EDUCATION AUTUMN / WINTER 2015 / £5
TOBY YOUNG
GIRL POWER!
What next for Free Schools?
Our top ten heads
LOST IN TRANSLATION?
Deciphering publicschool jargon
ALL ABOARD WHY IT CAN PAY TO SEND THEM AWAY
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS SHOW
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A B S O L U T E LY E D U C AT I O N
Founder’s
Letter
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When choosing a school for your child, the options can seem overwhelming. Below are a few of my key pointers on the types of school available to help you start the process. ● State versus private The state versus private education argument is unending and unanswerable.. The simplest conclusion is perhaps to agree that one size does not fit all. Finances are often the driver in the decision of whether to place your child in a state or independent school. To privately educate a child from nursery through to university costs an average of £150,000. This exorbitant figure means it is an option available to few. As such, mixing and matching between state and private schools during the formative years can provide a valuable balance. Supporting a child at state school with private tuition can also be a cost-effective way to ensure they have access to one-to-one teaching. ● State education Depending on where you live, the public sector can provide high-quality opportunities and often a wider view of society. Schools in Buckinghamshire and Kent are notable examples. There are more than 30 boarding state schools in the country, at which the education is still state funded but fees are paid for boarding.
“Going private at sixth form can still be hugely beneficial for your child” ● Private education The advantages of a private education tend to allow pupils greater success in public exams. As well as receiving a higher level of academic care due to smaller class sizes, independent schools tend to offer a wider range of extras and a higher standard of facilities. They push a broader range of subjects and enable an earlier start with foreign languages. It is an uncomfortable truth that independent schools do have a higher success rate of pupils going on to higher education than the state sector. So, if your only option for going private is at sixth form, at this stage it can still be hugely beneficial for your child.
to provide a small reduction to those who excel in academics, music, art or sport, bursaries can offer significant support. Due to their nature, both are extremely competitive but worth exploring. The above are just some of the issues we discuss at the Independent Schools Show, where this year, more than 200 schools will be exhibiting. Now in our ninth year, the show is the largest showcase in the sector. This year's show sponsors are Westbury Private Clients, whose innovative product CHILD is designed to help parents manage school fees. If you are looking for a school for your child, come to the Battersea Evolution on 14 and 15 November. We look forward to meeting you there.
● Faith schools A notable and highly regarded option. It is vital that admission requirements are identified early on – often the child must have been baptised before the age of six months. At the very least, the school will require you to attend church once a week. ● Scholarships and bursaries Remember, there are scholarships and bursaries available to assist with the financial burden of private education. Both are prudent options for making the process more accessible. Whereas scholarships tend
DAVID WELLESLEY WESLEY Founde r Independent School s Show
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WELCOME
Editor’s Letter
I
sn’t it a funny thing when we meet our childhood heroes? I was reunited with one of mine a few months ago. Vivienne Durham was my A-Level English teacher when I was but a wee slip of a thing at Godolphin & Latymer in the Eighties. I had the pleasure of meeting her again, after a gap of nearly 30 years, when I interviewed her for AE’s feature on Turbo-Charged Headmistresses. During those years, Durham has gone on to become one of our most stellar heads, educating literally thousands of girls - most recently at Francis Holland Regent’s Park - but she was mine first. With Durham I discovered Shakespeare, a love that shows no signs of abating. Isn’t it funny how the seeds sown in those years germinate so deep? The three of us – Durham, Shakespeare and I - spent two years together. In those olden days, there was no pressure of AS-Levels at the end of Year 12. We had time, acres of it. My copy of Hamlet from that time is still one of my most treasured possessions; each and every page covered with minute annotations. For more than a year we studied
“DURHAM, SHAKESPEARE AND I SPENT TWO YEARS TOGETHER” this one play, luxuriating in every cadence and meaning. I count myself hugely privileged to know it so intimately. My rose-tinted memories are of sunshine and Shakespeare and NO exams. But the wheels did come off. When I spun out of orbit at A-Levels with anxiety and overwork, Durham calmly scraped me off the floor and gently helped me through the crisis. As many parents have discovered at Francis Holland, where the pastoral care is considered second to none, Durham has a warmth and rare gift for people. The strength of feeling we have for our school mentors is somehow out of all proportion to the way we feel about people we meet in our later years, when life is more diluted. It’s why a good teacher is so fundamental to every child’s education. And a good education is what this issue is all about. We have a wealth of features, from how
to negotiate the SEN maze, to our guide to the best country preps and why boarding might be the answer. And because good teaching isn’t always academic, Jay Piggot, Headmaster of Epsom College, has written a fascinating piece on the challenges faced by school rugby in a more modern, professional age and Peter Green, Head Master of Rugby School has written a passionate defence of why an arts education matters. I hope you enjoy this issue.
AMANDA CONSTANCE EDITOR
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AUTUMN/W INTER 2015
CONTENTS p.129
3
Welcome Letter by David Wellesley Wesley
5
Editor’s Letter by Amanda Constance
13
Up Front The latest in education news
22 What’s in a Name? by Eleanor Doughty
Canford
86
29 Fashion Luxurious layers for children this AW15
32 Sky High The lofty ambitions of Lancing College
43 The Making of Me Lucy Sykes, author and style arbiter
45 Talking Head Jane Gandee of St Swithun's School
47 Where Now
for Free Schools?
66 London Schools
by Toby Young
The state v. private debate, by Susan Hamlyn
50 Top 10 Turbo-Charged Headmistresses
73 The Making of Me
60 Independent Schools
Author Michael Volpe
A guide to the Independent Schools Show
74 The SEN Maze
65 Talking Head
by Charlotte Phillips
Angela Drew of Bromley High School
85 Talking Head Dr Chris Stevens of Bradfield College
T H E F R O N T C OV E R
The front cover depicts pupils at Lancing College, a co-ed independent day and boarding senior school. Lancing College, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 0RW 01273 452213, lancingcollege.co.uk
74
86 Why Boarding? asks Charlotte Phillips
92 Best Country Preps Eleanor Doughty's round-up
103 The Making of Me Tom Hudson, British Polo Day Founder
107 Talking Head Katy Ricks of Sevenoaks School
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A B S O L U T E LY E D U C AT I O N
Lancing
EDITOR
Amanda Constance /
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Andy Mabbitt /
ART DIRECTOR
Ray Searle /
SENIOR DESIGNER
Phil Couzens /
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Stewart Hyde /
MIDWEIGHT DESIGNERS
Gemma Isteed /
ARTWORKER
Ekrem Yilmaz / DIRECTOR
Alexandra Hunter /
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
32 108 The Big Build Lisa Freedman discovers newly developed schools
114 The Art of the Matter Peter Green on arts education
120 University
Transition The benefits of sixth-form college
125 The Making of Me Designer Penelope Chilvers
126 Ancient History Is Classics dead? By Harry Mount
136 Read Right Academic reading lists go digital
143 Best Books Autumn's top reads
153 Talking Head
Sherif Shaltout
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Andrew Johnson of Stonyhurst College
154 What Matters Most? questions Professor Bill Lucas
158 Pukka Chukka Highlights from British Polo Day
p.126
166 Crunch Time Jay Piggot on the future of school rugby
172 Back to Our Roots
197-199, City Road, EC1V 1JN T: 020 7704 0588
Teaching teens to cook in the countryside
Z E S T- M E D IA .C O M
184 Trust Us How St Thomas's helps to build schools in Nepal
194 60 Seconds with... Julian Thomas of Wellington College
@ABSOLUTELY_MAGS
p.144
‘ABSOLUTELY MAGAZINES’
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BROMLEY BROMLEY BROMLEY BROMLEY HIGH HIGH HIGH HIGH SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL
CON T R I BU TOR S
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LUCY SY K ES
Fashionista and author Lucy moved from London to New York in 1997 and took the fashion world by storm. She was fashion director at Marie Claire for six years and, most recently, fashion director for Rent the Runway. Which fictional school child would you be and why? Violet Elizabeth Bott from Just William, because she is so funny and cunning. Plus, she had the best line ever: “I will scream and scream until I’m sick!”.
BILL LUCAS
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Educationalist
The Professor of Learning and Director of the Centre for RealWorld Learning at the University of Winchester Bill Lucas is the author of more than 40 acclaimed books and is currently advising Eton, Holyport College and Frensham Heights. Which fictional school child would you be and why? Lyra in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. She embodies the capabilities we have given our ‘heroine’ Ruby, had wonderful adventures and learned more from life than from textbooks…
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SUSAN H A MLY N
Director of The Good Schools Guide Advice Service Fees FeesFees assistance assistance Feesassistance Fees assistance assistance & & Scholarships Scholarships &&Scholarships Scholarships & Scholarships available available available available in in available the the ininSenior the Senior theSenior inSenior the School School Senior School School School
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Susan has worked with the GSG for 15 years as a writer and editor. She now works full time running the Advice Service which has 27 advisors and offers help and guidance to parents on all matters to do with children and education. Which fictional school child would you be and why? Jane Eyre, because of her strong sense of injustice against bigotry and oppression at Lowood Institution.
08/09/2015 10:12
WE ARE WESTONBIRT “Westonbirt has the wow factor” Tatler Schools Guide 2015
• Independent girls school - day, boarding and flexi-boarding
• 25m indoor swimming pool • Golf course
• Individual teaching and learning • Gymnasium • 220 acres of parkland • Tennis courts Westonbirt Schools Tetbury Gloucestershire GL8 8QG E: enquiries@westonbirt.org T: 01666 880333 www.westonbirt.org
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ST GEORGE’S ASCOT
CON T R I BU TOR S
PETER GR EEN
Head Master, Rugby School Educated at a Marist boarding school, St Joseph’s College, Peter Green is the 40th headmaster of Rugby School. He was headmaster of Ardingly College from 2007 to 2014. Which fictional school child would you be and why? Dennis the Menace! I like his naughtiness, his willingness to put himself on the line and the fact that he poked fun at hypocrisy and self-regard. Plus, he never let down his mates.
ELEANOR DOUGHT Y Writer, Daily Telegraph
Eleanor writes about education, social manners and the English country home. She has been described as ‘an absolute scream’, but admits this might be open to interpretation. Which fictional school child would you be and why? Definitely Darrel Rivers from Malory Towers. She really had childhood nailed and she was a good role model (most of the time!) Truly, the best of Enid Blyton’s marvellous creations.
TOBY YOU NG
Chief Executive of the West London Free School Academy Trust As well as setting up the WLFS, Toby is the editor of Spectator Life. His books include How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, How to Set Up a Free School and What Every Parent Needs to Know. He is a Fulbright Commissioner and a visiting fellow of the University of Buckingham. Which fictional school child would you be and why? I’d be Draco Malfoy. He’s exactly the kind of bastard that women find irresistible.
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MTS
Merchant Taylors’ School Excellence, integrity and distinction since 1561
Open Morning
1561
September 26th 2015 10.00 - 12.30
Change your son’s life • 2017 Registration: 13+ February 28 2016 • 2016 Registration: 11+ November 30 2015 16+ December 31 2015
• A traditional boys’ education for your son • ‘Exceptional’ – 2014 School Inspection • Inspirational teaching
• Unique tutorial system
• Civilized, friendly & unpressured • Magnificent sports fields
• Bursaries • Academic, Art, Design Technology, Drama, Music and Sport Scholarships
• Superb facilities set in 250 acres
Sixth Form Open Evening
October 5th 2015 17.00 - 19.00
Getting here
Online
Coaches : Barnet, Beaconsfield, Ealing, Harpenden, Harrow, Highgate, Mill Hill, Radlett, Swakeleys, St John’s Wood
Visit us at www.mtsn.org.uk Find us on Facebook Merchant Taylors’ School Follow us on Twitter @MerchantTaylors
Car : MTS is 15 minutes from the M1, the M25 and the A40 Transit : MTS is adjacent to Moor Park (Metropolitan Line) and is accessible from any Jubilee/Metropolitan Line station. Chiltern line trains from Marylebone change at Harrow; from Aylesbury change at Rickmansworth
Guided tours (last tour 11.45)
Please contact Gregg McCann, Admissions Officer admissions@mtsn.org.uk +44(0)1923 845514 Merchant Taylors’ School Northwood Middlesex HA6 2HT
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rd ay M 10 O O RN cto be IN r2 G 01 5
O Sa PE tu N
Discover
A friendly and spirited community
Boarding & Day School Co-educational 11-18 www.dauntseys.org West Lavington, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 4HE T. 01380 814500 Service Parents Guide and DAUNTSEY'S.indd 1 BSA Guide Sep 2015.indd 1
06/07/2015 12:25:04 06/07/2015 16:35
NEED TO KNOW
School News
GODOLPHIN’S NEW GLASS CEILING
WHAT‘S GOING ON IN THE WORLD OF EDUCATION
ntil recently, alumnae returning U to Godolphin would say things like “nothing has changed”; “the changing rooms are exactly as I remember them” or “oh my goodness… my locker is still here!” But not any more. The old changing rooms at Godolphin have undergone an extreme makeover during the summer holidays. Lockers have been replaced with lighter and
A NEW CREATIVE HUB FOR BEDALES
B
edales has cut the first turf for an inspirational new Art & Design teaching space. The two-storey barn will feature an open courtyard around a large oak tree and create a new home for all the art and design disciplines taught at Bedales – painting, fashion, industrial design, sculpture, woodwork, jewellery, ceramics, print-making and drawing. Keith Budge, Headmaster of Bedales Schools, commented:
“The many students and others who have been involved in the building’s design are excited to see it taking shape and the project has provided the perfect opportunity for them to learn about architectural design and construction. 2016 will be a significant milestone for Bedales with the opening of this wonderful new facility.” A fundraising campaign to support the £3.5 million build cost is underway. Parties, auctions and a student rock show are amongst the activities that have contributed so far.
Changing rooms at Godolphin have undergone an extreme makeover more functional storage solutions, and facilities have been expanded and improved in what is the only place in Godolphin where girls will ever encounter a “glass ceiling”, literally letting in lots of light. The new space is functional and “a lovely social space for the girls,” said Mrs Emma Hattersley, Head, “and we are looking forward to the grand opening before Christmas”.
Godolphin.org
Bedales.org.uk
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SCHOOL NEWS
FELSTED RUGBY PARTNERSHIP three year partnership A between Felsted School and the 2015 Premiership winning Saracens Rugby Club has been agreed. Director of Felsted Sport Charlie Knightley comments: “Felsted have been working with Saracens for a number of years now and it is very exciting to formalise this partnership, working alongside the current premiership champions. The benefit to our young
P
LORDS OF THE DANCE
upils from Dauntsey’s School own civilisation but soon everything breaks performed Matthew Bourne’s down into chaos, confusion and anarchy, as dance show, “Lord of the the mild-mannered school children descend Flies”, to rave reviews. The into savagery. production, the centrepiece Rikki Jackson, Director of Drama at of the School’s Dauntsey’s School, said: inaugural Summer “The show certainly proved “With no adults to be a highlight of the Summer Festival, featured an all-boy cast of 30, ranging in age from 11 to Festival. The boys conjured up a around they 18 and was based on the novel by truly remarkable performance make up their William Golding, with music by full of intensity, malice and own rules” Terry Davies. In Bourne’s version raw energy. Together with the of the story, a group of schoolboys superb set, dramatic lighting and find themselves abandoned, not soaring temperatures this was an on a desert island but in a deserted theatre outstanding production which captivated instead. With no adults around they sell-out audiences over three nights.” dauntseys.org make up their own rules and create their
A new head for St Edmund’s St Edmund’s Junior School in Canterbury has announced Matthew Jelley as Head of the Junior School from September 2015, following the retirement of Robert Bacon.
Jelley studied English and American literature at the University of East Anglia, balancing academic study with a passionate commitment to university football. He is currently studying
for a Masters in Educational Leadership and comes to St Edmund’s from the Perse Prep, where he was Deputy Head, covering the leadership of the school for a term as Acting Head in 2013. He says: ‘I
am committed to the provision of a broad, inspiring and engaging educational journey that begins from 3 and extends through to 18, while maintaining the very special familial atmosphere that exists at St Ed's.
It is very exciting to foster this partnership rugby players will continue and I am delighted that we have plenty of interest from prospective new pupils looking to be part of our excellent sporting set up. Current Felstedians will certainly be keen to follow in the footsteps of last year’s 1st XV Captain Max Malins, who left Felsted in the summer to take up a professional academy contract with Saracens, having played for Saracens Academy and England U18s this year”.
Felsted.org
stedmunds.org.uk
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SUPER GYM
Something they said
t’s out with the old and in with the new at I G&L with the school’s super-swanky sports and fitness centre open and ready for the autumn term. Building works took more than a year, replacing the school’s 1950s building with a new multimillion pound facility. The space includes a dance studio, rock climbing wall, and fitness centre and will house a host of traditional school sports as well as zumba, pilates and yoga. For the past five years G&L has provided access to its outdoor facilities for boys and girls in local primary schools, as well as offering training to their PE staff and hosting local borough tournaments in sports such as netball and football. Local schools will be offered full use of the new facility and G&L has also established a community sports fund which will enable it offer climbing lessons in the centre to local primary school children.
What a child learns outside the classroom counts for just as much as what goes on inside it. Bear Grylls, adventurer and Chief scout
Godolphinandlatymer.com
RIDING HIGH AT MILLFIELD
A
s one of the leading academic equestrian schools in the country, Millfield Prep has just launched an impressive new onsite facility that will enhance riders’ training experience and host national events.
At the heart of the new cross-country course is a Glastonbury Tor obstacle, overlooked by the real iconic monument. The new course, designed by London 2012 Olympic course designer Adrian Ditcham, uses the natural woodlands, fields and ditches of the campus and features a versatile water complex and
The new course is designed by London 2012 Olympian course designer Adrian Ditcham
individually designed jumps, many with a school theme. Millfield’s equestrian facilities have expanded since the school’s inception and now include an indoor school, four all weather arenas, grass derby training course and hacking trails across the school’s 120 acres. Both Millfield and Millfield Prep’s equestrian facilities are in the heart of each of the two campuses, with 30 horses stabled at Millfield Prep and a further 60 at Millfield.
Millfieldprep.com
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SCHOOL NEWS
Remember remember
T
KEEPING IT REAL
he staff and pupils of Mayfield School spend autumn term looking forward to its highlight, the school’s famous Live Crib – with a real baby and donkey - which heralds the start of the Christmas season. This East Sussex school’s nativity scene is widely known for its real baby and donkey.
