Boarding School Spring 2021

Part of the BSA Group

BOARDING SCHOOL T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E B O A R D I N G S C H O O L S ’ A S S O C I AT I O N

SPRING 2021

Women’s History Month: A reflection on gendered education Learning to listen A fresh perspective on assessment

3

Andrew Gray Communications and Partnerships Manager Boarding Schools’ Association

From the editor Welcome to the spring edition of

Jeffrey, Principal of New Hall School.

this magazine, Captain Sir Tom Moore,

to believe but Easter is almost upon

the role of the school library in

and foremost, our thoughts are with

Boarding School magazine. It’s hard

us, and what feels like a blink-and-

you’ll-miss-it first quarter of 2021 is nearly over. As I write this, it’s a year ago to the day that strict

lockdown measures were first

introduced in England and the

lifting of the latest round of

We’ll also be exploring in more detail modern studying with Andrew

O’Sullivan from Wells Cathedral

School, as well as music in the time of coronavirus with Chris McDade,

Director of Music at Pangbourne College, and much more.

who sadly passed away recently. First

his grandson, Benjie, whose role in his grandfather’s fundraising efforts we enjoyed bringing to you in our

autumn issue, and with all of Captain Sir Tom’s family and friends at this very sad time.

restrictions is still a few weeks

Throughout the magazine, you’ll see

It’s hard to think of anything that

COVID-19 is still being felt all over

training and events taking place next

his extraordinary achievements, but

away. The ongoing impact of

the world, but as summer

approaches, there is definitely

room for optimism as we begin to

negotiate the path back to some

sort of normality.

Once again, this edition shows that

even a global pandemic can’t bring a halt to the amazing work and

tremendous achievements that

continue to happen every day across

reminders of our forthcoming virtual term, including two virtual

conferences: Learning from the IICSA investigation into residential school settings, run jointly by BSA and our

sister organisation, the Safeguarding

and Child Protection Association, on

for many years to come, and the

selflessness of his efforts to help

others is an example we would all do well to follow.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue – if

available at both of these events, so if

editions of the magazine, please email

for Heads, on May 4-5. Places are

you haven’t already done so, please go to the events section of our

website to secure your spot.

mark Women’s History Month, we’ll be

Before I conclude, I’d like to take a

gendered education with Katherine

cover star from the previous edition of

taking a look at a reflection on

the legacy he leaves behind will be felt

April 28, and our Annual Conference

the whole boarding community, and we’ve got a packed issue for you. To

hasn’t been said already to describe

moment to pay our respects to our

you would like to contribute to future

us at bsa@boarding.org.uk. The next

issue of the magazine will be

published in May – please send us your contributions no later than Friday, April 30.

The Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) champions boarding excellence and delivers boarding support worldwide. The BSA represents more than 600 independent and state boarding schools in the UK and overseas. BSA services include professional development, government relations, communications, media, publications, conferences and events.

Front cover: New Hall School

Contents 03. FroM tHe editor

AndreW GrAy, CoMMuniCAtions And PArtnersHiPs MAnAGer

07. it’s not About tHis WAr

robin FLetCHer, Ceo, bsA And bsA GrouP

08. boArdinG: A uniqueLy Positive exPerienCe bex teAr, bsA CHAir 2021, HeAd, bAdMinton sCHooL

11. neWs in brieF #1 A round-uP oF soMe oF tHe stories FroM ACross tHe boArdinG CoMMunity 16. WoMen’s History MontH: A reFLeCtion on Gendered eduCAtion KAtHerine JeFFrey, PrinCiPAL, neW HALL sCHooL

26. yes We CAn!

JoHn J tAyLor, FoundAtion HeAd oF boArdinG, MiLL HiLL sCHooL FoundAtion

30. A PArt oF soCiety, not APArt FroM it: reFuGee outreACH At briGHton CoLLeGe 32. HeAds on tHe Move 33. royAL seAL oF APProvAL For boArdinG orCHArd initiAtive 34. GoinG FroM strenGtH to strenGtH 36. HouseMAster/HouseMistress v HousePArent ALex LArGe, dArtMoutH HouseMAster, HeAd oF boArdinG, royAL WoLverHAMPton sCHooL

42. LeArninG to Listen

Ann JACKson, dePuty HeAd, PAstorAL CAre, dAuntsey’s

46. bsA CertiFied AGent sCHeMe 48. bsA CertiFied GuArdiAn sCHeMe 50. tHe best oF oLd And neW

AndreW o’suLLivAn, teACHer oF enGLisH And House PArent, WeLLs CAtHedrAL sCHooL

55. AdAPtAbiLity: nAviGAtinG A PAndeMiC rebeCCA MACKAy, HeAd oF boArdinG, WisbeCH GrAMMAr sCHooL

60. uniFroG: LoCKdoWn sKiLLs 62. MusiC in tHe tiMe oF CoronAvirus

CHris MCdAde, direCtor oF MusiC, PAnGbourne CoLLeGe

64. neWs in brieF #2 More stories FroM tHe WorLd oF boArdinG 68. A FresH PersPeCtive on AssessMent

MAttHeW ALbriGHton, dePuty HeAd ACAdeMiC, st edWArd’s oxFord

72. bsA MeMber List

Boarding School Magazine

To subscribe: T. +44 (0)207 798 1580 E. bsa@boarding.org.uk

Editor Andrew Gray, Communications and Partnerships Manager andrew.gray@boarding.org.uk

Advertising Aileen Kane, Chief Operating Officer aileen@boarding.org.uk

Boarding Schools’ Association

First Floor, 27 Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, London SW1H 9BU

Image courtesy of Shiplake College

Part of the BSA Group

VIrtuAL COnfErEnCE:

SAFEGUArDING AND CHILD PrOTECTION ASSOCIATION

Part of the BSA Group

28

WEDNE SDAy

Learning from the IICSA 0A9P:3r0IL-12021 6:30 investigation into residential school settings

This one-day event, led jointly by BSA and Sacpa (Safeguarding and Child Protection Association), and in association with independent safeguarding expert, Marcus Erooga, aims to highlight the major themes and key learning points from the residential schools' investigation as part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The conference is designed to enable delegates to be proactive in their responses to these areas of concern in advance of the publication of the enquiry report.

Audience • Governors • Heads • SMT/SLT • DSL • Other key safeguarding staff

The day will include sessions on: • Listening to survivors • Insights into abuse in residential schools what we can learn from the research • Looking beyond inspection • Understanding the role and developing a working relationship with your local LADO • Peer-on-peer abuse Cost: £185 members (BSA/BAISIS/SACPA) £90 members (BSA/BAISIS/SACPA) additional representative fee £370 non-members

V

Visit https://boarding.secure.force.com/pmtx/evt__quickevent?id=a0k3z00000hnqeEAAQ to book now.

5

7

Robin Fletcher Chief Executive BSA and BSA Group

It’s not about this war Imagine you are fighting a conflict

We have been approached by several

There are too many unanswered

are devoted to defeating enemies

about new models, changes or

too important to be left to chance.

in which all your national resources

imperilling liberty and freedom.

And while you are doing this you

still find enough time to think

schools over the past year thinking reforms they could or need to introduce post COVID-19.

ahead to how education and

Some of these schools have been

restored.

structures, new markets or

society will look when peace is

BSA member schools have, like the

rest of the world, spent the last year

looking about staffing, organisational

‘Who are my customers going to be?’ and ‘will increasing international

demand continue?’ are just two of

them, but there are of course many more.

arrangements for boarding. Others

To paraphrase a former UK prime

presented by COVID-19 to review and

COVID-19 or even the beginning of the

have been taking the opportunity

fighting a global enemy, this time a

restock.

state. Much of their resources have

The biggest danger perhaps once

faceless virus rather than a nation

questions facing schools which are

minister, we are not yet at the end of

end, but we are perhaps at the end of the beginning.

understandably been devoted to this,

COVID-19 becomes one of the many

As we look ahead therefore to the

testing or managing cases while trying

than the one dominating the world, is

question to ask is ‘what would Butler

be that reopening, quarantining,

to continue teaching and learning.

The resolve, ingenuity, creativity and adaptability boarding schools have

shown through COVID-19 has been

everyday hazards to health rather that we hope, think or desire that

things will return to ‘normal’, to how they were perhaps at the start of

September 2019. To wish for such a return to ‘easier’ times is natural or

remarkable. The question is however

normal, to expect it however is

Beveridge landmarks have members

at worst.

is what equivalents to the Butler and been thinking about and creating at that same time?

perhaps optimistic at best and foolish

end, when it comes, maybe the key and Beveridge do now?’. Perhaps

that’s a good question to set school

senior leadership teams, or even year 13 students, and what would the

answer to that question look like?

boarding: a uni positive experie It was a great honour becoming

As BSA Chair, I am mindful of BSA’s

and a daunting one too with the

safeguarding excellence’ so it’s a

BSA Chair at the start of this year world in the tight grip of a global

pandemic with many schools not opening for the new term in the

pleasure to write something on these themes for this issue.

normal way. At the time of writing

One thing that has become really

relief to see many boarders

boarding is a uniquely positive

this piece in mid-March it is a

Bex Tear Group Chair BSA 2021 Head, Badminton School

mission to ‘champion boarding and

returning to UK schools for

learning and being together

before the Easter break, albeit

briefly. The spectre of COVID-19

remains with us however, with continuing restrictions on

international travel, protocols on

clear to me over the past year is that experience that cannot be substituted or replicated. Schools around the

world have done a great job providing high quality on-line learning for

students unable to attend school in person because of the pandemic.

testing, hygiene and social

It is one thing however presenting a

rolled out at a rapid pace. We all

getting school orchestras to perform

distancing and vaccines being hope and pray that we will at

some point view the virus and its impact on everyone as a distant

memory. However, what we must not do is forget the many things

that the experience developed in us all; from an understanding of the community that binds a

boarding school and how that can be harnessed in challenging times through to the way we have enhanced our IT skills.

way to learn Maths on-line or even wonderfully by live video. But that does not work for boarding. Why? Because as Tony Little, former

Headmaster of Eton College and

former Honorary President of the BSA has written before in this magazine, boarding is a ‘shared experience under a common roof’.

9

iquely ence

It is a cliché of course, but boarding is one of education’s best-kept secrets and in some respects long may that continue!

Naturally parents want their children

new things away from the classroom

Such professional benching marking

school, to achieve of their best and

rather than yourself. These are all

BSA helps ensure that boarding is an

to fulfil their academic potential at

maximise their life chances by gaining

a place at a top university. We all

know however that gaining high

grades in exams can be done in many

different ways, with or without

boarding.

This focus however is predicated on

or giving your all for your ‘House’

attributes (sometimes called ‘soft

skills’) developed brilliantly by the

experience of boarding and ones that are increasingly important for young people to navigate successfully the increasingly complex and everchanging world around them.

the notion that grades alone are

The second part of the BSA mission is

success in the outside world, which is

excellence, an area with many

enough to prepare young people for

where boarding comes into its own.

With intelligence, application and hard work most students may achieve the grades they want, but what about

their development in areas that are just as vital but not tested by

examiners?

Learning to live with others, leading

by example, supporting your peers,

contributing to the success of a group,

about championing safeguarding strands. Some of this is about

ensuring physical safety in the

boarding house, but other areas include health, wellbeing and

inclusion. Every day all those in the

boarding community, anywhere in the world, put the welfare and safety of

students first, whether they work in a

school inspected and regulated by

their in-country government, or not.

