EDUCATION AUTUMN • WINTER 2018 • £5
AUTUMN • WINTER 2018
DAN SNOW ‘I LEFT ST PAUL’S THINKING I WAS WONDERFUL’
Take
OFF
Preparing for life after school
Time Out
TOP T I P S FO R OX B RI D G E
Is the Common Entrance dead?
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Z E S T. L O N D O N
THE LEADER
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Does your child need a school which offers specialist learning support? Come along to the Cavendish Education Schools Fair on Saturday 6th October 2018 | 10am to 2pm. Staff from each of the Cavendish Education Schools will be on hand to answer your questions and discuss how to help your child to reach their potential. Also attending: The Child and Adolescent Development Centre, Dulwich Speech & Language Therapy, The Dyslexia Teaching Centre, Chelsea Children’s Therapy, ANT Education and Ruby, Red & Crimson Art Studios. Register your interest today j.narowlansky@cavendisheducation.com Refreshments provided.
W QUE HICH STIO SCHO O NS A NSW L? ERE D
E
ND
A HELP
NC A D I GU
PROFESSIONAL ADVIC E AND SUPPORT CAVENDISH EDUCATION ADMISSIONS PROCESS CHILDREN WELCOME ACTIVITIES PROVIDED
To be held at: Cavendish Education 23-31 Beavor Lane, Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith W6 9AR
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From the
EDITOR
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’ve had the whole summer to ponder leadership, our theme for this issue. Is it the ability to take charge and go over the top first? Like Lucy Giles, the first female Lieutenant Colonel at Sandhurst. Giles is one of the mentors in a pioneering programme run by the Girls’ School Association to encourage more teachers into headships (see page 79). She is tough in a masculine mould, smashing glass ceilings and trained to lead her troops into battle. Or is leadership something more internal, less visible? The ability to take control of your own life, to be the master of your own decisions? This is how Jo Cruse, leadership guru extraordinaire sees it (see page 32). I have another picture of what leadership might be. I don’t live in the most salubrious area of London; it’s
were then involved in a programme that kept them constantly engaged, including four weeks of training with Saracens rugby club. The next camp, the Syrian Summer Camp, gave succour and educational support to local refugee children. And the last, the Springboard Youth Academy Camp provided holistic education to refugee and asylum-seeking young people. All these camps ran simultaneously. I've no doubt all were transformational. I’m also sure they involved many agencies and different people but my gut feeling is that the head was the engine behind them. Nobody affects the temperature of a school like its leader. I salute you Mr Danny Coyle. And while I’m heaping praise, my own inspirational book of the summer was Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a memoir of
“NOBODY AFFECTS THE TEMPERATURE OF A SCHOOL LIKE ITS LEADER” down-at-heel, diverse and vibrant. Every morning I see a local headmaster patrolling the pavements close to his school – Newman Catholic College. He is always well dressed. He is always alert, straightbacked. I see him chatting to pupils, straightening ties and hurrying them along. Above all, he is present, a figurehead, showing them how to be. During July and August this year, Newman Catholic College (NCC) ran three summer camps. The first was run in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police; NCC identified 50 boys aged 13-15 deemed to be ‘vulnerable’ over the holidays. These boys
a young girl growing up in rural Idaho in a fundamentalist Mormon family. With no formal schooling she makes it to Cambridge to do a PhD. It is a story of the transformational power of education. Even Barack Obama has tweeted his love for this book. So I’m in good company. I hope you enjoy this issue.
