“The quality of mind and spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger or pain without fear.”

This is the dictionary definition of courage and the word courage is often used alongside ‘fortitude’ and ‘resilience’.

In a recent school assembly I spoke of courage and aimed to define it and apply it. For many students, courage can be a distant concept reserved for heroes in movies or gallant soldiers of old that gave their lives for others. We read about the odd act of bravery in the newspaper or watch it on the news but does it really matter to us?

I mentioned Nelson Mandela at the assembly as someone that showed great courage. He epitomised courage, fortitude and resilience. In his augural speech after 27 years of incarceration he said, “…we are born to maintain the glory of what is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.” I am sure he is speaking of courage. It is within us all and by showing it, we allow others to do the same.

Is this possible in a school? I firmly believe it is. If we are to produce young men with good character, then courage must be highlighted and praised on a local scale.

Some examples of courage at school are:

1. Speaking up when you know something is wrong. Do not sit on your hands. Do not watch bad things happen and stay quiet about it even if you know they are wrong. Evil prevails when good people do nothing.
2. Courage is being honest and genuine with your efforts. Doing your best takes courage. It reveals our true ability at a point in time and we may feel that this falls short of our peers in some cases. It exposes our weaknesses and we have to face up to what improvement is required.
3. Courage is being able to stand up for someone who is being bullied. Bullying is not rife at Newington but it does exist. Stop what is happening and if you can’t, ask someone who can. This courage will be greatly received by the victim and may change their whole sense of wellbeing.
4. Courage is also showing support for your school in competition, even if players or teams may not be performing well. To be a fair-weathered supporter and only support your school when winning, would not be helpful for our school on many levels.
5. Having courage is part of good character and at Newington College we are keen to promote this quality and include many other qualities that go to make up good character. We will be honouring up to five students in every year group at Speech Night that have shown good ‘character in action.’ They will receive a ‘College Merit Award’ which includes courage, service, effort and resilience.

There are many at Newington College that already show good courage. We must allow them to shine and by doing so, allow others to follow their example. By acting locally at our school, our boys will be better prepared for what they will inevitably face later in their lives.

 Mr Robert Meakin
Deputy Head of Stanmore (Students)