A Message from the Headmaster

Think of your current school. Think of the new boys and girls who started in your school last September. Perhaps they began in Reception, or maybe in Year 3. Whichever was the case, I am sure that they looked up at you, you at the top of the school in Year 6. I imagine they viewed you with awe and trepidation, as one stage removed from being a teacher yourself! Of course, I know that you didn’t think of yourself in this way. I expect that you felt as if little had changed since you were that age. But that doesn’t stop others having a different perception from you. Remember this when you find yourself looking up at a six foot tall Sixth Former towering over you. They will not regard themselves as some type of gigantic superhuman. They will have the same hopes, fears and concerns as you and you will be in their shoes in no time at all!

I say all of this because it can often seem quite a daunting task moving from the safe, homely, confines of your Junior or Prep School to the much larger environment of a Senior establishment. There are so many more pupils. They are all bigger than you. Perhaps they are even louder than you (although, there again, perhaps not!). They know their way around the campus. They all seem to have large groups of friends. In short, it seems to be their school, not your school. I can assure you that the feeling does not last long. For some, it will have rubbed off within the first day. Kimbolton School is now your school.

You represent the School. If you look untidy in Kimbolton High Street, or are over exuberant on public transport then, whilst you are wearing that stripey blazer, you will be seen as representative of Kimbolton School. The good name of the School rests with you; your behaviour, your sporting and musical successes and, ultimately, many will judge the strength of the School by how well you fare in GCSEs and A-Levels.

Many new experiences will be open to you now that you are at Kimbolton. Take them. Try something new, even if it is only to confirm your initial fear that it isn’t for you. Over the next seven years, you will be exposed to new ideas and opportunities, and develop more than at any time during the rest of your life. You will change, not just physically but emotionally and mentally too. You will leave, aged 18, almost certainly on your way to University, an adult, ready to take your place in society. The School, along with your parents, will have helped shape your outlook on life. At the same time, you will have helped shape Kimbolton School.

You are important. You are not just a cog in some great machine but an individual in your own right, an individual whom I, and your teachers, are looking forward to getting to know in the coming terms. Above all else, I want your days at Kimbolton School to be happy ones. If you feel secure in your environment, you have the perfect foundation to reach for the limits of your potential. We are here to bring out that potential so that you can achieve the best you possibly can.

A MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER  EXPLORE YOUR SCHOOLTHE SCHOOL DAY

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