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Our school magazine, the Waddesdon Voice, is published termly. It showcases our students’ achievements and their contributions to the school community and beyond. As its name suggests, the Waddesdon Voice provides a mouthpiece for our students. Each edition offers you a rich range of articles, think-pieces and reflections on how our students make a positive impact on society.
Now that building work has begun on our new Sixth Form Centre, I am tempted to open this edition of the Voice with a variation on an old joke: “A large hole has appeared in Waddesdon School field. Students are looking into it!”
This work is the culmination of three years of intense work and dedication from our Governing Body, our Head of Sixth Form, Miss McIver, and our Finance Manager, Ms Nicholas. It will fill a gap in the curriculum that we provide for our young adults, enhance their educational experience enormously and enable us to build a deeper relationship with partners such as Waddesdon Manor and Estate.
The late Lord Rothschild, and the Trustees at the Rothschild Foundation, are major donors for this project. You will see photos opposite of the Groundbreaking Ceremony, attended by Hannah Rothschild CBE, her two sisters and two of Lord Rothschild’s grandchildren. Amongst many other guests, we were also delighted to welcome Milly Soames, Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Mimi Harker OBE, Vice Chairman of Buckinghamshire Council, also a major contributor to this project through Section 106 funding. We were also joined by alumni, including British Olympic Bobsleigh Champion Nikki McSweeney.
The Ground-breaking Ceremony was beautifully introduced by Head Student, Ben Jarrett. He was accompanied by his fellow Heads of School, who you can see in the pictures opposite. We also marked the notable absence of Lord Rothschild who passed away on 26th February, and announced the re-naming of the building as the Jacob Rothschild Sixth Form Building. Lord Rothschild leaves a hole in the local community, but also a legacy for our young people which I am delighted his family wish to continue to champion.
In this edition, as you will have seen from the front cover, we also celebrate a ‘ground-breaking’ art installation thanks to Mrs Chapman and a team of students. Based loosely around the Stations of the Cross, these artworks and sculptures invite our young people to consider what the Easter story means to them. The one on the front is the final installation – the empty tomb. Every Easter we are invited to consider the Easter story and its meaning for us. At the risk of stretching my metaphor too far, I do wonder if the empty tomb could be seen as another hole which may merit a more thoughtful ‘looking into’.
Wishing everyone a joyful and peaceful Easter, full of hope.
