Letter from the Master to Old Waynfletes

As I ran past School during the Christmas holiday, I hoped that the lake which School Field had become would subside in time for the new term. I recall looking forward to Spring, and particularly to Summer, with all that the coming months bring us in this beautiful city.

During February, we yomped through an alphabet of storms; and taking off for Uganda at the beginning of half term in such high winds is not an experience I am keen to repeat. I was visiting our new partner primary school, being built through the efforts of John Caird (OW 1966). Before I left, the School had raised well over £4k for the Mustardseed School in a single week, through a pupils’ sponsored activity to cover as a collective effort every single one of the ten thousand kilometres from here to Kampala. You can read more about Mustardseed in The Bridge. Mr Buwule, the Mustardseed School’s Director, was bowled over by his visit to MCS, and was sad to have to leave early for fear of being quarantined here…..

(Kenny Buwule, Mustardseed School Director, joins Junior School pupils for assembly)

As over 90% of us ran House Cross Country in the sunshine at the beginning of March, I reflected that the worst might just be behind us, though anxiety about novel coronavirus and the impact of people returning from skiing over half term in Italy was growing. The first UK death was recorded three days later, and by the following week we were already planning for all eventualities.

As Harold Macmillan put it, what blew all of us (and not just the rowers and sailors) off-course was ‘events, dear boy.’ In one sense I should have liked rather more of them, not least because so many plays and concerts were scheduled for the end of term. I am very sorry to have missed seeing many of you at recent and also future events: the Stanier lunch, the Sheldonian Concert, and our reception and dinner in New York, which was scheduled for two weeks’ time. I remain indebted to Alex Smith OW for being our man on the ground in the US, and I am sad not to be by his side in thanking our American OWs for their support. Our OW Dinner was to have taken place in London this month, including drinks in Westminster Abbey itself, again through the good offices of an OW. But the 2021 Dinner is already scheduled and we shall return!

Thank you to those many of you who have expressed their encouragement and solidarity during the past fortnight in particular. It really has been a shot in the arm for all of us.

May I also ask for your help? Our MCS Archive reaches back through a few of its documents and papers to the early 1500s has recently been accredited by The National Archives, the first school in the country to achieve this accolade. We are starting a new collection, a form of mass observation of the current time called the Pandemic Papers. I would love to know that Old Waynfletes’ contributions. More information here.

I always conclude my letter to the School by looking forward to the new term. I have never done so more than I do now. It is fair to say that I have never been so sad for a term to end, and that is entirely owing to the nature of it. (For key workers’ children and for many of us, of course the term is not really ending at all.) Since our partial closure, we have come up with a number of creative ways to remain in touch, including virtual chapel. My talks are here, and these shall continue next term.

Term dates are usually fixed far into the future and feel as certain as tides. This Eastertide, the chaplain will continue his Thursday sermons for the coming three weeks; and in a further serendipity, the BBC has just re-aired its 2016 recording of Evensong in Magdalen chapel, giving us an opportunity to hear our choristers just as term is ending. The link to the broadcast is here.

I understand that Zoom virtual OW reunions are already getting underway. One thing you can be sure of: MCS is not going anywhere, not least because none of us is! I look forward to being able to welcome you back to your School.