And BSA, through its widely respected

organising your possessions, building

Commitment to Care Charter, plays a

becoming more independent, trying

maintaining safeguarding standards.

self-confidence and resilience,

leading role in driving and

(as well as the training available) from area of school life where aspects such as wellbeing, inclusion and

safeguarding are always in the

spotlight; never has there been a

greater focus on excellence in this area.

So, if you are reading this magazine as a boarding practitioner, a former boarder, the parent of a current

boarder or maybe a parent thinking about boarding for your son or

daughter, I hope you find it interesting and useful. I hope too it conveys the enthusiasm and passion I have for

boarding both as Chair of BSA, Head

of a girls’ boarding school in England, a mother of two sons who boarded and, albeit a long time ago, as a boarder!

‘CLICK’

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NEWS in brief

#1 A round-up of some of the stories from across the boarding community

#1

Downe House unveils plans for a

Winchester College to admit girls

School merger

the Governors of Downe House have

Winchester College has announced

have announced that Edgeborough will

sister school in Muscat

announced they are working in

partnership with the Oman Ministry of

Defence Pension Fund to open Downe

House Muscat, the first girls-only, day

school in the Middle East founded by a

British girls’ school.

Construction is well under way on

Downe House Muscat which will provide

both Omani and international families

with a premium, world class, all-round

education tailored just for girls on an

impressive purpose-built campus.

Downe House Muscat will offer the

Cambridge International Curriculum

(CIC) which prepares girls for IGCSE and A Levels, blended with the Oman

Ministry of Education’s curriculum for

the teaching of Arabic, Islamic Studies

and Social Studies. All teaching staff will have uK-recognised teaching

qualifications and will teach their

specialist subject in an extended day

which will give more time for girls to get

involved in a wide range of co-curricular activities to discover their individual interests and talents beyond the

classroom, helping to build character,

teamworking skills and self-confidence and so much more.

and day pupils into Sixth form

‘Winchester College in the 21st Century’,

a new vision and significant programme

of change for the school. the changes

include:

• the admission of girls and day pupils into the Sixth Form.

• A growth in the school’s bursary

provision, with the initial objective of a

25% increase, to 150 pupils by 2024.

• Expansion of the school’s online

learning provision to provide greater

opportunities for collaboration with

the maintained sector.

under the new programme, there will

also be a new emphasis on the global

context and the forces which have

shaped the modern world, and an

increased emphasis on creativity,

collaboration and innovation. In addition,

there will be improvements to built and natural spaces, with a focus on

imaginative and sustainable design, pupil wellbeing and enhancing the individual

character of each house community.

Charterhouse and Edgeborough School

join the Charterhouse family in

September 2021 as the two charities

merge to create an exceptional

independent, co-educational prep and

senior school offer.

A single Governing Body will have

responsibility for both schools, with

three current Edgeborough Governors

joining that body. Dan thornburn will

remain as Headmaster of Edgeborough,

and Alex Peterken will continue to be

Headmaster of Charterhouse with

overall executive responsibility for both

schools. Both schools will retain their

current identity, name, ethos, values,

badge and uniform, as well as their dayto-day operational autonomy.

the merger will take effect from the start

of the 2021/2022 academic year, and

both schools are looking forward to

building on their respective success to

create the pre-eminent combination of

prep and senior schools in the region, and beyond.

#1

Site secured for Twyford School

development

twyford School has recently completed

on the purchase of Orchard Close, a

substantial property adjacent to its

current school premises. this will enable

the school to deliver a state-of-the-art

modern boarding facility, capable of

offering extended flexi-boarding

opportunities to the many more children

who wish to experience this at twyford.

It will also provide greater flexibility for

families to access boarding at shorter

notice.

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Much-loved Doctor remembered as

Partnership provides school rugby

the death of one Haberdashers’ Adams’

Grassroots rugby across the county is

new House named in his honour

most beloved alumni is to be marked by

the naming of the school’s newest

House in his honour.

Alfa Sa’adu had a distinguished career in

the NHS; he had returned to work

following his retirement in 2017 and died

boost

set to benefit from the partnership of

two organisations of excellence –

Harlequins rugby Football Club and

Gordon’s School, as the two link to

provide a pathway for promising rugby players.

of COVID-19 in 2020.

the game-changing initiative – a first for

Pupils and staff at Adams were invited to

rugby players aged between 16 and 18

Harlequins and Gordon’s – will enable

vote on the name of the new House and

years old, to train in an environment

the school is expanding and will be

whilst receiving a first-class education.

Year 7 each year starting in September

the scheme is endorsed by the rugby

by Sixth Form pupils and together they

by the Government’s Education and

Sa’adu was a front runner from the start.

welcoming an additional 30 pupils into

2021. the new Year 7 class will be joined

similar to that of a professional club,

Football union and will be part-funded

will be the founding members of the

Skills Funding Agency.

Headmaster Gary Hickey said: “Our

School (will in 2021-2022) enter a Sixth

and I can’t think of a more fitting way to

League, playing fixtures against the ACE

Adams than by honouring one of our

Premiership clubs.

new Sa’adu House.

school has stood for nearly 400 years

introduce a new House into 21st century

own who gave so much in the service of

As part of the programme, Gordon’s

Form team into the rFu’s National ACE

School/Colleges of the other 11 Aviva

others. He is a worthy role model for our

young people, and I know this will be universally applauded by those who

knew him from school.”

>>>

#1 >>>

Christ’s Hospital pupil wins national

Charley chases golf pro dream

Millfield student develops India’s

A Year 10 pupil at Christ’s Hospital

professional golfer has joined a leading

Millfield upper Sixth student Saina Sodhi

poetry prize

School fought off stiff competition to win

the Stephen Spender Prize 2020 for

poetry in translation in the 14-and-under

A rydal Penrhos pupil and an aspiring

American university scholarship agency

as he looks to progress his career across

the pond once his school studies have

category. Hannah Jordan won first prize

concluded.

translation of a tamil poem.

Charley Simpson, a Year 11 pupil at the

the judges agreed that Hannah’s

Dream uSA, which helps young golfers

out of over 1,000 entries with her

“thoughtfully translated” poem And Yet –

school, recently signed a deal with Pro

answer to TikTok, ‘Theek Thaak’

has developed a social media platform based on tiktok that has seen her named as India Achievers’ Young

Entrepreneur of the Year. ‘theek thaak’,

which was developed by Saina and

released in November 2020, was created after Saina, from Delhi, wanted to

increase Indian culture representation

from across the world connect with the

on apps like tiktok.

supporting them throughout the

the main features of the app are video-

“both funny and moving,” “boisterous,

sporting potential.

live-streaming and live-broadcasting. It

for our difficult times.”

Charley is widely regarded as one of the

Our Tamil Life by Manushya Puthiran was a worthy winner of the 14-and-under

category, and called Hannah’s translation

charming” and “a poem full of wisdom

best universities in the united States,

strenuous process to fulfil academic and

best young golfers anywhere in the

uploading and video-editing as well as

also comes with a ‘theekcode’ scanner as well as geolocation, reactions,

socialsharing, sounds, ‘theekmojis’ and a

country and has achieved a significant

Stories function among many others.

community as a Year 7 pupil.

languages like Gujarati and tamil.

amount since joining the rydal Penrhos

the app also is available in eight Indian Saina said: I’m taking inspiration from fearless entrepreneurs of today to

continuously improve the app. We still have a long way to go, and I won’t be

content until my app can target every

remote place in India and its users can successfully showcase their creative

expressions.”

#1

Strathallan’s special delivery

Strathallan School has delivered a year’s supply of sanitary towels

to over 300 girls in Kenya to help make sure they do not miss

school.

the student-led Strath Kenya Project is supporting two Sanitary

Education Programmes in the country. One in the Mashimoni

area of the Kibera Slum, Nairobi – Africa’s largest slum, and another project in Kivuli Kijijini in Kalifi.

David Barnes, Deputy Head of Pastoral at Strathallan School, who has been involved with the Strath Kenya Project since it began 12 years ago, said: “It is not about charity but empowerment, it’s about providing the possibility of a pathway for our Kenyan

friends to journey towards their aspirations and dreams. We are

privileged to be able to support these inspirational young women to become equal members of their communities.”

15

Women’s History Month: A reflection on gendered education

“Well now that we’ve decided to take

Loren Bridge, chief executive of the

Modernising a school means leaving

Head. No parent will send a son to a

told The Guardian in 2019 that the co-

might involve avoiding the arrival of

senior boys, we’ll have to have a male school with a female Head. I’ve got

three boys and I know that I wouldn’t.”

Or so the School Bursar told me

following our decision to make New

Hall co-educational back in 2005.

His attitude does, perhaps, exemplify why so many parents still favour

single-sex education for their

daughters: too often lurking in the

Alliance of Girls Schools in Australia,

ed movement is primarily about boys’ schools choosing to take girls: “There aren’t girls’ schools that go co-ed. It’s

basically a boys’ school with girls in it.

And the girls are there to help socialize the boys.”

you might wonder why a school like

New Hall would choose to take boys if

Even at a school like New Hall, that

replacing me with a man, and in fact

founding mission for almost four

words, a girls’ school with a female

this reversal of the norm – in other Head choosing to welcome boys,

feeling that co-education would mean

rather than the standard story Bridge

same standard is certainly not applied

recipe for creating an atmosphere of

to the boys’ schools that decide to take girls.

choose who it educates on the basis of gender alone, and why should a

school which directs itself according

to a Catholic ethos choose to exclude brothers and divide families?

wanting to retain the pastoral and

this. The Bursar did not get his wish of

the abandonment of this legacy. The

as the enemy. Why should a school

educational does not have to mean

deal, and that girls are merely a side.

centuries, there was the misplaced

means refusing to see boys and men

At New Hall, we rejected the idea of

side, but of course going co-

has held the education of girls as its

any “toxic masculinization”, it also

it means shunting their girls to one

darker corners of co-education is the unnerving idea that boys are the real

old stereotypes behind. Whilst that

alludes to – has been the perfect

true gender equality. Women’s History

Month is the perfect time to reflect on

how best to achieve that balance.

full co-education fairly early on,

academic advantages that can and do come with gendered education.

Education for girls is no more

important than education for boys, of course, but to abandon this legacy would have been to abandon

something vital to the School’s foundations.

Instead, we opted for a Diamond

Model system which would keep girls

17

Katherine Jeffrey Principal New Hall School

>>>

>>> and boys in separate classes on the

Meanwhile, keeping boys and girls

Having overseen a Diamond Model

uniting them again in the Sixth Form.

necessary positive discrimination. We

to single-sex teaching. The world is

same site between years 7 and 11, It is lack of imagination more than

anything that has prevented more

than a dozen or so schools across the

UK from doing the same.

What the Diamond Model demands from the schools running it is equal

emphasis. A school aiming to have a

smattering of girls amongst crowds of boys, for example, could not function

under this system – nor could a school

aiming to have a smattering of boys

amongst crowds of girls. Following

equal emphasis comes the necessity

of equal provision. When I interviewed

the first boys that came to New Hall,

an astonishing number of them

declared Design Technology a

favourite subject. We had had little

demand for a DT centre before, and

partly separate allows for some

run an annual STEM careers evening for girls, in which every speaker is a female role model – research

scientists, doctors, engineers. All of

the girls are invited and must attend, to think about whether they might

want a career in an area that is not

typically dominated by women. Every year a few boys ask to attend and,

rather than rejecting them, we choose to reward their confidence. They will

be one of a handful of boys in a room full of women, which is in itself a rare and educational experience. They

might even ask themselves why we

and girls want out of school and I do find myself wondering whether

Conference, I was struck by the

been co-educational for years without ever having reached equal numbers.

