Lux in tenebris

The second half of the Autumn term is always a special one. The run up to Christmas with the traditions that have quickly become part of the Embley way add a new dimension to life in school.

We took the decision to get the tree up early so that we could all ‘feel the benefit’. In the early mornings and the later evenings, as the light falls it is a beacon of welcome and a promise of hope and possibility. 

As I enjoyed the many performances leading to the end of term, the Nativity, Carol Services at Prep and Senior, the Drama productions in all their guises many and varied, I thought how fortunate we who work with children are. Their energy, life and enthusiasm are infectious and uplifting. To be in their company is to take time to be with the future. They are unbridled potential and all of us who work with them and enjoy their company are routinely surprised by the joy of their becoming what they are. There are many notable points to take from the ISI Educational Quality Inspection Report about them; their facility with academia, the excellence of their academic achievement, their creativity and flair, their competence with IT. But for me it was the fact that the inspection team noted their humility that I was most taken with. It is not a boast but an honest recognition of their capacity, not so much to think less of themselves but to think of themselves less. 

The charitable work the children have undertaken leaves one further humbled. I was told yesterday that despite all our efforts and the national efforts of the charities looking after children, some 10,000 children will have no presents and nothing like the conventional Christmas we enjoy. I don’t want to stray into political territory, but this and the prevalence of foodbanks gives us pause for thought about our society and what we need to do to respond to the blindingly obvious need that abounds. 

Previously I wrote about winning the moment in front of your face. This moment exists at a national level, even an international level, but I am proud that through it all, and in every opportunity in the run up to Christmas, our children have held out hope, expressed joy and with unfailing optimism did what they could to look after others they don’t know. Given recent tragedies at home and abroad, their spirit of unflinching positivity, their willingness to look out for and after each other is a shining light, a beacon of hope to us all and long after the tree has come down, extends that beacon in a darkening world. The final thought echoes St John’s from the Carol Service’s Sixth Lesson:

"and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it."

On behalf of all of us at Embley, I wish you and your families a peaceful and happy Christmas.