The Scholars’ Dinner was a wonderful event, graced by nearly one-hundred guests comprising teachers, parents, Scholars, the Headmaster and our distinguished guest speaker – Professor Michael Scott; Professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, acclaimed author and broadcaster. This year’s Scholars’ Dinner marked the culmination of the Scholars’ intellectual efforts following the publication of this year’s Scholars’ Journal. Throughout the year, supervised by their fellow Scholars in the Fifth Form and Upper Sixth, nineteen Scholars channelled their intellectual curiosities into written form, contributing to the Journal’s rich and diverse content.
After canapés and champagne in the quad, proceedings were formally opened by Head of School and Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Nancy (Upper Sixth, Swift). She introduced the opening amuse bouche, a performance on the violin by Caellum (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh), who performed The Bee from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan. Oscar (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) then delivered a resonantly-sung Latin grace before guests were seated for a delicious two-course meal provided by the Catering Department, nourishing both themselves and fruitful conversation.
The evening concluded with a keynote address from Professor Scott, introduced by Poppy (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh). In an inspiring speech, he spoke poignantly on the importance of scholarship in the nation’s young generation. Drawing from his passion for Classics, Professor Scott encouraged the Scholars to enjoy the journey of their life, before ending his speech with some advice: to be curious, resilient and passionate, ever on guard against the consequences of closed-mindedness. This was a most timely reminder on the day the nation commemorated VE day against a backdrop of war in Europe.
