Worth focuses on the human touch
Mon, Jun 2nd, 2025
Head Master Mr Stuart McPherson spoke about our values and the human touch of Worth in an empowering address on Speech Day.
Speech Day is one of the biggest events of the year at Worth and a fabulous celebration of the academic life at the School.
In his speech, Mr McPherson spoke about the changes in teaching since his first post as a teacher in 1990 and how AI is becoming more ingrained in so many areas of life. He said: “But I worry what will happen if schools lose the human touch. Good schools are and always have been built around human relationships as well as on discipline, study, the striving for knowledge, understanding, the moral formation and of course good outcomes. If the school lacks personality, by that I mean the creative, supportive, encouraging influence on pupils from dedicated staff, it will become – as Sir John Henry Newman put it – an icebound, petrified, cast-iron school and nothing else.
“The Worth way and by that I mean how are values are rooted in the rich soil of Catholic and Benedictine spiritual practice and tradition, and the way these values find expression in the ordinary day-to-day things of school life, is what makes this school unique and what protects it from being a cast-iron institution.
“Like the good of St Benedict whose wisdom has shaped me gradually as a Head Master and as a person over the last 10 years, our values have come to operate like a manual for good community in this school. We choose community, for example, because we believe in the dignity of every human person and recognise our God-given responsibility to love our neighbour.”
This was Mr McPherson’s last Speech Day after 10 years at Worth as he prepares to take up the position of Head at Sydney Grammar School in Australia from January 2026. He spoke about it being the privilege of his working life to be Head Master at Worth and also about how he will leave the School in a position of great strength.
He also praised the impact on the School of Ms Marisa Bosa, who will take over as Interim Head from next January, and how he feels she will build on those strengths, ensuring a strong continuation in how we deliver a first-rate, all-round education. At the end of his speech, Mr McPherson received a standing ovation from the Worth community.
The pictures show Mr McPherson and Ms Bosa at Speech Day
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