A manda Constance EDITOR
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CONTE AUT U MN / WINTE R 2018
upfront
18 NEWS What's going on in the world of education
25 BUYER'S MARKET The school noticeboard goes digital
26 BURSARY BONUS Why schools opening overseas can help those in the UK, by Barnaby Lenon
32 CRUSE CONTROL Absolutely Education meets leadership guru Jo Cruse
N u r s e ry & P R E P
46 OUT OF DATE? Prep heads discuss whether time is up for the Common Entrance
53 GOLD STANDARD
46
senior
74 MAKING OF ME Dan Snow
Why scholarships still matter, by Giles Tollit, Headmaster of Horris Hill
79 THIS GIRL CAN
60 GENERATION GAIN
A pioneering leadership project is encouraging more women to become heads
Libby Norman hails a new model of learning in south London
88 GENDER ISSUES Will single-sex schools survive? By Lisa Freedman
94 A MATTER OF CHOICE Senior heads discuss curriculum options
112 GET PERSONAL Technology and independent learning are the key to teaching, says Microsoft's Director of Education
116 MAKING OF ME
74
98 MOOCS
Aicha McKenzie
s c h o o l l e av e r
122 BE PREPARED Mental health provision for school leavers is essential, says Robert Milne, Headmaster of Emanuel
126 MAKE IT COUNT Our round-up of the best gap year companies
142
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53 EDITOR
Amanda Constance EDITOR IAL ASSISTANT
Georgia McVeigh
A DV ERTISING M A NAGER
Nicola Owens
COMMERCI A L DIR ECTOR
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GROUP SA L ES DIR ECTOR
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A RT DIR ECTOR
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SENIOR DESIGNER
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MID-W EIGHT DESIGNER
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Catherine Perkins M A R K ETING M A NAGER
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FINA NCE DIR ECTOR
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Greg Hughes, Alexandra Hunter, James Fuschillo PUBL ISHING DIR ECTOR
Sherif Shaltout
94 au t u m n b o o k s
148 BEETLE QUEEN
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@AB SOLUTELY_MAGS ‘AB SOLUTELY MAGAZINES’
An interview with bestselling children's author MG Leonard
EDUCATION
151 GAME ON
AUTUMN • WINTER 2018 • £5
AUTU M N • WI NTER 2018
A new version of Minecraft aims to encourage reluctant readers, by Georgia McVeigh
Take
OFF
Preparing for life after school
TO P T I P S FO R OX B R I D G E
Is the Common Entrance dead?
Follow
THE LEADER
Z E ST. LO NDO N
156 DIGITAL DECODE The four types of screen time, by Elizabeth Tweedale of CypherCoders
166 LASTING LEGACY
‘I LEFT ST PAUL’S THINKING I WAS WONDERFUL’
Time Out
school's out
How the death of a Ludgrove pupil helped schools in Uganda, by Georgia McVeigh
DAN SNOW
I N S P I R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
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F RO NT COV E R Pupils at Kingston Grammar School, a co-ed school for 11-18 yr olds in Kingston upon Thames Kingston Grammar School, London Road, KT2 6PY 020 8546 5875, kgs.org.uk
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• A B S O L U T E LY E D U C AT I O N ’ S •
CON T R IBU TOR S
Brian Schofield
Head of Politics, Hurstpierpoint College
Brian Schofield previously worked as an editor, travel writer and literary critic for the Sunday Times. His first book, Selling Your Father’s Bones, is published by Harper Collins. He writes about preparing school leavers on p.131. Who is your favourite leader from history and why? Gladstone, a Prime Minister guided by conscience rather than career.
Carol Chandler-Thompson Head, Blackheath High School
4+ AND 7+ TASTER MORNINGS 4+ 10.30am – 11.15am Tuesday 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th November 2018 7+ 8.45am – 11.30am Tuesday 16th October 2018 Apply online admissions@bro.gdst.net www.bromleyhigh.gdst.net L E A A A A E LLL E E
A R R R R A A A
R N I N G A N E E X C E P T I E E E E X X C C E E P TTT III E E X C E P P R N I N G N R N I N G A R N I N G A A N N
D O O O O D D D
A C H N A L N N A A LLL N A A C H A A C C H H
I ( ((( III
E V E I S I III S S III S E V E E E V V E E
www.bromleyhigh.gdst.net www.bromleyhigh.gdst.net Apply Apply online online admissions@bro.gdst.net admissions@bro.gdst.net
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Carol Chandler-Thompson is the Head of leading London independent day school Blackheath High School GDST. Her career has been devoted to teaching and leading in highly successful independent girls’ schools in London and abroad. She writes about inspiring girls to lead on p.83 Who is your favourite leader from history and why? Eleanor Roosevelt. Principled, courageous, fought for the rights of others and not afraid to defy convention.
