exercise griffens attack, adventure training
MUN at Malvern St James, AbingMUN
Young Enterprise trade success
Last Year’s 2M meet the Cure Parkinson’s Trust
Sixth form mentors – ASiP

Abingdon and the Great War
To our Brothers – a memorial to the fallen

Trips

Silver DofE canoe practice expedition
Spotlight on Languages – University of Bath
Spanish exchange
Classics trip to Italy
China – Beijing and Xian
Art trip to Compton Verney
Bellringing Club outing
Geology Day at the Natural History Museum

Sport

The Dark Blues train at Abingdon
Boat Club: training in Banyoles, 4’s Head & GB Trials
Cross-country: ESCC Championships Round 1Abingdon Vale Biathlon, St Albans, Oxford City Schools Championships, ESAA Cup
Rugby: Langley School Festival, U14 tour to Worcestershire, Eton College, U18 NatWest Cup Plate Competition, RGS Guildford, RGS High Wycombe, Senior Rugby Club Dinner
Fencing: International success, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Epee
Rifle Club: Marlborough, Long Range Championship, Small Bore Rifle Competition
Squash: St Edward’s, Radley & National Schools Competition
Sailing: Match racing championships
Canoe polo
Futsal

Music

Christmas concerts
Chapel Choir sing at the Royal Albert Hall
Festive Music in the Community
Levon Chilingirian masterclass
Joint Choral Society Festival of Remembrance
Senior Solo Instrumental Competition
Solo concert platform 2
Harry the Piano workshop

Drama

Lord of the Flies from the Middle School
Aaron Sidwell coaches Loserville cast

Boarding

Christmas decorations
SS Great Britain
Making mince pies
Stonehenge

Abingdon Science Partnership

Primary Science Club
The Science of Viking ships
Plan-et B
Saturday Science Clubs
Exhibiting at the Royal Society's student conference
Badger watching
Greg Foot

Letter from the Headmaster, 8 November 2018

Thursday 8 November 2018

Dear Parents

On Friday 9 November we will be marking Remembrance at Abingdon. We will hold services and assemblies and then gather at 11am in front of Big School, where the Combined Cadet Force will parade and we will share two minutes of silence.

The Combined Cadet Force will also be represented at the service in St Helen’s Church, Abingdon, at 10am on Sunday 11 November, after which they will form part of the parade to the town war memorial for a short service at 11am. There will also be a joint concert of music and readings at St Helen’s and St Katharine’s, starting at 7pm, where the Joint Choral Society will perform Mozart’s extraordinary Requiem. Tickets are free and can be obtained here. There will be a retiring collection in support of the Poppy Appeal.  

This evening, 8 November, at 7pm in the Amey Theatre our senior drama scholars will tell the story of the Great War, as experienced by the Abingdon School community. It is told in a selection of readings drawn from the School's archive, supported by photographs, images and music to evoke the experience of a school community as it attempts to make sense of events unfolding in France and beyond. This is a free event; no booking is necessary and all are welcome. Our History department will also be giving a lecture at the end of the school day, today, on the local history of the Great War.

Remembrance is always a powerful and poignant occasion and of course this year we mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice and the end of the Great War.  A memorial in the School Chapel lists the names of Abingdon pupils and staff who died in the First and Second World Wars and it is always enormously moving to read the names and reflect on their sacrifice. It is extraordinary to reflect on the sheer number of names on the memorial; the School was far smaller than it is today. Parents may be interested to read more about Abingdon during the First World War on our archive pages on the website. This includes a remarkable photo of 21 members of the Boat Club, taken in March 1914. By the end of the war, nine of those had been killed.  

An Abingdon parent has made a powerful short film focusing on the four boys who made up the 1st crew in 1914 and their coach; three of the crew and the coach perished in the Great War. It intercuts narrative about the boys and their teacher with footage of our Boat Club today, reminding us of just how young the combatants were who went off to war, and how terrible the effect of their demise must have been on their families and the school community. You can view the film on the school website.

The School’s archivist, Sarah Wearne, has also recently finished work on a book that records the war memorials in schools like Abingdon up and down the country. It is fascinating to see how different schools of differing faiths and traditions have remembered their fallen. Seeing these memorials together reminds us of the need to continue to remember those who came before us and gave so much, and also challenges us to ensure that future generations are raised in the ways of justice and peace. We will share details of the book once it has been published.

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 11 October 2018

11 October 2018

Dear Parents

One of my personal highlights of a busy first half of term was the sponsored walk, which saw the entire school take part in a ten-mile outing along the banks of the Thames. The event raised money for two important charities, Crisis UK, supporting homeless people in the UK, and Mary’s Meals, which gives a meal to over a million chronically hungry children every day. We were blessed with perfect weather and it was great to spend the day with various groups of pupils who were all excellent company. I particularly enjoyed walking part of the course with some of our third year boarders who were experiencing the Thames Valley countryside – and a ten-mile walk – for the very first time. The next charitable initiative will be the home clothes day on Friday 12 October, when boys are invited to make a suggested donation of £2, to raise funds for the support of victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.

The spirit of service is a key part of the Abingdon ethos. A powerful expression of this is our long-standing partnership with Moldova which sees sixth formers visiting this country, the poorest in Europe, to assist in a school and then run a summer camp for Moldovan children. But there is also plenty going on closer to home. The Third Year Service scheme currently involves about 135 pupils, while Community Service is a popular Other Half option which involves pupils visiting local old people’s homes, organising a board game club in a local community centre and volunteering at Abingdon Community Hospital. Our end-of-term parties for local senior residents are always particularly popular and well-attended events. Other key parts of the Other Half such as CCF and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award have strong elements of service at their heart and it was good to hear stories of our current Lower Sixth taking part in the National Citizen Service over the summer. It is crucial for the successful education of our pupils that we remain outward-looking and aware of the wider society in which we live, and conscious of the part that we can play to make our society better.

Our pupils also give significant service to the School including at our recent Open Day, for which I am very grateful. We welcomed a record number of visitors and the pupils did a fantastic job of showing them round. Many of our guests commented on how impressed they had been by the boys.

Beech Court was very well received by our open day visitors. The new library has been a hive of activity since September, with younger pupil librarians learning the ropes from their older counterparts, while groups of journalists beaver away on the next round of publications like The Abingdonian, The Martlet and Words and That.

As ever at Abingdon, there is no shortage of highlights to reflect upon, even from a comparatively short half of term. We were treated to some magnificent piano playing at the inaugural outing for the new Steinway piano in the Amey Theatre, where I also recently enjoyed some outstanding academic presentations from middle school pupils. The topics were certainly diverse, ranging from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to dissociative disorders, from the Black Death to the rise of populism. A presentation on the history of the atom confirmed to me that my understanding is probably situated in about 1850… I certainly have work to do to catch up with quantum mechanics.

Our rugby players have dealt admirably with the frustrations of overly dry and tough pitches, and have put in some committed and courageous performances. I hope you’ll enjoy reading more about the highlights of the term by following the links below.

The formal opening of Beech Court will take place on 9 November although of course pupils and staff have been enjoying use of the building since the start of term. We have also submitted planning permission for a new building that will be known as Faringdon Lodge and will occupy the site next to the Yang Science Centre, where the (temporary) Porters’ Lodge is currently situated. This building will include two larger houserooms as well as a home for Economics and Business and the Computer Science department. It will provide improved Reception facilities, as well as a new home for the Second Hand Uniform Shop. If permission is given, we hope to begin development during the later stages of this academic year, with a view to opening the building in September 2020. I hope to be able to share plans for this building with parents at forthcoming parents’ evenings and school events.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to share some exciting news from our catering team. A new executive head chef, Steve Unwin, has just joined the School and he will be managing all food production within Abingdon School and Abingdon Prep. He brings a wealth of experience and culinary knowledge. He joins us from Chateau Impney, a luxury hotel, wedding venue and exhibition centre in Worcestershire, where he spent five years as Executive Head Chef. His extensive CV also includes time as Executive Chef at Malvern College. His focus will be to review our current offer, implement menus that contain good, hearty and nutritious meals and build a strong culinary team in both schools. We are also joined by Ewa Jankwoska who will be focusing on patisserie, desserts, baking and so on. Ewa’s previous employment includes the Gourmet Handcrafted Cake Company, Hilton Hotels and the Ox and Finch in Glasgow, where she was senior pastry chef. We can look forward to some wonderful puddings!

There is a wide variety of trips and visits taking place over the half-term break and I wish all the best to pupils and staff taking part in them. Indeed, I wish everyone in the Abingdon community an enjoyable break and look forward to welcoming everyone back, refreshed and re-energised, for the second half of term on Monday 29 October.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

News

First years’ first impressions
Staff and students enjoy whole school sponsored walk
Pupils celebrate National Poetry Day
Eleven films debut at AFU annual screening
CCF walk, run, cycle, swim and row 1253km
Lower School – Be the Best You Can Be 2018/19 Launch, Team Building & Rugby, Lower School Assistants on duty
Dr Ben Still talks particle physics to the Sixth Form
Fourth year aspiring engineers visit Crofton Beam Engine
Pre Senior Baccalaureate Philosophy Conference
Moldova project update
National Schools Croquet Championship

Boarders

Getting to know Oxford
Blackwell adventure
Abingdon Orientation
Murder Mystery
Football v Warwick

Abingdon Science Partnership

Ogden Trust's Abingdon Primary Science Partnership
Weatherall Institute for Molecular Medicine Podcast
OA Carl Olaveson inspires Science Ambassadors
Royal Society Partnership Grant
Primary School Inspiration Day

Music

Steinway Piano Inaugural Concert

Sport

Rugby – Colston and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Cranleigh; Craighouse on tour from Chile; Caldicott Prep, Abingdon PrepBerkhamsted; Oratory Prep, Sherborne
Cross-country – Abingdon Relays, Longworth 10km
Badminton – Harrow & Oratory, Cheltenham College
Sailing Training at Farmoor

Letter from the Headmaster, 6 September 2018

6 September 2018

Dear Parents

I hope all our families had an enjoyable and restful summer. It has been great to welcome pupils back to school this week and I’ve enjoyed hearing their stories of the holidays. Many boys have been involved in school trips and I have heard nothing but positive reports about their conduct and attitude. I’ve been delighted to see so many pupils involved in pre-season training too and I am grateful to parents who have made travel arrangements to ensure that they could take part.

