The Alleynian 708 2020

THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY

come upon that their predecessors would never have had access to, but there will be much lost because of the change of formats, because of the introduction with such speed of new media that might actually be lost to the future. I wonder if things in the archives like reel-to-reel tapes and cassette recordings, which people thought were state- of-the-art and were going to be a fantastic record, might actually be less accessible now because of that great change of media. So I suppose that I would want to retain a print version, even if it’s only that we make one copy and keep one copy, to ensure that we don’t lose a part of our history.

If you could write a part of the magazine, what would you write?

I’m always wary of the magazine that seems over-dominated by the headteacher or the senior teachers so I’d be quite circumspect in what I offered. I was delighted to do this interview, and I was delighted to give my reflections on the quatercentenary year to Jack, but I think maybe, once every couple of years, I should think of something that I’d like to write about for our community, and maybe you’ll think of what that might be. Rather than appearing to be co-editor and appearing to have an authoritative voice in this, I like the fact that it is made by the boys, for the boys, but with teacher support.

whole-school fixtures, but who play a really important role in the House Music competition, or House Croquet, or Little Sides football, or something like that. So maybe Houses are an element that we could think of, that you could think of developing further. But there’s nothing I’d take away. I like that balance between a proper chronicle, which uses due diligence to make sure everything is covered, and a magazine of boy opinion. I think it would be a really useful resource for historians of the future, looking into what young men in 2019 or 2020 thought about their school, their city, their country, their world. And if we’ve given a real sense of things being debated, not just passively reported, I think it’s a strong resource.

We’ve also had a recommendation to add video content in this digital age. Do you think that it would be a good idea to utilise different types of media?

I think that probably is the future. I think that the greatest decision in your time, unlike that of Jack Probert and Joe Atkinson and your predecessors, is going to be, do we publish a paper journal? Is it ecologically sound to do so? Is the future actually going to be a digital Alleynian for everyone? Perhaps we could consider just producing a few copies for people we know who are generationally less likely to find access to it digitally. If we go digital, the possibility of bringing alive the interviews that are reported here, by having them available at the click of the button to see on video, is very exciting. I think it’s very interesting though, how many newspapers still love the printing of an interview. And how when you print an interview, you can offer a commentary on it in a way that can be very necessary for delivering messages. So, I think there’s a place for the video interview, but it mustn’t take the place completely of the written-up interview.

Finally, can you sum up what the Alleynian is, for you?

We’ve had an opinion that we should incorporate an Agony Aunt/Wellbeing section into the publication.

That’s a nice question. As Francis said earlier, I think it is, at its best, the school’s signature. It gives a little record about where we are now, and how we live now, and what we care about now. And I think if it’s doing its job, subliminally and quietly, it probably says something about our values and what matters to us. I like the way people pick things up by osmosis, by just finding something instead of being told what to think. I’ve been a great supporter and defender of it over the years. For a couple of years, I edited it, which I think is pretty unusual for a headmaster. It was a staging post between different editors, and I wanted to make sure it took on a certain form. And in a way, the form it now has was made in those years, and now I properly give it back to the school, to the boys, to the teachers and supporters, to carry it forward.

I don’t know, I suppose I’m not a great reader of Agony Aunt columns or Agony Uncle columns, even when they appear in the national press. I suppose they feel so ephemeral. They might be more relevant if we had a weekly newsletter. And there are other ways in which we’d want to deal with people who have concerns. What I loved in the 400 edition actually, were the articles by our Head of Wellbeing, Miss Coppin (now Mrs Whittington), and by the Chaplain. And those are areas that particularly draw attention to pastoral care and where you can look for help and support if you’re feeling the pressure, the stress, the challenge of Dulwich life or of life beyond Dulwich. Maybe it’s not too fanciful to think I might read that and realise I could have visited the counsellor without having to tell my Form Tutor, or that the Chaplain has a room that is literally open for us to drop in on.

IT GIVES A LITTLE RECORD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE NOW, AND HOWWE LIVE NOW, AND WHAT WE CARE ABOUT NOW

We wondered whether you believe that a print version is a necessary record for the College and in particular for the archives.

Well, I think we have big decisions for the future. We know that future historians will be both blessed and cursed by the arrival of the digital age. There will be some things they’ll

Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker