Principal's Blog

Twelve Photographs – an Italian Odyssey of Shots  
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal shares twelve of his favourite personal photographs, recording Italian moments and chronicling his time in the country, while exercising a belief in ‘seeing’ the world.  

Learning to See - Colour and Human Behaviour
  • 2023-24
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal explores the phenomenon of colour, its cultural history, how it affects human behaviour, and the critical prism students must acquire to fully see the world.

  • Art
  • School Values
The Idea of an Island: Robinson Crusoe vs John Donne
  • 2023-24
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal explores the idea of an island, contrasting the self-reliance of Robinson Crusoe with the notion that no man is an island, and the implications that has for how we conduct ourselves as human beings.

  • Education
  • History
Bambi, Swerves, and the BSM Future
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

In his last blog of the year, the Principal sounds a personal note as he reflects on the swerves that shape a life, the challenges of the past, and the prospects for the future.

  • School Values
QR code
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal laments the use of QR code menus in restaurants,  and considers the implications for education posed by generative AI programmes such as ChatGPT.

  • ChatGPT
  • Innovation
  • Learning
King Charles, the Cromwells, and the Need for Magic
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal marks the coronation of King Charles III, reflecting on his own memories of the former Prince and what the institution of monarchy might mean in a modern context.

  • School Values
Children’s Games, Puzzles, and Learning through Play
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal considers how playing games is a fundamental human instinct, explores why so many games involve overcoming an obstacle, and why learning through play is a key part of education.

  • Games
  • Learning
I Remember, a Goose’s Neck, and the Usefulness of Lists
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal considers the phenomenon of lists, ranging from personal and professional to-do lists to literary and historical lists, finding them helpful, often beautiful, and a useful aide-memoire for students.    

  • Literature
artwork of sun moon stars
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal considers what it means to encounter a reality other than our own, how education can help to transform one’s outlook, and how we might extend that opportunity to those less privileged than ourselves.

  • Bursary Fund
  • Education
  • School Values
The 12 Ways to Happiness
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

Please see here the text of a speech delivered last night by the Principal at the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy Christmas Dinner, outlining twelve ways to happiness.

  • School Values
14 Paragraphs to Entertain and Enlighten You
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal chooses 14 of his favourite paragraphs – a mixture of writings that sparkle with intelligence, warmth and wit.

  • Education
  • School Values
The Wunderkammer, Categories, and Learning by Distraction
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal investigates the tradition of the Cabinet of Curiosities, finding in it a new model of learning that fits with the accidental delights of twenty-first century technology.

  • Culture
  • Education
Power Cuts, Motorbikes, and Casting a Shadow
  • 2022-23
Chris Greenhalgh

The Principal considers the part played by shadows in ancient and modern culture, and explores how, growing up, children cast a lengthening shadow upon the world.     

  • Art
  • Literature