“But we found it so easy!” I said,

naively, before someone took me to

one side and explained that some of

these schools were not trying to reach

schools like Winchester that decide to

equal numbers – they actually wanted

adequately provide for all genders,

a school for girls, driven by an

take just a few girls and no more can

when the difference in numbers is so vast.

people rather than concepts. Even so, one of my favourite things about the

British education system is its variety.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ method and there will always be some girls who flourish in a single-sex or

predominantly male environment, but I do wonder about the values of a

school that chooses to prioritise the education of one gender over another.

diversity within schools, there are

equal opportunity.

number of HMC schools that had

marked differences in what most boys

another, and to see each other as

who understand the importance of

a boys’ division without one.

exceptions, but there can also be

girls must learn to live with one

Although I genuinely believe that

STEM evening and grow up into men

At a Boarding Schools’ Association

There are of course constant

not a single-sex place and boys and

feel the need to run an all-female

so I went straight to the governors to

tell them that I would not be opening

school for so long, I would not return

to remain a school for boys more than emphasis on boys’ sport that required a large cohort.

diversity of schools is as important as important principles based on

equality and fairness that ought to be

followed at all times. This should start

in leadership. I don’t know the answer, but I would be surprised if the

decision-making bodies of boys’

schools that choose to take “a few” girls and no more were 50/50 men

and women. One reason things move so slowly is that power at the most

senior levels is not in the hands of the

women. I am proud of the equality we have achieved at New Hall, but am under no illusions that gender

equality has reached its global endpoint.

19

Change needs to start in education, and Women’s History Month should help remind us of the importance of that fact.

21

Image courtesy of New Hall School

JIUST IN CASE YOU MISSED US...

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23

SchoolPlaces

We’ve teamed up with Bulldog Publishing to launch Schoolplaces.org, a dedicated live information resource for schools, parents, and education agents.

Schoolplaces.org is designed to help agents and families easily find available school places, all in one location. And it’s also the ideal platform for schools to showcase themselves and let parents and agents know what they are offering.

If you’re interested in getting your school listed on Schoolplaces.org, please email hello@schoolplaces.org.

Click here to download a copy of the school places media pack.

BSA Annual Conference for Heads

VIrtuAL TWO-DAY

Inclus ivity Rising to the ge challen

5 0 04MAy 1 202

nt Curre te clima

Global community

Safeguarding

Ma rke tin rec and g rui tm ent

Dig ita shif l t

BSA invites Heads to join this two-day virtual conference, chaired by rebecca tear, Headmistress, Badminton School. the theme for the conference is “world class” and the aim is to inspire and empower attendees after an academic year like no other.

#bsaconf2021

CLICK HErE FOr MOrE InfOrMATIOn AN

25

Part of the BSA Group

DAY 1

DAY 2

• World class inclusivity and the global community

• Character strengths & leadership

Our expert speakers will be covering:

this session will look at how we can work together to understand the challenges and lived experiences faced by others, and ensure those challenges are not insurmountable for anyone. the panel will also consider how we can pass this ethos onto students. Where the world has never felt smaller, but travel and access has been restricted, our panel will consider how we continue to build a global outlook and embrace cultural differences to create a diverse and informed global community.

• Being world class post-COVID

Continuing to inspire and empower our attendees, topics will include: this session, delivered by the Institute of Positive Education, will share strategies to enable leaders to leverage character strengths as tools, to help bring out the best in and empower colleagues and students. Building on the tests of the last 18 months, this session will provide strategies to share to better manage stress, overcome challenges and increase engagement and performance.

• World class promotion, publicity and exposure

Following a worldwide change to recruitment and marketing opportunities for boarding schools, our panel will address the latest developments and themes in marketing coming out of COVID, and consider whether schools should be approaching recruitment differently in the future.

• Looking to the future, the resilience of boarding

taking opportunity from the challenge presented by COVID, what can we learn about what can be achieved and progressed when the status quo is disturbed, or no longer fit for purpose? What can the school community as a whole learn about their own resilience, and how can they turn these new strengths to greater development in the future?

A conversation considering what “world class” will look like for the boarding sector as the global recovery from COVID-19 settles, and what smart boarding schools are thinking about, and reviewing, to get ahead for the future of boarding.

• Scenario planning

Our safeguarding panel of experts will address how we can change our thinking around safeguarding, both practice and policy, so the focus is on delivering “world class” safeguarding, and going beyond the “minimum” standards and requirements.

• Digital shift

• Safeguarding: world class standards

• World class support: young people and the school community As the impact and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic continue, the particular impact on young people is becoming greater and clearer. this panel will bring delegates up to date with what young people are facing coming out of the pandemic, and ways to provide meaningful support.

V

ND tO BOOK

the COVID pandemic has highlighted the difficulty of relying on predictions and forecasts. Adopting a model used by organisations and corporations worldwide, across many sectors, this session will take delegates through a scenario framework that can be used even with unforeseen circumstances. Delegates should come prepared to follow the steps shared during the session to create the template for their own individual scenario framework by the end of the session.

While we know that we cannot turn our back on the progress made in delivering learning, social interactions, and bridging distances online, we also know we need to combat the issues that come with being online, both mental and physical. this session will consider positive interventions to limit the problems that come with increased reliance of the online space, and devices.

• Secure your own mask first: rising to the challenge and looking after yourself

Being an exceptional leader means mastering the skill of wellbeing – both personally and culturally. In this talk, Elke Edwards will share her three secrets of Proactive Wellbeing, ask why so many of us consistently fail at it and examine the overriding beliefs that keep us stuck.

Yes we can

R U N N I N G B OA R D I N G I N A PA N D E M I D O E S N ’ T N E E D TO B E A L L D O O M A N

Image courtesy of Mill Hill

27

n!

C N D G LO O M !

>>>

>>> Since starting in the new position of Foundation Head of Boarding here in Mill Hill in the summer, many people have asked how I’m enjoying the new job.

My response is usually: ‘I love it, though I do wish it wasn’t in a pandemic’. One of my senior colleagues here coined the phrase ‘huddle, bubble, toil and trouble’, and this term has very much been imbued with that sentiment. I know from my Whatsapp group with fellow Heads of Boarding (which we affectionately term the ‘HoB Support Group’) that the term has been extraordinarily challenging across the sector, as we have navigated issues of households, testing, pre-flight test, isolation, dealing with positive cases, online and blended learning, and various other factors which we hadn’t even imagined a year ago.

It has certainly been an exceptional and

extraordinary term. Before arriving at

John J Taylor Foundation Head of Boarding Mill Hill School Foundation

offsite trips. Bearing in mind we are in

London, with so many opportunities on

Mill Hill, we had decided to break down

our doorstep, this was a tough call, and

households, which we call ‘Huddles’, in

course, on January 4th, we returned fully

our boarding houses into smaller

order to reduce the number of boarders

very hard for boarders. And then of

prepared for mass testing, and opened

self-isolating. this strategy has helped to

boarding at 6pm, only to be met with the

to an extent, bearing in mind that Mill

lockdown two hours later. We have

reduce the number of boarders isolating Hill Boarding uniquely serves two

opposite was true for our boarders. We

opened our theatre and operated it as a

socially-distanced, ‘Huddle specific’

cinema, to give boarders the opportunity

to watch whatever terrible movie they

chose to watch. Our fabulous Graduate

Assistant team continued to open the

Prime Minister’s announcement about

gym, sports hall, and fitness suite for our

stayed open in this lockdown, with

exercise and keep healthy. One of our

boarders so that they could continue to

schools – Mill Hill School, and Mill Hill

around 40 boarders remaining on site.

challenging for boarders. We based our

However, it is all too easy to be

permissions, trips and activities on the

negatives of a COVID world and the

house, and one house held their

systems, which were soon escalated

indeed, there have been many positives.

Huddles gathered around fire bowls,

International. However, it has still been

rules on visitors to boarding, off-campus government’s four tier COVID Alert

downbeat and to focus only on the things we haven’t been able to do;

from Level 3 to Level 4. this meant we

During the second four-week English

shops, stopped them from using public

public were unable to go to cinemas or

restricted boarders’ ability to go to local

transport, and stopping having any

Housemasters, held what he refers to as

‘probably one of the few legal five a-side

Huddle-contained basketball matches in

the country’ on the lawn beside his

Christmas ‘House Hog’ celebration with

Christmas films on an inflatable screen, a

national lockdown, when the general

real hog roast, and even a chocolate

gyms or play competitive sport, quite the

photos this term, one of our boarding

fountain. Since we couldn’t have house

29

“In a world where we’re so divided, the best thing I ever did was come to board with people from lots of other countries. By living and working together and learning about each other’s cultures, my eyes were opened.”

Image courtesy of Mill Hill

staff got pictures of every girl in the

house and created one by the mystical

power of Photoshop, of which I

understand not.

Indeed, there are things we will likely

involved boarders making short films on

the theme of ‘Kindness’, with some

excellent results. (the temptation of a

If COVID has helped our young people to

some competition here). the girls who

mutual understanding, then it’s not all

Kind’ were the winners. Likewise, one girl

of isolation and the negativity of a

made a short film entitled ’10 Ways to be

boarders has traditionally involved

came up with a plan to host online

boarders getting up and going over to school for their activities, but with the

other’s cultures, my eyes were opened.”

milkshake prize from ‘Shaketastic’ on the

Mill Hill Broadway may have sparked

keep from these COVID times also. the Saturday morning programme for

working together and learning about each

movie nights and quiz nights for

boarders who were in quarantine or

practice kindness, consideration, and

bad. rather than focusing on the misery worldwide pandemic, we have found

hope, care and enlightenment from our

staff and boarders and their problem-

isolating, as she didn’t want any of our

solving approach to this pandemic. In an

socially-distanced teaching staff have

uS elections, and following our Diwali

have chosen instead to loudly proclaim

activities from the house. this has been

lights and no end of glow sticks, one of

choice of Year Group Bubble-based of

Household Huddle-based activities, our

come more into boarding to lead

community to be lonely. Just before the

celebrations, involving many neon laser

good for boarders, as well as being good

our boys from India said to me: “In a

sense of what boarding life is life, and to

I ever did was come to board with people

for the teaching staff to give them a

get to know boarders in a different way.

One of our Saturday morning activities

world where we’re so divided, the best thing

from lots of other countries. By living and

unprecedented era of ‘no you can’t’, we that ‘yes, we can!’

A part of society, not apart from it: refugee outreach at brighton College

Every Sunday for the past five

years, boarders and teachers at Brighton College have met with refugees from their local Syrian

Community Action Group to help

with conversation and interview

skills, teaching support for

teenagers and younger children

and Life in the UK Test preparation.

During the recent lockdowns, pupils have been teaching

members of the group remotely with virtual lessons and

conversation practice using

Microsoft Teams.