I would like to extend a particular welcome to parents who are new to the School. I hope you will soon feel part of the Abingdon community and that you will be able to take advantage of the opportunities to support your son, be it at concerts, drama productions or sports fixtures. I would also recommend strongly the activities of our Parents’ Association, as well as the Music Society, Touchliners, the Friends of the Boat Club, and the other organisations which exist to strengthen the bonds of community here at Abingdon.

We have welcomed a number of new teachers to the School and I wish them every happiness and success in their new posts. I am sure you will enjoy meeting them during the course of the year.

It has been a particularly busy summer on the school site and we have completed some significant projects. We were delighted to be able to show first year boys and their parents round Beech Court on their induction day, and we are looking forward to showing all of you this wonderful building soon. It’s been great to see the boys settling into the new accommodation this week, and this building, which houses the Art department, the Library and the Sixth Form, is proving to be a fantastic addition to our site. There are some lovely photos of the boys enjoying the new facilities on the website.

We are equally excited about the significant refurbishment that has taken place in Big School and Mercers’ Court, with over 40 classrooms being upgraded into light, airy spaces with improved acoustics. I believe this will have a palpable effect on the quality of learning and I hope the pupils enjoy the feel of these spaces. A number of departments have moved their location around the School and my office has moved too, and can now be found next to the Chapel on the first floor of Big School. Work is ongoing round the Amey Theatre as Music and Drama expand into the space left vacant since Art moved into Beech Court.

The latter stages of the summer break also saw results days for GCSE and A Level candidates. I would like to extend my congratulations to our lower sixth students on their fine achievements at GCSE. Abingdon pupils were taking on a number of new specifications for the first time, which included a number of subjects based on the new 9-1 grading scheme. They responded to these challenges impressively, and it was encouraging to see that nearly 40% of our results in numerical subjects came in at 9, effectively an A**. Our leavers celebrated some outstanding outcomes at A Level, with just under two-thirds of all results coming in at either A* or A and well over a quarter of all results A*. This has enabled the leavers to move on to a very exciting range of options, including 21 who have places at Oxford or Cambridge. Full details of GCSE and A Level results are available at www.abingdon.org.uk/academic_results and university destinations at www.abingdon.org.uk/university_destinations.

When I addressed pupils at the very start of term, I spoke to them about the importance of establishing a strong routine for themselves, one that allows a healthy balance between their studies, the Other Half and family and social life. I know only too well the challenge of getting going again after the summer break but I hope that the pupils will find plenty of support and advice available to them in school as they strive for that balance. Their tutors have a key role to play in this process and I would also remind parents that tutors are available as the first point of contact if there is anything that you would like to talk over with the School. Our recommended method of communication is email but please do be aware that teachers will often be teaching during the day and therefore will not be able to reply immediately. Our staff work very hard but also need to achieve a healthy balance between work and home life, so emails sent in the evening are unlikely to receive a response till the next day. You can be confident though that we will take any concerns seriously and act swiftly to resolve them.

There is much to look forward to in the year ahead and I am confident that your sons will quickly settle into the rhythms and routines of the academic year. I look forward to catching up with you over the coming months and I wish you all the best for 2018-19.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor
Headmaster

News from the summer:

Trips

Madagascar Biology Field Trip
Moldova – volunteering
Sailing in Greece
Second years try zorbing
Costa Rica – trekking and conservation

Sport

Football – Gothia Cup
Sailing – pre-season training
National swimming success
 

Letter from the Headmaster, 4 July 2018

4 July 2018

Dear Parents

The last few weeks have seen the School come together for a range of enjoyable events with which to end the academic year. The Prize-giving and Griffen Ball marked the final farewell to our Leavers who we look forward to welcoming back as OAs in the future. There have been many trips and visits taking place recently too and a number of excellent music events for us to attend. It has also been a good term for sport and we all look forward to Henley Regatta taking place this week, and wish our rowers all the very best.

The final completion of Beech Court is now imminent, and we will welcome all parents to view the new building when we return in September. The building will be officially opened on Friday 9 November, and we are delighted to announce that the guest of honour that day will be Will Gompertz, the BBC Arts editor.  Over the holidays there will be substantial refurbishment of parts of the school vacated with the move to the new building, so facilities will be refreshed and renewed for the new school year. My thanks to the Estates Team who will be working very hard throughout the summer on this project.

We say farewell at the end of term to a number of teachers who are moving on. Mrs Downer, Miss McCutcheon and Mrs Lord are moving to new schools; Mr Mason is returning to Cokethorpe School as Head of eLearning; Mr Cotton is moving to Portsmouth Grammar School to be Assistant Director of Music; and Mr Hallinan will be Head of History at Winchester. Mrs King, Mrs Mansfield, Mrs Wigmore and Dr May are retiring after many years’ service to the school. Mr Moody is leaving us to become a team vicar in Somerset. I am very grateful for the excellent service that these colleagues have given to Abingdon.

There has been a great deal of collective endeavour over the past term and I am sure pupils will be ready for rest and relaxation over the summer. I am all in favour of this, and I hope pupils will take the opportunity to read, exercise, and generally refresh themselves in every way during the holiday. Many boys have been on study leave for some time of course, and I wish them all the best for GCSE and A level results later in August.

It is a great privilege to lead this school and I am looking forward to another exciting year in 2018-19. I wish all Abingdon families a wonderful summer.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

News since Half Term

Trips

Music

Sport

Letter from the Headmaster, 24 May 2018

24 May 2018

Dear Parents

This is a rather unusual time of year for the School as our normal rhythms are disrupted by the departure of year groups on study leave and public examinations.

Last Friday the Upper Sixth had their last day of formal teaching when they were welcomed into the Old Abingdonian Club and enjoyed their final Chapel service together. The leavers had selected their three all-time favourite hymns and almost lifted the roof off with the volume of their singing. Seeing them gathered in the Chapel gave me a great opportunity to reflect on the significant contribution that these pupils have made to so many different areas of school life. It is the real strength of Abingdon that pupils can achieve a balance between high levels of academic achievement and meaningful engagement in the Other Half in an atmosphere of mutual respect and support. I wish our leavers all the very best for the A Level exams and am delighted that many of them will continue their involvement in wider school life over the coming weeks, be it on the water, on the cricket pitch or through music, with our summer concert to look forward to on Thursday 28 June.

I am also experiencing a public examination season from the perspective of a parent for the first time as my daughter is tackling her GCSEs this summer. I hope this has given me an even better perspective of what the pupils – and also the parents – are going through! I hope too that the pupils continue to be able to achieve a healthy balance between revision and other activities and that they enjoy their Work Experience when they come to it once their exams are over.

I am pleased to be able to report that we have now completed our staffing for September and I am delighted that we have a strong team in place for the coming academic year. There are too many changes to list here but many parents will be aware that we have appointed Mr Southwell-Sander to the position of Partnerships Director. This reflects our growing commitment to a programme of partnerships with maintained primary and secondary schools and the wider community which is of great mutual benefit to both pupils and members of staff. We have also recruited a very strong team of Assistants to support Mrs Reading in her role as Director of Teaching and Learning. This team will help us keep focused on pedagogy and ensure that we are doing all that we can to improve pupil learning.

We also want to ensure that we provide an optimal environment in which pupils can flourish. We are moving towards completion of the Beech Court project and indeed we hope to start showing pupils round the new building towards the end of term. We are also scheduling opportunities for parents to visit in the first half of the Michaelmas term. The new building will allow a significant reshuffle of departments around the School. Work on this will start over half term.

I hope you will enjoy the many highlights of this half term – please follow the links below to find out more.

I look forward to seeing you during the many events that will take place towards the end of term but for now I wish you a very happy half term.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

News

Leavers’ day
CCF Biennial Inspection
Race For The Line Regional Final
Chess Megafinal
Moldova Project fundraising
YE teams win awards at County Final
Lower School Assistants at work
Boarders: Cinema trip
Exciting new workshops for ASP

Trips

Lower sixth biology field trip to Wales
DofE: Gold practice expedition in Snowdonia, Bronze practice expedition on Boars Hill

Music

Solo Concert platform No 5

Sport

U15A County Cricket Champions
Oxfordshire Schools’ Golf Championships
Independent Schools Football Association representation
Croquet: Portsmouth Grammar, Winchester and Radley
Athletics: Achilles Relays, Marlborough, Radley Relays, Multi Event
Cricket: Pre-season in Barbados, Reading Blue Coat & Stowe, Warwick, Cheltenham College
Rowing: Boat Club BASHER, Wallingford Regatta
Tennis update

Letter from the Headmaster, 26 April 2018

26 April 2018

Dear Parents

It was good to welcome pupils back to school earlier this week and I hope that they and you were able to have a good break over Easter.

