Only they can judge. Have many of the boys who have passed through College, touched my life? More than most will know. Much has been made of the earthquake years, and the eventual completion of our replacement buildings may be a source of satisfaction for others. But as Head Prefect Lachlan Stark said at the opening, “It’s only a building. It’s what we do inside it that matters.” When people used to visit for the first time they would look out of my study and remark, without fail, on the beautiful view. I actually used to say, “Yes, but if we were hit by ‘the big one’ and the whole lot went, we would still have a College. We are not just about buildings, you know.” So blame me. Buildings are expensive piles of fancy materials nailed and bolted together. A school is a community of priceless individuals joined together with a unique glue – the values, ambitions and respect they share. I hope my type of adhesive has done a reasonable job. I will leave with a heavy heart, but I have known my successor for many years, and know the school will be in good hands.
years have seen us, at very great expense, put most of it back as it was pre-earthquakes. Couple quaint architecture with a timeless Edwardian-style blazer, and how easy it is to be labelled ‘old fashioned’. What nonsense. I strongly advise my successor to change the uniform and build on the quad – it is the only way to break that perception in the eyes of some. On the other hand, he could build on the reality: some of the hardest-working and most dedicated teachers I have ever had the privilege to meet, the most tractable, responsible and co-operative student body any head could wish for, and some of the sharpest-edge teaching and learning to be found anywhere. Trendy, no. Flashy, no. Understated, possibly. Effective, unquestionably. Sign boards at the front of the school celebrating Junior South Island Pizza-making Champions – really not our style. Dead body – over mine. Have I had fun? Of course I have. Have I been ready to weep at times? Of course I have. Privileged access to so many families inevitably brings you face to face with the deepest personal tragedies. Have I touched the lives of many in a meaningful way?
broad spectrum wherever you are – there are no generalisations. The other thing I quickly tired of was the ‘Englishness’ of Christchurch, and indeed that label for the school. I had not come to the other side of the world to be told it was like where I had come from. I used to tell people I knew one or two people in England who had never actually seen a punt, far less been in one. Christchurch, and the school, has an English heritage, but it is a school of, and for, New Zealand. The College celebrates its architecture and the last few
- Simon Leese June 2015
From the Board
Board Chair, David Barker, remembers his first meeting with Simon Leese very well. At the first Board meeting in 2003 the sole item of business was the selection of the new Headmaster. Simon impressed us then and the decision that he was the best person for the role was straightforward and reached swiftly. He has proved many times how right we were to make that decision and has fulfilled all the promise that
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College Issue 29 2015
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