Boarders at the College say they have a moral responsibility to

support those fleeing war and persecution, and have thrown

themselves into supporting the

group. Upper Sixth boarder

Mason explains: “Taking part in

The College’s Syrian Refugee Support Partnership was nominated for a TES WholeSchool Community Initiative Award in 2020.

the local and wider Syrian

Ongoing links with the refugee

writing copy and producing video

led the College to recently

community – designing pages,

content. With full support from the group, the running of the website will pass to the community once pupils have fully trained key

representatives. The website will

contain teaching resources as well as useful community information

for the group and will be bilingual, in both Arabic and English.

Describing the connection, Ahmad yabroudi, Community

representative of the group, says:

“We consider our relationship with Brighton College to be like a

brother and sister. Pupils have

helped our community so much,

and we are grateful for all the time they spend with us.”

Sunday classes brings a human

Syrian community celebrations are

portrayed in the media as

College, including Christmas

face to those who are often

statistics, rather than souls with

experiences.”

In a pivotal move, since the

beginning of the year boarders

have been setting up a website for

also regularly hosted by the

parties, Mothers’ Day dinners and summer barbeques plus

fundraising events are held for the group.

community in Brighton have also launch Opening Doors - a

scholarship for young people in the local area with talent and ambition, and who have experienced a

significant disadvantage, or who have been displaced.

This scholarship was inspired by two Old Brightonians,

Sulaiman Wihba and Elias Badin, young refugees who arrived in

Brighton after long and incredibly demanding journeys from their home in Syria. Through the

connection with Brighton College as part of the Syrian Community Action Group, both boys were awarded full scholarships to

Brighton. They both did so well that they received additional

scholarships for university - to study maths at Balliol College,

Oxford, and medicine at Queen Mary’s, University of London.

Monday 21 June Sunday 27 June 2021

Boarding Week

National Celebrating the importance of health and wellbeing in boarding life in collaboration with Limitless, a unique brand that offers high-quality sportswear to many of our member schools. from home, we encourage everyone to get involved in fun and innovative activities that support mental health and wellbeing.

Don’t forget to post all activities using the hashtags

#nationalboardingweek • #limitless • #iloveboarding

Ideas include: • 2k run challenge – run for a charity of your choice • Kindness challenge – send us your videos and images of charity work • Fitness challenge – inter-house Press up and Keepie uppie competitions • Inter-house zoom bake-off – can you rise to the challenge?

• The boarding zoom choir – sing together during lockdown and share your videos with BSA • Audiobook challenge – read your favourite story, poem or book to fellow boarders.

Sponsored by

Heads on the move Chetham’s School of Music Nicola Smith and Tom redmond (Joint Principals)

Kent College, Canterbury Dr David Lamper (Executive Head)

Dulwich College Yangon David Massiah

Kent College, Canterbury Simon James (Head of Junior School)

Frensham Sarah McGarry

Port Regis Titus Mills

Heathfield School Sarah Wilson

Tudor Hall School Julie Lodrick

33

Royal seal of approval for Boarding Orchard initiative the bsA’s boarding orchard initiative, which

scotland and northern ireland - have joined the

encourages boarding schools to do their bit for the

boarding orchard, and trees have also been planted at

environment by planting fruit trees has received

boarding schools in switzerland, russia and the usA.

support from His royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. in a reply to bsA, a Clarence House spokesperson the Prince, a well-known supporter of eco-friendly and

passed on the Prince’s ‘warmest wishes for every

sustainable initiatives, recently appeared on bbC one’s

success with the project’, calling it ‘an excellent way of

Countryfile, where he joined celebrities including

promoting environmental awareness.’

actress dame Judi dench, model twiggy and legendary queen guitarist brian May, to give his backing to the

robin Fletcher said: “For many years, HrH the Prince

programme’s ‘Plant britain’ campaign, a two-year

of Wales has been a great champion of a wide range of

project which will see 750,000 trees planted.

causes and projects relating to protecting the environment and sustainability, so we’re delighted that

Following his appearance on the programme, bsA

our boarding orchard scheme has his support.

Group Chief executive robin Fletcher wrote to the Prince to highlight the bsA’s own boarding orchard

“since its creation, more than 150 schools all over the

tree-planting project.

world have contributed to the boarding orchard, planting over 180 trees and each year, more of our

the boarding orchard was launched by the bsA in

members join the scheme. through this project, we can

2014. it aims to be the ‘largest’ orchard by geography

work together to address the urgent need for action on

in the world and encourages schools to involve their

climate change and play our part in protecting the

pupils in planting trees to support the environment.

environment for generations to come.”

since launch, schools across the uK - including Wales,

For more information on the boarding orchard, please visit the bsA website: https://www.boarding.org.uk/440/national-boarding-week/boarding-orchard

Going from strength to strength The following schools have joined the BSA this year.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ashfold School Rugby School Thailand The Hill School, USA Dulwich College, Suzhou, China North London Grammar School International School of Creative Arts Prefleuri International Alpine School, Switzerland Alexandra College, Ireland Rockwell College, Ireland Wymondham College Prep School Exupery International School, Latvia Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School Bristol International College Nord Anglia School Jiaxing, China St Peter's International School, Portugal S.Anselm's Preparatory School, East Midlands

35

For more information on how to join the BSA

please visit our website www.boarding.org.uk or email bsa@boarding.org.uk

H Housemaster Housemistress v Houseparent

Alex Large Dartmouth Housemaster, Head of Boarding Royal Wolverhampton School

H

37

After a visit from the principal, his leaving remarks were: “About time the sign on your door was updated, Alex”. When i took on my current role, i was incredibly proud and remember moving into the boarding accommodation and noticing the sign on the door to my new flat – it read ‘Housemaster’ and must have been up since the house was built in the mid-90’s. And that’s what i thought my role would be – a Housemaster. so when it came to choosing the new sign for the door, which would include my name as well, it should have been a straightforward process – except it wasn’t.

I was always keen to get in to boarding for a variety of reasons and was incredibly excited when my school advertised for an Assistant Houseparent in the boys junior

house. At the time I thought the name of the role was interesting – having attended a boarding school myself I was

used to the terms ‘Housemaster’ and ‘Housemistress’. At the time I simply assumed that houseparent was an all

encompassing term for any gender. there was also thread

on Linkedin recently similarly talking about advertising for

the role of houseparent and there were ongoing discussions

about whether this is the correct term to use in terms of not

simply professional identity but gender identity. It was not

until I read John rae’s ‘Delusion of Grandeur’ that it finally clicked there was distinct difference between the definitions

of Housemaster (traditionally those that taught as well as

looked after the house) and Houseparent (a non-teaching role). And so, when it came to creating my first email

signature for my new role in boarding I took delight in seeing ‘Assistant Housemaster’ under my name.

I am in my ninth year of teaching mathematics and have taught everything from bottom set Year 7 to further maths

in Year 13. When I started, I thought that was it, I had

discovered my identity – I was Alex Large, Maths teacher. I

was determined to be the best and make a name for myself in that regard. However, it turned out that while I enjoyed

what I did, I found myself looking for new challenge, what about pastoral care?

I fell in love with boarding from my very first shift. I watched

the Blind Side with a group of boys in the common room

and just thought – this is brilliant. Watching them interact

with each other, forging lifelong friendships and sometimes

just acting like the teenagers they were. they made mistakes

(as we all do) and I relished the challenge of supporting

them to make better decisions going forward. this was it I

was an Assistant Housemaster and I couldn’t wait to run my own house one day. I was fortunate that this opportunity

came up in the same school, sooner rather than later. I applied and got the role. I had my own house to run – much

>>>

>>>

like the title of Jill Murphy’s book, Mr Large was in charge!

I deleted the word Assistant

from my email signature and

was ready for action – I was a

Housemaster.

If I was given the opportunity

at that point nearly two years ago to change the sign on my

door I would have had no hesitation for it to read: ‘Mr A Large – Housemaster’, but I

am thankful now that I didn’t get round to changing it straight away. My view of the

Image courtesy of Queen Margaret’s

39

role

and

means

what

has

it

really

changed

drastically since taking over

the house. My house is unique

have to do now that I never

envisioned would be part of my

role

including

going

shopping for clothing and

in that we not only have

toiletries, then stopping off to

also unaccompanied asylum-

ever McDonald’s. I was in

looked

after children, but

seeking children. I thought I

knew what the role entailed

treat someone to their first effect dad to these boys; it was then I realised that I

from my own experience

pretty much was. I have even

those who work in boarding

‘sons’ to the bitter end in

during my schooling and all will no doubt know about the

many hats that we wear on any given day. Given that,

there were still things that I

been known to defend my

disciplinary meetings in front

of the Principal much like a real parent would!

>>>

>>>

I took great pride then when one of the inspectors said that the two key terms that keep coming up again and again were ‘family’ and ‘community’.

Image courtesy of Clayesmore School

41

One of my proudest moments in my role was during an inspection last year. For six months

since taking over the house I was determined to shift the culture of the house to create a

family-orientated environment. I took great

pride then when one of the inspectors said that the two key terms that keep coming up again

and

again

were

‘family’

and

‘community’. And while some of this culture

needed to be harvested organically, I had really pushed these themes throughout my time to try and create this idea of a family environment in the boys’ home away from

home. Of course my efforts were helped

thanks to my wife who took on the role of matron – or ‘house mum’ – and my two-year

old son who likes to be involved in everything the boys do. I had shifted the culture from a

testosterone-filled house to one where boys

were greeted everyday with a biscuit and squash by Mrs Large and a ‘fist-bump’ from

Harry. We had become one big family and I knew I had found my professional identity.

In a world where wording and identity are so

important, I think that we are in the perfect place to start questioning some traditions and

to take ownership of our professional boarding responsibilities separate from any teaching role. I am in no way proposing that we simply dismiss the terms housemaster

and housemistress as they are both defined job roles, but I would encourage anyone who works in boarding to recognise that those two roles encompass two distinct identities,

namely houseparent and subject teacher. I

believe that now is the time that all

housemasters and housemistresses should

take the opportunity to think deeper about

what the terms actually mean in today’s

technology-based frenetic world.

It will come to you as no surprise for you to know that I did make a decision on my

door sign and I can tell you it reads ‘Mr &

Mrs Large – Houseparents’. My wife and I are proud houseparents. What about you?

L E A r n I n g T O L I S T E n

Good mental health and wellbeing must be embedded into the culture of all our schools. With high-profile campaigns encouraging us to talk about how we feel, it is important that pupils can access the support that they need. Here at Dauntsey’s, pupils know that they can turn to their Housemaster or Housemistress, their tutor, their teachers, a school counsellor or, alongside these, our peer Listening Service.

The Listening Service at

by one of our counsellors. The

The concept was developed by a

surrounding safeguarding and

Dauntsey’s started 15 years ago. group of Upper School pupils,

who wanted to receive training in order to be the first point of

contact for other pupils to talk

through any problems or worries.

It is well known that young

people often turn to each other as their first line of support.

There can be many reasons that young people may not feel that

they want to approach an adult initially and that talking to a

fellow pupil can sometimes be easier, and therefore it is vital

that we equip our pupils with the tools to do this.

Today, we have 28 volunteer

listeners ranging from those in

the Fourth Form to Upper Sixth pupils. Each volunteer receives

three one-hour training sessions, plus a one-to-one interview led

training sessions focus on issues confidentiality, they give guidance on how to provide support and when to refer pupils to a

counsellor or a member of the pastoral team. Each listener is assigned a buddy within the

group so that there is someone with whom they can discuss

individual cases and agree the

best course of action. Nobody is

left to deal with anything on their own.

