Education Corner Podcast Interview

EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST

EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH

Mr. Joe Silvester

HEADMASTER, WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL

“To suggest that we are looking for any recurring feature would be a slight misnomer. I think that our strength is our diversity.”

KEY TOPICS:

Who is Joe Silvester? Ethos of Wetherby Senior The registration process Qualities of a Wetherby Senior boy The London location Scholarships and bursaries Support for pupils with additional learning needs University applications Benefits of a single-sex education Future of the school

Can you tell us a little about your career prior to joining Wetherby Seniors?

I am Joe Silvester, and I am still the relatively new Head of Wetherby Senior School. I came to Wetherby from Bancroft School, which is a very academically selective co-educational day school just outside of London at Woodford Green. I was the Deputy Head there and prior to being at Bancroft I spent a long time at the City of London School, the boys’ school that is not very far from here. At City of London, I was a teacher, Head of Department, Housemaster, Assistant Head, I had responsibility for the delivery of teaching and learning. I helped with the introduction of EdTech. I was also a part of the Outside Reach and Partnership Programme. Coming here to Wetherby Senior School as an independent boys’ school in the heart of town feels to me to be a very familiar move. As the new Headmaster, I have to say that me and the school are a very good fit. I feel that we are getting on very well so far.

What (if any) changes do you hope to initiate in the academic year ahead?

I think it is very much the case that there are very exciting times ahead for Wetherby. I’ve already appointed a person to be in charge of our charity and fundraising activities. I have already appointed someone to be our Head of Service Learning; a person to work across the school in looking for opportunities to work within our local community and across a wider range of groups. It is very important to me that those two aspects of being a thoughtful and responsible citizen are folded into the kind of education that we offer here. We are in a wonderful location here in the centre of town. We are fortunate enough to have some terrific facilities both on-site and off-site. It’s really important to me, added on to that, that there is a real sense of engagement with the community.

Wetherby Senior Focus

It helps the boys form a sense of who they are and of the world that they live within.

Can you tell me a little more, I’m sure parents will be keen to hear as Wetherby is one of the newer schools on the block, about the ethos that drives Wetherby Seniors?

For me, sitting at the heart of the community is a sense of kindness with what we do. We have, for the boys, in their printed material and in their material around the school, what we call our ‘values wheel’. At the heart of that wheel is effort and a sense that through one’s own hard work and endeavours, you can succeed. We also talk to the boys about: Character, Respect and Community. It is an important thread that runs for me throughout communications and assemblies and the work that we do. That we are a community. That we have a shared endeavour. That we have a shared responsibility to one another.

There are three main points of entry: 11 plus, 13 plus and 16 plus. Can you tell me and the parents listening a little about the application process?

The boys will be asked to sit the ISEB examinations. Lots of boys will sit that test in situ at their own school. But equally we are also offering hosted sessions for boys coming from abroad or private schools, or any situation that means that it would be best to sit it here. We are happy to facilitate that.

We have what I think is a really thoughtful and warm interview process. I always say to parents that it is not about a grilling; it’s about an opportunity for your son to get to know us and for us to get to know your son. Each child is unique. I think that it is really important for parents to remember that. I really want to work with them to find the right school for their child.

What ideally are you looking for in a Wetherby Senior boy?

To suggest that we are looking for any recurring feature would be a slight misnomer. I think that our strength is our diversity. On the most recent open day in September, Max, the Head Boy, stood up and gave a terrific speech. It was miles better than mine and he is a far better salesman of the school than I will ever be. Max stood up and said to a very crowded room of parents that:

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AN EDUCATION FOR LIFE

Wetherby Senior School provides an outstanding, well-rounded and progressive education for boys aged 11-18 in the heart of London. Our Visitor Mornings run throughout the year and our next Open Day is on Saturday 1st October.

book now at www.wetherbysenior.co.uk

Educating boys

“There is no such thing as a Wetherby boy, and that’s what’s nice. That we are cut from different kinds of cloth and are bound together in our identities by having come here.” For parents looking to send their boys here: I’m looking for a boy with an independence of mind. Someone who wants to engage. Someone who is keen to learn. But we aren’t specifically looking for sporty boys or academic boys or extraverted boys, or musical boys or artistic boys. We are actually a very broad and welcoming church.

I’m aware that there are scholarships or bursaries available to children and families who may need additional financial support or for children that are gifted in Music and Art, can you tell me a little about those?

One thing that people might not necessarily know is that the school is actually a part of a larger group of schools known as the Alpha Plus Group. This Group has set up separately the Gold Charitable Standard Trust. It is that charity that provides bursarial support for people who wish to come to the school and have a life-changing experience. We currently offer scholarships into the Sixth Form on an academic basis.

Looking forwards, and going beyond that, I know as I visited recently, that you had a number of applicants to US universities and that some children were considering universities in Europe. I wanted to hear a little bit more about how Wetherby Senior were supporting their children with their US applications and university applications in general?

That is a really good question and one that I am quite proud to answer actually. We are now into our third set of leavers. We have had well in excess of 30 offers from some of the best universities over the last couple of years from Harvard, Brown, Berkeley, NYU. Someone won a sports scholarship, we’ve had a couple people go to Chicago, Notre Dame. We’ve had a really impressive breadth of American universities. We have sent boys off to European universities as well as, in the main, UK Russell Group universities. The Sixth Form is led by Ms Deedat, who works tirelessly with the boys to ensure that they are appropriately supported, and she is rapidly becoming something of an expert in European University admissions.

We also work with a specialist company to support boys with the American application process, to make sure that their councillor references that are so important in the American application system really are first class. I think that the numbers of offers that the boys are receiving reflect the quality of support and revision that is on offer there. The destinations have a very compelling list for us as a school. And it speaks to me about the quality that is on offer here.

Whilst Wetherby Senior is based in Central London you do offer a wide range of sports - including the incredible Spin Studio. How do the boys access the sports facilities outside the school?

We are slightly TARDIS-like on site. You wouldn’t know it from the outside, but we have a full fitness suite and a spin studio. We are adding to that a boxing exercise studio and a yoga studio. We also offer table tennis coaching on site. So, for a compact, central London site, we have a good quality provision on site already. Locally, boys swim and climb and play basketball, badminton and Taekwondo. We also take the boys out to the Ealing Trailfinders Sports Club; this is just out at Ealing and is a professional Rugby Club. We’ve got a terrific tie in with them. We have got fantastic use of all of their facilities every afternoon. They have rugby pitches, tennis courts, football pitches, cricket pitches, cricket nets, and now a brand new indoor facility. Given our location, the boys are very well-provided for indeed.

TURN TO PAGE 16 to read about developing independence in girls at Sutton High School

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