I am conscious that for many families the holidays involved revision for internal or external exams. I do hope though that your sons were able to achieve a good balance between work and relaxation. This sense of balance between academic commitments and the Other Half is key to life at Abingdon and I encourage pupils to sustain involvement in the Other Half through the exam period whenever possible. With effective planning, boys should be able to find time for leisure and relaxation alongside their study, and I would particularly recommend finding time for fresh air and exercise when revising or recovering from examinations.

The exam period can be a stressful time for pupils and parents alike. The staff are on hand to offer support and guidance and I would urge your son to seek advice if he is having difficulties with revision or exams; likewise, I hope parents will not hesitate to get in touch if you have concerns. Support may well come from your son’s tutor, Housemaster or a particular subject teacher but we also have a team of counsellors on hand who can offer support with a greater sense of detachment from day-to-day school life. The boys can make appointments with the counsellors through the Medical Centre. It is not unusual for pupils to feel anxious during the exam season but I hope they do not feel that they have to deal with this on their own.

I would also want to reassure our pupils that they will have been very well prepared for their examinations. Collectively they can be proud of the way they have got on with their work over the course of the year to make sure they are ready for the challenges to come.

We were delighted as we started the new term to hear that the School had been shortlisted for the Times Educational Supplement Community and Collaboration Award for 2018, reflecting the work of the Abingdon Science Partnership. Many pupils volunteer their time to support the Science Partnership, as do our staff, and I hope they will take pride in this nomination; it’s a great achievement.

There was considerable activity on site over the Easter break as the Beech Court project reaches its conclusion. Once the Sixth Form, library and Art department move into Beech Court, this will trigger a significant reshuffle of other departments as we make the best use of the liberated space to provide better opportunities to pupils. We will ensure that parents have the opportunity to explore our new facilities early in the coming academic year.

It was great to see so many pupils involved with school trips over the holiday too. I’ve been delighted to see emails and comments from members of the public who were staying in the same accommodation as our pupils commending them on their courtesy and conduct.

I am looking forward to the Foundation photograph on Monday (30 April) which will bring together all the pupils and staff from Abingdon and Abingdon Prep School. It really should be quite a sight and a great opportunity to celebrate the fellowship across the Foundation – so let’s hope the weather is kind…

I wish everyone all the best for the term ahead and I look forward to catching up with you at the many events of the coming weeks.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

News from the Easter Holiday

Andy Ibbot inspires second years to “be the best you can be
Boat Club trains in Bordeaux​
CCF Easter Camp
International Biology Olympiad Finalist
ASP shortlisted for prestigious Tes awards 2018
Silver DofE sailing expedition – Plymouth
Fourth Year French exchange to Aix-en-Provence
First Year residential trip to PGL Liddington
Second Year explore Plas Pencelli
Strong windsurfing performance

Letter from the Headmaster, 28 March 2018

28 March 2018

Dear Parents

I am writing this having just watched a number of Abingdon teams give their presentations in the Young Enterprise Area Finals in the Amey Theatre. I was impressed by the quality of the presentations, as boys spoke with considerable confidence and poise in outlining the development of their campaigns. I also enjoyed the fact that teams were able to reflect maturely and frankly on what had not gone so well.

Their admission that they had got things wrong sometimes was refreshing. In a high-achieving school like Abingdon, pupils can often give the impression that success comes effortlessly. I hope though that the School can also be an environment where the boys can be honest about their difficulties and not be afraid to admit when they got it wrong. It’s no secret that the most lasting and profound successes can grow out of our biggest failures. I hope our pupils can learn to fail in a supportive environment like Abingdon where there will be someone around to pick up the pieces and help them get back on track.

The Lent term is a busy time of recruitment for schools. We look forward to welcoming to Abingdon the pupils who have successfully progressed through this term’s 11+ and 16+ processes and who will join us in September.

We have also been busy ensuring that our staffing will be in place for September. I will give you a full rundown of all the moves in a future letter but I thought you might be interested in three posts which will be new to Abingdon next year.

Mr Gooding will move from his current position as Middle Master to the new role of Head of Wellbeing. He will oversee our programme of Personal Development which includes the PSHCE curriculum and the Mindsets programme in the Sixth Form but he will more importantly be a champion for wellbeing – in the broadest sense – for all members of the school community. Although we are conscious of the pressures on young people today, we want pupils to emerge from school with the ability to bounce back from difficulty and with the sense of joy that should be a natural part of growing up. We want to work with parents as we seek to help our pupils and we look forward to collaborating with you in this area.

Another new appointment sees Mr Southwell-Sander standing down as Housemaster to take over the new position of Partnerships Director. Although he will be much missed by pupils and parents in his House, Mr Southwell-Sander will have the task of giving our burgeoning partnerships programme renewed focus and direction. There have been exciting developments in this area in recent years in Abingdon through initiatives such as our partnership with Fitzharrys School and the Abingdon Science Partnership and I have been delighted to see our pupils contributing so much and working so effectively with children from other local schools. This will be an exciting new role for Mr Southwell-Sander and I have no doubt that he will achieve substantial developments.

Finally, we have appointed a team of four Assistant Directors of Teaching and Learning to support Mrs Reading, our Director of Teaching and Learning. Alongside their subject teaching, this team will support our mission to ensure the highest possible standards of teaching and learning at Abingdon, providing support, on-going training and challenge, while also encouraging creativity and innovation. The team will help ensure that we benefit from the latest educational research, while resisting fads and bandwagons, and ultimately help ensure Abingdon is a place where there is a real buzz about learning.

During the course of the term, considerable progress has been made on the Beech Court project and pupils can now get a real sense of the scale and look of the building as the hoarding around the cafe has now come down. We are on track for completion of this building late in the summer term which means that the summer break will be a particularly busy one as we shuffle departments to make the best possible use of the space that will be freed up. We will look forward to showing parents round the new building in September.

At the end of this letter, you will find links to news items which capture the highlights of this relatively short but busy term. The pupils have shown fortitude and resilience in coping with some unusual weather and I would like to congratulate them on their collective enthusiasm and endurance.

I am aware that our Upper Sixth and Fifth Year pupils have public exams on the horizon. I wish them all the best with their revision and urge them to plan the remaining weeks carefully so that they can also make time for rest, fresh air and exercise.

I hope the weather might be a little kinder as the School breaks up for Easter and I wish all Abingdon families a happy and restful holiday.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

News

Institute of Engineering & Technology's Faraday Challenge
Oxford University Telescope Evening
UKMT Team Challenge Regional Final Winners
Model United Nations Lent update, Haileybury Conference
Sixth form physicists Blott Matthews Engineering Challenge
World Poetry Day
Rocket car racers
YE success at Banbury Trade Fair
Chess: National Schools’ Chess Championship Egham, Reading Blue Coat, Regional Final, Wellington College Tournament, Knockout Tournament Finals
AS Physics Olympiad
GCSE Drama
Lower School: Quiz Night, Lunchtime concert, Inter-Tutor Hockey
Sixth form artists explore paint
AFU Tutors win BAFTA
Gardening Club
Re-enacting the Battle of Hastings
ASP: ATOM Science Festival, British Science Week, Primarily Science Club – magnetic slime
Fitzharrys Partnership: Science lessons
Primary School Pottery Throwdown
Community Service: Old Station House, Easter Tea Party
Boarders: cookery – hot dogs, parsnip crisps, Easter nests, football and pizza social, gifts for Older and Bolder

Trips

Third years to Seville
Spanish exchange visit Abingdon
Half term skiing in Saint Gervais
German exchange to Bielefeld
Boarders explore London
Second years at Aquae Sulis
Physicists tour BMW Mini factory
Second years visit the Satellite Applications Catapult
Compton Verney art gallery

Music

Ben Schoeman masterclass
Singers’ Platform
Evensong at Dorchester Abbey
Intermediate Solo Competition
Solo Concert Platform
Choral Concert

Sport

Rugby Sevens: Warwick, Wellington, Caldicott, Charlie Atkinson plays for Wasps, Berkhamsted
Football: Our Lady’s, Dragon/Haileybury, Bedford Modern/Cheltenham College, Abingdon Prep/St John's Leatherhead, OA Football
Hockey: Internationals Coaching, Cheltenham College/New College, Wellington/St Georges 6s/DragonU13 regionalsBradfieldMCS
Rowing: Winter Heads, Junior Inter-Regional National Regatta
Swimming: Abingdon Sprints, Bath and Otter Cup
Squash Nationals Competition
East Midlands Open Racketlon
Merlyn Bowling Machine
Gold at Taekwondo English Open
Public Schools Fencing Championships
English Schools National Cross-country Championships

Letter from the Headmaster, 8 February 2018

8 February 2018

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

It has been a short first half of term but there has certainly been plenty packed into it. I have been very grateful for parents’ support, whether braving the cold supporting rowing, hockey or football or relishing some wonderful drama and music both here and at St Helen and St Katharine’s. The (relatively) dry weather has allowed continued good progress on the Beech Court project and gradually the scaffolding is coming down to allow us the first good view of the building. We remain on track to move into the new facilities in time for the new academic year in September.

This has been a busy few weeks for the Admissions department as we have recently sent out offers to 11+ entrants for September following their exam in January. I would like to express my thanks to all the older pupils who have assisted on the assessment day and with tours for prospective pupils. They play a very significant role in welcoming visitors to the School and in particular in calming the nerves of some apprehensive candidates and I am grateful to them for giving up their time to assist.

Parents are no doubt aware that Tuesday 6 February marked the centenary of women receiving the right to vote in the UK. We have been considering this milestone in tutor groups and across the school and it has been a valuable opportunity for pupils to reflect more widely on the changing role of women in society. This forms an important part of our Personal, Social, Citizenship and Health Education programme, where boys are also challenged to consider changing models of masculinity. I thought the following article contained some interesting reflections on how the rights and roles of women have changed over the past century and you may want to discuss these issues with your son: How far have women’s rights advanced in a century?