Listeners wear a silver badge on their jacket or blazer to help identify them. Posters are

displayed around the school with contact details for all the

listeners, along with the school safeguarding leads and

counsellors. Pupils can chat to

listeners anywhere in the school

and there is also a small meeting

43

Pupils are made aware of the Listening Service as soon as they arrive and it is very much a part of the fabric of school life.

Ann Jackson Deputy Head, Pastoral Care Dauntsey’s room dedicated to the service where

for pupils and parents to see that

the Listeners to realise they are not

widely but often relate to stress and

part of the culture at Dauntsey’s.

their peers find the answers for

they are able to meet. Topics vary

anxiety, homesickness and friendship

talking about worries and emotions is

issues. These can often be dealt with

Carole Coop is one of the qualified

necessary. The listeners are helpful in

trains the Listeners. She has been at

by the listener but staff will step in if

feeding back to us on common threads that might emerge.

As well as the initial listener training,

school counsellors who oversees and

themselves. Often it is a case of just talking things through and being

helped to see a different perspective.

the school for some 23 years. Her

“But it’s important to look after the

therapy dog, is much loved by all.

support to them, ensuring they are not

cavapoo, Hollie, who is a trained

we hold regular meetings, dinners and

“The students who volunteer for the

recent speaker was Fred Coombs who

good listeners and used to being there

workshops with outside speakers. A

there to provide solutions but to help

Listening Service are often already very

Listeners. I see my role as being a

overwhelmed by, or worried about, the information they are receiving. I aim to check in with them regularly and I am supervised myself each month by an

publishes a regular podcast called

to support their friends and fellow

of the taboos around talking about

you would want to talk to and

“The listeners do an amazing job and

approachable. I like to think of them as

school so that when other pupils come

“Dead Dad” which tries to dispel some death. Some of our listeners recently attended a pupil-led mental health conference that provided useful

insights. We hope that the skills that

students. By nature they are people therefore pupils find them very

a First Aid team – often they can help

resolve worries that pupils might have.

they learn with us will also be put to

If not, they can refer them to any

It is very encouraging that the

that we have – either a tutor,

good use once they leave school.

conversation around mental health is

growing nationally and it is reassuring

member of the pastoral support team housemaster, housemistress or me

and my colleague. “It’s important for

external counsellor.

their contribution feeds through the

up to the Fourth Form, they are keen to get involved. It can sometimes become stressful for them though and they

can, at any time, ask to come off the

list of Listeners for a week or two. They just remove their silver badge until

they are ready to come back on board.”

>>>

>>>

“Being part of the Listening Service has been really rewarding.

We have learnt a lot about how to listen which is such an important life skill, both at home and in the workplace” Clemmie

Ben, a boarding pupil in the

link them up with a counsellor

Service, supported by deputies

peer can feel less of a big deal

Upper Sixth, leads the Listening Hal and Clemmie.

“We find it a really rewarding thing to do. The training was

enormously helpful in showing

us how to listen, how not to step

here – taking the first step with a and, once they have spoken

about what’s on their mind, it

becomes a lot easier to open up to professional support,” says Ben.

in with solutions and how best to

“Our main objective is to provide

resources,” says Hall.

come and talk to us. We won’t tell

lead pupils to the right

“Sometimes it can be as simple as a First Form pupil coming to

a safe space where anyone can them what to do but talking

about things can make a real

difference. We sometimes feel

us because they have lost their

we have nipped a problem in the

about what will happen. It may

conversation.

gym kit and are really worried

seem a small thing but it’s a big

worry to them. We can help them deal with that.

“At other times it can be

something bigger, such as stress

caused by divorce or changing

circumstances at home. We can

bud just by having a

45

BSA Certified Agent – 2021/2024

the bsA Certified Agent scheme is designed to improve the working relationship between high-quality agents and education consultants working with bsA boarding schools. this rigorous scheme is a clear demonstration of the quality and intention of the agents and consultants who join and provides unrivalled assurance to bsA boarding schools that they are dealing with top-class agents who have the highest standards in recruitment, safeguarding and student placement.

47

Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service (China and Hong Kong) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)

BeGo Education (China) British United Education Services (Hong Kong) i-Learner (Hong Kong) IQ Consultancy (russia) JD Consultancy (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Panoba (Nigeria and Saudi Arabia) QED Education Group (China) Sarah Jochums Internatsberatung (Germany) Sino-UK Arts & Cultural Bridge Ltd (China).

Full list of BSA Certified Agents

{

The following organisations have achieved BSA Certified Agent status since the last edition of the Magazine was published.

Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service (China and Hong Kong) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Academic Asia (China) Academic Families (worldwide) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Barbara Glasmacher Internationale (Germany) BeGo Education (China) Better School! Internatsberatung (Germany) BOSSS UK (China) Britannia StudyLink (Hong Kong) British United Education Services (Hong Kong) Chamberlain Educational Services (Hong Kong and China) Cherry Education Consultancy (China) For more information Connexcel (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Crest Education (China) on the BSA Certified Dickinson School Consulting (Germany and worldwide) Agent Scheme, please i-Learner (Hong Kong) IQ Consultancy (russia) visit our website.

ITEC (russia) J3 Group (HK) JD Consultancy (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Mark Brooks Education (Ghana, Nigeria, worldwide) Overseas Personal Development Services (China) Panoba (Nigeria and Saudi Arabia)

QED Education Group (China) rise Smart Overseas Education Centre (Hong Kong) Sarah Jochums Internatsberatung (Germany) School Britannia (France) Sino-UK Arts & Cultural Bridge Ltd (China) The Independent Education Consultants (worldwide) The Watanabe Office (Japan) UK Education Guide (Middle East, worldwide) UK Tuition Services (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian).

BSA Ce r t ifie d Gua rdia n – 2021/ 2024

BSA Certified Guardian Scheme 2021/2024 The BSA and our member schools are looking to work with the best educational guardians and our Certified Guardian Scheme is an assurance of professional quality.

This training and certification programme provides assurance to BSA boarding schools that they are dealing with educational guardians who have the highest standards in safeguarding of children, safer recruitment and training of staff and host families, and careful liaison with parents and schools.

The scheme is a clear demonstration to BSA boarding schools of the quality and intention of the educational guardians who reach certified status.

49

Access UK Education Alpha Guardians Boarding Schools Ireland Cambridge Guardian Angels Clarendon International Education College Guardians Edinburgh Guardian Angels Education and Exchange in Europe (provisional) Gabbitas Genesis Education Planning International Student Guardianship Ireland (ISGI) (provisional) JD Consultancy (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Overseas Personal Development Services (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) redoor Education (Provisional) Trusted Guardianship UKGuardianship ying Lang Guardian Glamour Edu Ltd.

{

The following organisations have achieved BSA Certified guardian status since the last edition of the Magazine was published.

Full list of BSA Certified Guardians Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Academic Families (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Access UK Education Alpha Guardians Amber Education Belgravia Guardians Berkeley Guardians Boarding Schools Ireland Cambridge Guardian Angels Clarendon International Education College Guardians Connexcel (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) For more information Cotswold Guardians on the BSA Certified Edinburgh Guardian Angels Education and Exchange in Europe (provisional) Guardian Scheme, Elite Anglo-Chinese Services English Country Guardians please visit our Gabbitas website.

Genesis Education Planning Guardians International Support High Schools International Hostlink UK International Student Guardianship Ireland (ISGI) (provisional) JD Consultancy (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) Overseas Personal Development Services (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) redoor Education (Provisional) regent Guardians St George’s Guardians Study Links The Guardian Family Network Trusted Guardianship UK Guardians UKGuardianship UK Tuition Services (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian) ying Lang Guardian, Glamour Edu Ltd.

The best of Is a library still a justifiable use of school funding in an age where students have the potential and the distraction of the internet so readily at their disposal?

Teaching in the shadow of one of the

great Medieval buildings in Europe, I

hope I might be forgiven for allowing

intellectual and emotional skills they need for later life.

my thoughts to roam in the past from

As teachers of English Literature, we

an inescapably historical place, with

promoting and celebrating our literary

time to time. Wells Cathedral School is more listed buildings than you can

have to strike a balance between heritage and at the same time

shake a stick at and an eccentric

presenting the subject as a dynamic,

year of the founding of the school and

rooted in the modern world. Where

activities). But teaching is about the

have followed: specifications allow for,

attachment to the number 909 (the

the name of our Thursday afternoon

present and future of the students, not

responsive discipline which is entirely

universities have led, exam boards and in most cases positively

the past of an institution, so for all the

encourage, exam text choices which

on our doorstep and medieval

contemporary literature alongside a

excitement of having a Chained Library gargoyles gurning down at us as we file

in for Cathedral assembly on a Monday morning, when it comes to what happens in the classroom, the

priorities at this 1,111 year old school

embrace and celebrate the richness of fair representation of works from the past half-millennium.

reading for exams is one thing; self-

directed reading is another. All praise,

are no different from that of a school

then, for the many schools which have

of learning and equip children with the

stocked, staffed by well-qualified

that has just opened: stimulate a love

managed to keep libraries open, well-

librarians and central to the academic

provision of a school. We are fortunate at Wells to have just such a library; in the Fiction section alone, the shelves

heave with an enticing range of titles,

beautifully presented in our old stable block, the range judiciously balanced

between classics which have stood the test of time and bang-up-to-date titles

from, say, the most recent shortlists for the Carnegie Award (for young Adult fiction) and the Booker Prize (for

Adult). Such a library makes it so much easier for us to promote strong wider reading habits for our students.

But is a library still a justifiable use of school funding in an age where

students have the potential and the

distraction of the internet so readily at their disposal? I would argue,

passionately, that it is. Firstly, I’m a big believer (surprise surprise) in the

incomparable value of reading a book -

old & new

51

Andrew O’Sullivan Teacher of English and House Parent Wells Cathedral School

>>>

I have yet to find a better place than a library for that soft and gentle cocooning which allows and encourages students to seal themselves off from the rest of the world, hopefully even turning their phone off and closing their laptop, and engage in truly independent reading.

53

>>> not a website, not a forum posting,

evolving spaces, where the

As long as sound pedagogical

source of an incredible range of

information have been allied with

not to allow technology to be as

but a book; to have a library as a

books, to showcase what is

available to students is a rich and

wonderful privilege. Secondly, I believe that the independent

research skills which will equip

students best with the tools they

advantages of electronic sources of the traditional benefits of libraries

as repositories of books. The need for a place which provides both

time and space for independent work won’t change.

need to manage and navigate the

In the classroom and more widely

available to them are best taught,

education are evolving, and that’s

bewildering range of information

and practised, in a dedicated space

free of subject affiliation. I might

also mention that I have yet to find

a better place than a library for

that soft and gentle cocooning

which allows and encourages

students to seal themselves off from the rest of the world,

hopefully even turning their phone off and closing their laptop, and engage in truly independent reading.

This is not to say that electronic

devices have no place in a library.

Far from it. The use of the library as a space for independent research makes a powerful argument for it to be as connected as possible.

