For the last six days, we have been deep into the admissions interviews for next year’s intake of D and C Formers. The interviews are enjoyable, not least because they are a group activity for the boys who come. Mr. Burrett, Mr. Nair and I meet the candidates in groups of four and try to facilitate conversations with them that moves from the things that they do in school to their view of the world and those in it. We give them tasks to do and solve individually and then as a team. We also provide them with the opportunity to ask us the questions that are important to them. Sometimes we would love to offer all four boys a place at school and sometimes the opposite happens, but what we hope is that the whole exercise is something that they can all enjoy and all learn something from. In the next five days we travel to Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai to complete the outstation interviews as well as meet up with the DSOBS members in those cities. On 5^th November we will stop off in Delhi to join the DSOBS WGS celebration of the WGS Diamond Jubilee with our previous and new Chairman; perhaps I will see some of you there.

November is traditionally a month where the S Form interest in student leadership reaches its zenith. In the last two weeks of the month, we will continue their leadership development by running workshops with those who believe that they are suitable candidates for the posts of Prefect, House Captain and School Captain. Just as we did last year, we will use the workshops to help them create their application portfolio and to plan the orientation of the new D and C Formers into school in April 2018. We will be exploring all of the complexities, grey areas and hardships of leadership and helping them to recognize that leadership isn’t for everyone. Come January, when we have the next student leaders appointed, we will be making their letters of application public in the houses because they will outline their aspirations and how they hope to achieve them. This helps them to remain accountable to the boys whose quality of life they influence and it makes it easier for the community to check that their role-modeling is working.

I do worry about some aspects of our culture of leadership and am aware that we need to do all we can to meet the expectations and norms of the 21^st century rather than look back. Just as the ISC Commerce syllabus stops with Maslow when it comes to motivation theory, the seniors seem to be stuck on Skinner and Behaviourism when it comes to guiding the juniors; the school as an institution has enabled this. I found myself having a conversation with some German visitors last week about the student leadership and they asked whether it was true that in school, we allow boys to punish other boys. As I listened to myself answering the question I could feel the absurdity of it and their astonishment and horror creeping over me. The same happened to colleagues when travelling to an international conference recently and the topic of student leadership came up; the reaction from the other participants bowled them over and shut down the conversation. Culture acts to preserve itself; this is both a strength and a weakness and has led to the ascension and decline of many civilizations, organisations and companies over the years. As I said at Founders, there are some changes that will take time, but we will keep working towards these changes because the success and continuous improvement of the school depends on it. It is also the right thing to do.