We have also recently marked Safer Internet Day, which was an excellent opportunity to remind pupils throughout the School of the do’s and don’ts of the online world. More information is available here and I hope again this might be a trigger for conversations at home.

There are further links below which describe many more of the highlights of the term, including an update on university offers for our upper sixth boys who will be taking their mocks after half term.

I wish them all the best with their revision and I hope that they will also find some time for rest and relaxation over the coming week. I also wish all Abingdon families a restful few days before term recommences on 19 February.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor
Headmaster

News

University places update
Sixth former wins GCHQ prize
Top marks in British Physics Olympiads
Spanish Pre U visit Barcelona
Ultimate Triathlete inspires
Visit to T.S. Eliot Prize
History Society victors
Big Physics Quiz
National Schools Chess Championships
Young Enterprise trade at Templar Square
Boarders meet the guinea pigs
Chinese New Year with St Helen’s
Professor Michael Duff explores M-theory
Primary Schools enjoy MFL
Science Live with Professor Robert Winston
Senior Team Maths Challenge – 17th out of 1300 national teams
A Level Chemistry Live

Drama

A Matter of life and Death
Before Sunrise
Fiddler on the Roof

Music

Internationally acclaimed Fitzroy Quartet coach ensembles
New Year Charity Concert

Sport

Football: Berkhamsted, Corinthian Casuals, MCS, U15 County Cup, Hampton, Reading
Hockey: St Edward’s, Stowe, St Hugh’s, U16 County Tournament, Eton, New College, U12 & U13 County Championships, Marlborough
Cross-country: Lower School, Knole run, Abingdon 10km, Abingdon Cross-country run, Country Championships, Wellington relays
Lower School swimming gala
Rugby: Sevens, Wasps
Rowing update
Canoe polo

Abingdon Science Partnership 

Primarily Science
Woodstock
Ocean Grabbers

Letter from the Headmaster, 11 January 2018

11 January 2018

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

I hope all Abingdon families were able to enjoy a restful and peaceful break over Christmas. I think it’s still early enough in the year to wish everyone all the very best for 2018.

It was good to welcome pupils back to school earlier this week. They were remarkably cheerful considering the gloomy weather but I hope they are excited about the term ahead and the many opportunities that will be available to them. A good number of pupils were involved with school trips and events over the holiday and please do have a look at the links below to learn more about what has been going on.

Work continued on the Beech Court project over the holiday. I visited the site just before Christmas and can confirm that our contractors are making excellent progress and the building is really beginning to take shape. We believe that the new building will not only offer advantages to the Sixth Form, the Library and the Art department, all of whom will be housed there from September, but to the rest of the School as well as space will be freed up elsewhere on the school site. This will allow us to expand the Music and Drama departments in the Amey Theatre complex, as well as providing more space for day house rooms, which will give better bases where pupils can work, socialise and – importantly – store their kit. I will also be moving my office into Big School from its current location on the edge of the site and I look forward to being nearer to the heart of the action.

The teaching staff launched the new term by sharing a day of professional development with the staff from the School of St Helen and St Katharine. This was a great opportunity to focus on approaches to teaching and learning with our SHSK colleagues and the day included time for departments to compare practice in their respective subjects. There were also opportunities for staff to discuss areas in which our two schools could collaborate more effectively, with a particular focus on projects where pupils can work together, and I expect to build upon those discussions over the course of the year.

Parents may be familiar with the Good Schools Guide and indeed may have used it to inform their choice of school. The Guide recently visited us so that they could update their report and this should be available soon. We will inform parents when the new report is published and I hope you enjoy reading it.

We welcome a small number of new staff to the School. Mr Adam Hepworth joins us as our new Head of Economics while Mr Adam Simmons will be a temporary member of the English department. Mr Charles Cousins has been appointed as an Assistant Rowing Coach and he will also be undertaking boarding duties in Austin House.

There is a tremendous amount happening in the short space of time before half term so I look forward to meeting parents on the touchline/riverbank or at concerts or drama productions over the next few weeks. There are a number of parents’ evenings too and I will look forward to talking to you then. Do keep a close eye on the weekly mailings for updates and further information.

Finally, I wish all Abingdon families the very best for the term ahead.

Kind regards

Michael Windsor

News

Physicists explore CERN, hydroelectrics, the observatory and the Swiss Plasma centre in Geneva.
Austin House ski trip
Top marks in Physics Olympiad

Sport

Senior football squad on tour to Villarreal, Spain
Pre-season football & OA football news
Canoe polo success in British Canoeing Southwest tournament
U18 ISRFC Lambs selection

Letter from the Headmaster, 14 December 2017

14 December 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

As I write, there is certainly a festive feel to the School, with snow on the ground and many pupils marking Christmas Jumper Day with a selection of quite extraordinary knitwear. I have the sense that the school community is looking forward to the celebrations over the holiday ahead…

Certainly pupils can reflect on a busy and successful term and I hope you might be able to get a flavour of it by looking at the news links below. It is unfair to pick out particular highlights from an impressive list but the recent drama productions and Christmas concerts have featured significant numbers of pupils performing at a high level, while there has been great success on the sports pitch too. In all arenas, pupils have shown impressive leadership, ability and resilience, and they can be proud of their efforts.

I would like to share some significant news about our board of Governors. Adrian Burn (OA 1963) has announced his decision to step down as Chairman of Governors of the Abingdon Foundation after nearly five years in post. He has given superb service. Over the past three years under his leadership the Governors have appointed new Headmasters both for Abingdon School and Abingdon Prep as well as a new Director of Finance and Operations. This has also been a period of considerable investment in our facilities, which has included the opening of the Yang Science Centre, the complete refurbishment of Greening Court and the launch of the Beech Court project, as well as significant works at Abingdon Prep School. I have been hugely grateful for the support that Adrian has offered me and the Foundation.

Adrian’s replacement as Chairman of Governors will be Professor Mike Stevens. Professor Stevens is an OA (1968) who qualified in medicine at the University of London. He held senior leadership positions in the UK and Europe and he is Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol. He has been a Governor since 2014 and has recently been Vice-Chairman of Governors and Chair of the Education Committee. More information about Mike Stevens and our governing body is available here.

Our Governors recently held a strategy day to plan for the future of the School. An important aspect of this day was the opportunity to reflect upon the findings of the affordability survey that was conducted earlier this term by Baines Cutler. I am grateful that many parents responded to the survey, as this yielded useful information that will assist greatly with our planning in the future.

There are changes on the staff too. Mr Swarbrick is retiring after assisting with the UCAS process for our Upper Sixth this term, while Mr Ponniah is leaving to take up a post at Winchester College. We also wish Ms Vickers well as she and her family move to Canada.

On the school site, significant progress is being made on Beech Court which we expect to open in September. The new building will include a Sixth Form Centre on the ground floor, with facilities for studying and relaxing, while the first floor will house a greatly expanded library, which we believe will provide an ideal setting for independent study, homework and for pupils to develop their love of reading. The top floor will be the new home for the Art department, who will be able to benefit from the natural light. The new development will free up significant spaces around the site, allowing, for example, for the expansion of facilities for Music and Drama and the Lower School house-room.

I am conscious that over the holiday, pupils in the Fifth Year will be combining their rest and relaxation with revision for the approaching mocks. Upper Sixth mocks follow after half term. I hope that these boys are able to achieve a successful balance and that they keep to their revision timetables. I hope too that all Abingdon families have a happy and restful break. I will look forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Tuesday 9 January.

Finally, I wish everyone in the Abingdon community a very merry Christmas!

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

Latest News

Trips

Drama

Music

Sport

Boarding news

Abingdon Science Partnership

Letter from the Headmaster, 12 October 2017

12 October 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

I write this letter with the sound of House Singing fresh in my ears… It was wonderful to see every single pupil gathered to enjoy this communal activity, some of which was notably ambitious and of a high standard. House singing is a great institution in our annual calendar. It’s good to see some of the boys who might not be the most enthusiastic singers taking part so vigorously and a particular pleasure is seeing the musicians in each House taking on significant responsibility in leading the various ensembles.

There have been many highlights over the first half of term and you can read about some of them below. We’ve been very pleased with the way in which our new pupils have settled into school life. They are clearly making the most of the opportunities at Abingdon and they bring notable talent, energy and commitment to the School.

At the start of term, we launched our new Foundation Development Plan which sets a direction for the next five years. The plan articulates a determination to build upon the School’s traditions and recent successes in order to make it even better and to ensure that our pupils are able to benefit from a wholly exceptional education. It is therefore underpinned by a powerful sense of ambition and a shared determination to make the School the very best it can be.

The plan starts with an updated statement of our Aims and Ethos which you can read below. I hope you will be able to identify with this statement of our aspirations for the School.

The development plan is quite lengthy and detailed but the headlines are as follows:

  • Teaching and Learning: We will continue to employ a rigorous and focused approach to teaching and learning that ensures the highest standards from teachers and pupils alike, with a sustained focus on professional development so that our staff continue to develop and improve.
  • Pastoral care: We endorse our continued commitment to the House system as a structure that ensures individual care for pupils throughout their school career and helps them make informed choices while supporting them as they deal with issues relating, for example, to mental health and the use of technology.
  • Other Half: This is already a particular strength of Abingdon but we want to ensure that we invest in the right staff and facilities to sustain and build further achievements in this area.
  • Staff engagement and development: We will create the conditions that allow us to recruit and then develop the very best staff, resulting in an elite team of teachers and support staff.
  • Building the Foundation: We want to further the strong partnership with Abingdon Prep School and to ensure that the Prep School has the investment to continue to provide an exceptional education.

