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Headmaster Adam Williams reflects on exciting changes to the LWC campus in 2023.A LETTER FROM THE HEADMASTERClooney, Chaucer, Coffee and CommunityThe story goes that in the 10th century, high up on the fertile volcanic Ethiopian plateau, Kaldi, a young goat herder, noticed his flock becoming very energetic after eating the red berries from a certain bush. When reporting this to his local monastery, the head monk brewed a concoction with the berries, enabling him to stay awake in the long hours of evening prayer far more easily. Coffee, as a drink, was born. Arab traders then brought coffee back from Ethiopia and named it ‘qahwa’ - meaning ‘that which prevents sleep’. And many years later, in 1475, the first coffee shop, Kiva Han, opened in Constantinople. It was an instant success and went to the heart of family life to such an extent that Turkish law was established to allow a woman to divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with a daily coffee quota. And we thought baristas were under pressure in this era… Then, in 1600, coffee merchants reached Italy, and on being advised it was part of a political and religious threat, the Pope baptised the beans - at a stroke making them an acceptable Christian beverage… A millenia on from those humble beginnings, coffee is now the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil (a different type of the black stuff) with 5 billion cups drunk worldwide each year. The UK sups 55 million cups each week. And in a recent survey, it was estimated that 20 coffee shops are opening in Britain a week compared with the closure of 30 pubs, meaning coffee shops will outnumber pubs by 2030 although not all are frequented by those who look like the cast of ‘Friends’. To chart the global growth still further, the international space station installed an espresso machine ten years ago, though George Clooney has yet to visit…As the world continues to urbanise and people move into and back into cities, so the desire to connect, to socialise, to work and to play becomes ever stronger. The archaic bastion of a male-dominated pub with pints and pork scratchings is now a post-modern centre of 5G connectivity, lattes, panninis, and croissants. Del Boy would approve, I feel…just…and as we look forward though, it is not necessarily high streets that will house such places but floors within individual high-rise buildings; a shrinking of our urban ecosystems, if you like. For those who enjoy a coffee and muffin in M&S for example, you are already on your way there. And what of the social hubs of LWC? Well, Zanetas, our incredible new Sixth Form Centre with superb coffee shop (pictured right) and trained baristas is up and running, not to mention the Lovemark events such as the wonderful Centenary Festival, The Beckwith and Sternian Saturday, all of which bring our ever-expanding community together regularly. The Bramley Netball and Tennis Centre is also open for business, with more to come in Strategy 2030. We have also seen so many Sternians pouring back into LWC to be involved in Futures Fair events, Round Table discussions, golf and cricket matches, year group reunions, an online global reunion (juggling time zones was tricky) and I regularly hear of pockets of Sternians meeting up beyond LWC as friendships for life embed.We also have a desire to ensure that all of our pupils are well versed in conversational and community connectivity with each other and you all, not simply via social media or a chat bot. This is something that John Bacon, your superb Sternian Chairman of 6 years was so passionate about. As a College, we thank him wholeheartedly for his commitment to all things LWC as he steps aside after many years of service and we wish Simon Clements all the very best in the role, not to mention all of you, as Sternians, who kindly give of your time to mentor, coach and support our pupils (through LWC Connect primarily). Alas, there may not be any overenergetic goats on site these days, nor space-aged coffee machines floating in the ether with global superstars attached, but our aspiration to keep finding ways to bring our community together in these uncertain times is writ large.Your College is thriving - please do take this as an open invitation to come back and see what we’ve been up to.ADAM WILLIAMSHeadmaster4