Founders' Day 2022
Posted on: March 4th 2022School News
The annual Founders’ Day took place today, with over 1500 pupils, governors, alumni and staff seated in Manchester Cathedral. This event been held since at least 1872, subject to nationwide circumstances such as World War 1 and 2, and most recently, the covid-19 pandemic. It seems plausible that the daily prayers for the Founders stipulated in the School's foundation document became less frequent and this then eventually evolved into an annual event at the cathedral. The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker – also an old boy of the school – and the Bishop of Exeter, Robert Atwell, held two services close to the site of the first incarnation of the school when it was founded in 1515.
Director of Music, Rob Carey, commented: “As a school community it is important that we acknowledge, celebrate and give thanks for the generosity of the original benefactors of The Manchester Grammar School. The school has very strong connections with Manchester Cathedral and the service is designed to reflect our diverse school community in terms of religious faith or none. The music chosen each year needs to reflect the formal and celebratory nature of the event in the cathedral, and is selected to stretch, challenge and educate pupils in our musical community both in performance and rehearsal. Handel was commissioned to compose his Dettingen Te Deum in response to a victory over the French army by the British (under the command of King George II) in 1743 and the first movement is obviously joyful and celebratory in character. It was performed by MGS Choir and an orchestra featuring prominent trumpets and drums.
He added: “More reflective in nature is Maurice Durufle’s motet Tantum ergo which uses the original Gregorian chant melody stated in long note values in the soprano part, whilst the lower three parts weave complex polyphonic lines. This was performed by our most experienced singers in Year 11 and sixth form as well as staff members. The popular communal hymns are chosen to reflect the nature of the occasion and have also been orchestrated for performance. It is a great opportunity for our musicians from across the school to perform in a space like Manchester Cathedral to help enhance this formal acknowledgement of the generosity of the MGS founders, and to remind the pupils how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to attend such an institution”.
Year 11 pupil Yoonjae played in the orchestra and described his experiences: "For this year’s Founder's Day, the choir and chamber orchestra have performed George Frideric Handel's Dettingen Te Deum, which was written in 1743 to celebrate Britain and Austria's victory over the French Army in the Battle of Dettingen. It is a very glorious piece making fit to the celebratory nature of MGS's Founder's Day.
I was personally very much looking forward to performing, not only due to my passion for music but also because of simply how long it has been since this event was last held. The pandemic restricted live music as a whole over the last few years, thus, I was very grateful that I could enjoy the feeling of connection again between other musicians and the members of the audience".
In recognition of the multicultural nature of the school and the ethos of respect for all religious beliefs , the service also includes readings from religious scriptures.
Year 12 pupil Saran read an excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit. He said: “I am honoured to read the Bhagavad Gita in its original language in an event where all cultures are respected and appreciated. I feel grateful to have been given the opportunity to be the first person to read the scripture in Sanskrit at this event”.
Saran commented on the importance of this reading: “Sanskrit is often perceived to be the mother of all languages in India. Sanskrit is vital to Indian culture because of its extensive use in religious literature, primarily in Hinduism, and because most modern Indian languages have been directly derived from, or strongly influenced by, Sanskrit.
Most of the greatest literary works to come out of India were written in Sanskrit, as well as many religious texts including The Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu sacred text originally written in Sanskrit that forms part of a larger epic, the Mahabharata. This scripture contains a conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna on a variety of theological and philosophical issues”.
Year 8 pupil James commented: "Today I sang in the MGS choir in Manchester Cathedral to commemorate our Founders’ and Benefactors’ day. This is one of the most important events in the school calendar as it engages the current school community, Old Mancunians, and others involved with the school together in a time of gratitude for our founders and benefactors who made it possible for the Manchester Grammar School to be what it is and who gave us the great gift of education. It also symbolises our unity: whoever we are, whatever our beliefs, we are together – reflective in the different readings we had today from different religions".
James added: "What I enjoy the most about being in the choir is the excitement you get from singing together and feeling the same things as other people, this sense of unity. This year was particularly special as the school community, after not having a Founders’ Day for so long, celebrating all of the work which everyone had undertaken during the hardships of the pandemic. It was also my first Founders’ Day, and I loved the experience, and I can only thank the people behind it for the amazing effort which they put into organising the event, for everyone to enjoy."
There was also an address by Patrick Thom, former Head of Modern Languages and Sixth Form at MGS who discussed the recent fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris alongside the recent covid-19 pandemic. He talked about the ways in which resilience and perseverance were important qualities during both disasters, and will be equally as important as the school moves on into the future.
He said the following:
"Well, I’m delighted to be back, in a place and on an occasion which has given me so much pleasure over many years. For those who do not know me, I taught at MGS for 32 years in the Modern Languages Department, serving as Head of French and retiring as Head of Modern Languages in July 2021, having spent the 10 years prior to that as Head of Sixth Form. I am now enjoying being retired and being a new grandfather, and to keep me out of mischief I am now in my first year of training for ordination in the Church of England, so all being well, I should be ordained here, in this cathedral, in a couple of years’ time. But as a former Head of French, let me start this morning in a different cathedral, in Paris.