By tradition, the four evenings at the East Sussex school are organised by the prefects, and each year visitors have to arrive early as space is much in demand. A fixture on the local community’s calendar, the procession through the village and carols draws visitors from further afield. The story needs no updating, yet each year the event is subtly changed, moulded by a different group of girls. Mayfields.org
Monkton Combe’s new Principal Monkton Combe School in Bath has announced the appointment of Christopher Wheeler as Principal from January 2016. Currently Principal and CEO of Hillcrest International School, Nairobi, Wheeler began his career teaching English at St.John’s, Leatherhead,
where he became a Head of Department; then he moved to Peponi School, Kenya, as Deputy Head (Registrar), Boarding Housemaster and Head of English and Drama. Returning to the UK he became a Housemaster at Brighton College and then Head of
St Christopher’s, Hove, part of the Brighton College family of schools. On his appointment to Monkton, he said “It is very exciting to be taking on the mantle of leadership at Monkton and working with the governors, senior team, staff, parents and pupils and other stakeholders, I look forward to being part of the continuing story of Monkton, ensuring the schools’ continued improvement, growth and success.”
monktoncombeschool.com
onfire Night is an extra special day in B the school calendar at St Peter’s School in York. On 5th November pupils, parents and staff, past and present, gather together to celebrate the unique place in history held by one of their own: Gunpowder Plotter and St Peter’s alumnus Guy Fawkes. A highlight of the winter term for the whole school, festivities begin with toffee apples for all and then a fireworks display, launched from the 1st XI cricket pitch, which cluminates in a fiery representation of the gold and silver crossed keys of St Peter.
St Peter’s has, in the past, celebrated 5 November with a bonfire but it has never burned a Guy. Despite his well-renowned failures, as one former Head Boy put it, ‘We’re very fond of him here, but we don’t exactly see him as a role model.’ The school would never burn an Old Boy. stpetersyork.org.uk
The school would never burn an Old Boy
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Prioritising character at Lord Wandsworth College Lord Wandsworth Over the last year, the College (LWC), a college has placed character L co-ed independent education at the heart of its boarding school in educational provision and the north Hampshire, has new scholarship recognises launched a new young people Character Scholarship who have been The college for September 2016, exceptional in the and a new Head for places character manner in which September 2015. they have selflessly at the heart of Adam Williams served their its provision joins the school community and put from The Glasgow the needs of others Academy, where before their own. he has been Senior Deputy It could equally be someone Head since 2012 and he who consistently shows says: “I am utterly delighted to have been appointed Headmaster of LWC. It is a wonderful school and should be very proud of the charitable foundation on which its success has been built. To be so focused on character education and pupil-centred learning demonstrates a deep understanding of the need to equip our pupils for life in the globalised, skillsbased economies of the 21st century.”
BETHANY SCHOOL CELEBRATES 150 YEARS
T
his new academic year is one of great excitement at Bethany School in Kent, which is celebrating 150 years since its founding by Reverend James Kendon in 1866. The autumn term is even busier than usual as a result, and anniversary
celebrations began in early September with the unveiling of the Commemorative Tree, a sculpture designed and constructed by pupil James Hunter and inspired by the School’s longstanding logo, the Oak tree. The sculpture will be adorned with 150 engraved metal leaves,
Anniversary celebrations began with the unveiling of the Commemorative Tree
Something they said
the kind of perseverance and tenacity to overcome difficulties. Three character scholarships are available at 13+ and awarded annually with a maximum value of a 25% reduction in the annual fees. lordwandsworth.org
The last generation has witnessed the switch to an existence where pace of life is often overwhelming Jonathan Leigh, Master of Marlborough College
each with the names of alumni and the years they attended Bethany. October sees the launch of the digitised school archives, opening up the school’s extensive history to Bethanians who now reside in far-flung corners of the world. This is an exciting venture for all Bethany’s alumni and particularly the overseas alumni, who sometimes struggle to make the frequent reunions enjoyed by the traditionally close-knit community. The autumn term also sees the continuing development of Bethany’s campus, extending the existing Sixth Form boarding facilities
and drawing ever closer to the completion of the new indoor swimming pool, due to open in February 2016. On the curriculum front, they are now offering GCSE Dance and A level Economics; and Mandarin has been introduced into Year 7. bethanyschool.org.uk
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SCHOOL NEWS
Emanuel School lit up the exterior of the Battersea school for a First World War commemoration
JOIN THE DOTS
F
rancis Holland Sloane Square became a ‘Dot School’ in the summer – hosting the first ever cross-generational Hub Dot event. Hub Dot is a global movement that connects
women through storytelling. Founded in 2012, it has grown from a coffee morning to a worldwide phenomenon that now numbers more than 14,000 members. In the first event of its kind, mothers and daughters, students and teachers joined together at
It was an evening of storytelling and sharing wisdom across generations
Francis Holland Sloane Square for an evening of storytelling and sharing wisdom across generations. It was a celebration of inspirational stories and role models around a variety of topics from tech entrepreneurship to reinvention and ideas that are making the world a happier place. And, like all Hub Dot events, there were plenty of opportunities to connect. Headmistress, Mrs Lucy Elphinstone says, “There is a powerful alchemy that comes from enterprising women telling their stories and making connections. We are proud to be the first school to host a Hub
Dot event and excited at the opportunities this gives our students to be inspired by the creativity and courage which bring success.” Hubdot.com
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ALICE IN EDINBURGH estonbirt pupils staged their own W adaptation of the children’s classic Alice in Wonderland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last month. ‘Alice in Wonderland or Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard’ was devised by senior drama students at the Gloucestershire school. Originally created as a promenade piece to be performed in the school’s gardens, it follows Alice as she dawdles into a Victorian classroom and is reminded by the teacher that ‘children
Autumn fundraising at Sinclair House School
A
utumn fundraising at Sinclair House School Children at Sinclair House School in Fulham are involved in a range of charity events throughout the year, helping them to understand the wider world around them and increasing their social awareness. This term they will be fundraising for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity and hosting a coffee morning for Macmillan Cancer Support. Pupils will also participate in the a Science and Discovery Week, which focuses on building
students’ enthusiasm and critical thinking around scientific principles, as well as their ability to articulate observations and conclusions about experiments with confidence. In October they will welcome Father Dennis of St Thomas’s Canterbury
CRANMORE SCHOOL TO BECOME FULLY CO-EDUCATIONAL Alice dawdles into a Victorian classroom should be seen and not heard’. Alice, however, is unable to resist the lure of the madness that surrounds her and is drawn into a magical world where she meets a curious cast characters in this re-telling with a twist. Head of Drama Ginny Hemming said: “We constantly seek opportunities for the students to explore new performance spaces and Edinburgh offers not only this, but a chance for the girls to absorb the creativity of the wonderful theatre on offer.”
Westonbirt.org
C
ranmore School is to become fully co-educational in stages from September 2016, marking an exciting development as the school approaches its 50th anniversary. “We are making this announcement from a position of strength to reflect Cranmore’s commitment to remain the prep school of choice in Guildford, Leatherhead, Woking and the surrounding areas”, explained Headmaster Michael Connolly. “We believe that teaching girls and boys together will strengthen the educational and social benefit to all children.” he said. Widely regarded as one of the leading and top performing prep schools in the southeast with consistently Outstanding inspection reports, Cranmore
Church, Fulham to lead a special Harvest Festival Assembly and collect items for the church winter Soup Kitchen, which helps to feed vulnerable and homeless people in the cold months. Children are encouraged to participate in lots of different events and initiatives, to encourage them to interact with the local community. SHS believes that education goes beyond assessment and evaluation; its goals for preparatory education are framed holistically to prioritise social and emotional competencies alongside academic success.
sinclairhouseschool.co.uk
Something they said
Cranmore’s consistently Outstanding reports established a strong co-educational Nursery before welcoming girls up to the age of seven to the school in September 2014. Now, from September 2016, girls aged seven will be invited to join Year 3. Cranmore School is hosting two Open Mornings on Friday 25 September 2015 and Saturday 3 October 2015, where there will be an opportunity to tour the school and meet existing pupils, staff and the Headmaster. cranmoreprep.co.uk
As a teacher, the worst thing you can do is bore a child. It’s toxic. Mrs Vivienne Duraham, Headmistress of Francis Holland, Regent’s Park
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SCHOOL NEWS
CHARLIE TOPS READING LIST
C
harlie and the Chocolate Factory is at the top of a teachers’ list of books “all children should read before leaving primary school”. The list of 100 must-read novels has been selected by 500 teachers for the National Association for the Teaching of English and the TES magazine. Roald Dahl’s classic tale comes ahead of Goodnight Mister Tom. “Fiction teaches children how to navigate the journey of life,” says TES editor Ann Mroz. There are two Roald Dahl stories in the top ten, as well as a couple of children’s classics: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and the Chronicle of Narnia by CS Lewis.
TOP 10 CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO READ BEFORE LEAVING PRIMARY SCHOOL: 01 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 02 Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian 03 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 04 Matilda by Roald Dahl 05 The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson 06 The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis 07 The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Something they said
08 We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen 09 Dogger by Shirley Hughes 10 Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak TES editor Ann Mroz said many of the books chosen by teachers are “not full of joy and mirth but are instead dark and full of horror - tales of ferocious monsters, abuse, abandonment and even death”. “Not what you’d think the average primary child would want to read. But these books serve an important purpose, giving children a safe place where they can take control of troubling subjects, where evil can be glimpsed and then shut within their pages.” tes.com
GIRLS ALLOWED
D
H Lawrence’s former school has opened its doors to girls for the first time in 500 years. Nottingham High School, which counts writer Lawrence and politicians Ed Balls and Kenneth
Clarke among its alumni has welcomed 41 girls in to the sixth form for the new term, the first time since it was founded in 1513. There was also a mixed intake of pupils in reception, year one and two. Alex McConachie, 16, of Wysall, is able to join twin
Education has to prepare young people for real life
sister Grace after the entrance policy changed. He said: “We haven’t been in school together since primary school and we get on really well so
“If I was Prime Minister all Heads would be able to insist all parents come to parent evenings.” Sir Anthony Seldon, recently retired headmaster of Wellington College
it’s quite fun having her and all the new people here. The school has just under 1,000 pupils and headmaster Kevin Fear said he would like to eventually have an equal mix of male and female students. He said: “Education has to prepare young people for real life and in real life men and women work together. “It was our 500th anniversary two years ago and we had a look at where we wanted to be in five, ten, even 20 years time and decided it was right to become a school for both men and women. nottinghamhigh.co.uk
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What’s in a Name? A lot, it turns out. The traditional jargon at our top establishments can be jaw-droppingly confusing By
Eleanor Doughty
T
hey say that no man is an island, but the public school system is a nation state of its own. It even has its own language, complete with various dialects that are liable to confuse and alienate. If you’re in the process of choosing a school, you’ll be used to poring through swathes of tedious marketing buzzwords reading prospectuses. It’s granted that you’ll need a jargon buster for that, the business of selling a £30,000-a- year school to the
general public. But have you considered your child and the new language they’ll have to learn? And we don’t mean Mandarin. What Common Entrance fails to prepare your little James and Annabels for is the exclusive lingo spoken by pupils at their first choice schools. Public school slang. But alas, there’s no onesize-fits-all for this curious attachment of our British education system – every school is different. Each have, to a greater or lesser extent, their own traditions. Whether it be lower
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IS A NATION STATE OF ITS OWN, COMPLETE WITH ITS OWN LANGUAGE
Members of the Philathletic Club at Harrow 2014-2015
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F E AT U R E
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F E AT U R E
Harrow boys in top hats
WHAT COMMON ENTRANCE WILL FAIL TO PREPARE YOUR CHILDREN FOR IS PUBLIC SCHOOL SLANG 10 are ‘Junior Part’ (JP) and Middle Part (MP) while year 11 is ‘V Book’, and years 12 and 13 ‘VI Book 2’ and ‘VI Book 1’ respectively. With regard to school terms, some creativity is involved. At Eton, each of the three terms is a ‘half’ – Michaelmas Half, Lent Half, Summer Half – not allowing for maths to be important, while Charterhouse’s are named as Quarters. The Oration Quarter (OQ) is the winter term, the Long Quarter (LQ) is the confu singly shorter
‘Purples’ - prefects at King’s Canterbury
year groups eating lunch first – for bonkers reasons that defy all other – or not walking over Green Court unless you’re a ‘purple’ (a prefect) as at the King’s School in Canterbury, there’s plenty of stuff for your darling to learn when they first start out. Some things are obvious. At Harrow, the ‘ducker’ is the swimming pool and the uniform ‘greyers’ and ‘bluers’, for the dark blue jacket and grey trousers. Others, not so much. At Eton, if you’re interested in sport then you’re either a wet or a dry bob: wet for rowing, dry for cricket. ‘Slack bobs’ are boys who do neither. At Harrow the top athletes belong to ‘the Phil’ – the Philathletic Club and they may wear a black bow tie. More commonly known, and
non-school specific, is the ‘beak’ – a teacher. The Harrow ‘Guild’ is a group of senior boys with particular artistic excellence. They have a distinctive maroon and silver striped bow tie and may wear a maroon waistcoat with their tails, while ‘Pop’ are Eton’s prefects who get to wear snazzy waistcoats and the only ones allowed to sit on ‘Pop Wall’. It isn’t just colloquial terms of notquite endearment for school property and fellow pupils that can provide some puzzlement to new pupils, but the actual formula of each school. For the new boy or girl arriving at Marlborough College, ‘Shell’ is year 9. ‘Remove’ comes next, and ‘Hundred’ is year 11. At Winchester, years 9 and
A pupil at Eton College
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F E AT U R E
GOT THAT? a glossary of some public school slange A PURPLE A prefect at King's Canterbury /
THE PHIL
Harrow's Philathletic Club. These top atheletes may wear a black bow-tie. /
THE GUILD
Senior Harrow boys of artistic excellence /
DUCKER
The former outdoor swimming pool at Harrow /
BLUERS
The blue jacket in Harrow's school uniform /
GREYERS
The grey trousers in Harrow's school uniform /
‘Wet bobs’at Eton
spring term up to Easter, and the Cricket Quarter (CQ) is the summer term. At Winchester College, they take it a step further with Cloister Time, Short Half and Common Time, to denote terms one to three. Outside school and beyond its walls, the lingo of clubmanship goes on. While ‘Old Etonian’ (OE) might be in regular and obvious usage, some slightly less known labels might need some decoding. So then:
Harrow boys in their straw hats
ECCER
“ST PAUL’S BOYS ARE DELICIOUSLY NAMED OLD PAULINES. IF YOU WENT TO WESTMINSTER, YOU’RE AN OLD WET” current and former Winchester pupils are Wykehamists, after William of Wykeham, the school’s founder, and those who went to Charterhouse are Old Carthusians. If you want to wind up the London schoolboys, those from St Paul’s are deliciously named Old Paulines, and if you went to Westminster, you’re an Old Wet. An Old Gower is the former pupil of University College School in Hampstead and if you’re an Old Roffensian then you went to the King’s School in Rochester. Once upon a time, Wykehamists had to take Notions to test new boys’ familiarity with the school and its many customs. Nowadays, no one will ask if you’ve passed or not. But if they do, keep it vague – or, as a Wykehamist might say – nihil-ad-rem. And there’s another spot of jargon: they made that phrase up. Of course they did.
Any form of games at Harrow /
WET BOB/DRY BOB
Rowers and cricketers at Eton /
SLACK BOB
A pupil who does neither /
POP
Eton's prefects, allowed to sit on Pop wall /
SHELL
Year 9 at Marlborough /
REMOVE
Year 8 at Marlborough /
V BOOK
Year 11 at Winchester /
VI BOOK 2 AND VI BOOK 1 Years 12 and 13 respectively /
THE ORATION QUARTER Winter term at Charterhouse /
LONG QUARTER
The shorter spring term /
CRICKET QUARTER
The summer term at Charterhouse /
WKYEHAMISTS
An former pupil at Winchester, named after William of Wykeham /
CARTHUSIANS
An former pupil at Charterhouse /
OLD GOWER
An former pupil at University College School
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F E AT U R E
SKY HIGH
Rev Nathaniel Woodard founded Lancing College with lofty ambitions. Nearly 200 years later, he'd be thrilled with the result By
Y
Amanda Constance
ou must come for chapel, you will only understand us if you come to chapel,” says Sarah Linfield, Lancing College’s marketing director. “It’s really quite something.” I need little persuasion and catch a train down to Shoreham to get to the school in time for 8.30 chapel. Heading towards Lancing along the A27, I quickly realize that Linfield wasn’t exaggerating about the chapel; the sight of this glorious gothic structure – the largest school chapel in the world - rising up out of the Sussex downs in the early morning summer sun is simply jaw dropping. It bestrides the hills like a golden colossus, a beacon of Godliness dominating the landscape, which was no doubt precisely the intention of its builder, the 19th century philanthropist Reverend Nathaniel Woodard, who founded the school in 1848.
