REMEMBRANCE DAY THANKS

Letter from: Andrew Fleck BSc, MA Principal 
12th November 2018

Dear Sedberghians 

I write to thank you for the dignity with which we honoured Sedberghians and countless others who died serving their country and defending the values and freedom that we enjoy today. At a time when some nations’ leaders fail miserably to provide effective moral leadership, the manner in which you conducted yourselves assures us that the future is safe in your hands. 

The weekend’s events were the culmination of our annual visits to the battlefields of northern France and the Old Sedberghian Pilgrimage which has recorded the lives and visited the graves of all 258 Old Sedberghians who fell in the First World War. Boarding Houses have told the stories of the young men who died and many of you were involved in creating the poppies on The Cloisters, playing at the Remembrance Service or performing in the Concert of Remembrance. All of you attended the moving Assemblies last week. 

The clarity of thought and the detail that was invested in the planning and preparation for these acts of dedication was at a level I have never seen before in any School. Each event was as impressive as it was sincere; collectively they were the most moving School occasion I have ever been part of. 

We are not faced with the prospect of war, but the challenges we face are no less; rising nationalism, social inequality and environmental destruction threaten the same values that our predecessors fought for and saved. 

The questions we face must surely be, “What is our duty? What will we give?”. 

With thanks. 

Yours sincerely 
Andrew Fleck