Six further areas are highlighted for attention:

  • Sixth Form: All pupils should see the Sixth Form as an exciting step into a new educational experience. As we prepare to move into new facilities in Beech Court, we will create a sense of opportunity and build on our existing strengths to ensure an innovative, challenging and dynamic experience.
  • Boarding: Our boarding community is a valuable part of the make-up of our school. We will improve the boarding experience by investing in facilities, improving communication between school and home and by ensuring that provision, from food to the enrichment programme, is of the highest standard.
  • Collaboration with St Helen and St Katharine: While we recognise the advantages provided by a single-sex education, we aim to ensure that we do offer the best of both worlds by developing meaningful partnerships with St Helen and St Katharine that give pupils from both schools greater opportunities to study, plan and socialise with pupils of both genders.
  • Bursaries: We will put in place strong bursary provision that allows a healthy social mix in the School while also taking into account issues around affordability.
  • Facilities: We will draw up a masterplan for the development of Abingdon School, Abingdon Prep and Tilsley Park over the next five years that will be based firmly in the educational priorities for the Foundation.
  • Partnerships: We will build upon recent successes such as our partnership with Fitzharrys and the Abingdon Science Partnership to improve our outreach programme and strengthen our links with the local community. 

This is a very brief summary of the development plan. Parents will see progress across all these sectors and I will focus on different areas in my regular letters to you to explain in more detail our aspirations and how we plan to go about fulfilling them. In all that we do, I aim to pursue an open and meaningful collaboration with parents so that you have all the information you need about your son’s progress and are able to make informed choices at the various stages in his education.

I certainly valued parents’ responses to the parental survey last year which has informed some of the areas chosen for development above. You may recall that the quality and quantity of food did not score as strongly as other areas in responses to that survey. Our caterers have been working very hard to address this after running a substantial consultation exercise at the end of last term. At a recent School Council meeting, pupils were very positive about the improvement that they had seen, while also making some useful suggestions. I know the caterers really do welcome feedback from the boys themselves – both positive and negative – and I hope they will pass on comments to the duty manager.

I wish all our pupils and their families a restful and enjoyable break over half term.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

The Abingdon Foundation – Aims and Ethos

Though proud of its considerable successes, Abingdon enjoys a down-to-earth atmosphere that stems from being a school that knows itself well, does not seek to be what it is not and eschews the flashy, the false and the arrogant. There is a constant eye on innovation to reflect the needs of a rapidly-changing world but the school is also careful not to dispense with the traditional where tried and tested practice proves still to be the most effective.

While Abingdon is certainly academically selective and vigorously promotes the life of the mind, academic achievement is far from being the sole criterion either for entry or for success whilst at the school. The choice of title for our formidable extra-curricular programme – the Other Half – symbolises the importance to the school of nurturing well-rounded boys and our belief that the development of their skills and characters is of equal importance with their academic progress and achievements.

We offer exceptional facilities but recognise that the success of the Foundation rests upon the quality of our staff, so we recruit and develop highly qualified colleagues of diverse talents and strong commitment. We value our powerful links with the wider community and nourish them through active and effective partnerships; this includes our commitment to keeping access to an Abingdon education as wide as possible.

Underpinning all that the school does is a remarkably strong pastoral system. The house and tutor structure anchors day boys and boarders alike with a powerful sense of belonging and ensures they are known individually and feel genuinely and personally supported by a range of people in their journey towards adulthood.

Latest News

Boarding news

Music

Sport

Letter from the Headmaster, 7 September 2017

7 September 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

It has been a great pleasure to welcome the pupils back to school this week. They seem well-rested and ready for the challenges of the year ahead and I do hope that all our families were able to enjoy a good summer. As I start my second year here at Abingdon, it is good to have my feet firmly under the desk and to be able to revisit everything that was a ‘first’ for me last year.

There was a lot to celebrate over the summer. Our leavers performed strongly in their A Level exams, with over a quarter of all results at A* and nearly two-thirds at A* or A; indeed, over 80 boys achieved straight A*/As. This has led to some excellent outcomes in terms of university places, with seventeen students going on to Oxbridge – one pupil declined his place at Oxford to take up a place at Yale in the US. It was a strong year for medics too, with twelve students going on to study medicine. It is also exciting to see some of our students take on entrepreneurial and vocational challenges outside university this year.  

GCSE results were excellent, with just under 60% at A* and 86% at A* or A grade. Parents may have seen press coverage of new numerical grades at GCSE. We were not affected by this as boys were studying IGCSEs in the relevant subjects. From next summer, pupils will be awarded numerical grades in some subjects and we will ensure parents of boys in the relevant year groups know what to expect.

Work has continued on the Beech Court project over the summer. We are making good progress and are on track to open this new facility, which will include a Sixth Form Centre, Library and Art department, in September 2018. The fitness suite was completely refurbished over the summer and now features equipment better designed to develop pupils’ strength and conditioning; we hope that we will see the benefits in terms of the pupils’ overall fitness and health. We are in the process of completing a new pavilion between the MUSA (tennis courts) and the Waste Court pitch, which we hope might eventually also be a place from which to serve welcome refreshments during matches! Significant work has gone into improving the quality of our playing surfaces too and I hope you will see the benefits as the rugby season starts.

In recent months, we have been working on a new school prospectus and giving a fresher look to the website. The prospectus will be available to prospective parents at the end of the month but you can already get a taste of the theme and feel of the new document via the website at www.abingdon.org.uk/be_you. Also on the website you can view a new 2-minute film that we have commissioned for the Abingdon Foundation: www.abingdon.org.uk/abingdon_foundation_video. We will continue to post the latest news to the website and don’t forget that you can follow what’s going on at the School via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

As we start the new academic year, I am very pleased to welcome our new colleagues to the School:

  • Mrs Amy Downer joins us as our new Head of Art;
  • Mr Andrew Jamison joins the English department;
  • Mrs Jennifer Overton (Geography) is covering Rev Gooding’s absence on sabbatical this term;
  • Mr Richard Pygott joins the Geography department;
  • Mr Timothy Chase joins the History department;
  • Mr Nick Ball, Mrs Mary Lord and Mr Harry Williams all join the Mathematics department;
  • Miss Raquel Fraile and Miss Rachel Nicholson join the Modern Languages department;
  • Our new Director of Teaching and Learning, Mrs Ronnie Reading, is also a linguist.

We also welcome a new team of language assistants to the Modern Languages department, as well as Miss Megan Milarski who will be assisting with the Abingdon Science Partnership. Mr Ben Phillips is covering as Middle Master for Rev Gooding this term. Finally, I am pleased to welcome Mr John Cotton back to the school as our Assistant Director of Music.

The links below will take you to some accounts of summer highlights. It was also great to see so many boys in for pre-season training and sports camps over the past few weeks.

I would like to remind parents that you are very welcome to join us for concerts, sports fixtures and productions. Indeed, we are always very grateful for your strong – and vocal – support! I will look forward to meeting you at these events during the course of the year, as well as at the various parents’ evenings that will take place.

I wish your sons and indeed all Abingdon families the very best for the coming academic year; there is a great deal to look forward to.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

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Sport:

Letter from the Headmaster, 6 July 2017

6 July 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

The last couple of weeks have seen us enjoy some great events with which to finish off the academic year and in particular to say farewell to our Leavers. The Leavers’ service and then last Saturday’s Griffen Ball will in particular remain long in the memory. There have been many trips and visits taking place recently too and the spirit of adventure thrives at Abingdon, with large numbers taking part in expeditions to go towards the various Duke of Edinburgh Awards. It is clear that our Leavers have a keen interest in travel too with many of them set for exciting trips both in Europe and further afield, and I wish them all the very best for these journeys, as well as for A Level results day on 17 August.

We say farewell at the end of term to a number of teachers who are moving on. Mr Aitken and Mr Swarbrick are retiring after nineteen years’ service to the school, though Mr Swarbrick will be returning on a part-time basis next term to offer support with UCAS applications. Mr Davies is taking up the post of Deputy Head (Academic) at Kingswood School in Bath, while Mr Edgar and Mr Stuart are moving on to City of London School and Cokethorpe respectively. Mr Green is leaving to take up a post at Bradfield while Mr Pemberton moves on to the Royal Agricultural College for further study. Finally, we wish well to Mr Domm, Mr Jones and Mr Griffin in their new roles. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all these teachers, and indeed all my colleagues both in teaching and support roles, for their hard work over the past academic year.

Construction will continue over the summer of the Beech Court project, which will include a Sixth Form Centre and Art department, as well as a library which will be approximately twice the size of our current facility. The first steels have now been erected and we are all excited to see the scale of the new building, which is due to open in September 2018. The summer break will also see a complete revamp of our gym with new equipment designed to support a programme of strength and conditioning, which we hope will give pupils the chance to improve in their sport while also giving them strong foundations for health and flexibility in later life.

There has been a great deal of collective endeavour over the past term and I am sure pupils will be ready for rest and relaxation over the summer. I am all in favour of this but I would urge every pupil to take advantage of the time freed up over the next few weeks to read widely and freely. There are of course many and varied benefits to reading but a good selection of books over the summer should give ample opportunities for escapism, reflection and excitement. The English department and the Library have set all our pupils a reading challenge featuring some wonderful books and I really hope that many boys will engage with this.

I have very much enjoyed getting to know so many Abingdon parents over the past year. It is a great privilege to lead this school and I am looking forward to sharing our vision for the future with parents early next term. I wish all Abingdon families a wonderful summer, confident that 2017-18 will be another action-packed and exciting year for the school.