The chapel is the symbolic and literal heart of the school. Every Wednesday, the whole school, attired in mandatory gowns, gathers for morning chapel. It’s a High Anglican service – ‘we’re High High’, laughs registrar Dan Connolly – with the full bells and smells, choristers, communion and belt-out hymns; it is quite spellbinding. Traditional it certainly is but the 21st century is here, too. A whip smart sermon from a master on materialism and the modern creed of despair is caustic and contemporary – funny, irreverent, wholly pertinent and with frequent mentions of Queen’s Park Rangers football club, it’s easy to understand why returning sixth formers often say that it’s chapel they miss most after leaving the school. This fact is not lost on new headmaster Dominic Oliver. He notes the irony that mindfulness is currently all the rage in schools but at Lancing “we are lucky enough here to have a longstanding ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 33
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“THERE IS A SERIOUS CHRISTIAN UNDERPINNING TO EVERYTHING WE DO AT THIS SCHOOL” rhythm to life that imbues that reflection and calm,” he says. “We are doing a lot of exciting things here but there is a serious Christian underpinning to everything we do at this school.” The resident chaplain directs the spiritual life of the school, teaching regular classes and taking a great interest in pastoral care; pupils at Lancing are imbued with values such as respect and thoughtfulness. “The kids aren’t cocky here,” says Oliver. “We ask them to consider not just ‘what can I do in the world?’ but ‘what’s right?’” You don’t, however, have to be ardent believers to send your child here. “We welcome all believers and none,” says Oliver – pupils of all faiths attend the morning service. “A child leaves here with an understanding of Christian tradition, a respect for faiths and a willingness to find time and space to reflect on what they are doing – the biggest big picture,” he says. Woodard, who is buried on site, would be pleased that his legacy lives on. Like his fellow Victorian do-gooders, Woodard burned with a missionary zeal. He wanted to create an establishment, firmly grounded in the Christian faith, to provide a complete education for the burgeoning middle classes of the industrial age. He bullied and badgered his wealthy plutocrat friends and Lancing College became his first school. He also founded nearby Ardingly College, and Hurstpierpoint; the Woodard Corporation now owns or is affiliated with 40 schools, both independent and state; the largest group of Church of England schools in England and Wales. It is quite a legacy. Lancing is now a co-ed school of 550 pupils aged 13-18 years. There are also two neighbouring co-ed day prep schools close by in Hove and Worthing. More than 60% of pupils board and there are full flexi-boarding options Lancing pupils on the chapel balcony
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F E AT U R E
CHRISTIAN DOYLE PHOTOGRAPHY
from the occasional overnight stay for day pupils (at parent-friendly short notice) to several nights a week. Dominic Oliver started as headmaster last September after four years as Managing Head of Bedales. He was previously at Malvern College but cut his teaching teeth during a decade as an English lecturer at Oxford where he specialised in Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Now 44, he lives on site with his wife and two boys aged 12 and 10. He has great ambitions for the school. “I think the school has lost track a little bit of just how fantastic it is,” he says. “We must celebrate ourselves a bit more,” he continues. “For a long time, Lancing College was the Sussex school – I’m all for being gentlemanly but being backward at coming forward doesn’t wash in 2015.” Oliver wants a school full of “fizz and crackle”; he brims with an intellectual enthusiasm he’s keen to pass on to his pupils. “Teaching someone who is not really interested and getting them excited, there’s nothing more thrilling than that. Getting children in a whole school interested is tremendous,” he says. Oliver teaches debating to the Third Form and appears to have an easy relationship with all the pupils. As we take pictures, Oliver laughs and jokes with the pupils around him. Not yet a year in the hot seat, he’s obviously a hit with students already. Oliver is has set about giving the school an energetic reboot. His favourite word is “illumination… I love the notion of lighting fires in young people,” he says. But how is this achieved? Number one, he says, “you must have first class teachers” – Oliver is already headhunting top Oxford students to join “the fantastic team here” and can’t help boasting that the college’s maths department “is so good” that the head of maths from a rival school has defected to “join the troupe”. You also have to have the right
“I THINK THE SCHOOL HAS LOST TRACK A BIT OF JUST HOW FANTASTIC IT IS” ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 35
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To learn more about Uppingham School please visit www.uppingham.co.uk or contact the Registry on +44 (0) 1572 820611 Uppingham School, Rutland : Co-educational : 13-18 UPPINGHAM SCHOOL.indd 1
Reg Charity No. 1147280
There are very few real boarding schools left. With 99% of pupils boarding, Uppingham is one of them. If full boarding is what you want we believe we are among the best.
03/09/2015 14:42
F E AT U R E
A view of the Upper Quad
resources, he says, and “we have that in spades”. “There is an acre per pupil here” – 550 acres of Sussex downland including playfields running down to the banks of the River Adur. And, finally, says Oliver, “you must have a rich co-curricular life” of which there is a dizzying array at Lancing. Even before GCSE and A-Level pupils announced fantastic results last month, parents were already pronouncing Oliver A Thoroughly Good Thing. “I think he’s fab,” says one mother whose son is a day boy in the Fifth Form. She says Lancing manages to be a brilliant “nurturing environment” while also encouraging competition: “Being the best in the class is seen as a good thing.” She says she “loves the school with a passion” and applauds that it isn’t “absolutely full of richyrich kids” and believes the family atmosphere manages to get the best out of everybody. “They turn out really nice people,” she says. We take a “very individualised” approach to each child, says Oliver. “It is the job of the school to make the kids want to do it.” A rounded, ‘character’ education may now be de rigeur at all schools, but Oliver clearly believes it to his bones. “A real bugbear of mine is the narrow definition of successful,” he says. “Children need to enjoy what they are doing; a happy child is a
“WE HAVE SPACE IN SPADES – THERE IS AN ACRE PER PUPIL AT LANCING”
Pupils in CCF fatigues
productive learner. What concerns me is an education system run by fear and anxiety. The driver needs to be pleasure.” “We send pupils to Oxbridge,” says Connolly, “But we are not here to cram children full of knowledge for exams. We produce rounded individuals. It might be a buzzword now but here it’s always been so.” It would be hard to disagree with him when considering the extra-curricular possibilities at Lancing, around which the school week is deliberately structured. Academic lessons finish at lunch time on Tuesdays and Thursdays and activity time is built in to every day, continuing long after day pupils go home at 6pm. Wednesday afternoons are given over to the school’s Outreach programme with students involved in charitable and community programmes. School trips are
innumerable and exotic – “there isn’t a corner of the globe the school doesn’t go to,” says Oliver. “You can do loads of different things here and not be uncool,” says Oliver, a sentiment concurred with by Londoner Laura, who is coming to the end of her first year at Lancing. We talk about Jack, the sixth former who played the organ – quite brilliantly – at morning chapel. At a typical London day school, such a ‘nerdy’ pursuit would have meant instant social death and the difference at Lancing has not been lost on Laura. She says the warmth of the school and the lack of “cliqueness” have struck her. “Everyone looks at everyone else’s triumphs and success and says that’s amazing. Everyone is very accepting of other people.” I take a tour around the school with third-former Will. We walk through the lower and upper quads, two large, ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 37
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CIFE A-Level scholarships C
IFE (the Council of Independent Education) is an association of twenty private A level colleges in the UK which has sent over 50% of its graduates to Russell Group universities over the past two years. The quality of its education is in further evidence from the list of this year's CIFE academic award winners shown here.
DEGREE COURSE TY SI ER IV N U N IO DESTINAT GRADES Medicine – Engineering A* A* A* A* A munds, Camb Ed St Economics A* A* A* A* UCL Maths A* A* A B College, Oxford ty si er iv Un Economics A* A* A* A bs m Ca , ge lle Co ex ey Suss Economics A* A* A* A Sydn ng University Ko ng Ho English A* A* A* A* rd fo Ox , ge lle Co New Law A* A A A A LSE A* A* A* A (AS) English & Phil ty si er iv Un h rg bu Edin English A* A A Leeds University A* A A Studies & Soc ty University Media Ci A* A* A* A B French & Russian l to is Br d an s ng Ki L, UC Economics A* A* A UCL Law A* A* A* A LSE Biology A* A* A A University of B'Ham A* B B Acc & Finance ia gl An st Ea of ty si Univer A* A A Management LSE Psychology A* A* A A ge id br m Ca , ge lle Robinson Co A* A* A* A*
To promote this vibrant sector many of Cife's colleges offer very generous scholarships. For details call 020 8767 8666. www.cife.org.uk WWW.CIFE.ORG.UK
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F E AT U R E
connected quadrangles around which all College life revolves, built in local flint and dating from the mid-19th century like the chapel. Great School is the name given to the assembly and concert hall in the Upper Quadrangle. Clustered around it are the humanities departments and leading on from here is a range of laboratories for the science department. The more modern music department is situated next door to the chapel. Music is very strong at Lancing; the department thrums with creative endeavours. In one room I spy on Dr Morgan-Williams with his class, sitting in silence, heads bowed, intently listening to music. In another, the booming Neil Cox is holding a lively debate with a class, half-dressed in CCF fatigues, on Neoclassicism. There is a lot of noise, cheekiness and fun. Classes are small at Lancing, A-Level classes number a maximum of eight pupils.“ There is real informality between staff and children,” says Connolly, “a delightful repartee”. We troop up the hill past the school’s 70-acre farm, which has a full-time farm manager and its own rare breed programme; pupils get to eat homebred sausages. Some pupils are very involved in the farm, says Connolly, some “never go near it” he says. It’s all about “choice and opportunity”. The school is opening an equestrian centre
Headmaster Dominic Oliver with last year's prefects
in September 2016 with stabling for 20 ponies and horses . Connolly explains that some pupils at Lancing come from rural backgrounds; they want to ride, shoot and fly fish, all of which they can do on site – any sailors have ample opportunity in the sea that shimmers in the near distance. There are nine houses at Lancing, including one each for day boys and day girls. Pupils are mixed by year and pairs change room partners every term to avoid tight cliques developing. Each house has its resident housemasters and housemistresses; they also have an additional attachment of academic staff, who as House Tutors, oversee, assist and encourage individual pupils. The futuristic art block is a show stopper. Built in 2008, it couldn’t be more contemporary. A space age box from the outside, inside it has a vast floor-to-ceiling glass wall with far reaching views right down to the coast. Light floods the studio space and student art covers every inch of space. The Design and Technology Centre is next door with its array of impressive
“EVERYONE LOOKS AT EVERYONE ELSE’S TRIUMPHS AND SUCCESS AND SAYS, ‘THAT’S AMAZING’”
Pupils in their sports kit
machinery and inventions. The medical centre stands at the back of Lancing's sloping site. A modern building, it houses pleasingly progressive attitudes. Pupils can come here to get a knee patched up after a rugby tackle and there is also help at hand for any emotional problems they may suffer. “Lancing is famous for its pastoral care,” says Dan Connolly. “It’s incredibly strong here. Everyone in the school, from the chaplain to the matron to the cleaning lady to the grounds staff is involved. If a problem is not caught by one person, it will be caught by someone else.” There is a time-out room for students who just want to be alone, and those who are feeling troubled can express themselves by drawing and writing on the walls. Lancing also has a system of ‘peer supporters’, sixth formers who are trained to help younger pupils with any problems. Connolly says: “No one is happy all the time, it’s about being proactive and spotting the signs.” Academically there is also extra support. During extra-curricular time, teachers will sit in their departments and pupils can drop in to talk through a prep or academic issue without prior appointment. “It’s a very good example of the Lancing way, children here are not forced through hoops,” It obviously helps that 80% of staff live on the grounds but there is an obvious commitment towards all the children. Oliver is more succinct. “We don’t fail our children,” he says. Interestingly, he says he worries most “about the ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 39
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gilded ones”. “I always feel sad for those who leave school and it was the happiest time of their lives. We should just be their beginning,” he says. Lancing appears to have successfully managed to be the best of both worlds. Its strong Christian tradition tethers the school, which feels grounded, calm and purposeful. But it is no tweedy backwater, a point both Oliver and Connolly are keen to get across. An iPad school, – “we were one of the first,” says Connolly - it aims to become a technological leader with plans to launch its own Lancing Centre for Educational Research which will incorporate the Woodard Corporation’s Centre for Independent Learning; a research initiative with a number of leading universities on the benefits of ‘learning to learn’; and a press to publish the college’s work to the educational community. Central to the whole endeavour, Lancing values independent thought rather than simply ‘teaching to the test’. Oliver, again, sums it up quite well. “I wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t bring my kids here if I didn’t think it right for the 21st century.” “I think London parents are missing a trick,” says Sarah Linfield as I prepare to leave. Watching an excited CCF cohort board a bus for an overnight hike and pupils racing down to the
The futuristic art block
“LANCING VALUES INDEPENDENT THOUGHT RATHER THAN TEACHING TO THE TEST”
At work in the art studio
riverside playing fields in the afternoon sun, I have to agree. Laura says she hasn’t been homesick at all. And anyway, her Clapham home is only just over an hour’s train journey from Shoreham station five minutes away. “I don’t miss London, they can’t do the extra sport,” she says, and certainly not the sailing she's enjoying. But what about academic results? Lancing quite obviously isn’t a pressurised sausage factory but then it hasn’t hit the academic heights in quite the same way as, say, its neighbour Brighton College. So why send your child to Lancing? “Because we add great value,” says Oliver. “We take people from a wider ability range. It you take the best from the start and make them great, well, it’s not the same is it?” Oliver is very keen to get more children to the school on bursaries – there are already children on 100% (“it needs to be 110% in my view,” says Oliver). But he’s not
all bleeding heart. He knows it’s a competition: “The results are excellent at the moment and they are going to get better still,” he says. We are an academic school, we send pupils to Oxbridge, but others have followed their passions, one pupil has just signed for Hampshire cricket club.” “I promise you, in five years we will be one of the most exciting education institutions in the country.” There’s a gleam in Oliver’s eye as he says this, perhaps akin to the zeal Nathaniel Woodard felt when he first set about building his school. One can’t help but feel he might be right. MORE INFO
Lancing’s next open morning is Saturday 3 October. For more information call admissions: 01273 465805 Lancing College, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 0RW, 01273 452213, lancingcollege.co.uk ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 41
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In de St V pe an is 14 nd d 6 it u -1 ent 06 s o 5 S a n N ch t ov o th em ols e be Sh r ow
Watch the ACS film
Your dreams. Their future. At ACS we believe a love of lifelong learning starts early. Our carefully selected activities nurture essential skills, strengthen meaningful social interaction and encourage critical thinking from a young age. Our teachers promote creative thinking and inspire children to succeed at every stage of their educational journey with us. That is why so many ACS graduates go on to attend the finest universities in the UK and around the world, and why more and more local and globally mobile parents entrust us to deliver on their precious academic dreams. To find out more about us, and our world renowned programmes, please visit www.acs-schools.com. Alternatively call either ACS Cobham +44 (0)1932 869744, ACS Egham +44 (0)1784 430611, ACS Hillingdon +44 (0)1895 818402. ACS schools are non-sectarian and co-educational (day and boarding) for students 2 to 18 years of age.
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Q&A
} THE MAKING OF ME }
Lucy Sykes Author and New York It-Girl
I
went to an adorable little primary school in our village of Ide Hill, which had just 60 children at it. It was only about a mile away from our house, and we would walk home across the cornfields in the summer. Our ancient headmaster, Mr Harrup, had a limp from a bout of childhood polio, and he used to use the students as a walking stick as he made his way down the corridors. In Kent, they still had the 11-plus, and I failed it – I have since discovered that I am dyslexic and have Attention Deficit Disorder, but no one had spotted it back then, I don’t know if they even knew those words – so I went to the ‘comp’, a state secondary church school in Tunbridge Wells. Tunbridge Wells has the reputation of being one of the poshest towns in England, but this place wasn’t anything like the Tunbridge Wells of popular imagination. It was pretty rough. Fairly brutal things happened – I remember a teacher’s arm being broken by one of the students and a girl’s head being flushed down the loo. That was called a bogwash. My proudest moment there was being Count Alucard (aka Dracula) in a school play and winning the drama award. It was a big school – there were 200 girls in my year alone – so that felt like a massive acknowledgement. My drama teacher Ms Glass was an inspiring teacher, but she, sadly, was the only one.
My mother moved me to St Hilary’s, a private girls school in Sevenoaks when I was 13. They didn’t take the academic side very seriously, which suited me. I remember the headmistress saying in one of my first assemblies that the students at one of the other more academic girl’s schools, Wally Hall could not hold a candle to ‘our pretty St Hilary’s Girls.’ She said: “They may have the brains, but they certainly don’t have the looks!” She would be arrested today. I loved and hated school. I was very good at history and drama and I won prizes for both. And I loved the gossip and the conversations about boys. But I was so bored in most of the classes, I just used to look out of the window and dream. When I was 16, I left academic education with one GCSE in RE and
I REMEMBER THE HEADMISTRESS SAYING THAT THE STUDENTS AT ONE OF THE OTHER MORE ACADEMIC GIRL’S SCHOOLS, WALLY HALL, COULD NOT HOLD A CANDLE TO ‘OUR PRETTY ST HILARY’S GIRLS’
Techbitch by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza is published by Penguin, £7.99
“I AM SELF-TAUGHT. I AM NEITHER EMBARRASSED NOR PROUD OF THAT – IT IS JUST THE WAY IT WENT FOR ME” went to drama school in London, The Corona Academy. My most vivid memories of my school days, unfortunately, are of feeling scared and out of my depth, like I didn’t understand anything that was going on. I felt like a failure since the age of 11 academically, and it has taken me a long time to recognise that this wasn’t my fault, but that there was literally NO support for my learning style. I never even thought I could write, so it is pretty amazing that I have just written my first book, and I am now working on a new one. There were a few teachers who encouraged me, but I realised pretty early on that none of the teachers were going to help me. I actually went into a career in fashion, which is all about your natural ability and your eye. You can train it so far, but then you either have it or you don’t. I loved being good at something I was passionate about, and I advanced very quickly in my career because of I was so enthusiastic and loved it so much. I learnt almost nothing at school. I don’t totally blame the teachers – they were just not equipped to help me, they couldn’t have helped me even if they had wanted to. I have learned through experience. The fact of the matter is that I am selftaught. I am neither embarrassed nor proud of that – it is just the way it went for me. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 43
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LOGIC WILL GET YOU FROM A TO B
IMAGINATION WILL TAKE YOU EVERYWHERE Albert Einstein
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OPINION
TALKING HEAD Jane Gandee The headmistress of St Swithun’s School in Hampshire on the benefits of benign neglect
I
n a recent interview, Sir Anthony Seldon spoke about how he deplored the pressure which modern parents routinely put upon their children, even if it is generally with the best of intentions. I do not always find myself agreeing with Sir Anthony, but on this occasion we are of one mind. Indeed, I suspect most parents would also agree, so why do we (as the mother of three I use ‘we’ advisedly) persist in this unhelpful behaviour? It is natural to want our children to do well, but doing well might not necessarily entail getting higher grades or percentages than every other child, representing the school at every sport, having the lead part in the play, having more party invitations than anyone else or being head girl or boy. Whisper it perhaps, but there may actually be other children who are more talented or more deserving than our own offspring. That does not mean that our children are not deserving of our love or indeed worse people than those chosen, simply that they have different strengths to those required, or that the competition was too fierce. If we think about the qualities that lead to a successful adult life they include reliability, resilience, drive, generosity, optimism and the ability to communicate well. These are not always rewarded in a school context. As a teacher, I have seen charming young people who have blithely chatted through every single lesson. Clearly not an ideal way to accumulate
knowledge, but good training for careers where building a rapport with others is crucial. I know how hard it is to parent in a consistently encouraging and firm way. I find myself sorely tempted to ask where my children came in the class after they tell me their test result even though I know as an educationalist that in the final reckoning it doesn’t matter where they are ranked vis-à-vis their peers as long as they have achieved the exam result they need for the next stage of their lives. After all, nobody asks a well-qualified GP or a barrister how they ranked against their peers in Year 7. If my children don’t get the captaincy or prefect role that they believe they deserve and are beaten to it by someone, in their opinion, far less worthy, it teaches them nothing
OUR CHILDREN LEARN MOST WHEN WE STEP BACK AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO PLOUGH THEIR OWN FURROW
IT CAN BE SUPREMELY CHALLENGING NOT TO EXPECT OUR CHILDREN TO FOLLOW IN OUR FOOTSTEPS OR ACHIEVE ALL THE THINGS WE DIDN’T if I ring up their school to complain. My role is to help them to put their disappointment in context and see how to improve for next time. Yet some parents, to quote Tony Little, head of Eton, consistently ‘believe that their child is almost perfect’ and are unwilling to accept that their son or daughter is still a work in progress and therefore highly likely to make mistakes. In addition, they fail to recognise their responsibility for their children’s education, forgetting that they are also role models. Schools are not to blame for every mishap. It can require a real effort to trust our children’s schools and to treat our children’s interpretation of an incident as exactly that – one point of view rather than an objective truth. Our children learn most when we step back and encourage them to plough their own furrow. In addition, it can be supremely challenging not to expect our children either to follow in our footsteps or to achieve all the things that we wish we had achieved but didn’t. But we must remember that they are not a sort of mini-me, and their success or failure does not improve or diminish our own standing. One of the parents at St Swithun’s has coined the phrase ‘benign neglect’ when describing her parenting, meaning that we should step back and let our children simply get on with their lives without undue interference or pressure from us. There is absolutely nothing neglectful about this. On the contrary: if we do not set our children free, we run the risk not only of creating anxious and pressurised children but also of them growing into adults incapable of doing anything for themselves. That would indeed be neglectful. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 45
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CO-EDUCATIONAL I
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BOARDING & DAY
www.kings-school.co.uk
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F E AT U R E
THE FUTURE OF FREE SCHOOLS Untested and unnecessary, or brave and experimental? Free Schools may attract controversy, but overall they have been overwhelmingly successful, says this high profile founder By
T o b y Yo u n g
E
ven I was taken aback when, during the election campaign, David Cameron pledged to create 500 new free schools if the Conservatives won a majority. Was he being serious? Five hundred is twice the number that opened during the last parliament and, to be frank, some of those probably shouldn’t have done. Two have closed already – the Discovery New School and the Durham Free School – and a few more will probably shut before 2020. Was this just intended to be another negotiating chip to use in the coalition talks in the event of a hung Parliament?
