The Benefits of Living Together and Learning Together

Last week,  I attended a reception in the centre of Warsaw. It was fascinating to listen to young Polish professionals reflecting upon the positive benefits of a UK boarding education. They were creative and confident and they were eloquent and erudite. If the Polish economy is booming, then it is no small part due to the value placed upon education within Polish society. However, it is impossible to walk the streets of the city without feeling the oppressive weight of its troubled history. Indeed, almost ninety per cent of the city was destroyed during the Second World War. Much of the historical edifice of the city has been faithfully reconstructed but countless plaques on the walls of these new old buildings remind us of the dreadful atrocities committed during and immediately after the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.

Referred to by the historian Norman Davies as ‘God’s playground’, Poland sits at the crossroads of Europe. From a geopolitical stance, it has been uniquely vulnerable to the political ambitions of its neighbours who have, more often than not, sought territorial aggrandisement at the direct expense of Polish statehood. Having now shaken off the shackles of foreign oppression, the glass and steel of Warsaw’s booming financial district promises a future moulded by global forces. The night sky shines bright with neon lights bearing names such as JP Morgan,  Deloitte and Goldman Sachs.  Poland has joined the club and its future security is as dependent upon economic strength as it is dependent upon military power. 

A journey across Europe challenges us to confront our shared history. Whilst museums present carefully curated artefacts and, increasingly, tell compelling and relatable stories, much of our history is fragmented and messy; it cannot be tidily packaged. When considering the history of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe, what is missing is often more striking than that which remains. 

The news from Beirut, a city I have visited on a number of occasions, is alarming and the broadening of the conflict in the Middle East will doubtless cause many more civilian deaths. The relentless pummelling of apartment blocks in Kharkiv and Kyiv has shattered lives and reduced many dreams to rubble. In a world where conflict appears omnipresent, it is not hard to sympathise with Hegel’s dismal view that all we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. 

Of course, it would be easy to give way to gloomy despair. The impotence of the UN was brought into sharp focus last week and it does seem that world leaders are tending to act with seeming impunity whilst making up ‘facts on the ground’ and it is easy to forget that the twenty-first century is much more peaceful than the century that preceded it. If you want an optimistic view of the future then read Rutger Bregman’s ‘Humankind’. It is a cheerful antidote to the Doomsday Clock, devised originally by scientists working on the Manhattan Project, which seeks to represent how close humanity is to global catastrophe or complete annihilation. If you are interested, the clock is set to 90 seconds to midnight on 31st December! 

Diplomacy does work but the most powerful tool of peace that we can harness is, of course, education. Having the opportunity to live in a pluralist community where we acknowledge and celebrate difference is of enormous value. Ignorance breeds prejudice whereas educational enlightenment encourages empathy and promotes cultural understanding. 

As a student in Dublin, just after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, it was felt to me that the violent sectarianism playing out on the streets of Ulster felt a world away from us. I remember pointing this out to a friend who came from a particularly conflict-torn pocket of West Belfast. He looked at me a little bit surprised and replied that the harmony that existed within our own circle of friends was only possible because we were educated. At the time his response struck me as slightly elitist but he was absolutely right. If you live together then you grow together in understanding. 

Being internationally minded is as important as belonging to a diverse community. Lifelong learners tend to seek connections and delight in exploring different cultures. Teaching our children to look outwards rather than focus inwards is incredibly important. Challenging prejudice whilst celebrating differences within the context of an inclusive and equitable society is central to our school ethos. 

I am a passionate advocate of the cultural benefits of a Rossall education and I believe that these benefits accrue to society at large as much as to the individual. These benefits are of equal value for our day and boarding students. What Rossall offers in this regard serves to set us apart and to ensure that we really are much more than just a school. Visiting Belfast this week to attend the HMC Conference, I felt an enormous sense of hope. The tense city that I first came to know just before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement has transformed into a modern, vibrant and multicultural city that radiates optimism and confidence. 


Jeremy Quartermain
Headmaster of Rossall School