Gary Wilson
Education consultant and campaigner
Gary Wilson is widely regarded as one of the country's leading experts on raising achievement in boys. He writes about 'Brilliant Boys' on p.64 Who is your favourite leader from history and why? I will go for Sir Alec Clegg, educational pioneer who changed the shape of education in his role of Chief Education Officer for the West Riding of Yorkshire.
M E N T S 2 0 1 6 ) 2 2 0 0 111 6 6 ))) 2 0 6 M E N S M E N M E N TTT S S 30/08/2018 09:19
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MADE IN PUTNEY Meet Charlotte, mathematics and coding wonderkid. Fluent in English, HTML and C#. www.putneyhigh.gdst.net
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• A B S O L U T E LY E D U C AT I O N ’ S •
CON T R IBU TOR S
Jessica Narowlansky
Head of Specialist Education and Wellbeing Cavendish Education
Jessica Narowlansky specialises in dyslexia and supporting children with autistic spectrum conditions. She writes about her own journey with dyslexia on p.67 Who is your favourite leader from history and why? Annie Sullivan, Hellen Keller's teacher – the person who first opened our thinking to the idea that disability is not the measure of the individual.
Open Morning for Years 3-6 (ages 7-10) Saturday 13 October 9.30 – 12 noon (entry via Hunts Slip Road) Parents and boys will tour the College with our current pupils, meet staff and hear the Master, Dr Joe Spence, talk about Dulwich College and Dr Toby Griffiths about the Junior School. No appointment is necessary. The offer of a place in the Junior School is the offer of a place at Dulwich College to age 18. Mid-week visits are also available by appointment. Please call Junior Admissions on 0208 299 8432 or visit dulwich.org.uk/junior-school
Lisa Freedman
Education consultant and journalist.
A Canadian by birth, Lisa Freedman remains fascinated by the bizarre intricacy of the English education system, and is currently completing a PhD in the History of Education at UCL. She writes about single sex schools on p.88 Who is your favourite leader from history and why? My favourite leader from history is Frederick William Walker, headmaster of Manchester Grammar School, 18591876, and St Paul’s School, London, 1877-1905.
Louise Weir
Open Morning for entry into Year 7
Founder, Lovereading4kids
Saturday 6 October 9.30 – 12 noon Tour the College with boys, meet staff and hear the Master, Dr Joe Spence, talk about Dulwich College. No appointment is necessary.
Louise Weir had a career in publishing before founding the UK's number one children's book recommendation site. She reviews the best autumn books on p. 142. Who is your favourite leader from history and why? Mahatma Gandhi. Because he was always determined to do the very best in everything he did but crucially, through non-violence. Our experiences of the 21st century so far, should get us looking back at his core thinking.
Other opportunities are available to visit the College during the school day. Dates can be found on the Admissions section of our website, www.dulwich.org.uk, or please telephone the Registrar’s Office on 020 8299 9263.
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Up Front SCHOOL NEWS P . 18 HARD TIMES P . 29 JO CRUSE INTERVIEW P . 32
G R A N D D AY O U T
Cranmore School Rowing Club hosted the Queen's River Barge, Gloriana, at Walton Rowing Club as part of the school's 50th year celebrations. Gloriana headed a procession of boats up the Walton reach to the Thames.
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Get Ga ming An all girl team from Wimbledon High School were thrilled to be winners of the 2018 BAFTA Young Game Designers competition at a prestigious awards ceremony, where they were awarded the Game Concept Award for 1518 year olds. The girls won the prize for their café simulator game idea – Tea and Tartlets.