Best wishes,

Michael Windsor

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Sport

Out & About

Letter from the Headmaster, 25 May 2017

25 May 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

Our collective thoughts over the past few days have been dominated by the dreadful attack that took place in Manchester on Monday night. It is hard for anyone to understand or explain this sort of event but tutor time has given colleagues and pupils an opportunity to reflect together. Our Chapel services have provided another chance for us to come together as a community in solidarity with those who have been affected. In difficult times, this sense of community is vital in providing succour to those who are feeling fearful or uncertain.

The Chapel service was certainly a key part of the events that we held to mark the final day of teaching for our Upper Sixth pupils last week. It was a hugely uplifting occasion, marked by the Leavers’ strong sense of companionship and measured words of advice from Mr O’Doherty, the Upper Master, as well as by some truly rousing hymn-singing as the Upper Sixth gave full voice to favourites like Guide me O Thou Great Redeemer and Jerusalem.  I wish the boys the very best as they undertake the challenge of A Levels and look forward to rounding off their Abingdon career with them in style at Prize Giving on Saturday 24 June and finally at the Griffen Ball on Saturday 1 July.

The departure on revision leave of our Upper Sixth means that our next crop of Prefects has duly been appointed to take over duties around the School. We were impressed with the quality of the field for the post of Prefect and I am confident we have brought together a strong team, representing the many constituencies of the School, that will serve Abingdon extremely well for the next twelve months.

I would like to wish everyone taking exams over the coming weeks – be they external or internal – every success. I hope our pupils have by now taken on board the message that the best revision is focused and active, and intermingled with breaks to allow exercise, fresh air and social interaction. Indeed, I have been delighted to see the Other Half continue to thrive through the exam season and I hope you enjoy reading about our pupils’ achievements by following the links below.

I wish all our Abingdon families a happy half-term next week and look forward to welcoming the pupils back to school on Monday 5 June.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

Latest News:

Sport

Music

Letter from the Headmaster, 27 April 2017

27 April 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

I hope all Abingdon families were able to have a restful and refreshing Easter. As you will see from the links below, a large number of our pupils were out on various trips that took place over the holiday, ranging from a language exchange in France to cricket in Sri Lanka. It is great to see so many pupils taking advantage of these opportunities for personal development and I am grateful to my colleagues who put so much time and effort into organising these trips.

The summer term is always rather overshadowed by the public examination season, as well as our internal exams. I hope our pupils will heed the advice that they have been given about revision as they undertake exam preparation. Although exams are undoubtedly important, our pupils need to develop a balanced approach to revision that gives them time for fresh air and exercise alongside their work; research confirms the value of exercise in improving memory and recall and it will help keep our boys happy and relaxed through the exam season. Please do get in touch with your son’s tutor or Housemaster if you have any concern about exam preparation or if you feel that your son is struggling; we all want to help and see your sons do their very best.

Of course there are many other events to enjoy over the course of this term. It’s been great to see our cricketers and tennis-players out already enjoying the sunshine, even though the temperature appears to be plummeting as I write…  It’s a busy term for our rowers, of course, with the National Schools’ Regatta and Henley to look forward to, while on the arts front our musicians will be in action in the Spring Concert and again later in the term. I’m sure not least that the boys will be looking forward to Abingdon’s Got Talent in the Amey Theatre on 10 May, when they will be performing alongside girls from St Helen and St Katharine’s.

Our contractors have made good progress on the Beech Court project over Easter. The demolition of the former Geography department is now complete and preparations are being made for the laying of the foundations of the new building. Over on War Memorial field our cricketers will soon be able to hone their skills on the new cricket nets and artificial surface, as this facility is due to open in the next ten days.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those parents who have given sponsorship for my abseil down the tower of Dorchester Abbey to raise funds for the Dorchester Festival and the Sue Ryder Home in Nettlebed. I will be going over the top at 12.15pm on Saturday 29 April. Spectators are welcome… I hope not to let the School down and if you would like to provide some sponsorship, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Michael-Windsor2.

I wish you and your family well for the coming term and look forward to meeting many of you in school soon.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

Abingdon School News: 29 March – 26 April 2017

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News

Sport

Letter from the Headmaster, 30 March 2017

30 March 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

It has been great to see pupils and staff out and about enjoying the warmer weather recently. A particular highlight this week was the annual Road Relay, which saw a huge number of teams racing round the School and Albert Park. I was delighted to see so many pupils volunteering to take part and the remaining boys voicing cheerful and enthusiastic support. It was a terrific whole-school event and a fine example of the strength of the Abingdon community; do have a look at the photos on the website. I was able to withstand the pressure to compete this year and, having seen the quality of the runners, I think I’ll try and retain my position as starter in future years too…

The Road Relay comes at the end of a short but successful term and I hope parents will enjoy reading about the many highlights via the links below and in the next edition of Abingdon News. I’ve been particularly pleased to see Abingdon boys prepared to look outside our own community and commit themselves to other causes. It was impressive to see so many pupils signing up for a night in the cold as part of the Charity Sleep-Out, which did an excellent job in raising funds for local charities as well as building awareness of the issue of homelessness. It was also good to see pupils and staff taking part in the Reading Half-Marathon to raise money for the charity Blue Skye Thinking. On both occasions the participants seemed remarkably fresh and cheerful the next day in school.

I am keen to do my bit too and have therefore joined a team that will be abseiling down the 100ft tower of Dorchester Abbey on Saturday 29 April at midday. I am not overly keen on heights but I hope not to let the School down… The abseiling is part of the Dorchester Festival and we will be raising funds for the Abbey and also for Sue Ryder in Nettlebed. If you would like to support these causes, please follow this link.

I am grateful to the many parents who responded to the parental questionnaire earlier this term. I have just received the final analysis of these responses and I hope to share this with parents early next term. Do please get in touch directly if you have any matters that you would like to raise with me in the meantime.

Contractors are making good progress with the enabling works for the Beech Court project, which is scheduled for completion in September 2018 and will provide a new Sixth Form Centre, library and Art department. This very week, the former Geography department is being demolished as we clear the site for the new building; I will keep parents updated as the new building takes shape.

I am conscious that a good number of our pupils will be using this Easter break to prepare for public or internal examinations. I hope that they will make sensible use of their time, and also make sure that they get some fresh air and exercise alongside their studies. I wish them all the very best with their revision.

I would like to wish all our parents and families a restful and refreshing break over Easter. I look forward to welcoming the boys back to school in time for registration at 8.35am on Tuesday 25 April.

Best wishes

Michael Windsor

Abingdon School News: 9 – 29 March

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Letter from the Headmaster, 9 March 2017

9 March 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

As the mornings and evenings grow lighter and the temperature gradually creeps up, it feels as if spring is on its way and it’s great to see pupils out and about enjoying their Period 8 activities every day.

Many of our pupils were away with the School over half term and I was delighted to be able to join our German exchange at the Ratsgymnasium in Bielefeld to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the partnership between our two schools. The German exchange had organised a wonderful celebration which, alongside speeches and reminiscences, featured interviews with previous participants, including a pair who had first met in the early ‘80s and who are now firm family friends. The event was further enhanced by the brilliant performances from musicians from Bielefeld and our own First Orchestra, who were there as part of their tour of northern Germany.

It has been a pleasure this term also to welcome our exchange partners from France and Spain. It is perhaps easy to overlook the significance of language exchanges when there are so many amazing opportunities available as school trips but they are of great educational value, not just in terms of the linguistic advantages but also with regard to the broader benefits of developing cultural awareness and building confidence. Although organising exchanges presents significant challenges today in a climate of safeguarding and child protection, I hope we will sustain them in the future – and I appreciate parents’ patience in going through the DBS process.

I am conscious that parents had some holiday homework to complete over half term in the form of the questionnaires from School Pulse. I am very grateful to the many parents who completed the questionnaires. These responses will be of great value as I work with colleagues and Governors over the coming weeks to set the strategic course for Abingdon. I will of course keep parents informed about our conclusions. In the meantime, I can confirm that our contractors are making good progress with the enabling works for our new Beech Court development, which will include a Sixth Form Centre, Library and the Art department.

There is much to look forward to over the remaining few weeks of term – not least, I’m sure, will be the finals of Abingdon’s Got Talent. Another highlight is the ATOM Festival of Science and Technology which is running from 22 to 26 March in Abingdon. There is a very exciting programme of talks, workshops and other activities so do visit the website to find out more.

Please do also follow the links below to see what has been happening at Abingdon so far this half term.

Kind regards

Michael Windsor

Abingdon School News – 13 February to 9 March

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Music

Sport

Letter from the Headmaster, 10 February 2017

10 February 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

This first half of term seems to have flown by and happily the vast majority of our pupils and staff seem to be recovering from the various illnesses that have been doing the rounds.

I hope parents are able to find the time to complete the questionnaire that was sent out earlier this week. I am very keen to gather parents’ opinions as we plan for the future of the School.

The last few weeks of this half term have been dominated by two outstanding drama productions from extremely talented senior students at Abingdon and St Helen’s. Much Ado About Nothing was immensely enjoyable to watch, lively, witty and very well received by the sell-out audiences. The ambitious and challenging production of London Road was superbly acted by the young cast and expertly accompanied by a demanding musical score. The audiences were enthralled. My thanks go to the drama departments at St Helen’s and at Abingdon.

The School’s musicians have also been taking to the stage with the New Year Charity concert featuring boys from all year groups. The music was impressive, ranging from Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos (soloists: Alex Reynolds and Carl Olavesen) to variations on the James Bond theme from the Lower School and Brass Bands. The First Orchestra ended the concert with the first movement of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, a work that features in their tour over half term to Germany. The tour celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the School’s exchange programme, which was established by Sir James Cobban, with the Bielefeld Ratsgymnasium. It is a tremendous partnership to have between the two schools, much valued by all involved, and I look forward to hearing the boys play on tour.

