Grey Coat 2 Headteacher's let ter to parents


In January the school took possession of the new Arts Block at St Andrew's. Staff, with the help of an army of removal men, moved in on 4th January, and the students were able to start lessons in the new specialist rooms from the very next day. I walked round on that first day, and it was great to hear the enthusiastic comments of the girls as they first walked in to the new drama, film studies, music and art rooms. The facilities for all four subjects are second to none, and for the first time we have enough specialist rooms for all the teachers, so there will be no more teaching of art in cramped converted classrooms, or music and drama in the chapels. There are also two attractive classrooms used largely for RE, and Mr Williamson has a proper office. The new dining room is not enormously much bigger than before, but it is conveniently laid out, and the larger kitchen and greatly extended serving counters make it possible to serve much more quickly. I am particularly pleased that the acoustics in the dining room are far better than before, and it is now possible to enjoy a


quiet conversation with friends while eating lunch. Now that we have been in for the first few weeks, the building already feels like home.


Until the Arts Block was built, we were seriously short of classrooms, and the chapels in both buildings were so frequently in use for teaching that their true purpose was almost lost. With music and drama properly accommodated in their new space, we are thinking about what needs doing to make the chapels inviting as places for quiet reflection and prayer. At the same time, the addition of an essential new staircase and lift tower which has been built up against two of the windows at St Andrew's means that the chapel has lost the lovely view of the garden that it used to have. This is what inspired members of the parents' Guild to commission a stained glass window to give a new focal point to the chapel.


It has been exciting to work with the artist, Michael Coles, who has


listened to what is important to us at Grey Coat, and has designed a window that gives us thought- provoking images of the natural world, and also celebrates and illustrates the ethos of the school. In the centre is Christ the teacher; to His left is St Andrew with the boy who offered the loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand and on the right, Elsie Day, the great reforming Headmistress, brings forward a charity girl from the past and a modern Grey Coat girl from the present, who together hold up the school. The texts inscribed on the pages of the book are very dear to my heart:


From Psalm 91: 'He will cover you with his wings and you will be safe under his feathers; his faithfulness will be your shield and defence.' And from Matthew 24.37, Christ's saying: 'How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.'


Of course, such a large and complex window will be costly, but the members of the Guild have made a leap of faith. They are confident that there will be a large enough number of people who belong to the wider community of the school, who would like to join together to help pay for it. I am most grateful to them all the time and effort they have given in preparation for the launch of the Stained Glass Window appeal. A Just Giving page has been opened, and if you go to www.justgiving.com/ stainedglasswindowappeal you will be able to contribute to this amazing gift to the staff and students of the school, both present and future.


Issue 9: January 2011


The design of the new stained glass window for the chapel, St Andrew's


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