It was lovely to be in Cathedral Assembly again this morning. It’s one of my favourite moments of the year when we come together again as a school after the summer. It was particularly lovely to see so many of the parents of new pupils joining us and almost all of them came to coffee afterwards. Please take the opportunity to come – so many people say it is a lovely end to the week and to spend time in our exquisite Cathedral, a real blessing. As ever we have some interesting external speakers coming to preach, for instance Alastair Chirnside, Warden of St Edward’s and newly appointed Headmaster Designate of Eton, the newly appointed Headmaster of Cheltenham College, Chris Townsend and Professor Helen Moore, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, one of Oxford’s smallest but most beautiful Colleges.

This coming weekend is Oxford Open Doors – a wonderful opportunity to get into parts of the city which are rarely open. Oxford, for its size, is almost certainly the most interesting City in England but so many of its joys and gems are hidden behind walls and through doors – indeed this is part of what makes Oxford such an exciting and intriguing place. This weekend is an opportunity to get behind some of those places normally hidden away. There is so much to see but one of my favourites is the painted room on Cornmarket, a room whose access is up a lino-covered staircase leading to something called Betfred, which seems to have some purpose associated with gambling. It is an entrance which could hardly be less auspicious. But get to the top of the staircase and one finds oneself in a glory of 16th Century domestic architecture, a room covered in a wall painting of exquisite quality and one which many believe was stayed in by Shakespeare himself on one of his many trips between London and Stratford – just one of the delights awaiting you over the weekend.

It’s probably also worth saying that we too have our own private open doors opportunity when we invite parents to see one of the hidden treasures of Christ Church. This term we are in the process of organising a trip up Tom Tower – do please look out for that – it’s a fascinating tour.

So many of our pupils are in College choirs, (Christ Church, Worcester and Pembroke); indeed CCCS is the only school in England which supplies boys to three institutional choirs. There are so many aspects of being in a choir which are valuable and life-enhancing, but going on tour is one of the most exciting! Both Pembroke and Worcester are planning foreign tours this year and I’m sure we’ll have details of these soon, but we already know that the Cathedral Choir is going later this month to The USA where we will visit Minneapolis, sing in the National Cathedral at Washington DC, go to Boston, sing at Princeton University where Einstein went after he had lived briefly at Christ Church, and ending in New York where the choir will sing in the Carnegie Hall. It is a sensational itinerary and just one of the benefits of being a chorister.

I have a new tranche of Form 8 helpers on the gate with me in the morning given that it is the beginning of the year. They are still revelling in the novelty of the role and so are being extremely attentive to those parents and younger pupils who need help upon arrival. In an odd moment of inactivity this morning, a conversation emerged about one of their teachers. The teacher had shown a great deal of knowledge, apparently, about an element of current teenage culture. “Yes,” said one of the boys, “Even teachers were young once!” How right they are and, indeed, I have always felt that one of the great advantages of the profession is that keeping the company of the young leads to a sense of youthful effervescence. But at some stage one has to admit that it is impossible to stop the passing of time, even if the ages of the pupils surround you stay the same, as they are constantly regenerating year after year. Shakespeare put it so well in his great Sonnet 65: “Or what strong hand can hold time’s swift foot back?” and there does come a moment when even teachers have to admit that they are getting older and so, as you will have heard today, this will be my last term. But there is no doubt that the school has the most wonderful staff and governors who will ensure that its remarkable pupils will continue to be brilliantly looked after and that the school will continue to thrive and, therefore, as Julian of Norwich put it in one of her meditations written over 600 years ago. “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” In the meantime, I look forward hugely to seeing a great deal of you when I will be able to thank you for your support and kindness and to enjoying all the exciting events during the course of this term.