EDITORIAL, JANUARY 2026

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES

As you enter the profession, one of the last things that you will be thinking about is how you will feel or what you will be called on to do in the event of the death of one of your students. And yet during a career, it will happen to many, if not most of us. Over forty years ago, the international school where I was working was rocked by the sudden and unimaginably tragic death of two of our brightest students  when they were out walking in the hills of Hong Kong. No one could believe what had happened. It shook so many assumptions to the very core about where we lived and the meaning of our pre-occupation with teaching and learning.

In the months – and indeed the years – that followed, it turned out that what was most important about the school was not its academic, sporting, or intellectual achievements, but its humanity, sense of community and the almost overwhelming feeling of mutual support emanating from the strengths of the relationships between staff, students and parents.

And so, it will be with the tragedy of Crans Montana – an event which has profoundly affected so many schools, both national and international, schools in which the counsellors, pastoral staff, form tutors, homeroom teachers and leaders will now be doing some of the most important work of their lives. As we remember the young people who died, let us quietly acknowledge the colleagues who will, without fuss, form the protective cordon around the friends and families coming to terms with such tragedy.