I don’t think so. Having heard Cameron talk about free schools on several occasions, and having witnessed how supportive he can be of struggling parent groups, I think he’s in deadly earnest. When he retires in five years’ time, he wants to be able to point to the free schools programme as part of his legacy. Along with winning an overall majority, they will be one of the things he’s proudest of. In spite of the teething problems, there’s no doubt it has been a successful programme to date. Yes, two have closed, but that’s quite a low rate of attrition considering that 255 are still open. And those that have opened are above average,
FREE SCHOOLS WILL BE ONE OF THE THINGS DAVID CAMERON IS PROUDEST OF ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 47
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ELEANOR BENTALL
F E AT U R E
The choir at West London Free School
according to Ofsted. A quarter of the free schools it has inspected so far are ‘Outstanding’ compared to just 10 per cent of schools overall. Critics complain that they cost too much, are being set up in areas where they’re not needed and only cater to middle-class families. In fact, the average cost of setting up a free school is less than a quarter of the average cost of setting up a new secondary under Labour; 70 per cent of them are in areas where there’s a basic need for more places and free schools are eight times more likely to be opened in England’s most deprived areas than in the least. Nevertheless, it’s fair to say that free schools are an untested experiment. Supporters argue that it’s only by trying out new approaches that we can find out what works and bring about system-wide improvements. Of course some free schools will fail, but if the majority succeed and pass on important lessons to other schools about how to boost attainment, then the experiment is worthwhile. The school I co-founded in 2011 – the West London Free School – has introduced an innovative new curriculum that teaches children a core body of knowledge across a range of traditional subjects. All children, no matter what their background or ability, study
Latin and go on to do GCSEs in English, Maths, Sciences, History or Geography and an ancient or modern foreign language. Will this prove too challenging for some of the lower ability children or those with Special Educational Needs? We won’t know until our first cohort of pupils take their GCSEs next year, but I’m optimistic.
IT’S ONLY BY TRYING OUT NEW APPROACHES THAT WE CAN BRING ABOUT SYSTEM-WIDE IMPROVEMENTS Those free schools that have posted exam results already have done remarkably well. Last year, the London Academy of Excellence in Newham – a sixth form that opened in 2012 – got better A-level results than Wellington College, with five pupils going on to Oxbridge. Another great advertisement for the programme is the ARK Conway Academy in Acton. In spite of being in one of the most deprived areas in London, ARK Conway got the best Key Stage 1 results in England last year, beating not just every other state primary, but every fee-paying pre-prep as well. What’s remarkable about this is that many independent schools for this age group are
academically selective, whereas ARK Conway takes all-comers. It’s unlikely that the majority of free schools will do as well as these two, but I’m confident that their results will be good enough to vindicate the Prime Minister’s faith in them. So will his goal of opening 500 additional free schools in this Parliament be achieved? At present, there are 53 that are already in the pipeline, so that means another 447. The officials I’ve spoken to at the Department for Education are worried they won’t get enough highquality applications to meet that target, but they hope to get close. If anyone reading this is thinking about submitting a proposal, I’d urge them to do it, not least because they’ll be pushing an open door. My group has now opened three free schools and we hope to open three more by 2017. I’ve written a bestseller, appeared on the West End stage in a one-man show and co-produced a Hollywood movie, but this is easily the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done. Everyone wants a legacy, not just the Prime Minister, and I can think of few more worthwhile than helping to create a really good school that transforms the life chances of all its pupils.
MORE INFO
Anyone interested in setting up a free school should visit the New Schools Network at newschoolsnetwork.org
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How To Grow Today’s Child For Tomorrow How To Grow Today’s Child For Tomorrow How To Grow Today’s Child For Tomorrow
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MICHAEL HALL.indd 1
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Q&A
Ten out of ten Vivienne Durham, outgoing headmistress of Francis Holland Regent’s Park, tops our list of turbo-charged headmistresses By
S
he may only have months left in the hot seat but as far as turbo-charged heads go, Vivienne Durham is the benchmark. Winner of Tatler’s Best Head of Public School last year, she has presided over Francis Holland Regent’s Park for 11 years and parents drool with praise. A people person: warm, brilliant and ballsy, Durham is a petite powerhouse, oft commented on for her wardrobe – the Good Schools Guide describes her as ‘infuriatingly svelte and chic’ and well as “deservedly one of the most popular heads in the business”. She is retiring in January 2016 to spend more time with her husband, Kenneth Durham, previously head of University College School, who has been unwell. She will leave behind some very small, very expensive shoes to fill. We happen to meet on the tenth anniversary of 7/7 – the school is just yards from Baker Street station and was in the thick of the emergency ten years ago. Durham was coming to the end of her first year as head and it was
Amanda Constance
MRS DURHAM WILL LEAVE BEHIND SOME VERY SMALL AND VERY EXPENSIVE SHOES TO FILL “an immediate test” she says. With no Facebook, Twitter, or news of any kind, she had to rely on her gut instinct and she knew “something awful was happening”. She gathered her staff and by 10am a special assembly of 500 pupils and 70 staff were massed in the school hall. “I stepped on to the stage having no idea what I was going to say, but I knew it was an emergency and I was going to keep them safe.” Within two hours, she had the whole school evacuated (one parent managed 10 pupils in his open top sports car). It was only that evening that Durham realised what had been happening so close to her school. The anecdote reveals what a strong
leader Durham is. “I’m always best in a crisis, because I’m not thinking about myself,” she says. On 7/7, she says: “We had procedures but it’s how you implement them – that’s why you are paid to be a leader.” She is generous as to why she does it well: “You must have good people around you – I believe in the team and being collaborative. On a day like that, 70 people made it work.” But mostly it reveals her commitment to her job. “This job matters to me every day of my life. It would probably be better if I cared less sometimes,” she says. On her very first day as a newly qualified 23-year-old, she says, “I remember thinking I hope I don’t ever get dull and lazy and complacent”. Durham’s teaching career started in the early 1980s at Haberdashers’ Aske’s for Girls. She read English at St Hilda’s, Oxford and entered teaching despite being offered both a place at law school and a place on the local paper (as we said, she’s a powerhouse). Her second job was at Godolphin & Latymer where she was offered head of Year 8 within two months of starting. “I wouldn’t be here
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F E AT U R E
THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS BORE A CHILD – IT’S TOXIC
Vivienne Durham talks to some of her pupils
now,” she says, “if it wasn’t for Margaret Rudland (then head of G&L).” Perhaps surprisingly for someone so outwardly capable, she describes sometimes stopping her car to vomit with nerves on the way to school in her G&L days. And she admits that she still has a ‘dark night of the soul’ at the end of every summer holiday thinking “Can I really do this again?” After a role as Head of English at Guildford High School she was Deputy Head at South Hampstead High School for seven years. It was here that she realised what a tough job it is to be a head – “as deputy you are the heartbeat of the school but you are not in charge”. She says she owes her career to “inspirational heads: Margaret Rudland (G&L), Penelope Penney (Habs) and Sue Singer (Guildford High) who all encouraged and inspired me.” Now she trys “to be a headteacher who still knows how demanding being a teacher is.” She wants the profession to regain its kudos and attract the best to its ranks. “Teach First is the best initiative that ever happened in this country,” she says. The role of the modern head has never been more demanding, she says. “The skills you need are moral, spiritual, legal,
financial, educational … there are so many strands I defy anyone to do them all well.” But that is itself is why the job is so great, as it is endlessly new and challenging; at the end of the day “you are dealing with young lives and it never gets any easier”. She laughs and says she wants the epitaph on her grave to read ‘never knowingly in a tribunal’ – today’s heads must pick their way through litigious minefields on a near daily basis.
Durham wants her school to be ‘academic and kind’ – pupils scored a mighty 86.7 per cent A*-B grades at A-level last year – and she takes an enormous interest in each pupil, interviewing each 11+ entrant individually. Parents of a Year 8 pupil say: "Our daughter has never before been celebrated like this and we’re delighted to see her thriving. All the girls at FSH are confident and care for each other and their teachers." “My big ethos,” Durham says “is that the worst thing you can do as a teacher is bore a child – it’s toxic.” Her commitment to educating girls for the real world runs to her core. “I’ve never run it as a girls’ school,” she says. “I’m sorry, I’m not a feminist. I believe there is a glass ceiling – if we tell them there isn’t one, we are telling them a lie. Women still have to plan for a biological fact – ie motherhood.” Durham took a conscious decision not to have her own children. This was partly because she knew she couldn’t commit to a family and her job but also, as the daughter of a professional woman, “we had a housekeeper and the people who had the best of me were those doing the washing when I came home at 4pm.” Susan Hamlyn, Director of the Good Schools Guide Advice Service says: “Vivienne is an incredible role model for a girl. She gives you the impression that there’s nothing you can’t do but, for all her energy, elegance and eloquence she is the most compassionate and supportive of heads. If I have to find a school for a girl with a troubled history and who needs a safe place and nurturing, I call Vivienne first.” Durham is taking up a part-time role at Knightsbridge consultancy Enjoy Education to allow her to change down a gear. She will be much missed, but one can’t help feeling she won’t be gone for long. See overleaf for the best of the rest ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 51
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Q&A
OUR TOP TURBO-CHARGED HEADMISTRESSES On our travels around many of the UK’s top schools, we couldn’t help noticing that times are a changin’. Well, at least the headmistresses are. Gone are the flinty bluestockings or grande dames grooming their gals for the marriage market. In their place are a more modern breed, high-achievers who aren’t afraid to make changes. These are women who understand the business of education and could just as easily be running blue chip companies. They are born leaders who expect to command, control and make a difference. They have vision, bags of drive and a whole lot of va va voom. The Firecracker
NATASHA DANGERFIELD Westonbirt
T
his one’s a cracker. Personable, warm and fizzing with can-do energy, Dangerfield is shaking things up at the rather ladylike Westonbirt which she joined in January 2013 from Harrogate Ladies College where she was deputy head. Mother to three boys – all at Westonbirt prep – before HLC she was head of pastoral care at Gordonstoun and mixes bags of understanding with a just-get-on-with-it attitude (she’s a mean lacrosse player) that we rather admire. Westonbirt is a very happy place where the girls are carefree but Dangerfield is ripping up its ‘finishing school’ label and raising the bar across the board. She bagged acres of good press for the school last summer when Kate Reardon made a speech the pupils about good manners. How did she get the luminous Ms Reardon to speak at her school? “I just asked her,” says Dangerfield. The hunt were meeting at the school
Natasha Dangerfield
“SHE'S RIPPING UP WESTONBIRT'S FINISHING SCHOOL LABEL AND RAISING THE BAR ACROSS THE BOARD.”
(this is Gloucestershire) and Dangerfield marched up to Kate Reardon in her wellies and said ‘How about it?’ She has bags of chutzpah, and she’s married to a fireman. Enough said, really. They say: “Natasha has brought with her a welcome air of fresh vitality. Her style is informal and warm yet she is a lady with a purpose. This headmistress is clearly injecting a more modern and dynamic approach to Westonbirt while still respecting and appreciating the uniqueness and history of the school.” Mother with one daughter at Westonbirt.
The Superwoman
NICOLA HUGGETT Blundells
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icola Huggett is causing all sorts of excitement in deepest Devon. The first female head of Blundells since the school was founded in 1604, her arrival in 2013 was greeted with “moderate harrumphing” according to
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F E AT U R E
children and parents is proving highly popular, too. They say: “Nicola Huggett is brilliant, energetic and a really fantastic coup for Blundell’s. We are lucky to have her. She really listens to parents and pupils, and is determined to raise academic standards, whilst still maintaining traditions. I’ve never heard any parent say a bad word about her. We think she’s the best thing in Devon since cream teas.” – A Blundells parent.
The Driving Force
SARAH THOMAS Bryanston
I
Nicola Huggett
the GSG, but “those foolish enough to do so must now be eating their words”. Huggett is a hit, “a wow appointment,” according to one mother; she’s put Blundells firmly on the map, with parents relocating from London for the school and a new inclusion in the Tatler Schools Guide. Previously deputy head at Downe House, Huggett is clearly a superwoman – as well as running the school where she still teaches four lessons a week, she runs marathons and has four children of her own, all at Blundell’s. Most importantly she’s a serious rider… this is Devon, after all. Always hale and hearty, Blundells has never been a hardhitter academically, but Huggett is changing that sharpish – making a number of key appointments to get the school to pull up its teaching socks, putting a new tutor system in place plus a reinstating the Oxbridge programme (four pupils made it last year). Her open door policy for
t’s ten years since Thomas took over at Bryanston and parents speak of the school having found ‘new momentum’ during her watch. Do not be hoodwinked by the school’s famous liberal ethos and uniform-free attitude; there is real academic achievement here – last year's were its best A-level results ever (81 per cent A*–B) and a dizzying array of co-curricular activities. Thomas knows how to run a co-ed schools: she was deputy head at Uppingham for six years and before that spent 13 years at Sevenoaks teaching classics and heading the sixth form. Parents and governors trip over themselves to rave about her many qualities, her mastery of the individual ethos of the school and her skill in appointing new staff to reinvigorate the teaching. She is highly committed, interviewing each child during the admissions process and reading each end of term report. Bryanston pupils are happy, positive and ambitious. They say: “Sarah Thomas is the driving force behind a remarkable school. Academically rigorous
“Huggett is a wow appointment; she’s put Blundells firmly on the map and made Londoners take note.”
PARENTS AND GOVERNORS TRIP OVER THEMSELVES TO RAVE ABOUT SARAH THOMAS and with a breathtaking array of co-curricular opportunities, Bryanston is a vibrant, creative and forward-thinking community. Yet what Sarah talks about most often to parents is love, compassion and giving teenagers time and space to find their feet and learn to flourish. It is a rare combination in today’s world. Hats off the to the head. ” – Current parents Ben and Katie Thomas. “Sarah’s great strength is her ability to judge people, which has enabled her to appoint very good, charismatic staff in all areas of
Sarah Thomas
school life. She has a clear vision for Bryanston and knows what she wants to achieve but does so by harnessing the talents of others, empowering them to do their jobs and giving them the credit for their achievements. It’s a highly effective and attractive style of management.” – Robin Pegna, Chairman of the Board of Governors and Old Bryanstonian. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 53
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F E AT U R E
Wendy Griffiths
The Dynamo
WENDY GRIFFITHS Tudor Hall
W
endy Griffiths is a dynamo, the sort of woman frequently prefixed with the word ‘strong’. Headmistress at Tudor Hall since 2004, she’s also currently Chair of the Boarding School Assocation. “She walks faster than most of us run,” says Alice Phillips, Headmistress of St Catherine’s, Bramley, where Griffiths was previously director of studies. Once viewed as a marriage waiting room for the dim but smart, Griffiths has used her considerable energies to crank things up a gear at Tudor Hall. The girls are now hitting 77% A*-B at A-level with 5% going on to Oxbridge, but Griffiths is not all about academics. “I have always been heavily involved in the extra curriculum and this comes from my determination to see the pupils
in a diverse range of environments, from the laboratory to Dartmoor,” she says. She’s a moderniser, overhauling the curriculum, bringing in a new uniform and embarking on a three-phase building project at the school’s idyllic Oxfordshire location. They say: “Wendy has been in the vanguard of promoting boarding to the wider world and driving greater professionalism and improvement. Her energy, commitment and enthusiasm are infectious and she can rightly be regarded as a champion of modern, progressive boarding education.” – Robin Fletcher, National Director, Boarding Schools Association. “Wendy is a tremendous head teacher. She seems to have a fresh, real, genuine and very straight relationship with her pupils, and one that as far as I can tell is based very much on mutual respect; a rather more grown-up and sophisticated attitude than simple teacher/pupil. All of which is very appropriate for our times.” – William Sitwell, current parent.
The Wise One
PRUDENCE LYNCH Kensington Prep School
F
or more than 12 years, Prudence Lynch has kept Kensington Prep School right up there in the hyper-competitive world of London preps. She describes it as a ‘thinking school’; it received the highest possible grades across the board in a recent inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate with quality of pupils’ learning and
Prudence Lynch is the polar opposite of the old-fashioned schoolmarm
Prudence Lynch
WENDY GRIFFITHS WALKS FASTER THAN MOST OF USE RUN achievements deemed ‘exceptional’. She says: “To be a good head in the 21st century, you’ve got to be hungry for headship because it’s a full-on job. You need to be energetic, dynamic and inspire others and have a strong moral compass. Expect to be a ‘change leader’ and be prepared to take some risks. As a head you need to lead, you need to persuade and above all, delegate. Let people fly with their ideas – my team is full of professional and talented teachers; they need to feel empowered and supported…. Admit your mistakes and apologise for them ... And above all, keep a sense of humour.” They say: “Prue knows no barriers - she is the most inspirational of heads. Massively experienced, wise and yet wacky, she believes in taking risks and having a go at anything you want. If you want to meet the polar opposite of the old-fashioned schoolmarm, go and meet Prue.” – Susan Hamlyn, Director of the Good Schools Guide Advice Service. “Mrs Lynch is inspirational, very warm and has a great sense of humour. She isn’t at all stuffy she combines traditional values with a modern outlook.” – A Kensington Prep parent. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 55
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Godolphin&Latymer
OPEN AFTERNOON Entrance for First Year 2016 Thursday 17th September 2015 Wednesday 23rd September 2015 Tuesday 13th October 2015 Tours from 4.45pm – 6.00pm Numbers are not restricted on these afternoons and everyone is very welcome.
