LEST WE FORGET X 3

See earlier blog. 

 

 

MAGISTRATES

 

The principal role of a High Sheriff is to support the Judiciary. To that end I spent time today in Guildford Magistrates Courts at the invitation of Jane Macaulay the Chairman of the Bench. We sat in the public gallery to watch proceedings of three cases in one of the courts. I came away with a much better understanding of the role  of magistrates in promoting justice and dealing with all the complexities of the law and of the individuals before them. Magistrates are unpaid and deserve all our appreciation. 

State of the Art at Holloway

Saw around the fabulous new building at Royal Holloway University which was opened today by Princess Anne. It is a brilliant modern design that blends so well with the Victorian splendour of the original buildings on the campus. Students will I am sure be well motivated to work hard in the 

 

new environment. 

KEEP OUT

 

Visited HMP Coldingley for a “Crime Diversion Scheme” session run by the charity KEEP OUT bringing together four serving prisoners (serving long sentences) and seven young people most of whom had been excluded from mainstream schools. The purpose being to demonstrate to the young their personal responsibility for the choices they make at an early age. The prisoners’ stories were very powerful and honest about the root causes of their crimes and the pathway to prison. They highlighted preferable attitudes and behaviour. Well done KEEP OUT. 

PRIME PRIMARY

Visited St John’s C of E Primary School in Dorking. A school with a chequered history but which has been transformed in the last 2+ years by the Headteacher, Mark Richards. As a strong leader he has developed a strong ethos around “every child matters”, putting  learning  first, developing personal skills  and providing well targeted support to those pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Involvement of parents is all important .

This model will, with these early interventions, contribute to reducing the level of school exclusions with all the individual and social  benefits that that will generate. 

 

 

PRISONERS' OPERA

The gym of Highdown Prison. The setting for a performance of Les Miserables to a packed audience.  But no ordinary performance, as it was presented by the Prisoners and Staff of HMP Highdown and Pimlico Opera. There could be no better location to tell the story of Jean Valjean released from jail and his ardent jailor Javert, the tension between God and the Law and the prospect of redemption. The power of the tale was magnified by  prisoners acting and singing many of the roles of the opera combined with the haunting music.  No more so than when at the end of the performance the audience was asked to sit in our seats until the prisoners on the stage were taken, after a standing ovation, and locked up in their cells for the night. A musical and acting  treat with powerful and emotional messages. Wow! Well done to the participating prisoners and prison staff and of course to Pimlico Opera who instigated these inspiring prison opera performances. 

 

 

Hersham Masterchefs

Returned (in full uniform) to the North East Surrey Short Stay School (NESSS) Hersham Centre yesterday evening for a three course meal cooked by eight of the students for staff and parents. A great treat for the visitors with delicious food and exemplary service. For the young people, a valuable experience in cooking and serving at table all designed to raise their  confidence and self esteem. Well done to the students!

 

 

Sister Mary Agnes

Princess Alexandra opened, with her wonderful graciousness, the new Education Centre at Holy Cross Hospital in Haselmere yesterday. The Hospital helps people with severe disability and long term conditions. There are 40 beds and an atmosphere of a really comfortable and homely environment with very dedicated and skilled staff looking after the  patients who are highly dependent. It was a privilege too meet Sister Mary Agnes who is the retired matron and now a trustee who is the embodiment of the culture of the Hospital. Her friendly face says it all. 

 

Pizza

I am taking an interest as High Sheriff  in the issues surrounding young people being excluded, and being at risk of exclusion, from Surrey Schools. All very topical: headline in the Times: “Half of expelled pupils are mentally ill” which reported that more than half of prisoners have been excluded from school.  Yesterday I visited the North East Surrey Short Stay School (NESSS) in Staines. NESSS provides 60 full time places for permanently excluded pupils and those at risk thereof. These young people will typically stay at NESSS  for 12 weeks receiving individual programmes of education developing their academic and social skills with a focus on their emotional development. The objective is that they attain the confidence to return to and remain at a mainstream school. On the curriculum is home economics including constructing  this pizza oven and cooking us a delicious lunch. The inspiring and committed head teacher is Michelle Blackman who is making a real difference to the life prospects of all these

 

young people. 

Physical Energy

Many of you will know well the Watts Gallery and the amazing Physical Energy sculpture, photographed here with the new Director of the Gallery, Alistair Burtenshaw. I am biased as a Trustee of the Gallery, but do go and visit the current exhibition: GF Watts – England’s Michelangelo which includes several fabulous  Watts paintings on loan from other galleries and a wonderful sculpture of the head of GF Watts himself.  The Gallery has commissioned another  cast of physical energy to be positioned subject to raising the money on the A3 as Surrey’s “Angel of the South”.