This week we had A Conversation With... our Head of Co-curricular and Summer Camps, Keith Settle. Although new to this particular role, he has been at Shiplake College for 11 years and while he's not organising our extensive co-curricular programme he can be found teaching maths or coaching rowing.
You have worked at Shiplake for a number of years, what has changed and what has remained the same?
The College has grown so much in the last 11 years. The growth of the Lower School and our Sixth Form has made a huge difference, in addition to the physical changes in the buildings and how we use our resources. It is a part of being at Shiplake which has genuinely been very exciting and a privilege to be a part of, because we are always looking at developing and changing to meet the needs of the pupils and our community. What remains the same is the sense of community and the ambition you sense from teachers to get the best from our students. I am also lucky to have worked with some of the same colleagues for my whole time at Shiplake and it is genuinely so heartening to count them as close friends.
You recently got married at the College. What made it such a special place to tie the knot and what were your highlights of the day?
Getting married at Shiplake was very special. It really was the happiest day of our lives and made even more special by having our friends and family in such a beautiful environment. Fortunately, the sun was shining and Reese, the gardener, had just made sure the Skipwith lawn and flower beds were looking at their best. The catering team went all out to support us and even though I am very familiar with Shiplake, our guests were totally bowled over by the beauty of the place, which we can so easily take for granted. We were also very lucky to secure the services of my good friend, Rev. Stephen Cousins, who married us in what was his last service in Shiplake Church. It felt like a real Shiplake celebration with so many friends from the Shiplake community in attendance.
You have recently taken on some new roles at the College, do you have any exciting developments planned?
Organising our co-curricular programme is certainly not without its challenges. It's great that so many pupils want to engage and try something different, but we can always look to improve what is on offer and how we manage our afternoons so that everyone feels they are gaining from their experience. It is early days, but the addition of the facilities in the Davies Centre will be a huge advantage to the co-curricular programme when it is completed in the Spring term. The designs for the new climbing wall look amazing! I am also really excited about the development of our summer camps programme. In the last few years I have been working on our residential rowing camp as well as introducing new courses in subjects such as art and netball. The feedback from the summer was overwhelmingly positive and to have allowed 160 students to experience Shiplake in their summer holidays was a great achievement. The camps will be expanding, so for now, watch this space.
What do you get up to in your free time?
Outside of school I do like to keep busy and work on things that interest me. I am a governor of my local primary school and also the Welfare Officer at Leander Club, so I have been able to take the skills I have learnt at Shiplake and take them in to the wider community. Aside from this, I am quite happy working in the garden with my wife and going for long walks with our dog.
What has been your proudest moment at Shiplake College?
There really have been so many, and it is these which provide me with an anchor and remind me why we are so lucky to be here. Winning the J16 eights title at the National Schools' Regatta in 2011 was brilliant and then becoming the Skipwith Housemaster in 2012 were particular highlights for me. Over the years seeing so many students excel in their rowing whilst at Shiplake and beyond has been a real privilege and it continues to be a privilege to be part of the amazing coaching team which constantly improves and delivers the results. So many Old Vikings still keep in touch because of what we did for them, which means so much. They always support us and keep coming back.