SIXTH FORM OPEN AFTERNOON Thursday 1st October 2015 (4.45 for 5.00pm)
We are committed to offering an outstanding education for all, regardless of income. For more information on assistance with school fees, please contact the Bursar. A Level and IB Diploma A prospectus can be obtained by telephoning the Reception Office on 020 8741 1936 www.godolphinandlatymer.com For further information contact: e-mail: registrar@godolphinandlatymer.com The Godolphin and Latymer School, Iffley Road, Hammersmith, London W6 0PG Tel: 020 8741 1936 Fax: 020 8735 9520 Registered Charity No. 312699
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F E AT U R E
Carol Chandler-Thompson
The High-Flyer
CAROL CHANDLERTHOMPSON Blackheath High School
W
here do we start with the new head of Blackheath High School? That she has just returned to these shores after setting up the North London Collegiate, Jeju, in South Korea from scratch? Or that prior to that she taught history and politics to those whipsmart girls at NLCS in Edgware from 2004? Or her prediliction for triathalons? Whichever, it’s clear that being an achiever runs right through Chandler-Thompson like a stick of rock. Since joining BHS in September, Chandler-Thompson has
made it clear that whilst she values its excellent pastoral care highly, she wants the school to hit the academic heights and is busy reinvigorating staff and teaching. She’s a firm believer in single-sex education and takes a highly individual approach to the pupils, getting heavily involved in the 11+ selection process, joining girls on their D of E expedition and lunching with small groups of pupils. Oh, and the sporty Ms C-T is keen to get her pupils moving, sport is getting a big push up the agenda, too. They say: “She is approachable, energetic, personable and committed and will clearly blend her own ideas and purpose to good effect within the school as her influence evolves.” – A BHS parent. “Carol is a dynamic individual with a highly aspirational vision for Blackheath High and its students. Since her appointment in September 2014, she has demonstrated a clearsighted approach that draws on her wide-ranging experience in highperforming schools both at home and abroad. She is approachable and calm under pressure and exerts influence in a way that inspires respect and trust in equal measure.” – Helen Fraser, Chief Executive, Girls' Day School Trust.
The Campaigner
JUDITH CARLISLE Oxford High School
U
ndeniably a brilliant head – Oxford High School remains one of the top achieving academic girls’ schools in the UK with more than a quarter of pupils going on to Oxbridge – Carlisle is included for
Judith Carlisle campaigns for girls to have a go and learn from their failures
CHANDLERTHOMPSON IS A FIRM BELIEVER IN SINGLE SEX EDUCATION
Judith Carlisle
her excellent Death of Little Miss Perfect initiative. Since joining the school in 2010, Carlisle has done much to stir up the debate on how damaging and unhelpful perfectionism can be, particularly in high-achieving girls’ schools, leaving pupils anxious, insecure and unhappy. She campaigns for girls to show resilience, be prepared to have a go, take risks and learn from their failures and has implemented a number of school activities to this effect – we love the idea of Year 8 girls in their French classes writing letters wishing ‘Mademoiselle Parfaite’ a firm goodbye. They say: “Judith has an undeniable zest for life and a love of learning. As a former drama teacher, she brings a huge amount of energy and passion to the role. The holistic care the girls at Oxford High receive is second to none, as evidenced by the recent ‘Little Miss Perfect’ campaign.” – Helen Fraser, Chief Executive, Girls' Day School Trust. “Thanks for your very thoughtful approach to educating our daughters!” – Comments from a parent on the Death of Little Miss Perfect campaign. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 57
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A S I Y WH
TRYTRY? CALLED A
The original rules, written at Rugby School, stated that grounding the ball only gave the opportunity to ‘try’ to score with a kick at goal. No points were given for grounding the ball behind the opponent’s goal line.
A NAUGHTY
BOY
In 1823 William Webb Ellis, who, with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the rugby game.
BROKE THE
RULES…
A S I Y WH
In 1839, to mark the visit of Queen Adelaide, boys wore special caps in her honour. Those boys considered good enough to play for Rugby School’s main teams were given ‘following up’ caps, which later developed into the international cap awarded to the country’s top players.
BOY CAP CALLED A
CAP?
Rugby, where the whole person is the whole point www.rugbyschool.co.uk RUGBY SCHOOL.indd 2
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F E AT U R E
Dr Felicia Kirk
(Director of Higher Education). Known for fantastic drama and sport, academic results at Calne aren’t bad either, with 91 per cent A*-B and 61 per cent A*-A grades last year. Under Kirk’s watch the school has launched 10-year development initiative with plans for a new art school, science block and performing arts centre. She is a keen rider, too – de rigeur for this Wiltshire crowd. They say: “Felicia brings a high impact to St Mary’s Calne, with a strident and academic footprint that suits the school well.” – A fellow headmistress. “It was after a comment made following her GCSEs that I realised we really couldn’t have found a better school. Our daughter said that the school instils such a good work ethic which becomes the norm and as a result it gets the very best out of you. She firmly believes that she would never have got such a great set of results at any other school … She will always look back on her school days with great happiness and a sense of enormous achievement.”– Parents of a 2015 school leaver.
The Over-Achiever
The Game-Changer
DR FELICIA KIRK St Mary's Calne
H
eadmistress at St Mary’s Calne for the past two and a half years, Dr Felicia Kirk is a serious and passionate advocate for girls’ education. Born, bred and educated across the pond, she has more than 20 years experience in our top schools and comes to Calne via Ipswich High School for Girls (Head of Sixth Form) and Wycombe Abbey
FELICIA KIRK IS A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION Hong Kong and Brunei. Before joining WA in September 2013 she was principal of Harrogate Ladies’ College where she spearheaded a number of changes. She’s media friendly and gives good copy, recently making headlines with her belief that girls do better academically in their teenage years “in a boy-free work environment”. It certainly works for WA girls, who are a very impressive bunch with 97.6% gaining A*-B at A-level last year. But there are hints that
RHIANNON WILKINSON Wycombe Abbey
T
he headmistress of Wycombe Abbey has experienced most facets of educational life. Educated at a girls’ grammar school in Lancashire, she won a scholarship to Oxford to read history and has since then worked in both the state and independent sector, day and boarding, single sex and co-ed, plus 11 years at international schools in
There are hints that Wilkinson is introducing some fun to Wycombe reputed steeliness
Rhiannon Wilkinson
Wilkinson is introducing some fun to Wycombe, too, mellowing its reputation for steeliness. No fan of hot-housing, Wilkinson is keen that the girls are confident, happy and able to take time out from endless achieving. They say: “Rhiannon is an academic but also a great businesswoman and one of the first to really tackle her role with the drive to manage the business of education, she made significant change at HLC and will certainly do the same at Wycombe.” – A fellow headmistress. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 59
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Review
“Very informative and much better to speak to someone than read a brochure. .”
“The Independent Schools Show opened our eyes to what’s available and we now have a much clearer sense of our family’s route forward.”
2014 visitor
2014 mother with three sons
Get In spired At The…
Join Absolutely Education at the show Opening hours:
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Saturday 14 November 10:00 -17:00 Sunday 15 November 11:00 – 16.30
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Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London SW11 4NJ www.schoolsshow.co.uk
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“IT’S JUST A WONDERFUL EVENT” 2014 Visitor
We had no idea how complicated and competitive the London education market would be. A neighbour suggested the Show and we ending up registering our children for a nursery and a prep school in one afternoon. 2014 Visitor
We have been trying to decide between co-ed and single-sex education for our daughter. We heard a great Education Theatre talk on this conundrum and then used the show to talk with Heads and admissions teams. It was a highly productive afternoon. 2014 Visitor
Join us at this year’s Independent School Show and find out why so many parents were thrilled they came last year. With more than 200 of our leading schools attending, this is the country’s biggest one-stop-shop for the very best in independent education. Finding the right school for your child is one of life’s toughest decisions; the ISS is a chance meet key admissions teams, speak with heads, enquire about entry requirements at all stages and explore scholarships and bursaries all under one roof. There are also enlightening and informative talks from some of our stellar heads and leading educationalists in the education theatre throughout the two days (see over for details…)
For more info and to register for free entry visit schoolsshow.co.uk
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It’s as simple as ABC The alternative way to pay school fees SFP provides parents with a convenient way to pay their child’s school fees and any extras such as music tuition and school trips. Instead of having to find lump sum payments each year, parents can now spread the cost using regular monthly direct debits – just like they do with their other large household bills, while the school gets paid in full, upfront by us. Key benefits to schools include: • You can make available an alternative payment solution to parents while still receiving payment upfront each term • A reduced burden of compliance and regulation compared to operating an in-house lending scheme • It is simple and free to set up and completely paperless via access to our online management system • Reduced administration as SFP collects the fees • Maximise cash flow
Key benefits to parents include: • Ability to spread the cost of school fees helping parents to smooth their budgets* • Competitive transaction fees giving a cost effective way to pay school fees • Fully online and paperless application process • Not an ‘all or nothing’ service as it complements other funding sources e.g. grandparents
We understand that the course of parenting doesn’t always run smoothly. Thankfully with SFP, at least paying their school fees can. To find out how SFP can benefit your school, call us or visit the website
01372 746 006 | www.sfpschoolfees.co.uk * Credit is subject to status, terms and conditions apply. ‘SFP’ is a trading name of Premium Credit Limited. Registered office: Premium Credit House, 60 East Street, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1HB. Registered in England and Wales under company number 2015200. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
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04/09/2015 01:44 12:23 12/12/2014
Review
JIM HAWKINS
THE EDUCATION THEATRE PROGRAMME 2015 RALPH LUCAS
Within the independent sector, the diversity of choice can be bewildering. Where do you start? Since the show began, distinguished heads of famous schools and leading educationalists have taken to the stage at the Education Theatre. Our two-day programme will address many of your questions. Talks this year include:
‘THE BEST WEST LONDON SCHOOL’ A debate between Jim Hawkins, Head Master of Harrow School and Toby Young, Associate Editor of The Spectator and founder of several Free Schools. ‘CHARTING YOUR CHILD’S PASSAGE THROUGH THE LONDON MAZE’ Ben Thomas, Headmaster of Thomas’s Battersea and Alison Fleming, Headmistress of Newton Prep BEN THOMAS
CHARLES BONAS
‘AN INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM’ with Katy Ricks, Head of Sevenoaks School ‘ALTERNATIVES TO THE COUNTRY’S MOST COMPETITIVE SCHOOLS’ with Patrick Derham, Headmaster of Westminster School ‘HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SCHOOL’ with Ralph Lucas of the Good School’s Guide ‘HOW TO SPOT A GREAT EDUCATION’ with Julian Thomas, Headmaster of Wellington College ‘OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM IN TOP SCHOOLS’ with Lucy Elphinstone, Headmistress of Francis Holland, Sloane Square
LUCYELPHINSTONE (LEFT)
PLUS: Charles Bonas, Founder, Bonas MacFarlane Janey Devonshire, Founder, Teenagers Translated ALISON FLEMING
Independent Schools Show 2015, Saturday 14th November-Sunday 15th November. Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London, SW11 4NJ. Register at schoolsshow.co.uk for free tickets and show updates
KATY RICKS
TOBY YOUNG
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OPINION
TALKING HEAD Angela Drew The headmistress of Bromley High School looks beyond the glass ceiling
I
n 2011, ‘The Harvard Business Review’ reported the findings of Professors Woolley and Malone (Founder of MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence) that the performance of adult teams required to produce creative ideas and make complex decisions increased if the group contained a significant number of women. Perhaps counter intuitively, there is little correlation between a group’s collective intelligence and the IQs of its individual members: the teams that had members with higher IQs did not score more highly, yet those that had more women did. Of course, a team which is less homogenous will create a greater range of ideas but there is also a suggestion that women possess a heightened degree of social sensitivity which brings out the best in their fellow team members. As Professor Woolley states: “What do you hear about great groups? Not that the members are all really smart but that they listen to each other. They share criticism constructively. They have open minds. They’re not autocratic. And in our study we saw pretty clearly that groups that had smart people dominating the conversation were not very intelligent groups.” Not only does this have clear implications for the way in which we educate both girls and boys in the classroom and the skills that we develop, assess and value in our students but such findings are beginning to have a significant impact on the way that the businesses operating in the most competitive environments recruit young people for top jobs. ‘The Diversity Agenda’
has become a live issue for blue-chip companies because a lack of diversity is seen to be having an impact not just on their public profile but on their bottom line. As a headmistress of one of the 26 schools of the Girls’ Day School Trust – an organisation with an extraordinarily powerful alumnae network of over 65,000 women – my focus is on enabling my girls to take advantage of the opening up of Britain’s boardrooms. Increasingly, there is an emphasis in girls’ education on not simply giving girls the capacity to get a foot in the door of prestigious careers but in networking and career
I WANT MY GIRLS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPENING UP OF BRITAIN’S BOARDROOMS
MY MOTHER HAD AN INNATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF EDUCATION mentoring to ensure that the door to progression from middle to senior management is held wide open. Our curricular and co-curricular programme is designed to give girls resilience and leadership skills so that those who set foot on the corporate ladder as young women, will have the capacity to climb the rungs and pull up others behind them. A vista onto this broadening field of opportunity for young women was opened up in the course of the GDST’s latest conference. One of the central themes was the development of employability skills. The keynote speaker, the first female UK CEO of Grant Thornton, was reflecting on the company’s controversial decision to filter the 12,000 applicants that they receive annually for their 350 posts without reference to the applicants hard won academic qualifications (although they do, of course, carry out rigorous cognitive ability testing of their own.) She quoted Dan Pink that, in a world of ‘Asia, Automation and Abundance’, that is to say, ‘a world where if what you are doing can be replicated elsewhere more cheaply, it most assuredly will be’, knowledge and accrued expertise are less valuable than a capacity to innovate and adapt. In her view the key employability skills that we should be developing in our girls are: Conceptual Agility; Enabling Openness (an ability to question); and a capacity for Facilitating Consensus (getting a group of people to come to a decision about an agreed course of action and follow it.) If this is the future of employment, then the dozens of Year 10 girls yomping through their Duke of Edinburgh expedition this week or the Year 7 girls whose efforts playing in the samba band are drifting through my office window, are making just as much an investment in their future as those who remain in the classroom or examination hall. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 65
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Confused? Moi? Finding your way through the London school system has become a nightmare. State? Private? Mix ‘n’ match? There are many decisions to make... By
A
lison has two children - Theo and Flora - who are thriving in their local state primary school. The school is five minutes from their front door. Theo and Flora have lovely friends, all of whom live locally, so their parents have become friends with Alison and her partner, Zak. The teaching is good, the facilities are good enough and the school takes the children to the local park for sports, making up for the dismal tarmac playground on site. “It’s a great little school,” Alison says, “especially for Theo, who can be unconfident. Flora is striding ahead. They could stretch her a little more but we are starting tutoring next year because we want her to sit for the London independent girls’ schools in Year 6.” In education terms, London is in its own world. With its dense population, above average earnings, high proportion of educated professionals, inflated house
Susan Hamlyn
prices and number of excellent state and independent schools, it resembles nowhere else in the country. And nowhere else is there so much competition for top quality school places. Alison’s plans for her children are typical. Many parents can't see why you should pay for a prep when you live near a good primary; they decide to save their money and try for an independent senior school at 11 or 13. This is the advice we most commonly give when consulted by parents of young children who are weighing up options for later on. But, it is not the only way. A few areas of London have a concentration of prep schools - in particular, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Hampstead and Richmond. These are well-off areas and the prep market is flourishing. A good prep school can give children a wonderfully privileged start to their educational life. Small classes, high quality teaching, excellent facilities and a disciplined ethos of hard work and good behaviour make parents eager to
IN EDUCATION TERMS, LONDON IS IN ITS OWN WORLD - THERE IS SO MUCH COMPETITION FOR PLACES 66 | AU T UMN / W INTER
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F E AT U R E
Boys at King's College, Wimbledon
ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 67
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PUTTING GIRLS FIRST Open Days and Mornings 2015 Saturday 10 October: Open morning Thursday 15 October: Sixth Form taster day Tuesday 3 November: School in Action morning Wednesday 11 November: School in Action morning
Junior School: info@blj.gdst.net 020 8852 1537
BLACKHEATH HIGH SCHOOL.indd 1 R65211 BHS_AD_Absolutely Blackheath_297hx210w.indd 1
Senior School: info@bla.gdst.net 020 8853 2929
@blackheathhigh blackheathhighschool www.blackheathhighschool.gdst.net
24/07/2015 22/07/2015 14:49 14:40
F E AT U R E
You won't get this in the state sector - Hab's Boys in Her
hand over their bank details. You won’t find many London preps with onsite playing fields or large airy classrooms but, somehow, they all find time and space for lots of stimulating extracurricular opportunities and a lively sports calendar. A prep school’s raison d’être is preparing children for the best possible senior schools. Their success and continuance depend on impressive leavers' lists year after year. If they fail to produce, parents walk. We have seen schools totter and collapse under less than inspired management and the London market can be a cruel one. Consequently, most preps do well so new ones are opening all the time even in parts of the metropolis not,
THESE SCHOOLS ARE INTENDED - RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY - FOR THE NATURALLY ABLE
Highly desirable: King's College School, Wimbledon
Schools like Dulwich College are very academically selective
hitherto, known for their affection for fee-paying education. But, whatever the prep heads say, it is not necessary to go to one in order to gain a place at an academically selective secondary school. With entrance exams being toughened to do the job properly, senior schools are canny at knowing who will do well there and who won’t. While it is vital that your child has had some practice doing the test to its time limit, these exams are designed to see if your child is naturally bright, responsive and likes learning. Whether they have been taught at a prep or at home with a tutor, they will have as good a chance as anyone. The fact is that around 50% of entrants to academically selective London day schools come from the state sector every year. A few families do it the other way around. If you live in or near one of the seven outer London boroughs that retain grammar schools you may opt for a prep to take your child to the 11+ in the hope that they will have been sharpened up sufficiently to pass the
grammar schools’ admissions test. We seldom recommend this. The tests these schools use are all about aptitude and it is hard to be coached effectively for these. And, both ethically and practically, it isn’t right anyway. These schools are intended - rightly or wrongly - for the naturally able. Trying to prime a child for a school in which he will flounder and sink, should he scrape a place, can be disastrous. We have seen far too many children gain places at academically selective schools and then feel like failures compared to other, far brighter, children. Whereas in a school with a more comprehensive intake, they would have been well above average and grown, rather than collapsed in confidence. Girls have it easier than boys in London. State primaries end at Year 6 and independent girls’ schools and most mixed schools start at Year 7. London has lots of good, academically selective, girls’ schools. But what about boys? There are far fewer schools for boys and very few high calibre mixed independents. Some of our most ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 69
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F E AT U R E
respected and oversubscribed boys’ schools (e.g. St Paul’s, Westminster, King’s College School) start at 13. So what do you do with a clever boy? The answer is, of course, a prep. Most London preps lose pupils of both sexes at 11 and have, therefore, plenty of places for state primary leavers who want to try for a 13+ school. You do have to be bright. Boys at preps will have done Latin for a couple of years, possibly Greek, traditional history, French and, probably, maths and sciences to a higher level than your state primary can offer. The curriculum is solid, thorough and traditional but not too daunting for a bright boy who is eager to learn. Some parents see this coming and move their boys at eight, although this is seldom necessary if the lad is keen to learn and achieve. If your son is not a natural academic, you shouldn't expect a prep, however good, to reinvent him – some children are simply slow to learn and not very good at retaining information. Every year, on the day when senior school offers arrive, we are called by distraught parents who believe that because they have been paying prep school fees for years that their son has a right to a place at a top senior school. Unfortunately, not all preps are good at insisting parents look at realistic fallback schools and not all parents listen to honest advice when they are told to. Perhaps the best option is to gain a place at an “all-through” school like Highgate, The Harrodian or St Benedict’s. In at four, your boy can stay until he's 18, so long as all goes well and you are happy. Inevitably, places at the bottom end of these schools are hard to get and in some cases summer born children are disadvantaged in the assessments.
