Since then, of course, we have had a very busy Open Day with high numbers of visitors and lots of prospective pupils... The week has been a very busy one as a result!
Principal's Assembly - Monday 26th October 2015
Let me paint a picture in your head. I was once at school. I still am, but you know what I mean… Imagine Mr Taylor, in S3. We had a black blazer with a black and red tie, red braid, white shirt.
I was quite a geeky boy who was into art, music, and drama. I had hair. It’s true. My hair was not always positioned on the lower part of my head. Imagine my head upside down; then you’re getting close.
I don’t think it is any secret that I am not particularly sporty. I enjoy cycling and swimming, but PE was never my strong suit.
However, there was one occasion which will always stick in my mind from when I was at school, in S3, around this time of year. It was a wet, miserable afternoon, and there was a school cross country competition.
The course was fairly long; probably about 4 or 5 miles, and everyone took part. This was not something that most people looked forward to, particularly those of us who were not particularly sporty or physically fit.
We set off from school grounds; the whole year group of around 100 pupils, running to the bottom of our playing fields, in the rain and the cold, and towards a track that went along the side of a field of corn.
One lad, who I think was called Craig, sped off ahead of me, laughing at me, and shouting ‘See you later!’. This was somewhat disheartening.
As we left the playing fields, I was predictably far behind, jogging at a steady pace as the adrenaline started to kick in and I got a bit more breathless.
I wasn’t right at the back of the competition, but I was nowhere near the front.
However, what I started to realise was that a lot of the faster runners were beginning to flag up ahead, as they began to run out of steam.
I kept jogging steadily, steadily, and perhaps upped the pace a wee bit as I went.
At one point, as we turned at the bottom of a field and started along what was an old abandoned trainline which runs through the area, I started to lose my breath, as I was getting tired. But I remember a friend running with me saying ‘keep calm, John!’ two or three times. I had a tune we have been learning in choir in my head, and it had a steady rhythm, so I just kept to that rhythm, and kept going.
And kept going.
And kept going. And I began to pass boys and girls peching in grass verges, all of us covered in mud, pupils hanging over fences, breathless, as I regulated my breathing (I think being a singer helped), and kept a steady pace.
We turned and came back towards school, and to my surprise, exhausted, in a bit of pain, feeling somewhat like I might die, you may never believe this but… I came third!
Craig was miles behind. I think he must have been somewhere between 20th and 30th.
Now, do not think I am telling you this story to try and give you an impression of me as some accomplished sportsman. In fact, that was the only time I ever had any particular success at anything vaguely sporty.
However,I’m not sure what had made me do so well in this unlikely pursuit. Perhaps Craig’s goading at the starting line made me just keep going. Perhaps it was determination to get through it. Perhaps it was just stamina; going at a steady pace, and not giving up.
Why aWhat made me tell you this story from my own teenage years? Believe it or not, it was reading and writing S5 and S6 reports over the weekend.
There are many excellent achievements in all subjects by pupils throughout this school; lots of excellent effort, lots of determined pupils, and lots of people who have hit the ground running with their Higher and Advanced Higher courses. The same is true of National 5s, and the same is true of those of you in S1 and S2 who have started with new teachers this year. Many of you are 'going for it', and that is deeply impressive.
This is a long term though, like the race I was in. It’s easy to start with a good pace, and to put in maximum effort from the start, but much of it is to do with pace. You have to find ways to unwind and relax, while also having the stamina to keep going, not letting yourself slack off, keeping up the effort.
Our Ethos says we ‘always do our best’.
That means that getting homework done, but just slap-dashing a piece of work to get in to your teacher, so long as it’s done, and it’s on time, is basic. It’s not your best.
That means that not focusing in a lesson, or chatting a wee bit too much, or missing an instruction in a lesson and having to be told what to do two or three times, is not doing your best.
It means that when you get things wrong (and we all do sometimes; so you your teachers; so do I…), that when your teacher points out where you’ve gone wrong, if you do nothing about it, or if you don’t take that advice seriously, or listen to constructive criticism, and then do nothing about it, you’re not doing your best. Sometimes hearing criticism about yourself can feel like you’re being moaned at, and teenagers often complain about moaning adults. But identifying a problem, and suggesting solutions is never moaning; it’s development. Remember that.
We all have to be open to the fact that none of us – not one person in this room – is perfect. Only God is perfect, and only God is all-knowing. So don’t assume you know everything. Don’t assume you’ll ever get everything right. Making that assumption is dangerous.
This term is long, and it can be hard. November can be hard going, as we are all deeply into the work we’re doing, getting through courses. The novelty of the start of the year has worn off a bit, Christmas is coming, but it isn’t quite here yet, people’s focus wavers a bit, the effort can drop, the behaviour can go wrong, people can get things wrong through tiredness or frustration or, dare I say it, boredom... Traditionally in schools, suspensions can be high in November. Don’t let that happen please.
You’re half way through the race. Keep a steady pace. Regulate your breathing. Listen to the advice of your friends and your teachers. Keep on truckin’, and the likelihood is that you will get to the finish line without a glitch. Sprinting at the start, stopping for a bit, and then trying to sprint at the end of a course rarely ends with the best results.
It’s all about stamina; keep the effort going, always do your best, have a regular study plan, don’t leave it til the last minute, and the successful results that reflect your exceptional potential – and it is very clear to me that God has given every pupil in this room exceptional potential - will come through. There’s nothing stopping you!
- Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
- Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Prayer