New School Year

As students returned to College earlier this month, the Concord Community was delighted to welcome approximately 180 new student members.

Many of the students were greeted at the airport and accompanied by Concord staff by coach back to College. This year, some students were also able to be accompanied by parents and the College was delighted to be able to welcome them to the campus.

Said Concord’s Principal, Dr Michael Truss: “The contrast with this time last year, when students were completing their quarantine and we could not yet welcome parents into College is huge, and it has been truly delightful to have been able to meet so many of you in person on our boarders’ arrivals days as well as our evening for parents of day students. For all who are new to Concord: welcome to this very special place!”

Arrivals days were busy and returning students, particularly the Prefect and Monitor teams were on hand alongside college staff to help everyone to find their rooms and settle in.

Concord runs a full program of induction activities for new students – who are joined by those who return and who will be their new classmates. Induction this time included challenges on the College’s high-ropes course as well as other team building games and a rather tricky web to navigate. All of the activities are designed to help students get to know each other better and begin to build new friendships. Practical needs were also covered with campus tours, book collection from the library and sports kit collection too.

First aid training formed part of induction week for Lower School students, a session which builds confidence and team work as well as imparting potentially vital skills.

A particular highlight of Concord’s induction program is the “Prefect and Monitor Games” a series of fun challenges and group activities organised by Monitors and Prefects. The games provide new arrivals with a fun and informal welcome to Concord and lots of opportunities to meet other students, both from their own year group and from the prefect and monitor teams. 6.2 Prefect Leo reflected on how friendships are made “”It was wonderful to see how new friendship groups formed among new students. Many people who met each other on prefect games became and stayed very close friends.” he said.

Having become at least a little more familiar with Concord’s campus, the Saturday of induction week saw students visit the nearby town of Shrewsbury, a historic medieval town and the nearest place for shopping trips for students. Monitors and prefects acted as tour guides for groups of students, showing them the highlights of the town.

On Sunday, the final day before lessons began, students and staff took part in a “Colour run” organised by the College’s Sports Department. Participants completed laps of a course among Concord’s beautiful trees and grassy spaces, being ambushed along the way by members of staff with coloured powders. The result was a lot of laughter and a lot of very brightly coloured t-shirts: all of the paint washed out, but the happy memories will persist into the year and far beyond.

By Monday everyone was much more familiar with Concord and each other, ready to start the academic year in earnest.