What about the out-of London option? Beaudesert Park, Stroud
Lesson time at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
Year 6 - sometimes Year 7 - is the time of the dreaded “pre-test”. This exam is used by schools to weed out those candidates who won’t, they believe, stand a realistic chance of making the grade at 13+. It penalises late developers but does, of course, give the sharpest and quickest a chance to show their mettle and impress at a an early stage. Again, for the most part it is a computerised intelligence and reasoning test, not one you can prepare for. Expensive to commission, schools invest heavily in these tests as they are remarkably reliable when sifting out the brightest at this early stage. You need to be on the ball to ensure you don’t miss registering for this test otherwise you will scupper your chances for later on. Increasingly so, London parents are looking to 11+ and 13+ schools outside of the capital. Weekly boarding offers an ideal solution for many busy working families and schools situated within an hour or so of Knightsbridge have got wise to the fact that Mummy and Daddy are terribly busy during the week but really love quality time with Alfie and Poppy at the weekends. Plus, children love coming home to their own rooms and their old friends at weekends knowing that real life will be waiting for them in their “houses” during the week. Not only are places at all but the most celebrated boarding schools far less oversubscribed than London day schools, but the quality
IF YOUR SON IS NOT A NATURAL ACADEMIC YOU SHOULDN'T EXPECT A PREP, HOWEVER GOOD, TO REINVENT HIM of life they offer - with fabulous opportunities thanks to a far longer school day, less pressure and oodles of space in lovely countryside settings - is alluring. As a mother we spoke to last week said: “I would never have considered boarding but Joe is a different boy since he went away. With no London traffic fumes, his asthma has disappeared, his friends are lovely and the teachers take immense care to ensure he is happy and learning well. I am so glad we made the decision.” The family I mentioned at the beginning of this article are now considering a few out-of-London schools for Flora. Not only will these stretch her intellectually but the whole family will benefit from suburban living. “There are several schools close to mainline stations so our commute could be no longer than it is now. We may just seize the opportunity and move out so that may just be that I can lie in bed and listen to owls like I did when I was a child.” Owls and playing fields? Or cramped classrooms and pressure? It’s a dilemma more and more Londoners are weighing up. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 71
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“BEST “BEST PUBLIC PUBLIC SCHOOL” SCHOOL” Schools Guide 2014 Schools Guide 2014
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Educational excellence for day and boarding pupils aged 13-18 Educational excellence for day and boarding pupils aged 13-18
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Q&A
} THE MAKING OF ME}
Q What was your proudest achievement?
A Probably being lead in several school plays and becoming a good rugby player. Academically, I was bright but unapplied, shall we say. I did get my English O-Level a year early though.
Michael Volpe
Q What was the most trouble you got into?
A Where to begin? The book charts quite a bit of this too. I was suspended twice for some pretty horrendous behaviour towards masters - something that happened when my hormones began to rage at around the age of 14. There were a couple of brushes with the law after fights with locals.
The general manager of Opera Holland Park on his aspirational schooling at Woolverstone Hall in Suffolk Q Where did you go to school and when? A Woolverstone Hall Grammar School in Ipswich, Suffolk Q
Q What is your most vivid memory of your time there?
What sort of school was it?
A Woolverstone was one of the most remarkable post-war schools in the country. It was essentially set up to demonstrate that bright, underprivileged boys could, if given the same opportunities as wealthier kids, flourish. It wasn’t about being a place of safety – it was enormously aspirational. It was grammar, too, until the year after I joined. Q
Did you love it or hate it?
I loved it. Although it is fair to say it took some getting used to and I chart quite a lot of that transitional process in my book, Noisy At The Wrong Times. A
Q What did you like most about the school?
I say all of this with the benefit of hindsight of course, because at the time, I often resisted what the school was trying to do for me, but it was an astonishingly accomplished school with some extraordinary teachers. I loved the cultural life of the school, which was extensive and highly developed, but also the sport. The school was one of the best rugby schools in the country. It was in 70 acres of its own land, so as a boarding school, we could have all kinds of adventures in our free time. A
Who was your favourite – or most influential – teacher? Q
Probably my English and drama teacher, Neil Clayton, who can also count Ian McEwan as a pupil. He also led on the dramatic aspects of the school and acting was a talent of A
A There are many; triumphs in rugby being major highlights. But my life there was rich and varied and so many events figure powerfully in my memory. Q
Were you too cool for school?
Erm, aren’t we all? I think my attitude at times suggested I thought I was. A
What are you doing now? I am general manager of Opera Holland Park, one of the UK’s foremost opera festivals. Woolverstone has a part to play in that too in as much as it filled me with a love of music and the arts.
I LOVED THE SCHOOL BUT I OFTEN RESISTED WHAT IT WAS TRYING TO DO FOR ME
Q
A
Q Tell us a bit about the book you have written about your school days?
mine. He was a fantastically vivid and articulate teacher with a largerthan-life personality. The other influential teacher was the head, Patrick Richardson. He seemed to have the measure of my truculence and knew how to guide boys like me. It is important to realise that when Woolverstone was created in 1951, ILEA, who created it, sought to employ the very best masters in the business and they largely succeeded in this.
A It is a self-eviscerating record of how a troubled and troublesome boy can be taken through the elevating stages of education and enlightenment. It also (in order to explain the raw material the school had to work with) describes a childhood in a single parent Italian immigrant family.
Q What are your plans for the future?
Q What was the particular ethos of your school?
A You are the best, you will be the best and don’t kid yourself you can’t be the best, regardless of your background. It gave us the sort of liberal, deep and broad education it seems impossible to find these days.
Noisy At The Wrong Times Published by Two Roads
A More opera and perhaps more books. OHP is becoming a private, independent company and we have exciting plans ahead.
Q How would you sum up your school days in five words?
A
Noisy at the wrong times.
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The SEN Maze Finding the right kind of help for your child's specific needs can be tough, but it is possible if you know where to start Charlotte Phillips Illustration by P h i l C o u z e n s By
D
oes my child have special needs? Some people would argue that everyone has learning needs. Look around and you’ll see plenty of individuals who, despite a distinctly quirky disposition, aren’t just surviving but thriving in their chosen career and way of life – often with brilliantly successful results. Some will have got there under their own steam. Others, however, will have needed a helping hand along the way. And while hard and fast definitions of where learning needs begin and end are hard to come by, the bottom line is that when any difficulty starts to get in the way of a child’s education, friendships and, most importantly happiness, help should be sought. Academic achievement – or the lack of it – can be a clear sign that something is wrong. Of course, children develop at different rates but there’s cause for concern if they are a year 74 | AU T UMN / W INTER
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Open Days: Saturday October 10th (Prep: ages 3–13) Saturday November 7th (Senior: ages 13-18) Leading Catholic, Co-educational Boarding and Day School
Stonyhurst Academic Scholarship examinations (11+ and 13+): Using your School Branding System© rd 23 January 2016 at Heythrop College, Kensington The logo
This is the new logo for all members of the Jesuit Institute group of schools and should be used across Tel 01254 827073 admissions@stonyhurst.ac.uk all communications materials within the school to help promote the links with the Jesuit Institute. It is designed as a unit with the ‘sunburst’ crest and the lettering. They must be kept as one unit. These 2 elements should never be used different 9PZ proportionswww.stonyhurst.ac.uk to those shown below. They can appear Stonyhurst, Clitheroe, LancashireinBB7 discretely and we would recommend they feature no smaller than 35mm wide.
PMS 1945 U red and 425U grey
White out of 425U and 1945U
There are 3 versions of the logo supplied on your CD, including a black version. They are shown below. The logo should not be used in any other colourway or distorted. However it can be scaled in proportion. We have also created an extra logo artwork for use when applied to uniform and is being stitched or embroidered.
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Colour palette The red is the device’s predominant colour with the grey as a secondary colour. For ease and economy
Logo formats Format
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Ap
F E AT U R E
or more behind their peers, or failing to make to make discernible progress, or both. Learning needs can also affect life outside the classroom. Some children can be genuinely happy with their own company. Others may want to make - and keep - friends and join in playground games but somehow can’t. It’s as if they’ve missed out on unspoken rules that determine how people get along together. Having a child who feels like an outsider – a lonely experience – can be a big red flag. Another warning sign is behavioural difficulties. Children can mature at different rates but there’s a big difference between a fidgety five-year-old and a nineor ten-year-old with a hair-trigger attention span and an inability to concentrate, sit still or keep quiet and who is capable of disrupting the whole class. Finally, how does your child feel? If they’re happy, confident and thriving, well liked by teachers and pupils, it’s more than likely you don’t have too much to worry about. But if they’re not – and you might be shocked by just how acute their perceptions are – they need rescuing.
child is struggling, parents will tell you that the earlier you get help, the better the outcome is likely to be. What sort of support might my child receive? A Not all learning needs are severe or long term. For some children, one-to-one help at school combined with sympathetic whole class teaching (for example, where a task is broken down into smaller, easier to manage chunks for those who find all the information too much to take in in one go) can make a big difference. Schools can also vary in their approach to SEN. In theory, inclusivity rules. Every school has to have an SEN policy. Ditto a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator). In reality, the help you actually receive can vary hugely. Some schools go way beyond the call of duty. But there are also ambitious headteachers with an eye to league table glory who subtly encourage SEN pupils and their families to opt for a different school. Q
Will my child be assessed? Sometimes, specialist input is useful. It is your right to ask your local education authority to assess your child – though they won’t always agree it’s necessary. If they accept that your child could need extra support (and you may have to push them to Q
A
Will my child get better without help? It’s tempting to hope that things will get better on their own. But if the months pass and nothing changes, you need to act. While it can be hard to accept that your Q
A
HAVING A CHILD WHO FEELS LIKE AN OUTSIDER CAN BE A BIG RED FLAG make the decision) they will commission reports from their own experts. These may include occupational therapists (OTs) and speech and language specialists (SALTs). Often, the first contact will be with an educational psychologist. Assessment may include unobtrusive observation at school as well as a one-toone session when the child will complete a series of non-scary tests (many designed to feel like games) evaluating everything from concentration and the ability to follow instructions. Out of this comes a detailed written report listing the child’s strengths and difficulties, alongside recommendations for support. If you suspect the local authority might put up a fight, there is nothing (except money) to stop you contacting your own independent experts. Education authorities have to take their reports into account but can be slippier than eels when it comes to acknowledging this. At this point, it can be worth upping your firepower by appointing a good educational lawyer. Tenacious and unfazed by anything that’s thrown at them, they can be useful people to help fight your corner and ensure your child’s best interests are put first. Q How easy is it to get support paid for by the state? A Surprise, surprise – it’s tricky and getting harder all the time. Local education authorities are hampered by the killer combination of ever-increasing diagnoses of learning needs and reduced budgets to fund support. As a result, they’ll often (though not always) fight every inch of the way to avoid giving more support than they absolutely have to. For a child who needs extensive support, your aim should be to get this spelled out in detail in a legally binding document issued by the local education authority. Until autumn 2014, this took the form of a Statement of Educational Needs. Now, however, it’s been replaced by an EHC (Educational, Health and Social Care) plan.
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Forest School
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Forest is a London day school located within 6,000 acres of ancient woodland, in London’s largest green space.
See the School at Open Day on Saturday 26 September 2015.
www.forest.org.uk info@forest.org.uk 020 8520 1744
05/08/2015 12:31 05/08/2015 09:29:23
F E AT U R E
TENATIOUS AND UNFAZED BY ANYTHING THAT’S THROWN AT THEM, EDUCATIONAL LAWYERS CAN HELP FIGHT YOUR CORNER In theory the EHC is wonderful, a wraparound plan that allocates an individual budget to each child and goes well beyond educational support. It now goes up to 25 (instead of 16), so children aren’t abandoned when they reach adulthood. The final EHC plan will name the school your child will attend. It might be a special or mainstream. Either way, it’s vital that parents are happy that it is the right place to deliver the support that your child needs. Only the educational element in these new EHC plans is legally binding. Parents report that some educational authorities are placing some of this legally enforceable support into the health and social care sections – which don’t have the same protected status. It’s another reason to have that education lawyer’s number on speed dial. Q How do I know which is the best possible school for my child? A To start with, you probably won’t. Parents often become experts in their child’s learning disability to find the best
possible school for them. If they’re lucky, it might be on their doorstep. Others drive thousands of miles to view possibilities. Your starting point should be your local authority’s ‘local offer’ – the SEN support available in your area – which is listed on their website. Online parent forums can also be an excellent source of advice, while some organisations specialise in a particular difficulty (CReSTeD lists specialist dyslexia schools, for example). There are some excellent free helplines including SOS!SEN, while the Good Schools Guide offers a special needs advice service to locate and contact possible schools on your behalf. Can I fund my child’s place myself? Some special schools accept selffunded families. Others will take only pupils referred and funded by local authorities. Many (such as More House School, a specialist school for pupils, primarily with Specific Learning Difficulties, in Farnham, Surrey) take a mixture of both. Similarly, education authorities may agree to fund a child after parents have started off paying the fees themselves. More House always advises parents to plan on the basis that they’ll being going the DIY route, and to consider LEA Q
funding as a bonus if they get it. Some parents make considerable financial sacrifices, in some cases selling their home to raise the money. And finally, listen to your inner voice. For parents whose child has special needs, finding the right school and support can feel like making a paradigm shift into a parallel educational universe as bizarre as any science fiction bestseller. There will be moments of frustration as you attempt to decode the alien language that spouts from the lips – and pens - of education professionals. But throughout, the voice you should listen to is your own. If schools tell you there’s nothing to worry about or you are offered support that you know is wrong or insufficient, don’t feel browbeaten into accepting it. There is help out there – it’s a question of battling on until you get it. MORE INFO
General government information on SEN gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs Consultancy services: Good Schools Guide Advice Service gsgexpertschoolsconsultants.co.uk/specialeducational-needs Parent helpline: SOS!SEN sossen.org.uk Education lawyers Schools can be a useful source of help (they may know lawyers who have been particularly successful in helping to secure places for other pupils)
A
Douglas Silas specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/douglas-silas.html Robert Love tayntons.co.uk/team/robert-love/ Educational psychologists Again, schools may also be able to provide names. Dr Terri Passenger aspirepsychologists.co.uk Schools with dyslexia provision crested.org.uk
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Learn for Life
Safe in the heart of England Come and see for yourself Call us now to book an Open Morning or individual visit 01572 758758 admissions@oakham.rutland.sch.uk
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14 -15 November Visit us on stand 619
Oakham is a great co-educational boarding and day school for 10 -18 year olds offering A Levels and the IB
www.oakham.rutland.sch.uk
12/08/2015 16:27
F E AT U R E
HORSING AROUND
L
Equine therapy is increasingly being used to help pupil with SEN, discovers Absolutely Education By
Amanda Constance
arking about with horses at school might have seemed to be the sole preserve of smart girls at public school with hair as glossy as their pony’s manes, but horses are clip clopping into schools in surprising places. Equine therapy, or more specifically Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) is an established practice in the US that is gaining popularity here. EAL aims to enable children to achieve educational goals by interacting with horses, particularly pupils who find it hard to engage with mainstream
schooling such as those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Its sister therapy, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) uses similar, often one-onone techniques to help and heal many groups of people, such as traumatised children, sufferers of PTSD and recovering addicts. They are even using it for treatments at the Priory. In Hyde Park last November, you may have noticed a group of children having fun with some large horses. As part of National Anti-Bullying Week, groups of London school pupils aged between 12-15 years old were able to work with shire horses, alongside EAL therapist Dr Andreas ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 81
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Liefooghe. “Humans can learn a lot from watching horses,” says Dr Andreas Liefooghe. “There is a tendency in a herd of horses to stick together, whereas in human groups, there tends to be fragmentation in sub-groups and cliques. The first task all students face is how to create a mixed human-horse herd… so the group has to manage to integrate them despite their differences.” The main aim of the programme was to teach teenagers cooperative group work and inclusion rather than competition and exclusion. Many of the children had never come into contact with a horse before and learnt to interact with the horses through touch, observing their behaviour and responses and learning how to communicate with the animals in non-verbal ways – learning valuable lessons about themselves and teamwork along the way. EAL is proving particularly valuable for children with SEN issues such as ADHD, autism and attachment disorders. By participating in carefully tailored activities with horses, children with SEN can learn about themselves and others: processing and discussing feelings and behaviour patterns they may struggle to articulate. Treatments can be as simple: gentle, introductory sensory techniques, such as grooming or petting a horse, or even decorating it with paint. The use of paint is
HORSES ARE LIKE A MIRROR THEY REFLECT THE BEHAVIOURS AROUND THEM
particularly effective for children who can’t bear to touch fur or skin (a common autistic trait), as the paint acts a barrier. The benefits of sensory work are profound, as it involves the use of fine motor skills, verbal communication and social interaction. The reason EAL works so well, says Rosie Edwards, who runs the charity Learning Through Horses in north London, is that “Horses are like a mirror – they reflect the behaviours around them whether it’s excitement, anger, joy or sadness.”
