Category Archives: Headmaster’s Assembly

Make it happen Earlier this week I happened to have a conversation with a Form V parent about how the time his son had left at Boys High was diminishing rapidly. There was a strange and sad regret in his voice as he said how much the school meant to his son and how both […]

Moderation I have opposing thoughts about the topic of today’s assembly. On the one hand, I enjoy the challenge of this particular activity and the skills it teaches. On the other I dislike some of the softer skills it doesn’t. Today I want to talk about gaming and computer gaming in particular. I am old […]

“The Guy in the Glass” Today’s assembly was inspired by two people – one who sent me a video of Mark Andrews’ (ex Springbok lock) talk to the rugby players at the opening of the Kearsney Festival of which we were a part and someone who asked me to look at a book titled “At […]

Strange qualities of the courageous leader You know by now that I believe there are leadership qualities in all of you. I do not believe leaders are born – I believe we all have potential to lead and to develop our unique style of leadership in different circumstances. If I am to make this assertion […]

Authenticity The inspiration for today’s assembly came from a Ted Talk I watched recently by a Scottish psychologist on authenticity and being yourself. If I had to ask you now for volunteers, how many of you would raise your hands? Not too many I think. If I were to go down the road to one […]

Plant trees… Those of you that have been down to Brooks field in the past month may have noticed a difference in the stands. Behind the area where the spectators sit on the western side of the field are around ten trees that have been planted at the top level of the stands. They were […]

Equality and privilege Today’s assembly may cause some debate and indeed some disagreement amongst you and that is fine. As I have said often, part of my job is to get you to think critically, not to just accept something as right or wrong, black or white, but to critically analyse what you think and […]

Leadership and goodness I believe that every person sitting here is a leader. I am not one who believes that leadership is granted to a few through their genetic makeup but rather that we learn these skills throughout our lives. Some learn faster than others, some learn better and more, but all of us have […]

What if…? One of the many milestones in a teenager’s life is passing a driving test that allows you to drive a car on your own. Ask most adults and they will tell you that the first time they drove a car on their own was the most incredible feeling of independence and freedom – […]

  Superheroes I speak often about the superhero within men – the desire for us to save something or someone. Today I speak to you about two superheroes – Action Man and Word Man. I know Action Man is an actual toy that was launched as a super hero when I was one year old […]