School libraries, in common with

other libraries, have benefited from the technological advances of

recent decades precisely because

they have proved themselves to be

in students’ lives, some aspects of all for the good. When Wells

Cathedral School was founded,

students wrote on wax tablets; now we have returned to tablets, albeit electronic ones. In 2020 our

modern experience of Pestilence

has necessitated a rapid evolution of the nature of a ‘classroom’ - in

many cases to gain a capital letter

and a preceding proper noun in the form of Google Classroom. The Forum of ancient Athens has become the Virtual Learning

Environment Forum upon which I might ask students to add

comments for a homework task.

Where students might one have

relied upon their English teacher’s unfailing memory for, say, a

quotation from King Lear, said

teacher might now (in one of my off-days) ask them to check the

internet for the precise phrasing of an apposite line.

principles abide, there’s no reason central in the classroom as it is in so many other areas of a

teenager’s life. So it is with the

choice of literary texts to teach:

texts will remain worthy of serious

consideration, and of study, if they

prove to be of continuing relevance whenever they are taught. Texts

encountered in class and in wider reading habits will remain of the

utmost value if, whatever the age or culture they first sprang from, they encourage our students of

today to respond in a personal and considered way to the world

around them. It is the English teacher’s job to ensure that,

however much he or she may get

enjoyably lost in the past from time to time, the way in which literary texts are approached makes the experience continually new and

relevant. It’s an exciting challenge.

SAFEGUArDING AND CHILD PrOTECTION ASSOCIATION

Part of the BSA Group

ONLINE TrAInIng:

Safer recruitment training

13 M

THUrSD Ay

Ay 2021 10:00-1 5:30

This course is suitable for staff in the role of designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy designated safeguarding lead (DDSL) as well as members of management teams with recruitment responsibilities, including HR and Governors/Trustees. The training will enable you to meet statutory responsibilities referenced in Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children, and required by OFSTED. This course is provided by an experienced consultant with a background in policing and experience delivering training to police and social workers working in the Child Abuse field, specialising in the interviewing of children and the assessment and investigative approach.

Course details: • What is safer recruitment?

• The recruitment process • advertising • interview and selection stages • self-disclosure form • the recruitment panel • job description and person specification • references • Safeguarding policy • Regulated activity and Disclosure and Barring Service checks • Single Central Register (SCR) • Risk assessments • Existing staff • Volunteers • Induction • Creating a safer culture • Reporting • Offending behaviour.

By the end of the course, participants will understand: • The guidance that leads to safer recruitment procedures • Outline what is meant by safer recruitment and the practices involved • Explain how safer recruitment supports effective safeguarding practice within their organisation • Define pre-employment and employment checks • Be able to identify legislation that underpins safer recruitment, with a focus on Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020 (UK) and cases where a safe recruitment process could have prevented abuse • Understand how to assess the suitability of a candidate and have an understanding around offending behaviour – in particular sex offending by professionals.

Cost: £185 members • £370 non-members

V

Visit www.sacpa.org.uk/event/safer-recruitment-training-3/ to book now.

55

Rebecca MacKay Head of Boarding Wisbech Grammar School

ADAPTABILITY:

Navigating a pandemic Boarding schools offer an unparalleled

entrepreneurship by allowing pupils to

school community. In an article

inclusion and growing independence

homesickness, learn how to live away

estimated that up to 30% of UK private

school experience, as diversity,

are celebrated on a daily basis. This can

be seen in any successful boarding provision through the pupil’s daily

interactions with their peers, house

develop the resilience to cope with

from their families or carers and build their confidence in working

independently to achieve their goals.

staff and teaching staff. Boarders are

recent global events and the ongoing

time within the school community and

the sustainability and demand for

fortunate to benefit from additional

this certainly comes with its own perks

– and occasional challenges! resident tutors who are specialist teachers in

coronavirus pandemic have impacted boarding places. A number of

Independent Schools in the UK have been forced to close their doors or

their subject/s can assist pupils with

boarding houses due to the financial

lessons to promote pupil learning

The fee payers at UK Independent

revision techniques and offer additional beyond the classroom setting. For

those pupils in Sixth Form, boarding can be a useful stepping-stone to university, apprenticeships or

impact of coronavirus on the economy.

Boarding Schools may have been

impacted by being furloughed, facing

redundancy or suffering job losses and this inevitably impacts on our wider

published in the TES, it has been

schools could go out of business, as a

result of the COVID-19 pandemic (Lowe, 2020). In another vein, it is also

understandable that overseas families may be anxious when considering sending their children overseas to

boarding schools. The uncertainty as to whether new travel restrictions will be implemented that may affect their

child’s ability to return from home to school and back safely. regular

developments are commonplace with

various global governments’ guidance

on travel to and from the UK altering on a day-to-day basis. Overseas parents

may be fearful of the impact of these ever-changing regulations on

>>>

>>> their child getting home. It is

challenging to plan for all

potential eventualities when

organising any flight at present.

Extended quarantines, cancelled

flights or positive test results if

asymptomatic may mean pupils are

Our boarding schools have been hit by possibly the biggest existential threat in their history and schools being proactive to support pupils and their families is therefore paramount.

potentially unknown duration; parents

school community; in other words, not

their child as safe as possible in these

to the diverse nature of those pupils

are understandably anxious to keep

unpredictable times.

So what can boarding schools do to

adapt to such a dynamic situation to

support our boarders’ safety, academic

progress and overall well-being? Our boarding schools have been hit by

possibly the biggest existential threat in their history and schools being

proactive to support pupils and their

families is therefore paramount. I will

attempt to share some lessons learnt

during this challenging period,

although I am well aware that this

situation remains fluid and requires

constant adaption to fulfil our pupils’

solely within the boarding houses. Due attending our wonderful boarding

schools, it is important that pupils from minority cultures are well supported upon re-entering the wider school

strategies that boarding schools and

their staff can adopt to reduce pupils’

community about the complex issues involved and for the pupils to be

encouraged to support this. For some of our overseas pupils, careful

reintegration will be vital if they have been required to undergo a longer

period of self-isolation; this may have resulted in a later start than their

domestic peers. A former controversial have publicised articles that refer to

state they have proof that COVID-19

was produced in a laboratory in China.

Some of our pupils and their parents

may have read these articles and used this information as a basis for their

own viewpoints on the epidemiology of

risk of psych-social stressors that may

COVID-19. Sally Weale, Education

most influential piece of guidance for

stressed that the number of Chinese

negatively impact mental health. The me highlighted the importance of

facilitating a safe and secure boarding

lockdown periods. Therefore, being sensitive to their needs whilst supporting the global school

population must be handled delicately to ensure a culture of understanding and inclusion of all.

appropriately. This will ensure those

coronavirus as the ‘the China Virus’ or

Chris Thurber. This focused on various

effects following the worldwide

educate and inform the broader school

At the start of this academic year, I was Psychologists Dr Szu-Hui Lee and Dr

experienced bereavements, mental

The boarding and wider school

on the schools’ senior leaders to both

world leader and sections of the media

insightful BSA seminar led by Clincial

will have had family members who

have suffered from coronovirus,

population. It is therefore incumbent

needs.

fortunate to be able to attend an

be running high at present, as it is

increasingly likely that individuals’

health issues and other life altering

unable to depart or they may have to

isolate in airport accommodation for a

must be alert for xenophobia. Our

school communities’ emotions will

Correspondent for ‘The Guardian’,

pupils at private schools in the UK has

grown in recent years and that schools

provisions should be adapted

pupils unable to come into school, due to coronavirus restrictions and the

most recent lockdown, are still offered opportunities to thrive, both

academically and pastorally. In terms

of academic support on offer to pupils,

some schools are fortunate to have the technological resources to support live streaming of lessons for their pupils and provide access to electronic

devices for their pupils to support this.

Wisbech Grammar School Headmaster, Chris Staley, acted proactively in

response to the first UK lockdown and

drove the school’s technology strategy forward to roll out online learning platforms. All teaching staff were

provided with Apple iPads complete with Microsoft Teams to ensure

teachers were able to stream live lessons from home during any

lockdown periods. Any pupils who had access to laptops, phones and

57

of the unknown in relation to

computers were then able to

future airport restrictions and flight

view their lessons and contact

bans into and out of the UK or their

teachers for support with

home countries. It is also likely that

assignments, classwork and any

families will be anxious that they or a

other academic issues. Computers were also loaned to those families

loved one may develop symptoms of

Pastoral staff were empowered to

returning pupils may be facing the

coronavirus whilst separated.

who did not have access to technology. contact pupils via a secure school

system to keep track of any needs or

tutorials in person. It is important that

experienced. Staff induction in

learning resources particularly where

personal challenges pupils may have

September and January focused on

training teachers to maximise their use

of the Microsoft Team platform on the school iPads. This was aimed to instil

confidence for teachers when utilising these tools for pupils working from

home. This work ethic and recording of

lessons has carried through into our

Michaelmas term. This provided

confidence for staff, pupils and their

parents that pupils will be actively

aided to keep up to date with their

school curriculum if unable to attend

school. With the most recent

government lockdown, our lessons are

all schools guarantee pupils’ access to

individuals are forced to isolate in line

with government guidance. This will be crucial in the engagement of all pupils within their school communities.

regular communication with any

distanced learners will help reinforce pupil-staff relations to allow for

safeguarding and well-being support during any periods of isolation. The importance of this has been

highlighted by the NSPCC who

reported a 32% increase in average monthly contact by children and

adolescents under the age of 19 with the ChildLine service during the first

going ahead as normal with teachers

lockdown. As a staffing body, we must

resources to engage productively with

for and protect our pupils during these

and pupils armed with the tools and

the wider school community in lessons and beyond.

This was particularly advantageous for our boarders returning from overseas

be aware of our responsibility to care challenging times.

This leads me on to how school can

welcome boarders back into boarding following an extended period of

when they had to isolate for a 19 day

absence from school during this

guidance in September. These pupils

lockdown or COVID isolation. Any

period in response to UK travel

were supported by the boarding team to get involved with school life and

their lessons from the outset; despite

not being able to join their classes or

pandemic, such as a school holiday, international pupils re-entering the UK will understandably be experiencing

some trepidation in leaving their home countries. This could be due to a fear

prospect of their well-loved school

being immeasurably changed, due to

new restrictions and social distancing measures. Whilst new pupils may be dealing with similar fears with no

personal experience of who is available to support them upon their arrival. It

would be prudent for a senior member of the boarding team to greet them at

the airport upon their arrival in the UK, i.e. House Parent, House Mistress,

House Master or Head of Boarding.

This ensures that pupils are welcomed by someone who will have a direct input into their pastoral care and

responsibility for monitoring their wellbeing; tailored support can begin from the first meeting. It is reassuring for

pupils to have had contact from this

staff member before their arrival in the UK. Working closely with admissions beyond the recruitment stage is

important to ensure pupil numbers or contact information is correct to

support pupil retention. This will

enable the boarding team to touch base with pupils via WhatsApp,

WeChat, Microsoft Teams or even email (using school devices or

platforms to safeguard staff and

pupils). Feedback from our current boarders was extremely helpful in

gleaning what had gone well with our collection process from the airport.

>>>

>>> One of our boarders told me that he

felt instantly better upon landing, as he

was able to WeChat our duty mobile

and get an instantaneous response. He

knew immediately that I was present at

the arrivals gate looking forward to

meeting him and had a brief

description what to look out for to help

identify me. When he arrived through the gate, he looked a little fazed but

was clutching his phone like a lifeline

with the added reassurance that he

isolation periods has been invaluable with feedback on the

Despite the late hour and tiring

Overall, it has been extremely pleasing to hear from pupils that

knew how to get hold of staff quickly.

journey to the airport, I greeted him

with a big smile and made sure he knew how happy the school

community were to be gaining him as a

pupil. These small touches may seem obvious to most of us working in

boarding schools, particularly in the

current economic climate. However, it does not always happen and it

clearly means more to these pupils than staff and schools may realise.

