Assembly Insights: Senator John F. Kennedy

Assembly Extract from Mr Alex Frazer, Head
Presented on Thursday 03 September 2026

There is an important quotation from a book called Profiles in Courage, written in the 1950s by Senator John F. Kennedy who went on to be the 35th President of the United States.

If you can forgive the sexism of the times and see this in terms of all people, the sentiment and meaning are worth taking on board. Kennedy wrote:

“A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.”

I think we can all understand courage and admire those whom we consider courageous, but it isn’t always easy to show courage ourselves. Indeed, from time to time, we can all use some help to dig deep and find that courage inside ourselves. We might think of a person who is some kind of hero or example to us, and try to emulate how they would act in a given situation – whether they are someone we know personally, a figure we’ve learned about in history, a fictional character in a book, film or television programme. You’d have to be deep into your 1990s prestige police drama to know my televisual hero, Detective Frank Pembleton from Homicide: Life on the Street, but his moral courage and integrity have influenced me for over 30 years.

You might equally be inspired by some words you have come across – perhaps a remark someone has made to you directly, if not something you’ve read or heard, or perhaps an oft-repeated quotation from literature or a famous figure. Contemplating a long, tough situation that is going to require real perseverance and where you will welcome the faintest glimmer of light and hope, you might take courage from the words of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a speech he made in late 1942, as the tide of the Second World War was just starting to turn away from Nazi Germany and its allies. He said:

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.”

A lot of people find a personal courage “pick-me-up” – a thing they can come back to and do when they need a little boost. An old colleague of mine at another school treasured his late father’s pocket-watch – one of those old-fashioned watches on a chain that men used to wear in the pocket of a waistcoat. He told me that if he had something difficult to do that day that was worrying him, something for which he needed to give himself a bit of extra courage, he would wear the pocket-watch and feel that his dad was somehow with him. Someone else I know – the Head of a serious and excellent school – when she needs a lift, she always goes back to a delightful YouTube video called Guinea Pig Olympics.

The way I’ve been talking, though, I realise courage can sound like a very individual quality. That is true insofar as each person must demonstrate courage for themselves, and no-one else can be brave on our behalf. But please don’t forget that one of the most powerful things we can do for someone else is to support and encourage them to be brave, to put themselves out there, to take a chance in life, to dream big and then go for it, to make a stand and do the right thing regardless of personal cost.

• Can you hear the word “courage” inside the word “encourage”?
• Can you see how important it is to give someone else confidence, to give them courage, to help them stand tall?
• And do you see how that works, not by pushing ourselves up by putting other people down, but by rising together because we are all lifting each other up?

I’ll leave you with one last thought – broadening out to the goodness that is there when we place a value on helping other people by promoting their interests, giving them advice, listening to their ideas and creating connections that will empower them to make progress in their lives. The other day I was reading the obituary of a journalist called Deirdre McSharry who has died at the great age of 94. Among other jobs, she was the influential editor of Cosmopolitan magazine through much of the 1970s and 80s before launching a magazine focusing on interior design and property renovation. The obituary quoted the designer and television presenter Kevin McCloud, talking about how generous and heartfelt a promoter of other people’s ideas, chances and careers Deirdre McSharry had been.

He called her “a sparkling and tireless champion of other people”.

Isn’t that a wonderful way to be remembered?

And with that, I wish you a fantastic start to a happy and successful term for each and every one of you.