By Mr Andy Gordon, Interim Principal

I was lucky enough to secure a ticket to Tay Tay’s Sydney concert as part of The Eras Tour last weekend.

It was not my first time seeing a Taylor Swift concert. I took my stepdaughter to the Red Tour (2014), 1989 Tour (2015) and Reputation Tour (2018). So yes, you could say I am a proud Swiftie. It turns out I was not very familiar with the eras after Reputation.

I ran into some of our students at the concert, who immediately presented me with some Swiftie bands which I now wear with pride.

The Eras Tour features songs from the entire back-catalogue Taylor has produced since she put her first album out in 2006, some 18 years ago.

The show featured many of her hits, but also some lesser-known songs that clearly hold a special place in the artist’s heart.

It got me thinking about Radford’s back-catalogue. Yes, there have been some well-known significant events in our shared history, but also some less well-known gems.

In 1933, decades before our Foundation Stone was unveiled, the person that our College and community is named after, Lewis Bostock Radford, Bishop of Goulburn said:

The things that bind are greater than the things that part.

This quote is at the front of 35 Years of Radford College: Foundations, Traditions, Inspirations by George Huitker, published in 2019.

Another quote on that page is from John Leyshon, Deputy Principal of Radford College from 1992–2012.

If you can see me, I can see you.

I imagine this might have been delivered during the many assemblies Mr Leyshon presided over, possibly to quell some overly enthusiastic behaviour and noise. But I think this quote stands as a timeless expression of Radford’s sense of belonging and connection.

On the weekend I was also lucky enough to attend the 2024 NSW Schoolboys Head of the River in Penrith. You can read the results elsewhere in this Bulletin, but as I stood watching the action on the water with our parents, friends and rowers, I felt part of an incredible team spirit. Our French visitors currently on exchange from the Lycée Notre-Dame might call it an esprit de corps.

This is what we hope for, not just in our 40th year, but always. That regardless of what we are doing at any given time, that we all feel known, heard, supported and loved. If you can see me, I can see you.

Nurturing this sense of safety and belonging requires work and it is grounded in our College Ethos. We are intentional in how we signpost our values of truth, compassion, and wisdom and in how we see again, listen deeply and act with kindness.

When we live the College Ethos, we honour the legacy of those that came before us and can proudly entrust Radford to those that follow us.

Lead well.

Andy