EQUINE THERAPY IS PROVING VALUABLE FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
As prey animals, horses switch easily to fight or flight mode; they are extremely sensitive to human emotion. Edwards offers EAL courses for pupils in London schools and is currently working with SEN pupils from St Augustine’s in Kilburn. Working with six pupils at a time, she teaches them the basics of horsewhispering – training horses using just your body language. This requires “fine tuned” control and observation techniques, says Edwards and helps pupils develop fine motor and communication skills and confidence. Most importantly, “in order to train horses, students must get control of their own emotions”. Edwards says she sees the difference EAL makes right in front of her eyes. “Most pupils are referred to us because of challenging behaviour but we see very little of it here. The horses just have that impact,” she says. “Plus the threat of getting kicked in the head is a little more real” she laughs. Edwards also notes that pupils renowned for non-attendance never miss a day at her stables because they love it so much. This motivation can itself reap rewards. Last September, Edwards ran a programme aimed at getting young people back into employment. She now receives regular email requests for job references from those pupils who have made successful job applications. “That gives me massive gratification,” she says.
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At Monkton we look at schooling differently. Come and see us and find out how.
Scholarships available for Monkton Prep and Monkton Senior
What will your day at
Monkton
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Day and Boarding School. 2 to 18
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03/09/2015 10:24
OPINION
TALKING HEAD Dr Chris Stevens The new headmaster of Bradfield College on how best to educate in a digital age
ILLUSTR ATION BY
Phil Couzens
E
instein gets all the best lines. A man with an undoubted gift for language as well as his better-known talents, he is credited with a rich array of quotations. Many were his own. Living through a period of seemingly continual educational change prompts reflection on both the content and the means of education. Preparing for the next wave of syllabus and grading reform is just one aspect of the changing landscape. At the same time, we are learning to exploit the educational possibilities of the digital age Both the what and the how of education seem to be shifting. The digital age challenges our beliefs about the importance of knowledge and our precepts about how it is best acquired. It’s one thing if everything you need to know, and a good deal else besides, is in your pocket. It’s quite another thing if the same device offers great lessons. Whither then education in the age of
Wikipedia and MOOCs? (a Massive Open Online Course). What and how should we learn when, according to the chairman of Google, ‘we create as much information in 48 hours, five billion megabytes, as was created from the birth of the world till 2003’. In this uncertain state it is reassuring to note that our instincts, our experience, and even the latest educational research emphasise the role of the inspirational teacher. The excitement of contact with a lively mind, with acuity of thought and clarity of expression, is timeless. The fascination of what’s difficult, whatever the subject matter in question, and the sheer fun of the journey will in these circumstances outweigh the tyranny of relevance (‘is this on the syllabus?’). In such conditions excellent results are the by-product of learning, not its goal. The acquisition of learning habits, not just knowledge, depends on great teachers. The habits of hard work and care for detail, of curiosity and of discrimination, the capacity to attend and to debate: all these and more are communicated daily in the classroom. In this arena primary experience still outpaces the digital. Its unpredictability and spontaneity are amongst its greatest assets. Education of this kind is only possible through personal contact, through conversation embedded in the positive individual relationships that lie so markedly at Bradfield’s heart. This education is what remains after you have forgotten what you learned. And yet might we be missing something? As long ago as 1997 Gary Kasparov, the reigning Grand Master, lost at chess to the IBM computer Big Blue, and in this most intellectual of pursuits it soon appeared futile to challenge the might of the digital
“IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES IT IS IMPORTANT TO EMPHASISE THE ROLE OF THE INSPIRATIONAL TEACHER”
machine. In a parallel progression civil air accident statistics reduced dramatically in the closing decades of the last century as automated technology became ever more prevalent in the cockpit. What price individual skill in a world where Google claim the only crashes of their driverless cars have been when under human control? What does this world want with teachers? The good news is that chess players, pilots, and teachers are changing. The latest and the safest aircraft technology assists pilots, rather than replacing them. In a similar development, ‘freestyle’ chess competitions see the highest number of matches won by entrants playing as ‘centaurs’, players who use computers to decide most moves but occasionally override them. Likewise, many of the very best teachers exploit technology to the full when it helps, just as they might choose to use a textbook. Or not. Whatever we teach, however it is evaluated and however it is delivered, education remains a profoundly human undertaking. Einstein sums things up very well, albeit with a quotation hard to credit to a man who died in 1955: ‘Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate, and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination.’ ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 85
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Pupils relax in the sun at Canford in Dorset
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F E AT U R E
Why choose boarding? It might seem odd to send your child away to school, but modern boarding has never been more popular By
A
Charlotte Phillips
s thousands of happy parents and children can testify, boarding is booming. Reports of its demise, widely predicted by phalanxes of head-shakers, have proved distinctly premature. Instead of crumbling, boarding schools have shown an amazing resilience in making their offering not just fit for purpose, but ideally suited to the hectic lifestyle that’s increasingly the norm for many families. It’s something that Richard Midgley, Assistant Head of Bedford School, knows all about. A former housemaster himself – and a dab hand, by all accounts, at cooking traditional roasts for his boarders on Sundays - he’s had years of seeing the benefits that boarding can bring. Bedford’s houses are numerous and
small, with Victorian-style villas adding a pleasant, homely feel. The boys-only school has stuck to a traditional model, with the 40 per cent of pupils who board opting either for the full or weekly model. “It’s appealing far more to the modern family,” he says. “It’s about spending more quality time together.” You’d think that the big bonus of boarding would be the extra perks that come with being a sixth former, when all of the final year and some of the lower sixth boys get their own room.
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But at Bedford, what really matters is the responsibility. It’s carrots, carrots all the way – no boy has the power to punish any other pupils. Instead, they are involved in organising everything from Friday movie nights to house hymns – and dishing out the rewards to the deserving. “Boys are simple creatures here,” says Richard Midgley. “They just like to feel useful, and get the recognition from their peers.” And that sense of community, with positivity the dominant force, is a theme you’ll encounter in other boarding schools, too. At Walhampton School, houseparents Richard and Kate Cullum– described as “phenomenal” by a colleague - preside over out-of-hours activities with an attention to detail that many parents might give their eye teeth to cultivate. Some touches – the Sunday morning brunches, are down to Richard and Kate (highlights include bacon and egg muffins and homemade strawberry jam). Richard takes a picnic hamper with him when he gets the train at around 4pm every Sunday afternoon to pick up the weekly boarders - with flexi and full boarding also on offer from age seven upwards, boarding is available just about any way you want it. In the hamper are treats made to order by school chef and ranging from cheese and crackers to miniature scotch eggs. Who could resist? And while good food will always be close to the heart of many a child, there
A view of Canford School
At play at Cheltenham college and at work at Bedford school
are plenty of other factors that make today’s boarding schools such special places to be. We underestimate children’s sense of their surroundings at our peril. Just because they don’t always articulate their feelings doesn’t mean they don’t have a lively appreciation of beautiful buildings and settings. Living full time within them as part of a boarding community can undoubtedly enhance the experience. Take the King’s School in Canterbury where you can close your eyes every night surrounded by hundreds of years of architectural wonders – and we do mean hundreds. Indeed, the history of the school is told in the house names. If medieval is your thing, for example, there’s Meister Omers – a boys’ boarding house that dates back to the 13th century building, with wonders apiece, enthuses marketing coordinator Kieran Orwin. “It’s amazing,” he says. “There’s everything you’d expect – with high ceilings, stonework, vast paintings – far bigger than anything you’d have at home.” Of course, when you have a school that’s this jam-packed with history,
making any change, no matter how small, can be a fraught process. “We only have to find a teaspoon on the lawn and we’ll have the Timewatch team in,” says Orwin. Buildings alone, however, do not the boarding experience make. Pupils also need to feel cared for – to know who to go to if they have a problem. Quality of care is therefore a crucial element. Cheltenham College swears by a vertical boarding system in its eight boarding houses that means boys and girls of different ages end up as members of what can feel like an idyllic family – the Von Trapps, say (but fortunately without the outfits made of old curtains). Sixth formers, as a result, become in effect ‘respected elders’, responsible for looking after the younger years who in turn aspire to be in the sixth form – a virtuous circle if ever there was one. “It also brings about a loyalty and stability
AT KING'S SCHOOL IN CANTERBURY YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR EYES EVERY NIGHT SURROUNDED BY HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS
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The pupils of King's School gathered inside Canterbury Cathedral
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CANFORD
Meet us at the
BOARDING AND DAY • CO-EDUCATIONAL • 13-18
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F E AT U R E
Art class at Bedford School
The exterior of Cheltenham College
for and within the house, as well as healthy competition,” says the school. At Canford School, a thriving establishment on the Dorset/Hampshire borders, every houseparent leads a team of tutors, each responsible for a year group in the house. “Each house varies in layout but all are staffed and equipped to be welcoming social environments, small enough for each pupil to feel well known and large enough to allow a variety of personalities to flourish,” explains Nicola Hunter, deputy head of pastoral.
One of the girl's boarding houses at Walhampton
And while lessons undoubtedly occupy a good chunk of school life, huge attention is also paid to filling out-ofhours time with an enviable range of activities. At Canford, there are over 30 on weekends alone. Boarders, says the school, with masterly understatement “are never bored”. If the comments of school staff are anything to go by, the future of boarding appears to be rosy. At Bedford, says Richard Midgley, would-be boarders shouldn’t take too long to stake their claim when they join in year 9, or they could well end up missing out – at least till sixth form. Even then numbers are limited. And when you get staff members, like Kieran Orwin at King’s, adding boarding for their own children to their wish lists, it’s the ultimate endorsement. “My kids are very small now but I’d send them here in a heartbeat,” he says. “It’s just so different to my experiences at school and boarding here is phenomenal.”
WHILE LESSONS UNDOUBTEDLY OCCUPY A GOOD CHUNK OF SCHOOL LIFE, HUGE ATTENTION IS ALSO PAID TO FILLING OUT-OF-HOURS TIME WITH AN ENVIABLE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 91
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Call of the Country The prep schools that are luring parents and pupils away from town By
Eleanor Doughty
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oing to school in the English countryside has been deliciously romanticised in literature by the scrapes and japes of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers. For a little taste of boarding out of town, your children need look no further than their bookcase. But making the decision between schooling in town, where you are, or in the country where everything else is, can be tricky. ‘London has everything we could ever need!’ you exclaim at dinner parties, trying to convince yourself and your counties friends that city living is for you. As the narrative in education turns increasingly towards cultivating character, some of the countryside’s most beloved prep schools are having a renaissance. Whichever county you choose – as ultimately you will pick playing fields over Wandsworth Common – you are assured of a very English education. And if there’s something that all of these prep schools have in common, it’s that – in spades. Best For…
COUNTRYSIDE CLASSICS
Beaudesert pupils brave buttercups en route to the playing fields
● Deep in the Herefordshire countryside, 16 miles from Hereford and 18 from Worcester, sits St Richard’s School. Down the winding drive are ponies either side, scattered over the on-site cross country course on the way. It’s a tiny, gently Catholic, non-selective preparatory school for just over 100 children aged 3-13, and naturally parents come from all over the West Midlands. Headmaster Fred de Falbe made the move from town to country himself; formerly deputy head at Knightsbridge School, he upped sticks to Herefordshire in 2013. The school, he says, has that “small scale family atmosphere, where everyone, young and old, is in touch with their good manners and good fortune”. St Richard’s pupils have “remarkable experiences which last a lifetime,” he smiles.
Pupils go on to gain scholarships to some of the UK’s best senior schools. The Benedictine Ampleforth is a given, and for more local parents Shrewsbury, the Malvern schools and King’s Worcester are on the destinations list, with Rugby, Uppingham and Eton for those looking further afield. The common theme amongst parents is their “unstuffiness,” Mr de Falbe says, and the children leave with “confidence and an unvarnished eagerness to pitch in to life with an open heart,” which really, is exactly what you’re after, isn’t it? Best For…
GREEN SPACE FOR MILES
● 120 miles away in Berkshire, a mile outside Wokingham, is Ludgrove, the prep school alma mater of Princes William and Harry. One of the remaining all-boys, all-boarding preparatory schools left in the UK, Ludgrove is also nonselective. “We believe 7 year olds are too young to test,” says Sophie Barber, wife of headmaster Simon. “We like to see a good mix of abilities and talents when they turn up each September.” It works: the destinations list is packed full of the best schools in the country, with over 70 per cent of the 185 boys going on to allboys full boarding schools: Eton, Harrow and Radley. Other popular leavers’ schools are really the rest of the south of England: Winchester, Sherborne, Marlborough, Stowe, Tonbridge and Wellington, which is just across the fields. Boys have a “magical five years of childhood” at Ludgrove, Sophie Barber says, and “if they are given free time, they always know exactly what to do with it”. This is helped by the 120 acres of grounds in which boys can make camps, and the 9-hole golf course.
SOME OF THE COUNTRYSIDE’S MOST BELOVED PREP SCHOOLS ARE HAVING A RENAISSANCE ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 93
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F E AT U R E
Riding at St Richard's
Outdoor pursuits at Ludgrove
With endless sports pitches, and courts for squash, fives and tennis, an indoor pool, plus a music department and theatre, boys have everything at their fingertips. Ludgrove attracts mostly British parents, with about 40 per cent based in London, less than an hour away. They are ambitious, but “equally determined that boys have a proper childhood,” Sophie Barber says. Uniform is daddish checked shirts and navy cords, to add to the charming picture, and every fortnight everyone is on exeat, for an extra treat.
Best for…
GIRLS BEING GIRLS
F
or young ladies, just a few miles from Guildford is the delectable St Catherine’s, Bramley. Part of the larger school that is St Catherine’s (900 girls in total, 4-18), prep schoolers get to share the facilities with the big girls: oodles of grounds, tennis courts and a swimming pool to boot. One of their USPs is the use of modern technology. Girls have access to banks of iPads in different classes as a matter of course, registrar Sally Manhire explains. They come from all over Surrey, as day pupils, and the majority of the prep school go across the road to the senior school, all “very enthusiastic” to do so. For those looking elsewhere, recently girls have been offered places at the current number one school in the country, Wycombe Abbey (99.3 per cent A*-B at A level, say
no more), Cheltenham Ladies College, and Roedean. As for their parents, they are extremely supportive of the school, and there’s a well-established PTA. “Parents quickly feel part of the wider St Catherine’s community,” Manhire says. St Cat’s are big on extra-curriculars too, and and these range from “dance classes and choirs, to coding and chess, tennis lessons, gardening and sewing, and science club, to name a few.” “We are a happy school with high expectations,” Manhire says. And that’s the name of the game, really. Best for…
NOT BEING IN LONDON
T
he oldest boys prep school in the country, Woodcote House School, in Windlesham, Surrey, has been owned by the Paterson family since 1931. “We are the antithesis of the London day school,” deputy headmaster Andrew Monk says. Woodcote runs a bus service to town, collecting boys from south west London at 7.30am and dropping them back after Prep, much to the delight of parents. There’s a ‘graduated’ approach to boarding too, which allows families to sign up for small numbers of nights per week each term.
WOODCOTE RUNS A BUS SERVICE TO TOWN, COLLECTING BOYS FROM SOUTH WEST LONDON AT 7.30AM AND DROPPING THEM BACK AFTER PREP, MUCH TO THE DELIGHT OF PARENTS In the lab at St Catherine's
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F E AT U R E
Parents choose the school to “preserve the innocence” of their sons, Monk says, and with just over 100 pupils, it’s allinclusive too: “being a big fish in a small pond means guaranteed selection for teams, roles in school plays, and positions of responsibility”. The parent body is an “eclectic mix”, coming from London, local Surrey villages and as far as Scotland and overseas. When boys start, their families are invited in for a chat with headmaster Henry Knight, for an initial discussion regarding senior schools. “This individual advice is reflected in the schools boys go on to,” Monk says, and this year’s leavers chose the who’s-who of public schools, including Eton, Harrow and Radley, Bradfield, Charterhouse and Sherborne. The school motto is “live to learn and learn to live”, which, Monk says, sums them up nicely. “We tend to do things our own way rather than feeling the pressure to change what is a hugely successful formula.” Best for…
A JOLLY GOOD TIME
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ottesmore School, four miles from Crawley is a “traditional Sussex prep school,” headmaster Tom Rogerson says. Co-ed, with both day and boarding pupils, the motto is ‘be kind – work hard – have fun’, a good suggestion to all children. Cottesmorians are happy and carefree, Mr Rogerson says, and quite romantically, “they have the freedom and the space to fish, play tennis, build a den or read a book lying on velvety green
The Carson Cup at Cottesmore
lawns or in the oak-panelled library.” The school’s real selling point is its “proximity to ‘civilisation’,” ex-Londoner Mr Rogerson says, as it is the closest co-ed boarding prep school to south west London. Parents come from all over, and have straightforward ambitions for their children: “they want them to get into a major public school, and to receive a rigorous, broad and creative education,” Mr Rogerson says. Last year pupils went on to a happy mixture of schools – Eton, Radley and Harrow a given, plus Downe House, Cheltenham Ladies, and Benenden. “The children at Cottesmore make lifelong friendships,” Rogerson says. “It is a privilege to be educated at Cottesmore, with the ‘children first’ attitude of the whole environment.”
Best for…
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
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t Beaudesert Park Preparatory School in Gloucestershire, 10 minutes from Stroud, pupils are “very happy”, says headmaster James Womersley. And parents are too – finding the school’s approach to childhood particularly appealing. “We feel strongly that children should be allowed the freedom to really enjoy being children,” Mr Womersley says. The non-selective co-ed, 430-strong prep school has high expectations of its pupils, but not without good reason – recently, children have gone up to the fairly local Marlborough and Cheltenham Colleges, Eton and Radley, taking bags of scholarships with them.
