St Benedicts Blog Feed - Headmaster's Blog

Christmas Special

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 15:57:23 GMT

What will you be doing on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, after you’ve opened your presents, eaten your Christmas dinner, maybe taken the dog for a walk?

Sermons in Stones

Wed, 21 May 2025 19:39:07 GMT

Have you ever stopped to really listen to the quiet whispers of nature? Nature is filled with wisdom and lessons for those who are willing to look closely.

Afraid of the Cross

Fri, 4 Apr 2025 12:04:54 GMT

What frightens you? 
When I was a child, I was frightened of the Cross. 

The crucifix - that is, the image of the cross with the crucified Jesus - in the church I attended as a child, was a very powerful piece of art. I wish I could show you a picture of it. Made of bronze, it shows Our Lord with his head bowed in death. One other detail I can remember is that His right foot is bent round, so that the nail can pierce both His feet.*

Clothed In Kindness

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:39:16 GMT

As we prepare to celebrate the patronal feast day of St Benedict this Friday 21 March, I want to talk to you about an important principle found in the Rule of St Benedict, which has shaped Christian hospitality for centuries: the idea of welcoming the stranger.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 17:09:03 GMT

I don’t know if you’ve seen any good films recently. I don’t go to the cinema very often, but there is a movie which has just been released which I simply must see, and that is A Complete Unknown, the biopic of the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, starring Timothée Chalamet.

What is Truth?

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 17:35:30 GMT

This week’s theme for the school is Veritas - Truth, and we heard in this week's assembly, a reflection on this theme and its application to the Christian life.

All people who follow a religion believe that there is such a thing as an objective Truth. Christians believe that this Truth (with a capital T) has its identity in the person of Jesus Christ.

Hoping It Might Be So

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 10:08:33 GMT

Did you know that when cows stand up they get on their knees first?

There is an old folk tradition in this country which says that every Christmas night, all over the world the cattle in their barns kneel down in honour of the birth of Jesus, just as, tradition has it, the oxen did in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night over two thousand years ago.

Balancing Act

Wed, 6 Nov 2024 16:22:04 GMT

You heard earlier about the Benedictine value of balance, and its importance in our lives. Whether or not we are Catholic, I think we can all agree that it is important to establish, and then maintain, balance in our lives.

Born on the Fourth of July

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:51:56 GMT

I’m sure that you’re aware that here in the UK we will be having a General Election on the 4 July this year. This is an election to choose the government, that is the group of people who run the country for the next 5 years.

Don't Look Back in Anger

Wed, 15 May 2024 15:27:49 GMT

I want you to do something for me – everyone: students and adults. I want you to close your eyes and try to remember a time when you were angry. Can you remember what it was which made you feel angry? Can you recall how you felt? Did the experience maybe have a physical as well as an emotional effect on you: did you feel your pulse getting quicker? Did the blood rush to your face?

Walking Through The Door

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 16:24:42 GMT

They say that great minds think alike, and while I’d be the last person to claim to have a great mind, I was fascinated by the words of Fr Alexander – who definitely does have a great mind - in our beginning of term Mass on Monday. If you remember, he spoke about the incredible Shroud of Turin and how it represents physical evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus as a historical event. I didn’t know what Fr Alexander was going to say on Monday, but when I heard his homily I realised that I had been thinking along similar lines to him in terms of what to say to you at the start of this term.

Begin Afresh

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:07:34 GMT

Do you take any notice of nature? On your way here to the Abbey church what trees did you pass? Did you see any birds? Were there any plants?

The Habit Of Excellence

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 12:37:27 GMT

A few things in the past few weeks have come together in my mind to form a very strong impression of what I can only call excellence at St Benedict’s.

The Road to Damascus

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 14:07:43 GMT

As well as many other aspects of the school which we are proud of, the racial and cultural diversity of St Benedict’s stands out very powerfully for me. It adds hugely to the richness of our community, as does our spirit of inclusion. So, when we see things happen in the world which attack this, we are all affected by this.

Thank God It's Christmas

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 10:14:03 GMT

Have you noticed that Christmas is coming? Of course you have.
I bet that any of you could recite pretty accurately the Christmas story: Mary visited by an angel; a census and a journey to Bethlehem; no room at the inn; a baby born in a stable and placed in a trough that animals eat from; shepherds visited by an angel and making their way to Bethlehem to pay homage to the baby; wise men following a star to the stable and giving the baby strange gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Greeks bearing gifts?

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:22:21 GMT

Some of you may have heard the recent news about the debate over the Elgin Marbles - a set of ancient Greek marble sculptures that currently reside in the British Museum in London. These sculptures were originally part of the Parthenon temple in Athens, and were removed over 200 years ago in the early 1800s by a British nobleman named Lord Elgin.

The Parthenon in Athens

Small Beginnings

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:42:51 GMT

How many bricks make a wall? One hundred? One thousand? Ten? Could one brick ever constitute a wall?

Quintessence of Dust

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:11:42 GMT

If I mention the name Bennu, do you have any idea what I’m talking about? A clue: Bennu is 4.5 billion years old and parts of it, contained in a capsule, streaked through the atmosphere in a fireball and landed on target in Utah’s western desert last Sunday, after a 1.2 billion mile journey to Earth.

Voting

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 13:49:16 GMT

At what age do you think people should be able to vote in a general election? In the UK the voting age is currently 18, and has been for a very long time. However, the Labour Party have decided that they will reduce the voting age to 16 if they win the next General Election, which will probably be in a year or so’s time. Doing so would enfranchise – which is what we call giving people the vote – 1.5 million British teenagers, including some of you, of course.

Rules

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:25:58 GMT

I wonder how you feel about rules? Do you believe that they are a necessary aspect of life, which ensure the smooth functioning of society, or on the contrary do you feel that they are a cruel infringement of your freedoms and human rights?

Values

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:09:52 GMT

I hope that this academic year will be extremely rewarding and fulfilling for you. It might sound like an obvious thing to say, but a school exists for its students, and it’s my job, and that of the wonderful team of staff that we have at St Benedict’s, to help you to achieve your goals, to be happy and secure and, hopefully, to enjoy your school years. That said, that may not always mean that you agree with our decisions or our methods for doing this, but it’s extremely important to me that you feel respected and listened to here.