The View From My Study 13 March 2026

Do you suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia? If so, you’ve probably been keeping a low profile today because your irrational fear of Friday 13th normally prevents you from leaving the house. We all have fears and many of them are irrational. For no particular reason, I’m not fond of snakes and I can break into a cold sweat just thinking about them. Others react the same way to spiders, or rats.

There is another kind of fear that is more common – the fear of the unknown. This fear can last a lifetime and often hardens into regret. It has no respect for age or gender and can paralyse its victim into inaction. The antidote, of course, is found in schools that promote the belief that it is not only acceptable to try, but acceptable to make mistakes along the way. A culture like this is healthy, allowing children to grow in confidence. I like to think that we cultivate this antidote at Bilton Grange and that our pupils store it up for use when they need it most.

I must admit that after last week’s BG Bugle went out, even I marvelled at the breadth of activity we pack into a single week. From World Book Day celebrations to global writing competitions, International Women’s Day events and talks from Holocaust survivors – not to mention scholarship assessments, mock exams, school matches, rehearsals for plays and concerts, and the business of everyday lessons – the children manage to fit in so much. It is precisely this variety that shapes them into such rounded and genuinely interesting young men and women.

Visitors often remark on the authenticity of our Biltonians, particularly on Open Mornings. We do not give our pupil guides a script; instead, we simply ask them to be themselves. Character develops over time, and uncertainty is a perfectly natural part of childhood. Children will question themselves, or follow a trend that isn’t quite “them”. But when values are strong – and consistently reinforced and celebrated – authenticity tends to win out in the end. That is exactly what we aim for at BG.