FROM THE HEADMASTER’S STUDY

Dear Old Caistorian December 2014

I wonder how well you keep in touch with your old School. If you are reading this, you can be judged to be doing pretty well and let me place on record, once again, how grateful we should all be to Charlotte Linsell and her team for their continuing devotion to the cause of Old Caistorians everywhere. But beyond reading this magazine, I wonder how else your old School impacts upon you and what you know about us now. Perhaps you regularly see a small nucleus of lifelong friends. Or, perhaps, attend informal gatherings at regular intervals. Perhaps you have some ongoing association with the School in the form of a child or grandchild. There are quite a few current students who have relatives (mostly parents) who have previously attended the School. For the first time this year, there are two students in Year 7 whose parents I taught at Caistor Grammar School. This makes me feel a little older!

In these days of instant access on the internet and immediate answers to any question you can possible dream of, it is remarkably easy for you to keep in touch with us, if you so wish. Our School website, accessible at is full of stories about what is going on in the School this week and this Term which often come with a wide selection of photographs. Many of these stories give you a link to our Flickr account which is a weekly growing collection of albums of photographs of recent School events. One of the most enthusiastic photographers in the School is me, myself – so be very careful when you pass any critical comments about the quality of the photographs! However, I am also incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and skill of many of my colleagues, not least Mr Kristian Smy, our ICT Technician, and Mr Tom Smith, our ICT Co-ordinator and Head of Computing in the School. Further, when you are on the front page of our School website, you will see a small birdlike figure on the top right hand corner. If you click on that it will immediately transport you to my Twitter account and you can there peruse my many tweets. Further, just last week, the School’s intrepid band of journalists, under the direction of our English teacher, Mr Richard Davey (himself an Old Caistorian!), compiled the latest edition of our award winning School newspaper, “Caistor Focus”. I am hoping that we can get that put on our website too, but if any Old Caistorian wanted to receive a copy, they need only call in at the School and ask for one or send us a large stamped addressed envelope with a suitably priced stamp on it and we will send you one. It’s certainly worth a careful read and will probably make you feel young again!

I am very sorry to tell you that my predecessor, Mr Trevor Foulkes, is gravely ill and is not expected to live very much longer. Many of you receiving this letter will know of Trevor, perhaps as a colleague, perhaps as a former Headmaster. He is a very remarkable man and he led our School with passion, flair and distinction. One of my best moments in teaching was being at the extraordinary retirement dinner held for him in December 1995. The warmth of feeling evident from his colleagues was wonderful to behold. Since his retirement Trevor has been a very energetic organiser of Grimsby and District Cruse charity work, helping bereaved people to come to terms with their loss. If you would like to communicate with Trevor or his wife Estelle, feel free to send things c/o the School and I will ensure that they are forwarded on. Simply mark the letters “For the attention of Mr Trevor Foulkes”.

Every School week brings its share of sad and annoying moments to go with the many happy ones but overall, as I write to you at the end of another calendar year, I can proudly report that your old School is in good heart, and that results, not just in academic terms but in sporting, musical, dramatic and many other ways, not least the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme are thriving and excelling. If you did find out a bit more about CGS as it is at the moment, I imagine you would be very proud.

I wish you and your families a very enjoyable festive season and a prosperous New Year to follow.

Yours sincerely,

Headmaster