Executive

Geoffrey Boult

Giggleswick School

At eight years of age I was deposited at Euston Station to go off to boarding school in Warwickshire; a life of conkers, cricket and the classics lay ahead and I still remember the excitement of it all. I was to be the twenty second member of my family to attend that prep school, and it was a wonderful adventure. I have been involved in boarding education since that day: senior school in Oxford, university in Durham and then teaching in a variety of boarding schools; Canford, Geelong Grammar in Australia, Cranleigh, St Edward's and since 2001, as Headmaster of Giggleswick. My four daughters, often as challenging as the seventy boys I had in my boarding house, and my wife, Katie, have been part of this lifestyle; fortunately Katie has proved to be the perfect Housemistress to the girls!

I am proud to be this year's Chairman of the Association and will do all I can to support the cause of boarding in all our schools. There is a huge amount of positive ‘good news' about 21st Century boarding schools, despite the tendency of the media to repeat 19th Century images of boarding. Even the Government seems to have woken up to this fact, with huge investment in State Boarding Schools. And why? Because boarding is perfect for many pupils and their families - as all of you are well aware. Pupils receive outstanding teaching, supportive pastoral care and benefit from staff with a real interest in and concern for the needs of the individual. Each school is different, and the strength of the BSA lies within the fact that it includes many and various schools, each with its own ethos, specialisms and strengths.

Please keep supporting the BSA by attending conferences and sending all your staff, from teachers to matrons and gap students, on training days. The more we work together at raising standards and equipping staff with the right skills, the better we will all be at facing the challenges that lie ahead.

Hilary Moriarty, BA (Hons) MA PGCFE

BSA National Director

It is a great pleasure to by the National Director of the Boarding Schools' Association. I am very much enjoying the range and variety of conversations with colleagues in member schools and with the national organisations with which BSA has contact.

Since starting, I have been involved in meetings at the DCSF and with CSCI, and with a focus group examining public perceptions of both organisations. I also had the pleasure of addressing a large audience at the Heathfield St, Mary's Conference on 'The Boarding Community'.
I am delighted to see the number of applicants for the Association's training courses and conferences, which seem to be more popular than ever this year.

I look forward to meeting you should you be attending any of these, and to talking to you should you have occasion to call the office.
Meanwhile, I wish all members a happy, productive and successful year.

Tim Holgate

BSA Director of Training

Tim Holgate graduated in Science from the University of Sydney and did two years postgraduate research in Inorganic Chemistry before moving to the UK and joining the staff of Marlborough College, Wiltshire. Apart from a two-year secondment to Brisbane Grammar School in Queensland, he stayed there for twenty years and, after being a Head of Department and a Boarding Housemaster, he served as Headmaster of Warminster School, Wiltshire, for six years until 1996.

In 1996 he was appointed as the BSA's Director of Training to launch the new training initiative, in partnership with University of Surrey Roehampton. Tim has also qualified as an OFSTED Primary and Secondary Inspector and, in 1996, gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science from the University of Bath.

Tim leaves the BSA in September and will be replaced by Alex Thomson.