NEW APPOINTMENT Edward O’Connor has been appointed as the new Head of St Edmund’s School Canterbury from September 2018. Edward has been Deputy Head at St Edmund’s since 2013 and was Acting Head of the Junior School last year. He succeeds Louise Moelwyn-Hughes. He said: “I feel privileged to be taking over as Head of this dynamic and vibrant day and boarding school at this exciting stage in its evolution.”
“I feel privileged to be taking over as Head of this dynamic school”
RESCUE MISSION
Best Success
Gordonstoun School welcomed former pupil Connor Roe back to the school to talk about his role in the cave rescue operation of the Thai football team and their coach. Roe, who left Gordonstoun in 2009, was called to assist with the final phase of the rescue operation by the British Cave Rescue Council.
Eaton House Belgravia Pre-Prep has achieved its best results for 7+ and 8+ examinations in five years. The first set of results under the new Headmaster, Huw May, just under 40% of the boys received offers from Westminster Under or St. Pauls, amongst other well known schools.
OPEN DOORS Kensington Park School, a new day and boarding senior school, opened its doors in August to welcome girls and boys aged 11+. This follows the opening of the school’s sixth form last year. Headmaster Paul Vanni said: “KPS is a fantastic addition to the central London independent school scheme…"
“I can’t wait for Tokio Myers, the pianist who won Britain’s Got Talent last year to perform with the full Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is state-educated and busts the myth that classical music is only for old, rich, white folk” AY E S H A H A Z A R I K A I N T H E E V E N I N G S TA N D A R D
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UPFRON T / NEWS By Georgia McVeigh
M I L ESTON E In 2019 Dulwich College will celebrate its 400th anniversary with the Dulwich Olympiad 2019, showcasing skills in sport, music, drama and art. The school will host some 800 participants from Dulwich College International schools, as well as boys from the London college.
SCORE IT U P 2018 saw Felsted School achieve its best ever IB Diploma Programme results. Once again,Felsted achieved a 100% pass rate, and this year improved their average point score to 35.5 out of a possible 45, 5.5 points above the world average. Five students achieved scores of over 40 points, putting each of them into the top 6% worldwide.
F LY I N G H I G H GCSE students Niamh Breslin and Martha Tyler represented Babington House School in the London Schools Trampoline Championships held at Harlington Sports Centre, where both performed extremely well. Martha has previously competed in Regional trampoline championships and has her sights set on representing Great Britain for trampolining.
T H E B U T T E R F LY EFFECT A Year 11 pupil from Sydenham High, Frances Newe, qualified for the National Summer Swimming Championships in Sheffield, despite a challenging season. She was one of only 20 swimmers in the country selected in five events, winning silver in the butterfly to make her the second fastest in the country for her age.
SPORTING SUCCESS Cumnor House Sussex Colts ‘A’ team beat strong competition at the East Grinstead Hockey Academy tournament. 13 schools from all over Sussex, Surrey and Kent were brought together to compete for the prestigious winners’ trophy.
“I don’t want my kids coming home speaking like Ali G.” PA U L W E L L E R , O N E -T I M E C L A S S WA R R I O R A N D N O W M I D D L E C L A S S PA R E N T O N W H Y H E E D U C AT E S H I S K I D S P R I V A T E LY
SOMETHING THEY SAID
“We’ve had feedback over the last week that some people are unhappy with our plan to offer up to 14 scholarships to refugees living in the local area. To these people we would like to say: Tough. Jog on.” UNIVERSITY OF READING ON TWITTER
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UPFRON T / NEWS By GEORGIA MCVEIGH
RECORD R E S U LT S Brighton College broke its own record for top grades this year, and was placed number one in The Times A-Level league table. Despite the new exams, the school achieved 40% A*s, the school’s highest ever figure. Headmaster Richard Cairns said: “With 99% of grades at A*/B, these results are better than any school in England achieved last year.
