As the Estate fills with life and we prepare to open our doors for the start of a new term, there is a wonderful energy around Belmont Hall.
Welcoming new families alongside our returning pupils and parents is always a wonderful moment at the school —a time to reflect on what makes our community so special. We have completed so much over the summer to make Cransley the most idyllic environment for learning and much of this you will see tomorrow.
So firstly, I must thank you for your continuous commitment to your child’s learning at Cransley.
Given the wider national discussion surrounding independent education, it is completely natural for parents to ask what the future holds, and we can provide every assurance of our growth and development. As we approach our golden 50th anniversary at Belmont Hall next year, this School is thriving.
If you were not able to be at our Senior Prize Giving Event in July, I invite you to read Professor Walter’s address on the same theme.
As I highlighted in a previous journal entry, in a healthy independent school, a financial surplus is not "profit" to be extracted, but a vital fund for institutional renewal, for secure personnel and direct reinvestment into our pupils. I spoke over the last INSET days to a staffing body (and an exceptional group of experienced and highly trained practitioners) that now numbers over eighty, such is our investment in those who will lead, teach and care for your children.
Backed by a strong operating surplus and assuring cash reserves, we are near-completing executing an ambitious program of capital improvements across the estate:
We have given our 18th-century Georgian Belmont Hall the care it deserves—fitting bespoke new front and rear windows to bring in warmth and light, alongside a complete internal refurbishment across both the main Hall, stairwells, corridors and the Junior School. We have also updated and developed additional, much-needed toilet facilities for both pupils and visiting parents.
As the School has developed its assets and reputation, it is important that we maintain ever higher standards of security, even in such an open and rural setting, and so estate fencing has been rebuilt and new entrance gates ready for installation.
We have also completed another phase in the scheduled full resurfacing of our main driveway and car parks, ensuring drop-offs and pick-ups are safer and smoother.
For our Junior pupils (and some smaller, older pupils!), we have installed a brand-new low ropes course and climbing frames to encourage teamwork, physical confidence, and creative play, and we are looking into the installation of further climbing equipment for our older pupils, as the Estate develops.
We are looking forward to equipping our gymnasium with a flexible modular seating system, turning assemblies, school productions, and community events into more comfortable and welcoming celebrations for pupils and audience members alike.
So much has been achieved by our Operations Manager, Mrs Holt, her wonderful team including Mrs Lambert, Mr Hinton, Mr Gresty and the various trusted contractors - Cheshire Contract hire, Countrywide, Lee Mac Painters - who have given so much this summer. I thank them all for their commitment and unending efforts.
Finally, we are also putting the finishing touches on a very special project on the grounds.
I will share more in the days to come, including a special opening social event next week, but I will allow you to see tomorrow, with your own eyes, our new permanent outdoor facility: The Cransley Canopy.
This installation will blend our outdoor grounds with another beautiful, vibrant, year-round space for academic discovery, environmental learning, and community gathering, to complement the farm and our School. I know, for certain, that we are one of the only schools in the country to have such a resource, and I am sure others will quickly follow, especially when they hear of the pupils’ delight and joy in using this wonderful new space.
Whether you are a long-standing Cransley family or a new parent joining us for the first time, you will find a school brimming with joy, fiercely proud of its independence, and confidently building a bright future. As our Chair concluded in July, "your investment is safe, our school is thriving, and your children are walking through an idyllic environment that is preparing them beautifully for the decades ahead."
My door is always open, and I look forward to catching up with many of you across the estate in the days ahead. See you tomorrow morning.
Richard Pollock
Headteacher