During any isolation period with

boarders, staff should celebrate this intensive time with the pupils and utilise it as an opportunity to

understand their boarders’ pastoral

and academic needs in great depth. It

food, activities and academic provision on offer to them. mealtimes in the house can be enjoyable and pupils are grateful for the family atmosphere this creates. regular

communication with our catering department has been

paramount during this period. For thepupils being isolated,

there was no option to pop out and get their favourite snacks.

This has meant the school staff needed to provide them with

access to good quality meals and tasty snacks or treats proved

vital to maintaining a positive, happy living environment; pupils were grateful to our caterers for listening to their view points and even cooking up a curry night complete with papadums,

naan and all the side dips! It made our boarders feel valued in

the eyes of the school during a time when they could have felt

isolated or separated from our wider community. We even had a member of the school teaching staff offer to help us to

purchase appropriate snacks when doing their own ‘essential supermarket trip’ at an International Supermarket; the

boarders were delighted to receive treats from their home

is a chance to reassure pupils of what

country to help ease any homesickness!

them during these unprecedented

Staff also noted that outdoor items and household activities

have their boarding team discuss social

swing ball and table tennis) have been used regularly by pupils,

the school will be doing to support

times. The pupils will be grateful to

distancing, PPE regulations and any

changes they may be facing in relation

purchased for these in house periods (dart boards, frisbees, particularly when less able to engage in formal Physical

Education lessons. These activities boosted overall morale in

to their boarding or wider school

house and our pupils fed back that they found this helpful in

pupil voice meetings to gain pupil

down’ in house. Staff in house have also run mental health

experience. We found that hosting perspectives during our lockdown and

separating schooling and recreational time when being ‘locked well-being sessions, such as yoga and meditation. The sign up

59

mainstream school setting and aid integration beyond the boarding

community. It is also useful to be

proactive in planning for any additional support for any international pupils for whom English is not their native

language. Special Educational Needs support should also be planned for

and timetabled for any pupils requiring this so they gain support where

for these meant that a third of the house were actively

choosing to engage in mindful activities and taking time for

themselves to reflect on their isolation experience. This allowed staff to closely observe and better understand each pupil’s

specialist needs and offer well-being support when needed. We worked hard to produce a well-being booklets for our whole school community, this was designed to signpost pupils and their families to allow them to access support for online

distance learning, mental health, physical health and answer

any questions about the current COVID-19 situation they may

not wish to voice openly. For our overseas pupils, we produced a version with key aspects translated into their home language to promote their understanding and strengthen the level of

support on offer to them; this was key as some of our pupils

have not been able to travel home since the summer holidays.

Finally, the reintegration process for boarding households or

year group bubbles should be carefully planned for by schools

to ensure that pupils feel supported and comfortable returning into the global school population. Any new pupils joining the

school during this period should be assigned buddies to take them to their first location for the day where they should be

greeted by their Head of year or Tutor. Being welcomed to the wider school community by a senior member of the school

team will make the pupils feel special and familiarise them with the key staff who have oversight over their progress during the school day. Speaking to key staff prior to the assignment of

buddies is vital to ensure a good match can be made to best support the new boarder or day pupil and their peers in

bonding from their first meeting. This will help these new 5

boarding pupils navigate their first few weeks in the

required. Teaching staff should be

reminded that the boarding pupils may require some additional support when entering the classroom for the first

time. Communication lines should be kept open between tutors, Heads of year, boarding staff and teachers to

maximise the support on offer to our boarders in these challenging times.

These are unique times for our inspirational boarding schools.

However, I am confident that if schools work together to share best practice to support pupils and their families then

the wider UK boarding community will be able to safeguard the survival of

these outstanding establishments. I am looking forward positively to the year ahead and to working flexibly to

support our boarders and their school peers to celebrate diversity,

achievement and resilience in the face

of this pandemic both in the classroom and remotely.

It is the start of an unparalleled new era for our boarding schools so let’s embrace the changes together!

ADVErtOrIAL

Lockdown skills Challenging students’ misconceptions

As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, school doors across the UK are once again closed to the majority of students. We’re starting to gain a better understanding of the impact this is having on how able students feel to develop the skills they’ll need for the future.

Why the focus on skills?

As we all know, skills are essential to help young people develop into well-rounded adults who will stand out in what’s likely to be a highly competitive job market.

What’s more, making sure that employers are able to hire people with the necessary skills will be vital to help successfully revive the post-pandemic economy.

Difficulty developing skills

At Unifrog, we’re in a privileged position to explore this. We analysed aggregated data from 700,000 active UK students on the platform and 6,253 student survey responses to find out more about how the pandemic has impacted skills development.

Unfortunately, the majority of students we surveyed believe the pandemic has made it more difficult to develop skills that might be useful for their future career. And as they get older, the more likely students are to report difficulty developing these skills. 70% of those in Year 13 report finding it more difficult to develop useful skills, compared to 46% of Year 10 students.

Which skills have been most impacted?

Analysis of the Unifrog Competencies tool gives us an insight into students’ skills development during the pandemic. Students use the Competencies tool to reflect on and record the key skills that employers and universities look for, ready to use in strong applications.

The two competencies which saw the greatest decline in logging during the pandemic were teamwork and leadership. Compared to the year before, there was an 82% drop in the number of teamwork competencies logged, and a 79% fall for leadership.

How students’ competencies logging behaviour changed during the pandemic, compared to 2019

Arguably these are two of the skills traditionally most reliant on in-person interaction and as a result, students perceive them to be difficult to demonstrate during lockdown.

ADVErtOrIAL 61

Challenge misconceptions However, it’s important to help students realise that, while they may not be able to demonstrate some skills in the traditional way, they’re still using and developing them in other ways. Just as we have all had to learn new ways of working as part of a team and leading others while working remotely, students have adapted in the same way.

For example, any online collaborative projects will involve students using their teamwork skills while conducting any school or house responsibilities virtually requires strong leadership abilities. In the same way, many students have been using their communication and listening skills to support friends who may be struggling while using technology to work from home often requires a fair bit of problem solving!

Reframe the pandemic By challenging students’ misconceptions, we can reframe the pandemic as an opportunity for students to develop new skills and further existing ones. By encouraging them to reflect on the skills they’ve developed and finding opportunities for them to practise their teamwork and leadership skills, we can motivate them to strive towards their best futures.

BSA partners Unifrog are a careers and destinations platform helping students to find their best next steps.

Find out more at www.unifrog.org

Music in the time of coronavirus During the Summer of 2020, the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) undertook research on how the pandemic had affected the provision of music in UK schools. Most of the respondents (75%) were from the state sector. The research was published in December in a report called ‘The heart of the school is missing: Music education in the COVID-19 crisis’.

Chris McDade Director of Music Pangbourne College

The research shows that 39% of

deal of relief from the pressures of the

reported a reduction in music provision

stress and anxiety, yet it would appear

secondary school teachers have

as a direct result of the pandemic.

Furthermore, 28% of secondary

schools have not continued face-to-

outside world, and helps to reduce

that many children are being deprived of this outlet.

face instrumental lessons in the

Whether or not your child is a musical

thirds of schools, extra-curricular music

and performing music is a critical part

2020/2021 academic year, and in two activities are not continuing at all.(1)

This news is incredibly disappointing.

As a music teacher of over 30 years, I know only too well how beneficial

prodigy, I truly believe that learning of your child’s wider educational

experience; it improves their wellbeing, enriches what they do academically and enhances their other skills.

music education can be for pupils,

This is where an independent school

In terms of academic achievement, it is

Schools in the independent sector

both academically and psychologically. well documented that learning a

musical instrument can contribute to a child’s academic performance.(2)

And children’s mental wellbeing has undoubtedly suffered during the pandemic. Anyone who plays an

instrument knows that immersing

yourself in that activity offers a great

education can be extremely beneficial. usually have access to excellent

musical facilities, such as specialist teachers and equipment, and

Pangbourne College is no exception.

For example, as one of only 20 ‘all

Steinway’ schools in the UK, we have three concert pianos housed in our recital Hall and Falkland Islands Chapel.

63

As an independent school, we are in

for a recorded Service of

continue our one-to-one lessons

and provided Advent music for a

the fortunate position of being able to

during the national lockdowns, albeit

online. When we reopened in

September 2020, we reinstated our individual music lessons, providing

over 140 one-to-one lessons in our

state-of-the-art music centre, every

week. Of course, along with all other

remembrance, a College Carol Service

Sources:

collaborative service with other choirs

is missing: Music education in the

in Pangbourne village. We have

produced two music ‘showcases’ with recordings of our most advanced

musicians which have been shared

with the College community online.

schools who have maintained their

Of course, we are a long way from

very hard to adapt our teaching,

won’t be too long before all schools

music provision, we have had to work ensuring that we follow Government

guidance at all times.

For most musicians, it’s really

versions of what we would normally

perform live. For example, our pupils

have delivered beautiful performances

Cambridge Assessment report: The

relationship between taking a

https://www.cambridgeassessment.

musical education; it’s far too valuable to allow it to disappear. In the

meantime, at Pangbourne College we practice and perform music.

events, we have shared recorded

report_Dec-2020_A4_ONLINE-2.pdf

throughout the UK can reinstate their

want to continue engaging with our performances at local and national

M_UK-Music-Teachers-survey-

formal music qualification and

will continue to provide a safe

local community. So, instead of ‘live’

COVID-19 crisis’

https://www.ism.org/images/files/IS

being back to ‘normal’ but I hope it

important to have the opportunity to

perform to an audience, and we really

ISM report: ‘The heart of the school

environment for our pupils to learn,

overall attainment at Key Stage 4

org.uk/Images/603850-the-

relationship-between-taking-a-

formal-music-qualification-and-ove rall-attainment-at-key-stage-4.pdf

NEWS in brief

#2 More stories from the world of boarding

#2

65

royal Hospital School drummers

Lola of the Antarctic

glenalmond lifts spirits with show

royal Hospital School’s corps drummers

Butler won a flag designing competition

A rarely-performed play which was first

which saw her flag travelling to

Plague 400 years ago has been brought

play at the royal Variety Show

had a virtual brush with royalty when

they recorded a performance for the

royal Variety Show, which aired in

December. the band was asked to take

part in the show to accompany former

pupil Jon Courtenay, who attended the

school from 1984-1991, while he

performed at the royal Variety Show as

Stamford High School student Lola

organised by the British Antarctic Survey,

Antarctica with a scientist.

Students from across Year 7 at the

school entered their designs for an

Antarctic flag. Lola’s design included one

penguin for each country that has

part of his prize for winning this year’s

signed the Antarctic treaty.

