special meaning today. We honour their memory and contribution to the school. Many of those who I have just named would be astounded by the diversity of the programmes on offer and the life of our students at Christ’s College in 2023. It is great that we will shortly be celebrating their success and achievements. The Board continues to focus on the execution of our current strategy, Change & Continuity, as we move a year closer to the 175th anniversary of the founding of College. Thank you to all those who have supported the 175th museum project. The preservation and presentation of our history cannot be lost, and we look forward to the opening of the museum in 2025 under the guidance of our architect, Alec Bruce. I have spoken of the development of Upper West every year of my tenure and I promise not to mention it again, as finally this magnificent addition to our campus will be ready in April. This project had its origins about 10 years ago when we looked to build on the old Girls’ High School site in Cranmer Square. This turned out to be too ambitious for many reasons and in the context of the overall campus master plan would, with the benefit of hindsight, have stretched the campus in a way that may not have been practical. The site was sold, and the proceeds have been invested in the new building. With the refurbishment of the Upper field funded from the generosity of our community at last year’s Giving Day, this will be a truly unique venue. We thank the project team and all those who have supported Upper West’s construction and look forward to it being opened next year. Governing and managing a school in 2023 continues to be increasingly complex and we are needing to be nimbler and more resilient than ever before. The Board is focused on ensuring that Garth and his team can continue to innovate to deliver world- leading academic and co-curricular programmes to our students to prepare them, as much as is possible, for the unknowable future.
We appreciate this comes at a material cost to the parents and caregivers and we thank you all for the contribution and sacrifice you make to support your sons’ endeavours at school. During the year, the Board commissioned an independent review of the College’s operating model. We have already begun to implement several of the recommendations and next year we will focus on some of the more strategic opportunities that this review and the Board’s own thinking have provoked. Among them is how we can work more collaboratively across a range of mutually beneficial initiatives with our kindred schools. I am grateful for the hard work of my Board colleagues in 2023. Finally, I want to thank Garth Wynne and his team who do so much to
enrich the lives of the students as they pass though this great school. When Garth took over, College was struggling, and the roll had dropped to below 600. The starting numbers for next year are looking like 725 plus, with a waiting list. What this tells us is that our offering resonates with those who would wish their boys to attend a school like Christ’s College. The transformation of our offering during your tenure Garth has been nothing short of astounding and we sincerely thank you, and all those on the staff who support you, for that. May the holidays ahead be a time of happiness and rest for all of you. Nga¯ mihi. Hugh Lindo Chair
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