“During Speech Day, we formally celebrated the wonderful achievements of our students within the three pillars of the Harrow Appi educational offer; Academic endeavour, our Enrichment Programme, and our wonderful houses.
This ceremony is important as it marks the culmination of a year of excellence in education; in classrooms, houses, sports fields, art studies, technology workshops, forest trails and ski slopes. All of this has been brought to Appi Kogen, this beautiful and remote corner of Tohoku through the endeavour of the talented and hardworking Harrow Appi tea, supported by our parents.
In this era of modern, urban existence we work hard in the school to engage our students in the mountainous environment that surrounds us. That doesn’t have to be on a mountain bike or a pair of skis and often involves quiet contemplation.
Harrow Appi is an academic school – front and centre. Our beaks are experts at creating teaching experiences that bring learning alive and get the most out of these young people; which is an art that draws on intelligence, knowledge, experience, judgement and resilience – and a lot of energy. At the end of a whole year’s educational endeavour, it is wonderful to see our Academic winners so proudly receiving their prizes and knowing that they are on a strong path.
Our Harrovian values of Honour, Courage, Fellowship and Humility have already become central to our lives in Harrow Appi. The Enrichment Programme has taken students into blizzards, music ensembles, lava fields and retirement homes. As you’ve come to understand, the aim of our education is not knowledge but a preparation for life and leadership.
And then, the Houses. As many joined the school, students thought of them as a place to hang up your school uniform – a dormitory, a place to sleep. The development of the character, spirit and care of each House has been one of the most pleasurable aspects of the past year. As the students have relaxed into the support of the HM and her or his committed team and realised that they are safe and loved and that they have a home from home, there’s been a growth in confidence and we’ve started to see wonderful and unexpected talents, passions and personalities emerge. And this is the way it should be; support and guidance for every boy and girl in order to get the very best from them.”
Speech by Mick Farley, Founding Head Master