Last summer, Jon came to the school to

Alexandra Dodds to Bird Island Landing

Britain’s Got talent.

give a virtual concert for the pupils

leaving in the summer following

completion of their A Levels. His

performance was recorded and shared

with the pupils as part of a virtual leavers event. He formed a close working

relationship with the school’s band

Her flag travelled with researcher

Bay, in Antarctica, in late 2020.

first performed after Plague

staged in London after an 18-month

back to the stage by Glenalmond

College.

the College resurrected Epicene, a 1609

renaissance comedy by Ben Jonson,

which caught the eye of Glenalmond’s

Director of theatre, Liz Moss. Echoing

events in recent times, the play was

originally performed after a long period

when London theatres were closed due

to the Plague.

the College’s version was adapted to

ensure it could be performed to meet

COVID-19 safety requirements, with no

live audience present.

master Luke Allen and they stayed in

touch. together they formulated a plan

to incorporate the Corps of Drums into the royal Variety Show as part of his performance.

>>>

>>>

#2

Whodunnit?

Dragon QUEST

boarders were on the case in a recent

have been immersing themselves in

Kimbolton School’s White House

murder-mystery game of ‘Cluedo at the

Castle’. Pupils and boarding house staff

dressed up for an atmospheric candlelit

dinner in the State rooms, followed by a

Year 4 and 5 pupils at Dragon School Dragon QuESt, a recently-launched

can choose from activities as diverse as

Northern countryside.

mechanics, visits to a working farm,

twelve international students at ‘Barney’

place on Saturday mornings. Children

historic - and reputedly haunted - Grade

paddle boarding and calligraphy.

Much-loved characters came to life as

teachers took on the roles of Professor

Plum, reverend Green, Miss

Scarlett, Mrs Peacock and Colonel

Mustard. Working in teams, the

girls wandered the Castle corridors and

rooms on the hunt for clues to solve the

murder.

celebrations

Barnard Castle School’s boarding

community was able to enjoy a Merry

cultural outings in Oxford, bike

1-listed building.

barrier to Barney boarders’ festive

enrichment curriculum which takes

live version of the popular board game

in various locations around the School’s

Travel restrictions and lockdown no

QuESt aims to develop young Dragons holistically so that they discover new

interests, develop new skills and dare to

do something new. the programme is

due to be extended to the whole Prep

School from September 2021.

Christmas and Happy New Year in the

were unable to go home for the holidays

as global travel restrictions were

imposed in the run up to Christmas.

Boarding staff rallied round to ensure

the pupils were able to have a relaxing

and enjoyable festive period, arranging for a series of meals, including on

Christmas Day, a New Year’s Eve

celebration, a range of activities as well

as access to facilities across the School

site. Barney’s alumni network of ‘Old

Barnardians’ provided additional support

after hearing about the international

students’ situation, by setting up a fund

and purchasing Christmas gifts for the

pupils and food items for their

celebrations.

#2

Yoga and body combat at Leweston

Leweston has added an exciting new element to the boarder’s after-

school and weekend activity programme this term with yoga and body

combat sessions offered in each Boarding House. the classes have

proved very popular with the students and are a great opportunity to

unwind!

the sessions have been led by Leweston’s new GAP Assistant, Zoe Sing,

who has a BSC in Food with Nutrition. As well as running health and

fitness sessions, Zoe has been providing nutrition and wellbeing advice to

the students and has put together beautiful and informative displays

across the Houses. the displays are designed to make a positive impact

on boarders’ mental health, with information about sleep and the

benefits of a healthy diet and exercise programme.

Zoe’s classes are the first step in a wider health and well-being

programme and she is working alongside Leweston’s Director of

Boarding, Beth Simkins-Smith, to deliver well-woman and well-man clinics

A Christmas staycation for

Concord students

At the end of the Autumn term, 130

students stayed at Concord College for

Christmas – the first time the college has

stayed open during the festive period for

14 years.

In a varied and exciting Christmas

programme, students from all forms had

the opportunity to take part in optional activities between 9am and 9pm every day, from December 8 to January 3, in their ‘bubbles’ for COVID-19 safety.

Such activities included sports drop-ins,

arts and crafts, gaming, an exotic

animals on-site visit, Christmas films, carol-singing, local walks and more.

Concord’s temporary marquee outside

the Main Hall was also decorated and

transformed into a Christmas grotto,

with lights and attractions such as a mini bowling alley, fair games and even a dry ice-skating rink.

to boarders. these will focus on some of these topics in more depth and

provide an opportunity for students to explore their physical and mental

health.

67

A fresh perspective o assessment

Matthew Albrighton Deputy Head Academic St. Edward’s Oxford

69

on Lord baker, at a conference held in november at the Chartered College of teaching, conveyed his view that, though he was responsible for their introduction in 1988, GCses are now ripe for abolition.

Image courtesy of St Edward’s Oxford

>>>

>>>

At the same event, respected speakers from a range of educational contexts,

highlighted the need for a serious

review of the nature and purpose of

assessment in years 10 and 11. The

group, known collectively as Rethinking Assessment, points toward a more

holistic vision for education and

assessment, but as yet there is no alternative plan.

Indeed, the challenge of finding an

resulting chasm between what is

assessment at 16 is not insignificant in

students in the Sixth Form (and then

alternative framework for learning and

scale and complexity. At St. Edward’s

School in Oxford we find ourselves at the forefront of this national

needed at 16 and the demands on

university) is for many, too difficult to bridge.

discussion, as this year we began

The negative stranglehold that GCSEs

alternative to a standard GCSE

design is further tightened because of

offering a coherent and intelligent

programme of study.

The St Edward’s Pathways and

Perspectives courses that run here

alongside GCSEs are a programme that

respect the direct relationships

between the way young people are

taught, what they learn and how they

have on curriculum and teaching the weight these lone timed

assessments potentially have on the

future of a young person and, for what it’s worth, the school. The new courses we teach at St. Edward’s throw out the premise that recall is the only

important learning skill and places

central a wider range of skill sets that

learn. Tests in themselves are not to be

incorporate spoken communication,

tested influences how and what is

collaboration and self-management.

of GCSEs; to hold information in

developed. GCSEs test the ability to

continuous assessment downplays the

communication under pressure and

arbitrary, body of knowledge in a very

reduces the potential teenage mental

frowned upon, the problem is what is

taught and the nature of learning skills recall a tightly prescribed, often

specific format. Skilled teachers do

research, thinking, creativity,

There is still room for a test or two but

emphasis on the pressurised exam and health issues of a single moment of

more with the GCSE format than this,

failure. Instead our Pathways and

measured in such a narrow way why

encourages the building of a more

but with the best will, if success is

explore the limits of knowledge and

skills when there is potentially a risk of

affecting the grade by straying away from the prescribed content. The

Perspectives assessment approach diverse portfolio of skills.

We do not discount the skills

developed through a core programme

memory enables effective

does allow for deep thinking. The

practice of knowledge retrieval clearly

trains some elements of the brain. But this is not the only important skill. We want to develop and celebrate other

abilities and to take advantage of the enhanced neuroplasticity of the

teenage brain. The over-arching vision of the St Edward’s education is an

exploration of what it is to be human

71

“Education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of a fire” W.B. Yeates

Image courtesy of St Edward’s Oxford

and an individual within a community.

resilience and then light a spark. The

pupils to learn in their own way, be it in

conversations that relate to personal

part of our holistic approach to the

floor reading room, the bustle of the

GCSEs limit our ability to have the

development. The boundary that is too often placed between the academic

Pathways and Perspectives are a key

process of young people becoming.

quiet study in the collegiate-style top

Library and collaborative study decks,

or engaged in robust group discussion in the ground floor café.

and pastoral elements of nurturing a

We are convinced by this holistic

at St Edward’s where we emphasise

have committed this belief into bricks

At St Edward’s we have unpicked the

Christie Academic Centre in Autumn

prison doors to look at the pupils in

young person is, quite rightly, blurred

the coaching relationship between

teacher and pupil. Our skilled teachers work with pupils to help them

understand themselves, recognise

strengths and weaknesses, build

approach and over the last two years and mortar. We opened our new

2020, and from conception, it has been designed to provide the flexible

working spaces that will allow our

handcuffs of GCSEs and opened the front of us with fresh eyes. The

education establishment is taking note.

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Mill Hill School Foundation Millfield Preparatory School Millfield School Milton Abbey School Monkton Combe Preparatory School Monkton Combe Senior School Monmouth School for Boys Monmouth School for Girls Moor Park School Moorland School More House School Moreton Hall School Moulsford Preparatory School Mount Kelly School Mount St Mary’s College Mowden Hall School Moyles Court School Myddelton College New Hall School North London Grammar School Northbourne Park School Oakham School Ockbrook School Old Buckenham Hall School Old Swinford Hospital Orwell Park School Oswestry School Oundle School Oxford Sixth Form College Packwood Haugh School Padworth College Pangbourne College Papplewick School Perrott Hill School Peter Symonds College Pinewood School Plymouth College Pocklington School Port regis Preparatory School Prestfelde School Princess Helena College Prior Park College Prior’s Field School Queen Anne’s School Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate Queen Margaret’s School Queen Mary’s School Queen Victoria School Queen’s College, Taunton Queenswood School radley College ratcliffe College reading School reddam House Berkshire reed’s School rendcomb College repton School richard Huish College riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School rikkyo School in England ripon Grammar School rishworth School rochester Independent College rockport School roedean School rookwood School rossall School royal Alexandra & Albert School royal High School, Bath royal Hospital School royal russell School rugby School ruthin School rydal Penrhos School ryde School with Upper Chine rye St Antony School Saint Felix School Saint ronan’s School Salisbury Cathedral School Sandroyd School Scarborough College Scarisbrick Hall School Seaford College Sedbergh School Sevenoaks School Sexey’s School

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Shaftesbury School Shebbear College Sherborne International Sherborne Preparatory School Sherborne School Sherborne School for Girls Sherfield School Shiplake College Shrewsbury School Sibford School Sidcot School Skegness Grammar School Slindon College S.Anselm’s Preparatory School St Andrew’s Preparatory School, Eastbourne St Andrew’s School, Pangbourne St Bees School St Catherine’s, Bramley St Christopher School St Clare’s, Oxford St David’s College, Llandudno St Edmund’s School, Surrey St Edmund’s College & Prep School, Hertfordshire St Edmund’s School, Canterbury St Edward’s Oxford St Francis’ College St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh St George’s School, Ascot St George’s School, Harpenden St George’s School, Windsor St Hugh’s School, Lincolnshire St Hugh’s School, Oxfordshire St John’s College School, Cambridge St John’s College, Southsea St John’s Beaumont Preparatory School St John’s School, Leatherhead St Joseph’s College St Lawrence College St Leonards School, Fife St Margaret’s School, Bushey St Mary’s Calne St Mary’s Music School St Mary’s School, Ascot St Mary’s School, Cambridge St Mary’s School, Melrose St Michael’s School St Paul’s School, London St Peter’s Prep School St Peter’s School, york (incl St Olave’s) St Swithun’s School St Teresa’s School Stamford Endowed Schools Stamford Junior School Stephen Perse Foundation Stewart’s Melville College Steyning Grammar School Stoke College Stonar School Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall Stover School Strathallan School Summer Fields School Sunningdale School Sutton Valence School (incl Prep) Swanbourne House School Talbot Heath School TASIS, The American School in England Taunton Preparatory School Taunton School Teikyo Foundation School Terra Nova School Terrington Hall School Tettenhall College The Chorister School The Downs Malvern The Duke of york’s royal Military School The Elms School The Hammond School The King’s School, Canterbury The Leys School The Mary Erskine School The Montessori Place, Hove The Mount School Correct at time of print

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