C O U N T RY REPS
Young Entrepreneurs
Oakham School have had a successful sporting year, culminating in a large number of students selected to represent their country. Seven Oakhamians were selected to play rugby for their country, alongside other students selected to represent their country in athletics, cricket and hockey. One student even made international history for being selected as the first athlete outside of the US to play in the 2018 Under Armour All-America High School Football Game.
Year 6 pupils from Rose Hill School won second, third and runners up prizes in the national John Lewis Innovation Prize. The task was to reinvent a school blazer. Pupils presented their winning products to Paula Nikolds, the first female MD in John Lewis history. Pupils were then taught about how John Lewis manages sustainability and ethical employment.
“These results are better than any school in England”
UNIVERSITY LIFE St Helen’s, Northwood, recently launched St Helen’s University, a pioneering three-day, off-timetable initiative at the school, enabling Year 7 - 9 girls to follow their own schedule of talks, classes, adventures and independent work. Girls chose from Creativity, Culture, Performance, Science & Technology, Society and Wellbeing themes, with activities including archery, abseiling, photography, journalism, forensic analysis and theatrical make-up workshops.
Top Story
ART FEST Hanford School has hosted their first Art Festival. The successful program saw 16 different artists and experts hosting talks and workshops for Hanford girls, staff, parents, friends, family, local school children and residents. The weeklong festival celebrated the role of creativity plays by exploring major environmental themes, with the aim of demonstrating how art communicates important ideas and issues.
R E S U LT SUCCES SES The Oratory School celebrated another year of A-Level success with 40% of pupils achieving an A*-A. Their A-Level results also placed The Oratory School in the top 3% of schools for adding value to this year’s Upper Sixth Form cohort. The school is also celebrating GCSE success, with 46% of all grades being the top grades of 9-7 (A*-A).
SOMETHING THEY SAID
“Call me old-fashioned, but the notion of not having personal space when you’re going through puberty is nonsensical, whatever your gender. Where should we draw the line?” KELLI N EALE I N TH E TI M E . H ER DAUG HTER FOUG HT TH E SCHOOL T O R E I N S TAT E S I N G L E S E X L O O S ( S H E W O N ) .
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02668_Babington_Absolutely_Mag_Ad_Layout 1 08/07/2018 23:53 Page 1
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AIM HIGHER The sky’s the limit at Blackheath High School
Visit us at one of our open events and hear about our new £18 million state of the art redevelopment completing in 2018/19: Sixth Form Information Evening – 3 October Open Morning – 6 October
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UPFRON T / NEWS By GEORGIA MCVEIGH
W H Y B OA R D? Cranleigh School has designed an evening for prep schools and parents to discuss boarding queries. Open to anyone interested in sending their child to either Cranleigh or another boarding school, it includes talks from the Director of the Good Schools Guide, Education consultants, the Chair of the Boarding Schools Association and the Headmaster of Cranleigh Prep School.
“It's an evening for parents to discuss boarding queries”
LIFE SKILLS
G O L F I N G G OA L
Oakfield Prep offers a Year 6 Diploma during the summer term: a programme of workshops and projects that involve design, Creative Arts, reading groups with junior pupils, community visits to care homes and charities and leadership skills in sport, music and drama. Entrepreneurs, investment banks and local businesses run seminars in the school and visiting speakers hope to inspire the children. Their practical-design project for the Summer Fair involves strategic thinking, problemsolving and social responsibility.
The Golf Academy at Merchiston has been ranked No. 1 in the UK by the ISGA for the fifth year running. Each of the 19 schools competing had competed in their regional areas, so the competition for the national title was between the best performing schools in the UK. Merchiston Golf Academy were awarded second place, securing the prestigious Order of Merit award as the ISGA’s Number One Junior Golf School in the UK.
