A freshly baked, un-iced cake formed the centrepiece to Assembly last week.
The message – you cannot ice a broken cake. However impressive the decoration, what really matters is what lies underneath – the ingredients from which it has been made.
It provided an appropriate metaphor as we marked an important moment in the Packwood year: the presentation of Form 8 ties and the announcement of our Heads of School.
Our Form 8 tie is deliberately distinctive. Younger children notice it and recognise that its wearer has reached the top of the school. But, as I reminded Form 8, there is a danger that a tie can simply become the icing: something which says, “Look at me. I’m important.”
That is not what it means. A tie does not make someone a leader. The ingredients underneath do that. At Packwood, we expect our senior pupils to work hard when things are difficult; to be kind when there is nothing to gain from kindness; to show manners to everyone; and to take responsibility, particularly when something has gone wrong. As I said before presenting the ties, it marks the trust we put in our top year to set the standard.
The same message lay behind the announcement of our Heads of School, following an exceptionally strong field of thirteen candidates, who put themselves forward with meaningful and authentic letters, then interviewed equally well.
Leadership, like humility – our Packwood Way value of the week, means remembering the ingredients: recognising those who have helped us, sharing the credit when things go well and accepting our share of responsibility when they do not.
