7
The importance of excellence
Robin Fletcher Chief Executive BSA and BSA Group
In January I wrote a New Year’s blog about the importance of
excellence. Sometimes the words you write are out of date the
‘meet’ regulations such as the
class status in any complex task.”
this case, I stand by them.
for Boarding in England.
statement is that if you have just
moment they are published, but in
National Minimum Standards (NMS)
The dangers of perfectionism and in
The problem lies in thinking that
young people are well documented.
sleeping accommodation is provided
particular the pressure it can put on In a 2019 online article, authors
Simon Sherry and Martin M Smith
wrote: “Perfectionism involves striving
for flawlessness and requiring perfection of oneself and others. Extremely
negative reactions to mistakes, harsh self-criticism, nagging doubt about
meeting Standard 5.1 (“Suitable
that committing ourselves to the
items while accommodated at school”) is the same as being excellent. Clearly it isn’t.
them have been NMS compliant. But I
it becomes damaging to oneself and
And its pursuit is a great way to stay sharp, particularly in boarding.
I have written before in this magazine
about the danger of schools aiming to
do better tomorrow what we did yesterday.
members either stop boarding or
also been excellent in their boarding provision.
book ‘Bounce’ that excellence takes
with the resources and time available.
excellence is almost bound to help us
would not say that 99 per cent have
But avoiding perfectionism and
achieving the best possible standard
journey, purpose and aim of
In a sector which over the past three
Author and former UK table tennis
things. Because excellence is about
years is not actually the point, rather
boarding houses and 99 per cent of
others its value is questionable.
avoiding excellence are two different
for you to achieve excellence.
necessary personal and stationery
demanding also define the trait.” in itself in striving for perfectionism, if
school it may take another nine years But whether it takes a year or 10
(“Boarders are able to obtain
I have visited hundreds of schools and
So while there may be nothing wrong
started your first role in a boarding
for boarders”) and Standard 9.2
performance abilities and a strong sense that others are critical and
The problem of course with this
champion Matthew Syed wrote in his
years has seen nearly 40 BSA UK close altogether, and where
inspection failures are currently rising, I would argue that the time for
excellence has never been more acute.
time: “So the question is: How long do
Maybe adopting an excellence
excellence? Extensive research, it turns
will make little difference in the face
you need to practice in order to achieve out, has come up with a very specific answer to that question: from art to
science and from board games to tennis, it has been found that a minimum of ten years is required to reach world-
mindset individually and collectively
of external forces beyond our control. The risk however of not trying for excellence may be greater still.