S TAT E - O F THE-ART The King’s School Canterbury will open a new, state-of-theart performing arts centre in January 2019. A former Victorian Malthouse close to the school will house a 334 seat theatre with retractable seating and full orchestra pit, two drama and dance studios, and spaces for art exhibitions. The theatre will benefit not only the school but also the local community with the space available for use within a city that has a thriving arts scene.
Top Story
CRICKET GIRLS Broomwood Hall’s girls cricket team were placed second at the London and Surrey finals of Lady Taverner’s Indoor Cricket competition and were unbeaten at the SOCS finals in June. Broomwood Hall prides itself on encouraging a high level of sport in female players, and the mixed rugby teams have also done very well this year, with sport growing in popularity amongst the girls.
S E N S O RY P L AY
C R E AT I V E CAREERS
The Moat School in Fulham has installed a new sensory playground in the Lower School area with investment from the Cavendish Education Group. The Moat School caters for pupils with unique learning profiles, and hopes that the new developments will to continue to provide the best possible care and results, both socially and academically.
Highgate School recently held a Go Creative – Get A Job! conference, focusing on the importance of creative arts in education. The head of Highgate, Adam Pettitt, highlighted the need to encourage the creative arts subjects in schools. Other speakers also took part, including a keynote from actor and writer Meera Syal CBE.
SOMETHING THEY SAID
“We have in this country quite an outdated idea of our education system, which is that private schools are posh and everything else isn’t. Whereas the truth is that, within the private sector, Eton and Harrow and Winchester and St Paul’s are posh. Everything else is middle-class.” C O M E D I A N D AV I D B A D D I E L
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UPFRON T / FOCUS
SCHOOL NOTICES FOUNDERS CLARE REID A N D G O R D O N D AW S O N
Buyer’s
MARKET School Notices is a digital network that benefits parents and schools alike A M A N D A C O N S TA N C E
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ant to buy a llama, a new puppy or maybe a pink Cadillac? Or maybe you’re selling an Eton tailcoat or want to rent your villa in Barbados. You can find all these things, and much more on School Notices, a successful digital marketplace. Like Radio HP and its cooler, metropolitan cousin Emily’s Group, School Notices has built an impressive online following. Taking the principle of the oldfashioned school noticeboard, it is a cuttingedge website that connects up schools, parents and alumni across the country. “It’s a really simple concept to be honest” says Clare Reid, who founded the business in 2014. “Most parents don’t want to advertise their kid’s musical instruments
or puppies, or look for a nanny, on a dusty noticeboard in the school corridor. Nor do they want to rent out their precious holiday home to a stranger on Airbnb, which is where we come in.” “It’s a trusted community,” she says, “you have an idea of who you are dealing with, which really matters.” The website is free to join and parents, staff and alumni can buy, sell and advertise to one another, safe in the knowledge that other users will be PLU – People Like Us as my granny used to say. But School Notices is more than just a great free-to-post digital marketplace, it also raises money for its member schools. A sizeable 25 per cent of all advertising revenue is shared with them, providing an alternative revenue stream with no effort required. So far 130 UK member independent schools have signed up - with access to
“Schools Notices has raised £100,000 so far for member schools” nearly 90,000 parents and the business is launching in Asia and Australia. “It’s a very successful concept,” says Reid, “and there’s a real feel-good factor because we are helping schools and parents.” And these aren’t any old parents – most independent school parents are in the top 1% of earners in the UK and “where an affluent audience goes, the businesses will follow,” says Reid. School Notices already boasts an impressive roster of advertising clients such as Boden, Bupa, Boodles, Powder Byrne, Bailey Robinson, Strutt & Parker and St James’s Place. Some are businesses run by parents – as in the case of Bailey Robinson (“a Cheam parent”, says Reid) or big corporates attracted by the audience demographic. Reid got the idea for School Notices came when she was involved in raising money for a new art block at her childrens’ school, Cheam, near Newbury. “I sidled up to a friend – a dad on the touch line – her now partner Gordon Dawson and within a week we were in the headmaster’s study explaining our idea", she says. "We tested it at Cheam – within the first term most parents had signed up… Last term the school had a cheque for £14k from us.” Just four years ago Reid and Dawson were running their business in a barn. They are now a team of 14 in an office near Basingstoke. And they have raised £100,000 for member schools so far, though Reid says they won’t “break open the bubbly until we get to £500,000”. Schoolnotices.co.uk