"On 15th April 2019, Parisians ending their day’s work were surprised then horrified to see smoke and flames billowing into the evening sky from the Ile de la Cité, the ancient heart of their capital. Fire started in the roof of Notre Dame cathedral at about 6.15 pm and burnt fiercely for the next 3½ hours before being brought under control. Shortly before 8 o’clock the spire collapsed, the roof timbers fell and the lead of the roof melted and dropped 100 feet to lie in molten puddles on the marble floor, releasing toxic fumes. Parisians, whatever their faith position, felt that they had suffered a tragedy and had lost one of the great symbols of their city. It became apparent, however, that the main stone structure and the ancient stained glass rose windows had survived, and President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the cathedral would be rebuilt and would re-open in time for the Paris Olympic Games of summer 2024.
"Many people saw this as a chance to update the cathedral, an opportunity for a new generation of French architects to bring a contemporary vision to the ancient heart of the city. This might not have been a campaign to ‘build back better’, a phrase that is probably too ‘anglo-saxone’ for French tastes, and in addition one tainted, for some, by its association with its principal user, but nonetheless here was a chance to fit an ancient centre of worship for the modern world. Britain’s Norman Foster submitted a daring design of glass, steel and crystal. Many people also talked of ‘greening’ the cathedral, using environmentally friendly materials and techniques to build an eco-cathedral fit for the 21st century. But in July 2020, the French government approved a historically faithful reconstruction, even going so far as to use wood and stone from the same forests and quarries as the 13th century originals; the first trees were cut down just before Christmas last year, and carpenters and stone-masons are being trained in the Medieval techniques that will be needed. Meanwhile, despite the measurable rise in dangerous air pollution around the site of the fire, it has been decided that the roof will be re-sheathed in toxic lead.
"Although not perhaps as dramatic as the burning of Notre Dame, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a disaster for many in our society, and the losses have been far greater. Psychiatrists warn that we may have to wait many years to understand the scale of the traumas that have been experienced. Now, as we start to learn how to live with this virus, and as the vaccination of whole populations gives real cause for hope that we can live with it just as we live other viral illnesses, we too have the need to rebuild, and we face the same question as the French government. Are we going to try to put everything back exactly as it was before, or are we going to allow a bolder vision to shape the reconstruction of our society and its institutions, including this ancient school? We must ask ourselves: “What have we learnt over these last 2 years?” What have we learnt about our values, the things that are really important and the things that don’t matter so much? What have we learnt about the difference between the things we really need, and the things we merely want? What have we learnt about people, the people whose work is revealed to be of essential importance in our society, the people whom we have clapped on our doorsteps, the people who have kept us going but who might previously have gone unregarded? What have we learnt about relationships, how we support others and how others support us, and the type of human contact that really nourishes the soul, including the need to be in the same physical space as others, despite all the new possibilities offered by Zoom? What have we learnt about our own resilience and resourcefulness, as we have been driven to find new ways of doing things, when the old familiar avenues have been closed off? And are we able and willing to challenge the familiar and the comfortable and to incorporate what we have learnt into the patterns of life that we weave for our common future?
"In the third chapter of the book of Genesis, God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and sets an angel with a flaming sword to guard the gate, so that they cannot get back in. You don’t have to believe in Adam, Eve, God or the Garden to understand the point that is being made. For us humans, there is no way back into the past, however much we may desire it. We can’t get back to normal, we can only move forward, through experiences which may be difficult, but which we can use to shape a better way of living. It is through such experiences, testing though they may be, that we grow, as individuals and as a society. It will take courage, determination and humility and critically, as the world’s religions tend to remind us, it is a venture that can be informed by hope".
He concluded: "The French government, I feel, has rejected a positive opportunity with the reconstruction of Notre Dame. There, clinging onto tradition and what is familiar has been seen as more important than embracing the possibilities of the new, in the light of a new and better understanding. But as we all share in the reconstruction of our school life, our home life, our working life and our national life, we have the opportunity to do so with the courage, humility, enlarged understanding and hope that I have suggested. That, surely, is daring to be wise, and I like to imagine that if we can do that, the statue of Hugh Oldham in the quad back at school might relax his hard metal features into a smile, nod his head on its bronze neck and say “Yes, that’s it. You have understood exactly what I meant.”
It was a pleasure to welcome Patrick Thom back after the disruptions caused by the pandemic, as well as Governors, Benefactors, Old Mancunians and guests to the service at the cathedral. Thank you to everyone who attended the service and we hope to resume this annual event next year, as is tradition.
Well done to all the pupils and staff who performed in the school event!
