Character FORMING

What do we want our young people to have achieved by the end of their two, three, five or seven years with us? It is a profound question that has many answers. However, reduced to a single tenet, boarding schools would say that they wish their students to flourish. The founder of Wymondham College, Sir Lincoln Ralphs, immortalised the idea in the College motto: Floreat Sapientia – ‘Let wisdom flourish’.

At the heart of Wymondham College sits a lone Nissen hut, originally constructed in 1943. It is one of several dozen that served as a hospital for American airmen, casualties of the Second World War, who came to fight and defend our freedom.

Sir Lincoln Ralphs and fellow founders recognised that those same huts could harness the vitality of youth and the energy of great teachers into a unique school. Today, a wonderful fusion of heritage and modernity characterises our educational philosophy. As the largest of the 34 State Boarding Schools in the UK, 640 boarders join us from the UK, Europe and beyond – our community is an exciting and unique blend of young people. Last year, Wymondham College was awarded the Pearson National Teaching Award for State School of the Year.

To flourish, students need to acquire and develop knowledge that will be tested in examination halls. But to really flourish, to reach one’s potential and be happy in life, more than this is needed. Character, and the acquisition of moral, civic and intellectual virtues is fundamental to these goals.

It has been our strong belief that actively participating in the Wymondham College community is a deeply formative experience that helps students develop these dual aspects.

Whether by joining a new Wymondham Life Club (horse riding, scuba diving, the tea appreciation society) or supporting a House charity, students are flourishing. Our Wymondham College Diploma programme enables us to capture, promote and – most importantly –celebrate these character endeavours. All Year 7 students are provided with a Diploma Portfolio, which contains four sections – Jumping In, Looking Out, Curiosity and Creativity and Personal Growth – within which students record their out-of-lesson pursuits. Character is largely caught through role modelling and emotional contagion

Sport at Wymondham College

and the College ethos and culture certainly supports this significantly. But character can also be taught by providing students with the rationale, the language and the tools to be outstanding citizens in College and beyond. To support this, dedicated lesson time is woven into the Year 7, 8 and 9 curriculums to deliver Floreat, or ‘Flourish’, lessons. Delivered by members of the Senior Leadership Team, sessions seek to equip students with the intellectual tools to make wise choices.

ZOE FISHER Principal Wymondham College

We all want our children to develop the personal strengths and virtues that will enable them to go out into the world with the confidence, resilience, awareness and self-belief needed to negotiate the challenges and opportunities that life will bring – perhaps the Covid years have revealed this need even more. A boarding education provides opportunities for this journey that are unrivalled.