The music department also welcomed the Fitzroy Quartet to school to give a chamber music workshop for musicians in preparation for the first round of the National Chamber Music Festival For Schools, which took place this week.

Besides the Bielefeld tour over half term we also have boys on the usual German language exchange and a skiing trip to France. In addition, in what sounds like a fascinating experience, 12 boys together with 18 girls from St Helen’s will be visiting the Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star City in Russia and spending time with former NASA astronaut Mike Foale.  

Over the last three weeks boys have been involved with an interesting array of activities. A group of third years took part in the First Lego League Animal Allies Challenge and learnt how to programme a robot. The annual Big Physics Quiz at Birmingham University was a success with boys also enjoying a tour of the campus and a lecture on gravitational waves. Parents joined boys and staff for a trip to Reading to see professional artists from China’s Jiangsu Province Department of Culture perform “Culture of China, Festival of Spring.” And in the first stage of this year’s Young Enterprise competition, three teams tempted the crowds with their innovative ideas at Oxford’s Templars Square shopping centre.

The boarders are enjoying their weekend activity programme that saw fourth years from Crescent and School House taking on the girls from Downe House at ten-pin bowling. Third years, as part of their community service activities, made shortbread hearts as Valentine gifts for the ladies at the Older and Bolder exercise club. I am sure they were very much appreciated – and with the 14th February looming and living in a predominantly female household – I wonder if there were any left over?

Under the guidance of Jeremy Taylor, our Director of Drama, and professional filmmaker Duncan Pickstock, students from the AFU are working with Sobell House to produce a film about the hospice. It is not an easy project for the young students and one that will stretch them in many ways. I wish them all the best with the film and look forward to seeing it once completed.

On the football pitch there were excellent wins for the senior teams against St Edward’s and Shiplake but more mixed results against Reading Blue Coat and Reading Grammar. The Hockey Club recorded very impressive victories over Eton for the 1st XI, 16A, 14A and 13A teams and further wins against Bloxham. The 1st XI and the U15 and U14 A and B teams finish the first half of term unbeaten, an excellent record and best of luck for the next half.

The Swimming Club is looking particularly strong with an impressive victory for the U14 squad at the Warwick 100s last week and the Cross-country Club picked up a clean sweep at the Vale Championships at Radley College, winning the U13, U15, U17 and U19 races. The Cross-country teams went on to run well in the Wellington relays and the County Championships. Congratulations to the five athletes who were selected for the county team to represent Oxfordshire in the English National Schools Championships. In other sports, the Squash Club progress through the National Schools Trophy with a good win against John Hampden and a further win against Bradfield, and the Badminton Club, not to be outdone, secured victories over Wellington and Bromsgrove.

We wish our rowers every success in the GB trials over half term and individual congratulations go to Henry Isherwood and Harvey Jupp. Henry has been selected for the U18 South West Rugby squad and fifth year Harvey, a promising spin-bowler, was voted ‘Young Cricketer of the Year’ by the Wiltshire and Gloucester Standard.

I wish everyone in the Abingdon community all the very best for the break, and I look forward to a busy second half of term.

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 20 January 2017

20 January 2017

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

It was good to welcome pupils and staff back to the School after the Christmas break. Although the first day of this week now seems to be known to the media as ‘Blue Monday’ – supposedly the most depressing day of the year – there is no sign of that at Abingdon as pupils have engaged with their work and Other Half activities with characteristic enthusiasm and good humour.

It was a very positive start to the New Year with some excellent news as we heard that planning permission had been granted for Beech Court. This exciting development, which will be situated next to Greening Court will transform our Sixth Form, Library and Art facilities. It will also enable Music, Drama and other departments to benefit from expanded and improved workspaces. We hope to open these new facilities in the autumn of 2018 and a detailed plan has been put together to ensure minimal disruption for pupils and parents during construction.

University offers have now begun to come through to upper sixth students who have applied for an exciting range of courses at a selection of excellent universities. I would like to congratulate the 22 pupils who have received offers from Oxford or Cambridge. This is an impressive number of Oxbridge offers and they come as the result of commitment, enthusiasm and endeavour.

I am pleased to welcome three new teaching colleagues to the School this term. Mr David James joins the Design Technology department, while Ms Kathryn Yarker and Mr John Marjot join Geography.

Students were involved in two trips over the Christmas holiday. The first was a joint Abingdon and St Helen’s visit to Strasbourg to practise French, visit the sites and enjoy the festivities. It was a great success from all accounts. The second trip was to Finland’s Arctic wilderness and the photographs taken show what an incredible landscape this is. The boys and staff found the scenery breath-taking and have returned with much appreciation and respect for this beautiful environment.

Abingdon students continue to take part and flourish in a wide variety of activities. I would like to congratulate Jamie Farrow who, amid fierce competition, has won a place as a tenor in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. We have also seen success for James Hogge who finished second in the National Cipher Challenge, run by the University of Southampton Mathematics Department. James has also been extremely helpful in assisting with the School’s Code-breaking Club.

The CCF is through to the national stage of the Air Squadron Trophy competition after a very impressive day at RAF Cosford. The cadets finished first overall following some tremendous individual and team efforts. Congratulations also go to fifth year, Sam Christie, who has been selected to play for the Oxfordshire County Tennis Team at the U18 County Cup in Norwich at the end of February.

Football and hockey are well underway with both sports enjoying the facilities at Tilsley Park. Footballers benefited from the new 4G pitch for pre-season training and the 1st XI’s hard work paid off with an excellent win at the Rugby School pre-season tournament where they emerged unbeaten. In their first fixture of the term against St John’s, Leatherhead there were some spirited matches including a hard-fought victory for the 1st XI. The Hockey Club enjoyed an excellent first fixture against St Edward’s, winning nine out of ten matches including convincing victories for the 1st and 2nd XIs. Best of luck for what will be a tough fixture against Eton this weekend. The Cross-Country team travelled to a snow covered Sevenoaks to compete in the Knole run, the most competitive race in the school calendar. With a young team it was always going to be a baptism of fire but the boys ran valiantly coming a respectable 15th out of 41 teams competing.

The Abingdon Science Partnership is continuing to do fascinating work not only in furthering interest in science outside the curriculum at School but also in the wider community. My thanks to all the Science Ambassadors who are excellent advocates not only for science but also for Abingdon School. In particular I would like to thank Carl Olavesen who is running an after school club at St Edmund’s Primary School. The Club is very popular with children at the School and the Science Co-ordinator there has passed on her appreciation for all that Carl is doing.

This is a short but very busy term and I wish all the pupils the best for the weeks ahead. I will also look forward to catching up with parents at the many events that will take place between now and Easter.

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 16 December 2016

16 December 2016

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

I have very much enjoyed attending many events and meeting pupils and parents this term. I am grateful to everyone who has made me feel so welcome and I am excited about the future for this great school. 

A significant task this autumn has been the appointment of a new Head for Abingdon Prep and I am pleased to be able to inform you that the Governors announced on Monday that Craig Williams has accepted this position from September 2017. Craig comes to Abingdon from the Senior Deputy Headship at Thorngrove School. Craig has a Geography degree from Oxford and is an accomplished sportsman. He represented the University at 2nd XI level at both cricket and football, and he continues to enjoy playing cricket. Other interests include golf, historical novels and Manchester United. We will look forward to welcoming Craig and his family to the Abingdon community.

Over the course of the year, I will be working with the Senior Leadership Team to produce a development plan that will outline the strategic direction of both Abingdon School and Abingdon Prep School. I am keen to hear parents’ views and so have engaged RSAcademics to produce a parental questionnaire that will come out next term. I hope parents will be willing to share their views via the questionnaire or directly to me if they would prefer.

The range and diversity of activities over the last few weeks at Abingdon has been exceptional. Students have taken part in a Particle Physics Masterclass at the Rutherford Appleton Lab, workshops from world-renowned musicians bass-baritone, Richard Burkhard and violinist Levon Chilingirian, a chess simultaneous display with Grandmaster Peter Wells plus a wide range of sporting activities including a British Regional Canoe Polo Competition. The opportunities available are outstanding, as is the boys’ enthusiasm to embrace them. My thanks to all staff who go to great lengths to make this possible.

Our senior mathematicians came a very impressive sixth out of all worldwide postal entries in the Princeton University Maths Competition. In a second global challenge – Computational Thinking with 40 countries taking part – first year, Philip Grotjahn scored the highest mark in the School and gained a distinction. Congratulations are also due to first year, Oliver Glover, who has again won a place in the National Children's Orchestra. Oliver is an exceptional oboist for his age, playing Principal Oboe in the School's first orchestra.

Following the Model United Nations practice day with St Helen’s, 18 boys went on to pick up a host of awards at the conference including Hayden Ramm who was awarded the accolade of Outstanding Delegate. Lower School boys have also been in lively debate with their counterparts from St Helen’s who joined them for a ‘curry and dinner debate’ (a pastime well worth practising!).

I will watch with interest the progress of two sixth form teams who have entered the BlottMatthews Airport to Airport, A2A, challenge to solve the aviation problems in the south of England. The competition winners will be announced in March and it should be a fascinating project to be involved with.

I thoroughly enjoyed the productions of Treasure Island from the Lower School and the Third Year’s And Then There Weren’t Any Left. The engaging performance from the younger boys was enhanced by an imaginative set and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. OA Ed Rowett’s spoof murder mystery was demanding for the talented third year cast who successfully pulled it off. I look forward to the senior students from Abingdon and St Helen’s in action next term. There is much to enjoy from our close link with St Helen’s. Drama and Music in particular benefit enormously from this excellent partnership and this year’s Joint Choral Society was a fine example of the synergy between the two schools.

