THE ethics campaigner Lord Alton was the guest of honour at the senior boys’ prize giving ceremony of St James School in Twickenham.

In his speech to the school, Lord Alton said that we each have talents and gifts and the trick is to allow them to fly free, otherwise they will be crushed. Education is to allow those gifts to fly free.

He pointed out how important it was to weigh the consequences of our actions – that what we do affects all around us. Further to this, he shared with the audience the idea that "a person is a person because of other people".

Lord Alton called on pupils to become useful citizens – encouraging them to engage in voluntary activities, community affairs, charitable organisations, prison visits, education, politics.

Roger Pincham, chairman of the governors, opened the proceedings by introducing Lord Alton. He also welcomed Cllr Derek Beattie, Deputy Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, fellow governors and the principal guests, with special thanks to Mrs Zelma Braganza, headmistress of St Catherine’s, for the use of her hall.

Nicholas Debenham, the headmaster, introduced his report on the school year. It had been a year of re-appraisal. The main aim of the school does not change, he said: "In a materialistic world, [our aim is] to re-establish the spiritual dimension; in an era of mechanistic teaching and over-regulation, to find intelligence in the subject and maintain the vital link between teacher and pupil; in a society obsessed by results, to emphasise the primary aim of education – to build character.

Since moving to Twickenham in 1996, the school has grown by 100 pupils; there is a strong local entry at 11 and 13 years of age, and total numbers next year will approach 300. An inspection is due in February 2004. There are to be significant changes in staffing. Julian Capper, described by Mr Debenham as a ‘towering figure’, leaves this term after a very long association with the school, first as headmaster of St Vedast, then as deputy head and 6th form tutor at St James Senior Boys.

He was also head of classics and in charge of debating. David Lacey is the new deputy head and Dr Bowman will look after the 6th form. Dr. Hipshon is in charge of the first three years.

David Hodgkinson, the new head of language, has introduced a fuller and better scheme: all boys will learn Latin and French, all will be introduced to Sanskrit, and those that do well will get Greek or German. Music, art, drama and IT will all be strengthened.

The lunchtime club activities have proved outstandingly successful for the younger boys and will continue. There is a steady flow of vigorous and keen young teachers into the school who will balance the experience of existing staff and take us through the next phase.

Then came reports by pupils: nine boys, including senior prefect, David Sinclair, spoke of their experiences during the year. David Story, who read his prize-winning poem was outstanding.

The guest of honour, Lord Alton, was only 27 when elected to Parliament. The headmaster reported that his policies had been radical - his concern was for the poor.

Mr Debenham said: "He had the courage of his convictions and spoke out on a range of moral issues. What he saw all around him was the attitude ‘What can I get for myself?’ He figured that it was the antithesis of ‘being the man for others’ of ‘taking your gifts into the world’."

In his speech to the school, Lord Alton said that we each have talents and gifts and the trick is to allow them to fly free, otherwise they will be crushed. Education is to allow those gifts to fly free.

He pointed out how important it was to weigh the consequences of our actions – that what we do affects all around us. Further to this, he shared with the audience the idea that "a person is a person because of other people".

Lord Alton called on pupils to become useful citizens – encouraging them to engage in voluntary activities, community affairs, charitable organisations, prison visits, education, politics.

He told a story about a jigsaw puzzle which he remembered as a boy. It had a map of the world on one side and on the other side, a face of a man.

He found he could never complete the map of the world – it was far too difficult – the pieces never seemed to relate to one another; but to do the face of the man was easy. Then it was all right, because when you turned the jigsaw over, the world map was also correctly done! So, Lord Alton concluded, "get the man right and the world is looked after".

There followed presentations to Lord Alton, Mrs Braganza and Mr Julian Capper.