INTERVIEW
170 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE For more than 170 years, Hurst College has taken on the task of educating selected individuals from our youth, moulding and shaping them to be fit for the world which lies ahead, no matter the turmoil it may be in; especially in recent years. With its long history there inevitably comes peaks and troughs in the school's performance, though few today could say that the school sits anywhere other than at the height of its performance, even winning the Sporting Achievement award in the 2020 Independent Schools of the Year Awards. What is it that makes such a school rise so high? It's in search of the answers to this question that I went to the stunning school grounds in West Sussex to talk to its head, Tim Manly. By Maarten Hoffmann
It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are, or not, what we care about is your level of engagement ❜❜
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Given the school's long history, when did the school go co-education? It's been over 25 years now. It was co-ed when I arrived, though quite a small percentage of girls then, probably no more than 30%. We've reached a stage now where I think we are at the equilibrium point in terms of scale, just shy of 1300 in the school. 50/50 boys/girls, 50/50 boarding and day in the Senior School, so we are now of a scale that is sufficient to do all the things we want to do, but not so large that things become Darwinian with restricted access only to elites. As parents, what we all want for our children, though they may not always want it for themselves, is that fundamental level of engagement with every single option that is on offer. This is combined with a culture that signals to a pupil that "It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are, or not, what we care about is your level of engagement, and through that engagement, you are going to grow and learn about yourselves, you're going to develop in all sorts of ways, you're going to make friendships and you're going to enjoy life." I think we are at that stage now, and if we were larger, there is a danger of limited opportunities and "if you're not good enough you're not getting on stage, you're not getting on a team." I have a choir of 140 here, and although they may not all be world class singers, they have a great experience and that is what counts. We have over 20 drama productions in a normal year and that's great. In their future lives our children will need those key skills of being able to stand up on stage, address an audience, make a speech, engage with a group of people under pressure.
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