'We are tremendously excited to be welcoming everyone back to College for the beginning of the new academic year. If you and your family are new to Bradfield, then I hope that you will soon feel the warm embrace of a community that is kind, compassionate, and superbly friendly. I do believe that our famed ‘family feel’ is one of our most distinctive and enduring features.

It is normal to feel a little anxious when embarking upon a new adventure but hopefully this is balanced by a tangible sense of excitement. Our boarding staff are very experienced and empathetic, and they will be keen to establish a very strong partnership with you to ensure that all of our children feel encouraged and supported. Fiona and I look forward to welcoming parents to Crossways at various points throughout the year, as well as catching up informally at sports matches, performing arts events, carol services and many other College events. We try to be as accessible as possible, and we love having the opportunity to get to know Bradfield families new and old!

It has been a very busy summer with lots to celebrate in terms of public examination results. Collectively, these results are the strongest in the College’s recent history, and it is lovely to see our recent leavers progressing to the next stage of their education or taking a little time away from their formal studies to explore the world. Over the past couple of months, we have had thousands of visitors to College, and I am very appreciative of the hard work and dedication of our fabulous operational staff. It has been particularly tough conditions for our amazing ground staff who have battled extreme heat and a worrying lack of rainfall.

When the children return, we will be talking to them about what it means to embrace a spirit of adventure and commit to pursuing excellence in all areas of their lives. School should be fun and we hope that our boys and girls will develop friendships that will endure a lifetime. Many of the skills that are so essential to later life are developed within the context of adolescent friendships. Above all else, these connections help young people to feel a strong sense of belonging.

We want all students to immerse themselves in at least some aspects of the co-curricular life of the College community. The opportunities that out children have are truly outstanding and this summer it was an absolute joy to watch pupils participating in the Greek Play in Athens and shooting competitively at Bisley. Last year produced so many ‘wow’ moments across a great diversity of activities, and I am always inspired by the energy, talent, and commitment of both our pupils and staff. Do join us in encouraging your children to get involved and try something new.

In terms of ‘pursuing excellence’, it is important to understand what this means within a Bradfield context. All outstanding schools should seek to inspire young people to have a strong sense of moral purpose and to commit to excelling in all areas of their lives. This does not mean striving for perfection or necessarily achieving that perfect set of examination results. It is not transactional, performative, or outcome driven. Pursuing excellence at Bradfield means embracing new challenges and demonstrating an eagerness to develop character attributes such as confidence, empathy, and resilience. It means living a life of moral purpose and setting oneself high aspirations. It means investing in the collegiate life of the College community and caring for those around you. It means pursuing your dreams (whatever they might be) with a conviction and steadfastness that enables you to navigate the inevitable obstacles and setbacks that will manifest themselves along the way. Consequently, we believe that the pursuit of excellence should be a motivating mindset that positively supports personal wellbeing, scholarly endeavour and co-curricular engagement. There is no ‘Bradfield type’ for we celebrate the glorious diversity of interests that exist across our pupil body, and our community is daily enriched by the uniqueness of every young person who lives and learns here with us.

At a time when the independent sector is contracting, we are enormously fortunate to be countering the trend. I am delighted that we look set to start this year with a slightly higher pupil roll than last year and we know that this is undoubtedly down to the vital role played by ‘word-of-mouth' recommendation, which is always so much more powerful than any slick marketing campaign. Thank you so much for not only entrusting us with the education of your children but also for being such powerful advocates for all that happens here at Bradfield. It is great to see projects such as the Health and Wellness Centre progressing so positively, and our relatively robust position is enabling us to make some very exciting plans for the future.

On a personal level, Fiona and I would like to send our best wishes to all Bradfieldian families, and we hope that this will be a year filled with love, laughter, plenty of happiness, and a sense of real accomplishment.

All best wishes,

Jeremy Quartermain