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UPFRON T / OPINION
Bursary bonus With more schools opening overseas franchises, the Chairman of the Independent Schools Council explains how they can help schools in the UK BARNABY LENON
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ducation is a hugely important and significant UK export. British independent schools are globally renowned and, for this reason, the UK independent school model is becoming increasingly popular and translated to countries across the world. The ISC annual Census shows there are 47 ISC member schools that have set-up campuses abroad, educating a total of 32,330 pupils. There are, in fact, more pupils being educated in overseas campuses than there are overseas pupils in UK ISC schools. According to a report by the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), published in July 2018: “British international schools make up 45% of the international schools market. The schools are located outside the UK and teach a curriculum that would be recognised in the
ISC member schools are currently educating 32,330 pupils overseas UK, such as the National Curriculum for England. These schools have a distinctly British ethos, which can include highquality pastoral care, a range of extracurricular opportunities, and reference to British values, freedoms and culture.” As a leading UK export, the British international schools sector has significant economic value. The international education sector also has a big impact both socially and culturally, a fact acknowledged by many domestic and international pupils. As COBIS notes, the sector contributes to the UK economy through franchises, use of education goods and services, and
repatriation of salaries. In addition, British winternational schools send students to UK universities, and generate soft power of immense value by educating thousands of global, political, economic and professional leaders across the world. It is down to the strength of the independent sector that other countries have encouraged schools to set up partner schools abroad; recent years have seen such schools established in China and the Middle East and this has strengthened relationships with these important trading partners. The nations that appreciate the UK model are no strangers to impressive academic attainment within their own systems, but it is breadth of curriculum and the direct line into an established school's ethos and philosophy which draws in new parents. ABOVE Pupils at Repton School in Dubai
International franchise schools, run by UK-based ISC schools, help to fund bursaries in the UK, increasing access to UK independent schools. It is important schools can raise funds for bursaries in this way. With many independent schools having charitable status, they do much for the communities around them and a key part of this is in the offer of bursaries for students who would not otherwise be able to access independent education. A third of all independent school pupils now receive help with their fees. ISC schools provide more than £800 million of fee assistance, benefiting over 170,000 children. This figure is increasing year-on-year and is certainly being supported by the increase in overseas campuses. Independent schools believe in the importance of bursaries for a number of reasons. Bursaries widen the pool of applicants at ISC schools, meaning that schools have a greater mix of pupils from a variety of backgrounds and are a better representation of the country as a whole.
B A R N A BY L E N O N Chairman Independent Schools Council
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hen my mother became a school governor in the 70s, one of the other governors resigned. He was making a stand at a woman joining the board. In those days, many governors were appointed on the back of a drinks party or being a friend of the Brigadier’s. As long as they had a job, were perhaps an old boy and happy to turn up to the odd meeting, then that was good enough. Since then, the independent educational landscape has dramatically changed resulting in the governing body being far more accountable and professional. A number of factors have caused this.
