Page 3 - Highlights

WELCOME FROM THE HEADMASTER
It is a great pleasure every year to witness our pupils achieve so much inside and outside the classroom. We are lucky to have outstanding staff and first-class facilities, and it is wonderful to see our boys and
girls make the most of their abilities during their time at the College.
We are also fortunate to be situated in a beautiful seaside setting which allows our pupils to flourish in a healthy and relaxed environment, fixing their sights on new horizons.
Last year began in an exciting way as we were able to start taking full advantage of our new facilities, facilities which the Tatler described as being some of the best in the country. We were delighted that Britain’s leading Olympian, Dame Katherine Grainger, opened our new campus. As an academic in her own right I am sure she would be impressed
by the achievement of our current generation of girls, including recent offers to read medicine and veterinary science at Cambridge, and materials science and PPE at Oxford.
However, an Eastbourne education is about far more than boys and girls achieving very well academically and across the whole curriculum: it is about developing young people who are hallmarked for life with the good character instilled by the College values which will, in turn, see them go out into the world to lead successful, generous and fulfilled lives.
We were honoured this year to welcome back Peter Homburger OE who, as an 11-year-old Jewish boy, managed to escape Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport train. He and his brothers were all offered places at the College as refugees, and it was humbling to hear him speak to our pupils about the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation.
We were also delighted that Dr Siobhan Gardiner OE won the Commonwealth Award at this year’s Woman of the Year Awards in recognition of her work empowering people to make changes in their own communities, and we are equally proud of all our pupils and OEs who continue to embody the values we hold so dear at the College.
Sadly the impact of Covid-19 meant that our pupils could not enjoy
the final term of the year. My heart goes out to everyone with friends or relatives who have suffered as a result of the virus. Everyone was affected by the lockdown, prevented from normal interaction with
their friends and extended family, as we in school were prevented from communing as an educational family. Year 13 pupils, in particular, were unable to enjoy their final term with all the memorable experiences
it offers. I was so impressed by how graciously they and all our year groups accepted the need to work from home. I was also impressed by how quickly my colleagues rose to the challenge of providing meaningful and enriching online teaching. The fact that attendance at these sessions was almost double the average for other independent schools, and almost three times the average for all schools, speaks volumes for the way our pupils engaged with their online learning.
As well as celebrating our pupils’ achievements this year, we also want to recognise the work of all those in the Eastbournian community in fighting the effects of the virus. The College enjoys a special connection to the medical profession. We hope that our founder Dr Charles Hayman would be proud of all the OEs and parents who have been involved in tackling the virus. We also hope he would be happy that, this year, we numbered 32 aspiring medics in our School of Pre-Medicine, led by our resident Dr Emily Miller.
With record numbers applying to the College, do please contact Admissions (admissions@eastbourne-college.co.uk) sooner rather than later to learn more about the school or to arrange a visit. We would be delighted to welcome you to our beautiful campus on the sunshine coast so you can see first hand what makes it such a special place.
Tom Lawson, Headmaster
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