Last weekend saw the end of the rugby season and final matches for the boys in the Upper Sixth. My thanks for their determination and hard work representing the School and I hope they enjoy the game for many years to come. I cannot help but mention the 1st XV win over Radley – always a pleasure – and the excellent end of season results against Marlborough and RGS Guildford.

In other sport, the U15 squad swam brilliantly at the ESSA national relay finals improving enormously on their qualifying position in both relays. Very well done. Cross-country Club has also seen a good start to the season with the seniors and inters coming third at Harrow. Lower school fencers enjoyed their school tournament with Jacob Drew picking up the trophy.

Boarders have been embracing Christmas, decorating trees and turning their hand to making cards and gingerbread houses for the local community, many of whom joined us for our annual Christmas Tea Party. Sixty residents were entertained by school bands and choirs and everyone entered into the festive spirit. Carol services have been in abundance this week and term will come to a fitting end at St Helen’s Church with the whole school gathering together.

I wish everyone in the Abingdon community a peaceful and happy Christmas and all the very best for 2017.

Yours sincerely

Michael Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 18 November 2016

18 November 2016

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

The School took time to pause and reflect collectively on Friday 11 November, when we remembered the sacrifice made by our former pupils and teachers in conflict. To prepare for this event, I visited the archive pages on the School’s website, which contain fascinating information about the Old Abingdonians who perished in the First World War. 2016 marks of course the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, a battle which in many ways encapsulates the suffering and loss in the Great War, and in his address on Remembrance Day, the Chaplain reflected on our former pupils who died on the Somme. The CCF did the School proud with their turnout and drill in their Remembrance Day parade and then represented us with distinction in the Abingdon Town parade on Remembrance Sunday.

Although half term is rapidly fading in the memory, as we focus on some busy weeks in the run-up to Christmas, I hope that all Abingdon families had a restful time. Many of the boys were involved in trips. The classicists fully appreciated the history and sites of ancient and modern Greece and linguists enjoyed improving their skills in Spain when 51 students from Abingdon and St Helen’s visited Galicia. The Boat Club also spent half term in Spain training on the Banyoles lake (used in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) and then competed very successfully at the Upper Thames Autumn Head.

In other activities, sailors completed silver and gold practice expeditions on the south coast where poor weather prevented the gold expedition sailing to France, opting for Poole instead. The silver expedition took on the extremely busy Solent water. The Sailing Club impressed at the National Schools’ Sailing Match where both teams reached the semi-finals and Abingdon A went on to win the event. The U14 rugby squad played some good matches during their tour of Sussex while the U15s enjoyed taking part in the Langley Festival in Norfolk.

Congratulations to Charlie Quarterman, Ethan Moody, Louis Heard, Max Carter Keall and Rob MacLennan for their recent sporting successes. Charlie has been signed by the Luxembourg based cycling team Leopard Pro for next year and Ethan represented Great Britain at the Techno293 windsurfing championships. Louis has been selected for a British junior polo development course and earlier this year received the Most Promising Player award at the schools and universities national polo championships. Max has been selected to trial for the first stage of the England U18 hockey team. He represented England over the summer at U16 level and has been called up a year early for the chance to play against Holland in April. Following a​n impressive​ competition on Sunday to make the final of the Welsh Open Men’s Senior Epee competition, Rob ​MacLennan ​has been selected to fence for the GBR Junior Epee Team​.

Rugby results since half term have been mixed for the senior teams with the 2nd XV securing two good wins against Sherborne and Rugby but the 1st XV narrowly losing on both occasions. The overall results were excellent with Abingdon picking up both block wins with all teams from the U16Bs to the U14Ds victorious against Rugby with some impressive score lines in the younger years.

I was intrigued to witness part of the second years’ combat workshop taken by Kev McCurdy, fight director for the National Theatre, the RSC and the Globe. The boys enthusiastically embraced the art of stage conflicts and were very attentive learners when it came to controlled fight manoeuvres!

Our senior mathematicians came a very credible third out of 18 teams at the annual regional final of the Senior Team Maths Challenge held at Wheatley Park at the beginning of November. Many congratulations.

It was a great pleasure to hear the 16 solo performances from senior musicians at the second Scholars’ concert of the term. Chapel Choir sang Evensong at Tewkesbury Abbey last week, to a very appreciative congregation and many thanks to James Anderson-Besant (OA 2016) for accompanying them on the organ. Following last year’s success, the Music department held the second Senior Solo Competition and 11 very talented musicians performed to an exceptional standard on a variety of instruments – five pianists, two violinists, a cellist and a flautist. Dr Benjamin Skipp, a fine oboist, pianist, ABRSM examiner and Lecturer and Director of Studies in Music at Hertford and Somerville Colleges, had the unenviable task of adjudication. The standard was extremely high and many congratulations to fifth former, Didier Delgorge, who won the competition.

I was delighted that we were able to welcome pupils from St Helen’s to join 40 Abingdon pupils at our Model United Nations conference recently. This event was organised almost entirely by our pupils, with George Aylard taking the leading role, and those involved showed an impressive grasp of detail and nuance in debating the major global issues facing us today.

I was also very pleased to hear that participants in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme at Abingdon had completed 2230 hours of volunteering in our local community over the last year. I am keen to see our pupils playing their part as service to others is an important component in our ethos. 

I congratulate all our pupils on their endeavour and commitment during the past few weeks and hope that parents and friends of the School will be able to join us for some of the many events that will take place over the coming weeks.

Yours sincerely

Mike Windsor

Letter from the Headmaster, 14 October 2016

14 October 2016

Dear Parents, Colleagues, Governors and Boys of Abingdon,

It seems hard to believe that we are already approaching half term. It has been a very busy few weeks and I have been delighted to see pupils so engaged in school life. I was particularly grateful for their excellent contribution to our Open Day on 1 October, when they made our visitors feel very welcome and gave them an opportunity to find out more about all aspects of the School. Many visitors commented on the quality of the tours and on the courtesy and insight that our pupils had shown.

I have been very pleased to see so many of our pupils showing their commitment to others over the past few weeks. The Charathon was an opportunity for every single member of the school to do this but it was also great to see a considerable number of pupils and staff completing the Oxford Half Marathon last Sunday for a range of local and national charities. Another particular pleasure has been to hear pupils reporting back on individual research that they undertook over the summer. Their presentations have been varied and insightful and have been a terrific example of the love of learning and of ideas that is a feature of life at Abingdon.

During my first half term, I have been very impressed by the range and depth of talent of both students and staff. Over the last three weeks we have enjoyed the AFU’s 13th annual screening, the Music Scholars’ Concert and the House Singing Competition, very different events but all examples of what Abingdon does well. 

The Lower School was inspired by the presentation from paralympian and motorcycling world champion Talan Skeels-Piggins who launched this year’s ‘Be the Best you can be’ programme. Our Joint MFL society also enjoyed their guest, Dr Helen Abbott, Professor of Modern Languages at Birmingham University, who joined them for the celebrations of the 15th European Day of Languages. We were delighted to welcome Dr Catherine Heyer of the Department of Physics at Oxford University to speak to sixth formers at a Physics problem-solving workshop. The boys welcomed Dr Heyer’s very useful advice for Oxbridge applicants and enjoyed the challenge of the vector mechanics problems.

Congratulations are due to Ivan Leung who achieved the highest mark in the country in Edexcel IGCSE Geography this summer. Ivan has been nominated for an award for excellence from the Royal Geographic Society. Six 4th and 5th year linguists have also received awards in the 2016 National Chinese Calligraphy competition.

We have been able to celebrate plenty of success in a number of sports over the past few weeks. I would like to congratulate every pupil who has represented the School this term but particular congratulations are due to the 1st XV for their unbeaten start to the season, which has included fine, hard-won victories against Eton and Warwick. The day of the Warwick match was rounded off by the very enjoyable Touchliners’ dinner, when we welcomed James Haskell who gave an insightful and highly entertaining speech. I am grateful to the Touchliners parents who put so much time in to ensure that the evening was a success.

The Boat Club has also had a good start to its competitive season with four wins at Reading Small Boats. The U15A swimmers were very impressive at the ESSA Secondary Schools Relay regional qualifiers, breaking two Oxfordshire records. The Swimming Club went on to have a tough fixture against Harrow, narrowly losing but with some excellent personal bests and record breaking swims. In tennis the U14s defeated Dr Challoner’s and now have Hampton School between them and the regional finals of the top 16 in the country. The Abingdon Vale biathlon time trials saw some good performances and the U18 boat at the SB20 National Championships picked up a well deserved first place.

The Abingdon Science Partnership, ASP, which is run by the School with the aim of widening access to science in the community, is co-ordinating the Abingdon Primary School Science Partnership alongside Fitzharrys School. The Primary School Science Partnership has recently achieved national recognition for their commitment to improving science teaching and learning by the Ogden Trust. This is excellent news for the five primary schools involved and for ASP. This week the ASP also hosted a very well received National Space Academy masterclass.

Over the last ten days we have hosted our partner school Ratsgymnasium from Bielefeld, Germany and it has been a pleasure to see the friendships develop between the students. This successful partnership will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. Many of our pupils will be involved with school trips over the half-term break. I hope that they enjoy their experiences and I will look forward to hearing about them on their return. I hope too that the next two weeks will offer some time for rest and recuperation. An excellent time, I would suggest, to enjoy some wider reading too…

I will look forward to seeing pupils again on Monday 31 October.

Kind regards

Michael Windsor