Matthew Rice, Chairman of Bedales
Hard
TIMES
As it gets more difficult to recruit school governors, Absolutely Education looks at the challenges of a changing role SOPHIE PENDER-CUDLIP
“Being a governor must be fun, to keep up levels of enthusiasm, particularly given it’s voluntary” The Office of Fair Trading put a stop to a cartel of annual fee increases of 8 or 9%, which had allowed schools to build up nice healthy cash surpluses. Today, most schools increase fees at the level of inflation, accepting they must manage the finances better. The Charities Commission also played their part and began scrutinising schools’ charitable status. ‘Educating’ children wasn’t enough and ‘public benefit’ became a factor. This wasn’t just about letting local residents use the facilities but about offering bursaries to educate children from families unable to pay fees. Unless endowments and legacies were in place, schools would have to find the money to fund these bursaries. As a result, today the bottom line of the financial accounts has shrunk and the responsibility lies entirely with the governing body to keep the school developing. Because of
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Hanford School
this responsibility and the fact that governors are legally and financially liable for the school, the line is blurring between governing body and management. Governors still have to remind themselves that governance is about identifying ‘ends’ and not about the ‘means’ of achieving that end. “The board is there to deal with broad issues not granular issues,” says Matthew Rice who has been Chairman of Bedales School for the last six years and a governor for ten. Recruiting governors is becoming tougher. The selection process in most schools is formal and people are recruited to fill certain defined positions whether it’s legal, financial, education, estates, welfare and safeguarding. At Bedales the hoard recruits two years ahead of a vacancy coming up and each governor has a fixed eight-year tenure. Rice believes that being a governor must be, “fun, to keep up levels of enthusiasm,” particularly given it’s voluntary and time consuming. He believes the education committee must be excellent and that safeguarding has become more important in recent years where policies are reviewed regularly. He also emphasises gender balance and believes a board in a co-ed school should ideally be 50:50. Bedales has a varied range of
ages on its governing body, with one being 29, one of the youngest private school governors around. Rupert Robson, a governor at Sherborne Boys, believes that “diversity” is crucial on the Board to ensure a range of thinking and input at meetings. “It isn’t just gender and age diversity, but also background and experience.” Not trespassing on the domain of the Head is hard particularly when under pressure in the toughest environment private schools have
“Why would anyone give up their time and face the risk in being a governor?” ever faced. Lucinda Sunnucks, Chair of governors at Hanford, says, “You must have an excellent relationship with the Head. We chat things over regularly, see where potential problem areas are and deal with them together before they manifest themselves.” Ian Bromilow, Chair of governors at Milton Abbey, adds, “The Head is the ‘critical friend’ and you must spend time building a relationship with them. At times there are frank discussions and we may not always
agree, but it’s important they don’t feel governors are being critical but working together for the good of the school. We’re on the same side.” Rupert Robson believes that like any non-exec board, an experienced governor will keep their distance from the head operationally and understand the parameters of the role. “Inevitably there is tension present in every situation or entity on a board whether it’s a school, mutual, public company or charity, particularly with a board that is fairly anachronistic meeting infrequently three times a year.” Parent governors often sit on the board and give a useful insight into the school from a parent perspective. Lucinda Sunnucks believes a parent governor is a bonus as, “they know the reality of the school.” However, this can be challenging as they’re accessible to other parents on a regular basis and may face an interrogation on the latest fee increase. Robson says appointing a parent governor is, “like a company asking the client or customer to be a director. From a legal perspective, the fact they’re a parent is irrelevant but they may have to declare a conflict of interest.” It can also be complex if a school faces a major strategic change. There can be no personal agendas on the board and governors have to remain totally discreet, despite being easy targets in the school car park. With all the legalities and liabilities, it begs the question why anyone would give up their time and face the risk in being a governor? “You have to feel confident and trust your advisers, the head and the bursar. Above all, you have to love the school,” says Lucinda Sunnucks. However, with the independent sector coming under pressure, a potential change of government, introduction of VAT, and the sheer cost of private education becoming out of reach for most British families, it may well be harder to recruit governors. Governors may well have to take more of an interest in the school and a head might have to accept a closer relationship with the governors. There aren’t many non-exec directors in the commercial world who meet termly and have a financial, legal and personal liability at stake. Perhaps, therefore, we should take our hats off to the governors and hope that more people throw their hat in the ring - just for the love of a school.
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