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• Letter to parents 4th September (text as below)
LINKS
• Arrangements for covering Mr Rosser’s responsibilities
• Links to media coverage and internet tributes
This letter is an update on the letter which I sent out via ParentMail and the website in mid-August so that all parents can be aware of the events over the summer and the steps the school has taken and planned as a result. I have indicated where sections are the same for the benefit of those who have read the previous letter.
The tragic death of James Rosser from a heart attack on the Rwanda trip was a great shock to us, and James will be much missed by all of us in school and in the wider community. We hope that the arrangements outlined below will enable us to be able to celebrate what he contributed to the life of the school and show what he meant to so many people.
This letter also gives me an opportunity to thank and acknowledge all those who have helped over the past few weeks. The response of the school community and the willingness of so many to contribute and support others have been tremendous over an extremely difficult period.
Summary of events
Mr Rosser and Miss Sothinathan had taken a group of 12 Year 11 and Lower 6th students to Rwanda. The link to the school in Rwanda had come through Kersti Pritchard, a former pupil of Ashcombe who is doing VSO work as a teacher at Groupe Scolaire de Muhura (Muhura School Complex) in a typical rural Rwandan secondary school in Byumba province, northern Rwanda. See http://www.voicesfromrwanda.org/ for more information, including their existing link with Henry Box School, a Language College in Oxfordshire. The trip we planned included a trek to be with gorillas.
The group flew out on Monday 21st July and were staying in a hotel in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda to acclimatise and prepare for the next stage of the visit. Good links had been made with the British Consul as part of the preparation for the visit.
On late afternoon Saturday 26th July, Mr Rosser was playing volleyball with the students. He said that he felt unwell, but seemed initially to recover. However, he then felt more seriously ill and the students summoned Miss Sothinathan and Kersti who were nearby. The hospital was just minutes away from the hotel, and so in the interests of speed, James was taken to hospital in a taxi accompanied by Miss Sothinathan, Kersti and her boyfriend. Sadly, the doctors at the hospital were unable to revive Mr Rosser.
Miss Sothinathan contacted the school duty officer, Mr Thompson, who in turn initiated the Surrey Emergency Procedures, contacting the Surrey Duty Officer. Mr Thompson was also able to get through to me later that evening in France. He then contacted all the parents and Chair of Governors to inform them of the news, reassuring them that the students were safe. He also was in close liaison with Alan Cottle, the Surrey Educational Visits coordinator who had been involved with planning the trip from the outset, and who was extremely helpful and supportive throughout this period.
From Sunday onwards, news spread through the community, and there was a superb response from staff and Governors both in terms of communicating information out to parents, staff and others, and offering support to those who came to the school with flowers and messages, for which a Book of Condolence was made available.
The most important decision was whether the group should stay out in Rwanda or come back. Miss Sothinathan discussed the matter with the students who requested that they should stay together as a group, and that they would like to stay out there, feeling strongly that Mr Rosser would have wished them to do so, given the efforts he had made to make the trip possible.
This course of action was also supported by Surrey CC, the Chair of Governors and me subject to suitable arrangements being able to be put in place. The most important of those was getting another adult, preferably a member of staff, out to Rwanda to support Miss Sothinathan and the students. Several parents and members of staff offered to go, which was an incredibly helpful response. In the end, the solution adopted (partly as a result of yellow fever vaccination issues) was for Mr Reeves to go to Tanzania, and for Mr Buckingham to go from Tanzania to Rwanda and join that trip.
The travel and insurance arrangements were not straightforward, but again, thanks to much hard work by staff at school and at Surrey, Mr Reeves was able to get out to Tanzania and Mr Buckingham to Rwanda very quickly.
Both Tanzanian and Rwanda trips then proceeded very much in accordance with the original plans, and they arrived back on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Special arrangements were made to meet the Rwandan group at Heathrow by Mr Thompson and Alan Cottle, and then others of us were at school to meet the parents, offer support from the Surrey team and then enable the students to return home with their parents.
There are so many to thank for their contribution, but Miss Sothinathan has been magnificent in coping with such a traumatic situation and helping the group of students to pull together and complete the trip. Mr Buckingham and Mr Reeves both at short notice undertook major travel. Mr Thompson has been tireless in being the lead point at school, communicating with parents and so many others, and he has been supported by others including SMT, other staff (both teaching and support) and several governors who came in and have spent many hours making phone calls and supporting pupils. Many letters and e-mails have been received from parents expressing their appreciation for the way that the school has handled the situation and I will pass these on to the staff concerned.
Next steps:
Memorial Fund
There have been many requests for such a fund, and we are proposing to have a fund to be split between a communal seating area (probably within the covered area project in which Mr Rosser was very closely involved), and support for the links with Rwanda and Tanzania. In particular, the group of students who went to Rwanda are being consulted about that element, and have suggested that we consider supporting the gorilla conservation organisations. More details will be issued shortly.
The fund will be administered through The Ashcombe Trust, either as a direct donation or through the covenanting scheme. www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/Community/trust/trust-support.htm for downloadable forms
Roles and Responsibilities
Head of Upper School: Taking over as Head of Upper School in such circumstances will be challenging, and so I have asked Mr Panting as an experienced member of SMT to be both Head of Upper School and Head of 6th Form, with us putting in additional support to make this possible. Such an arrangement will minimise any further changes within SMT, and leave existing Heads of Year in position, giving invaluable continuity from the pupil and parent perspective. Mr Panting is highly respected and well known by the pupils, and having been Head of Year 10 and 11, he is very familiar with the requirements of the role of Head of Upper School. Mrs Reed, Mr Simmonds and Mr Panting will form the Senior Pastoral Group, and together with the experience and skills we can draw on from the existing Heads of Year and Assistant Heads of Year as well as other members of staff, we will be able to ensure a continuation of the pastoral care which has been appreciated by parents and pupils over the years. Mrs Reed with Mr Panting have been dealing with Upper School issues matters over the summer, but please do not hesitate to contact either of them if you have any concerns or matters relating to pupils in Upper School.
Y10 options (including changes): Mrs Burt will be responsible for this, and will be the point of contact for pupils and parents. Ms Myers will continue to manage setting and grouping enquiries.
I apologise for the length of this letter, but hope that the content helps you to understand the circumstances of events and our reaction to them.
I would like to conclude by expressing my thanks again to all those who did so much to deal with matters in such a sensitive and caring manner.