Head's Blog: The Crane Academy, Kenya

During my time as Acting Head I will write to you regularly to keep you informed about developments at Royal High Bath and share my thoughts on the special brand of education offered by our school.

I want to reassure you that the values, which characterise Royal High Bath – Girls First, Excellence, Bravery and Kindness – flow through every fibre of our school and are shared by all our staff and students alike.

It is the first and last of these values that are uppermost in my mind as I write. As a parent, student or alumnae of the school, you will be aware of the school’s long-established relationship with The Crane Academy. For those who are not, The Crane is a girls’ school in the Rift Valley in Kenya, a remote and challenging part of the country where education is prized but not available to all - I was fortunate enough to visit last week.

I’ll start by asking you to Click Here.

They say that ‘seeing is believing’, and what I witnessed at the Crane Academy in Kitale, Kenya last Sunday confirmed my belief in the power of girls’ education to change the world. The confident young women of the Crane spoke eloquently of their determination to succeed, their determination to overcome gender-stereotypes and of how highly they valued education and the support of their teachers. It really is a ‘home from home’ and we will share more from the visit, including Mr. Duckworth’s fantastic photographs in due course.

Our House Prefects and teacher links, Mrs Bolan and Mrs Hilliam, continue to be passionate advocates for the Crane. This is done through sponsoring individual students and fundraising for specific projects. Currently the focus is on developing IT infrastructure and the Sixth Formers, Poppy Robinson, Chloe Luton and Olivia Payne who organised the superb ‘A Night at the Musicals’ was an inspiring first step towards this. Congratulations and thanks to all who took part in or supported this amazing event.

I would be happy to talk further to anyone thinking about supporting the Crane.

I am grateful to those who have been in touch to pass on your best wishes to Mrs Reynolds as she leaves us to focus on her passion for international charity fundraising: I know that she made a great difference to our community and will be missed.

It has also been heartening to receive your messages of support as I begin my role of Acting Head. At Royal High Bath, teamwork is a real strength of our school and I am blessed to work with the most amazing team of senior leaders, teachers, support staff and the GDST.

We are all utterly dedicated to continuing to ensure that Royal High remains a fun, excellent and supportive environment that enables your daughters to thrive.

Mr Hadrian Briggs

Acting Head, Royal High School Bath