Last Friday, the Pre-Prep was invaded by moustache wearing knights, kings, jesters, princesses, archers and even dragons, as the Year 1s celebrated nearing the end of their Castles Topic. The boys delighted in having a play on the ‘school castle’ (more commonly known as the Lower School Fort!) and had a special assembly where they met a real life authentic knight!
Sir Peter Bottomley (grandfather of Rory), long-standing MP for Worthing West, delighted the boys by showing them the medal he was given by the Queen when knighted, and discussed the differences between historical and modern day knights. The boys discovered that by following each of our eight School Values, they are living out a modern day Code of Chivalry. This preview of how a knight tried to live a life worthy of respect and honour, will help the boys when they write their own Codes later.
Sir Peter talked us through a day in his life and the causes he champions. Again, the boys were fascinated to discover that a knight today can live by the seaside rather than in a castle, wears a suit and rides a bike, and fights by the pen and words more than by the sword.
He concluded the assembly by answering a question as to whether dragons were real. Linking an earlier experience to the value of courage, he described how he had seen komodo dragon tracks in Asia which sparked huge interest in how poisonous these animals are and how the boys themselves would act in a similar situation. We were all impressed by the valour and courtesy that would apparently be shown in such a situation! We are delighted to say that each of your sons would make a worthy knight!
