I am honoured to be writing to you in my first year as the new Head of St James Senior Boys’ School. I was pleased to be invited to Speech Day last term to see for myself the amazing achievements of so many of our talented young men, and most importantly to hear Mr Brazier speak in his final Speech Day. His words were touching, and his legacy as a wonderful Headmaster and amazing human being will live on.

The philosophy of unity is one of our central principles at St James, so it was a truly special moment in July this year when the Heads of the three St James schools, together with our Chair of Trustees Jeremy Sinclair, met together to discuss what makes us uniquely St James.  As we approach our 50th year next year (something we cannot wait to celebrate), we realise how important a St James education is in today’s world, and how proud we all are to be leading such wonderful schools. Hilary Wyatt, Emma Bell and I are committed to working together to ensure that the St James group of schools goes from strength to strength in the coming years.  

Aristotle’s maxim that ‘educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all’ is an approach to education that has steered my career of more than 25 years now. It is also what guided me to leading this wonderful school: I see it as an enormous privilege to be Head of a school that is so closely focused on allowing young men to flourish and thrive as whole human beings, combining both head and heart in equal measure. From exciting and dynamic lessons to the challenge of some of our amazing outdoor pursuit adventures, our boys are constantly given opportunities to discover more about themselves and the world around them. Underpinning all of this, however, are the crucial St James elements of Mindfulness and Philosophy, allowing the boys to gain a greater sense of who they are and how to become the best version of themselves.  

One of the best demonstrations of the benefits of a St James education is you, our wonderful alumni. We really do value staying in touch with you and hearing about your lives, and I hope to meet many of you at the 50th anniversary celebration event on 2nd May 2025, or at our planned alumni ‘back to school’ days. We are growing our careers programme at school, and we would love to see more of you involved as I know how much our current boys enjoy meeting alumni and hearing about their varied and exciting careers. Do let us know if you would like to get involved.

I hope to meet many of you in due course.

Best wishes

Rick Clarke