“QUITE ROMANTICALLY, THEY HAVE THE FREEDOM AND THE SPACE TO FISH, PLAY TENNIS, BUILD A DEN OR READ A BOOK LYING ON VELVETY GREEN LAWNS OR IN THE OAKPANELLED LIBRARY” Inside a Woodcote classroom
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F E AT U R E
Teaching at Forres Sandle Manor
Best for…
LEARNING SUPPORT
E
Beaudesert is a healthy London expat zone, with around 70 per cent of parents having lived in London before the slower pace of the Cotswolds. “There is less pressure for all concerned at country prep schools,” Mr Womersley says. “We have more time to build the children up to move on at age 13, confident in their ability to cope with the challenge of senior school life.” There’s plenty of physical space too, with 30-acre grounds, and two dedicated Forest School areas for learning about the outdoors. “When you compare that freedom to London preps having to bus children to Hyde Park at break times,
you can see why a country school might appeal!” Mr Womersley says. “Academic achievement is important,” he says, “but so is helping children become well-rounded individuals equipped with the life skills they need to live happy, fulfilling lives.” At Beaudesert, that is exactly what you get – a slice of the good life.
verything is all-go at Forres Sandle Manor School – FSM to you – two miles from Fordingbridge, Hampshire on the Dorset/Wiltshire borders. In keeping with its West Country territory, pupils go on to the region’s spread of boarding schools, from Milton Abbey to Marlborough, Canford to Clifton; Winchester, Stowe and Millfield. The 17th century manor house of the name sits in 35 acres, with sports pitches, tennis courts and swimming pools aplenty, catering for a little over 200 children. It’s a little bigger than its neighbour Moyles Court in Ringwood, but smaller than Port Regis so keeps the homely feel. Non-selective, and refreshingly in appreciation of the fact that not every child is an all-rounder, FSM is excellent for children with learning difficulties. The Learning Centre, their specialist facility provides children with all the confidence they need going into Common Entrance, where, incidentally, results are “smashing” as one parent says. There’s full and weekly boarding, sport every day and requisite matches on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so loads of opportunities for you to see your little one during the week. Their motto ‘Happy Children Succeed’ might sound a bit happy-clappy but it does what it says on the tin - no jargon!
“ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IS IMPORTANT,” HE SAYS, “BUT SO IS HELPING CHILDREN BECOME WELL-ROUNDED INDIVIDUALS EQUIPPED WITH THE LIFE SKILLS THEY NEED TO LIVE HAPPY, FULFILLING LIVES.” ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 99
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Hear the big thinkers of British education At the Independent Schools Show we run a programme of talks for parents. The talks are designed to help you plot your child’s route through the school system. The talks provide the perfect way for you to focus your thoughts about what your child needs and maximise what you achieve at the Show.
SPEAKERS FOR 2015 INCLUDE:
Get advice from the leading heads and thinkers in the sector and have all your questions answered.
Ben Thomas Headmaster of Thomas’s, Battersea Dr Katy Ricks Head of Sevenoaks School Patrick Derham Head Master of Westminster School Julian Thomas Master of Wellington College Lucy Elphinstone Headmistress of Francis Holland School Alison Fleming Headmistress of Newton Prep Ralph Lucas Editor, Good Schools Guide Charles Bonas Founder, Bonas MacFarlane Janey Devonshire Founder, Teenagers Translated
Saturday 14 November 10:00 - 17:00 Sunday 15 November 11:00 - 16:30 Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London, SW11 4NJ
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Meet the big names of British education As the UK’s largest school open day, the Independent Schools Show annually welcomes 200 of the leading schools to Battersea Park.
Join us at this informative and dynamic event to meet key admissions teams; speak with heads; enquire about entry requirements at all stages; explore scholarships and bursaries; register.
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MEET THE FUTURE For over 160 years, Cheltenham Ladies’ College has been a vibrant, global academic community at the forefront of girls’ education. Every day we support and guide girls as they become self-determined, fulfilled and resilient young women. To find out more and for details of our upcoming Open Days, visit www.cheltladiescollege.org or see us at the Independent Schools Show at Battersea Evolution on 14th and 15th November.
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Q&A
} THE MAKING OF ME }
Tom Hudson British Polo Day’s co-founder on his Eton schooldays
Q Where did you go to school and when? A Eton College (1994-1999).
What sort of school was it? I don’t think it’s the school that many think it is. Despite common perceptions, within the school it is surprisingly egalitarian and no-one really cares about people’s background. Popularity was not based on wealth and titles but rather character and the way you carried yourself. Success was measured not just on exam results. Q
A
Did you love it or hate it? I must say that I really enjoyed it, even more so with hindsight. I made some great, loyal friends who are all doing interesting things. We have recently had a 15-year reunion and it brought back a lot of good memories. Q
A
What did you like most about the school? A I think it instilled a genuine belief that anything is possible if you work hard and apply yourself, and that there are unlimited opportunities in life. Sometimes that confidence is mistaken for arrogance, but I think that the selfbelief that is ingrained in each boy is a distinguishing feature.
In the oldest part of the school there are busts of all the previous OE Prime Ministers – I remember being shown these as a 13 year old and being told with a wink that there are a few gaps for the future… Who was your favourite – or most influential – teacher? A My housemaster – John Clarke (JRC) – was a great influence and ensured that we made the most of everything that Eton had to offer. However, the most memorable was called Andrew Robinson. He was my tutor and a Boris-Johnson-type history teacher with a penchant for Hob Nobs. He brought the subject alive, and I particularly remember going to visit the battlefields of WW1 in his slightly beaten up car, which entrenched a love of the subject that I took on to university. Q
IN MY LAST YEAR OUR HOUSE PLAY WAS CABARET...I LOVED MUSICALS BUT IT WAS EDDIE REDMAYNE WHO STOLE THE SHOW for football for a number of years. At Eton there are constant reminders of what those who have gone before you have achieved, and there aren’t many schools whose old boys have won the FA Cup. What was the most trouble you got into? A Luckily I never got caught! Q
Q What is your most vivid memory of your time there? A This will be a gratuitous name-drop, but I have been recently reminded of it and it has gained some recent press attention: in my last year our house play was Cabaret. I had been a chorister at prep school and secretly enjoyed musicals, and it went down as one of the best house plays there had ever been, sadly not due to my part, but a certain Eddie Redmayne who stole the show…
Q
The British Polo Day team with his Highness Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan
Q What was the particular ethos of your school? A A previous headmaster said: “Of him to whom much has been given, much is expected.” I think with the privilege of attending the school comes a responsibility to be the best you can be. Q What was your proudest achievement? A It will be very un-cool to admit it, but I was proud of being made a prefect. Election into the Eton Society (“Pop”) is by the boys (a tradition dating back to Gladstone) and affords quite a number of privileges (such as being able to go to the pub and the chance to strut around in a jazzy waistcoat). My grandfather is one of the oldest living Poppers (93 years old) and I enjoyed telling him the news that I had been elected. I also enjoyed playing in the first XI
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Q&A
Were you too cool for school? Ha ha, I think at certain times I probably thought I was quite cool, although we created a Boy Band there that was purposely anti-cool. While some boys were “finding themselves” with grunge and hard rock, we decided to create an East 17/Take That-style parody band (where we just mimed) and went around the girls' schools nearby. Playing the Valentine’s Day ball at St Mary’s Ascot in 1999 was a particular highlight! Q
A
Q Would you send your own children there? A Currently I only have 2 girls, so it would need to go co-ed (which I doubt it will), but definitely if I have a boy. Five generations of my family have gone there, so it would be good to keep the tradition going.
What effect did your schooling have on your character? Did it change you? A Without opening the whole ‘nature vs nurture’ debate, I do think that I learned some valuable life lessons there in a pretty safe environment. I have found many aspects of Eton to be a microcosm for later life. Selfreliance was something that the school ingrained from the outset, which was valuable preparation for the future. Q
What did you do afterwards? I was sitting in one of the school assemblies, pondering what to do after A-Levels, and an OE, General Tony Mullins, came to speak. He said: if you want to see the world, ski, sky-dive, drive tanks, blow things up… and get Q
A
MY APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING, AND LIFE ITSELF WAS ALL INCUBATED THERE IN A WAY I CAN ONLY TRULY APPRECIATE NOW paid for a Gap Year, join the Army”. So, I signed up for a Gap Year Commission, which involved going to Sandhurst for initial training after which I joined the Royal Dragoon Guards, based in Munster, Germany. With hindsight it was a great experience, but I must admit that when I was sleep deprived on exercise in freezing Aldershot, I was slightly envious of my mates enjoying themselves on a beach in Thailand. Q Did you ever imagine you would set up British Polo Day? A Funnily enough, Eton played a key role in the formation of British Polo Day. In 2008, I was posted to Dubai with my then law firm, Linklaters. Being in close proximity to India, I was invited through the Old Etonian Association (OEA) to go to the OEA Subcontinental Dinner in India to play Elephant Polo. This dinner has been held annually for almost 150 years and is a brilliant tradition. It was a great experience with over 100 OEs from 18 – 80 all there, all with fascinating stories doing various things. Interestingly, I met many other OEs who had all recently moved to the Middle East, and so I decided to set up the OEA Middle East chapter. I then had to organize something to base it around, so I turned to our old adversaries: Harrow, and built a weekend itinerary around a polo match. HRH Prince Rashid of Jordan was captain of the Jordanian Polo Team and also an Old Harrovian, and the polo really took on a life of its own. Prince Rashid also went to Cambridge so we decided to hold an Oxbridge match too. Along with an old friend – Ed Olver – who was Adjutant of the Household Cavalry at the time and involved in a project in Abu Dhabi, we flew out the British Army Polo team. British Polo Day was born, creating a platform for expatriates and locals alike to get together.
We now hold 10 different British Polo Days annually celebrating the heritage and traditions of the game and the best of British in a network that spans the World. We are also proud to have raised almost $2m for good causes in less than 5 years. My great-grandfather and his three brothers all left Eton at the beginning of the 20th century and were variously posted to Hong Kong, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago. I have grown up hearing about their lives and achievements in far-flung locations, and I’m glad to have found a way to live abroad and similarly travel and try to emulate some of their experiences three generations later. Q What do you think matters most about schooling today? A I think getting the right grades has taken on a disproportionate importance. For me, it is all the soft elements of the school experience that I think really matter: discovering what you are good at and like doing, building friendships, dealing with people, ingraining good habits. I don’t think I can remember much detail of what I was taught, but my approach to problem-solving and to life itself was all incubated there in a way I can only truly appreciate now. You need to be taught how to think, not what to think.
What are you doing now? I am still a lawyer in Dubai working for a government entity. I enjoy the vision of Dubai and the way it is trying to position itself in the World – it is a cauldron of people and ideas. Having studied Arabic and the Arab culture at Eton, I enjoy working alongside Emiratis. Q
A
Q What are your plans for the future? A I always keep my options open, seizing opportunity and taking every year as it comes, while also trying to continue learning and experiencing everything life has to offer. Q How would you sum up your school days in five words? A A great preparation for life. MORE INFO
britishpoloday.com
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Tailored not uniform
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OPINION
TALKING HEAD Katy Ricks Headmistress of Sevenoaks School
M
any teachers and students find GCSEs uninspiring and lacking in rigour. What a shame to limit the curiosity and inventiveness of the young mind. At Sevenoaks we have long found GCSEs encourage a mindset defined by unadventurous examinations. They are poor preparation for university and the workplace, which seek breadth, versatility and a global outlook. Recent political debate about whether there is a need to test students at all at the age of 16, given that the majority now remain at school until the age of 18, has only fuelled the discontent with these outdated courses. At Sevenoaks, we have created our own Middle School curriculum through which students work towards our own UCAS-recognised examinations: Sevenoaks School Certificates. Sevenoaks is not the only school to create its own qualifications (Bedales and Malvern are two others), nor the first to seek an alternative to GCSE. Some independent and state schools have adopted IGCSE or the IB Middle Years programme, while others are adapting their curriculum to add supporting or vocational skills to traditional GCSE studies. But as one of the first schools to adopt the IB, embrace internationalism and to teach technology, Sevenoaks has never shied away from curriculum innovation. In this spirit, we have implemented a number of recent initiatives for students in the Middle School years. First is the development of the Sevenoaks School Certificate, a new course of study and examination,
launched in 2010. The courses have been developed internally by Sevenoaks School and are recognised by UCAS as a Year 11 qualification. Our students can choose from Art and Art History, Drama, Music and Music History, Classical Civilisations, Robotics and Visual Communication (Technology), as well as a compulsory English Literature course. Freedom to construct these courses ourselves has meant that we can introduce exciting, and distinctive elements designed to elicit a strong sense of personal engagement from students. Music students compile a dossier of public performances,
WE ARE PROUD OF OUR AMBITIOUS AND CHALLENGING CURRICULUM AT SEVENOAKS
SEVENOAKS IS NOT THE ONLY SCHOOL TO CREATE ITS OWN QUALIFICATIONS as well as personal compositions; Drama students work towards devised group productions in addition to an individual research project, and our History of Art course invites students to undertake an in-depth personal exploration of 50 works of art that have had an impact on the way we see the world. Connecting our courses is another innovation: a core that all students study. These are courses that promote critical and creative thinking about real questions, current affairs, about ethical perspectives. These courses (Systems of Belief, Critical Perspectives, and 10 Ideas that Changed the World) are unique to Sevenoaks, and prepare students for the IB Theory of Knowledge. Our syllabus considers which ideas have had powerful, disruptive and formative effects on the contemporary world: Right and Wrong, the Enlightenment, the Cosmos, God(s), Freedom, Multiculturalism and the Internet. We encourage students to have opinions, to debate, and to feel confident in their argument while understanding the perspective of others . As one of our U6 students recently said: "I think that in other schools the bare minimum is to learn the syllabus. At Sevenoaks the bare minimum includes all this personal development and intellectual discussion." We are proud of our ambitious and challenging curriculum at Sevenoaks. We have built a balanced, broad education, with depth and an element of choice. We favour enrichment over acceleration. We don’t encourage either taking; subjects are not to be rushed through or ticked off, but explored and reflected upon. We believe our academic character to be unique. The education we provide teaches students to learn, to think, to debate and develop principles: inner qualities and resources they will take with them into the wider world. We want to kindle learning that will outlive their exam results. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 107
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The Big Build As the independent sector attracts a global elite, private schools are outdoing each other with five-star facilities By
Lisa Freedman
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hat makes parents choose one school rather than another? For some, of course, the answer lies in exam glory. For others, it’s family connections or a historic reputation. Rarely, however, does the new music centre or recently kitted-out dorms seem to sway the decision. So why – if customers care so little – do independent schools continue to spend, spend, spend? The schools’ primary argument is that well-designed buildings allow them to provide the best possible education. Though all agree that teaching quality is paramount, they also believe that a constant reassessment of the environment is essential to address shifting needs. The teaching of science, for example, has in recent years moved remorselessly up the education agenda, with
Latymer Upper's £4.5m sports centre
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EATON SQUARE SCHOOL ‘Every child, every single child has the capacity to excel.’ Eaton Square School is an independent, coeducational Nursery, Pre-Preparatory and Preparatory school in the heart of central London, educating children from the age of 2 ½ to 13 years old. School Open House Thursday 12 November Nursery Open Mornings Knightsbridge – Thursday 15 October Pimlico – Thursday 5 November Belgravia – Monday 9 November Booking is essential
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F E AT U R E
Hab's Boys
TIMOTHY SOAR FOR FEILDEN CLEGG BRADLEY STUDIOS
government spending at university level now heavily skewed in its favour. Independent schools have long educated a disproportionate percentage of the nation’s scientists, doctors and engineers and seem determined to ensure their pupils remain on the cutting edge. St Paul’s School, in west London, for example, alma mater of Oliver Sacks and Robert Winston, put science first in its £77m redevelopment plans, with a dazzling new block housing biology, chemistry and physics in 18 up-to-the minute labs. Designed by Nicholas Hare Associates, the building opened last year and has since been awarded both a Civic Trust and RIBA prize. St Paul’s, however, is definitely not alone. Nearby Latymer Upper School, also recently added a science block, as did the Princess Royal’s old school Benenden, while Oundle School in Northamptonshire employed topof-the-range Stirling Prize-winning architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to design its SciTec block. "We wanted our pupils to be enthusiastic about innovation and research," says retiring headmaster Charles Bush. "If you’ve got grotty old buildings, it doesn’t make you feel something matters. Here the experience is transformed. The subject feels important even before you’ve started." Schools like these, which send up to 40 per cent of their sixth formers
Oundle School's new SciTec block
FOR JOHN MAGUIRE, DEPUTY HEAD AT HABERDASHERS' ASKE'S SCHOOL FOR BOYS, THE WELL-DESIGNED CLASSROOM IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE WELLQUALIFIED TEACHER on to study science or science-related degrees, understand that the right early aspirations are fundamental. "The transition between school and university is keenly felt in the private sector," says Chris Wilderspin, partner in Van Heyningen and Haward Architects, who designed the Latymer science block. "Schools are planning for the next stage and see themselves as a bridge; the quality of the buildings is as good as those you’ll find at university." Working closely with teachers is generally considered to be a key part of architectural change, and John Maguire, Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Boys, in Hertfordshire, has been closely involved with the school’s £20m redevelopment of its teaching space. Here, staff have been encouraged to comparative shop before providing
their input into the design of the new facilities for Maths, English, Art, DT and Drama. In this case, a trip to Austria proved formative. “The school we visited, St Gilgen International, is designed to ensure all students are taught in the best possible environment,” says Maguire. “It has Conran furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of the mountains and lake. Most important for us, however, was the fact that the school is composed of a cluster of buildings providing each subject with its own identity.” This arrangement has had a direct influence on the direction now being taken in Hertfordshire. Haberdashers’ is one of the country’s most successful academic schools (last year over 80 per cent of its sixth formers achieved A*- A in A-Levels, with nearly 40 pupils proceeding to Oxbridge) and the school’s development plan continues to emphasise its USP: ‘nurturing excellence’. “We’re market leaders in pedagogy,” says Maguire, and for him, the welldesigned classroom plays as much of a part as the well-qualified teacher. His own post-graduate research on the subject has entailed investigating ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 111
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‘‘Bringing out the best in boys’’
A day in the life of Aldro... come and see for yourself OPEN MORNING •Saturday 3 October 2015 •11:00am–12:30pm If you would like to attend an Open Morning, to request a prospectus, or to arrange an individual tour, please contact the Admissions Office on 01483 813535 or email: admissions@aldro.org Aldro, Lombard Street, Shackleford, Godalming, Surrey GU8 6AS www.aldro.org ALDRO.indd 1
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everything from lighting (“We’re replacing roller blinds with louvres or Venetian blinds to provide maximum flexibility”) to layout (“if the classroom is designed in long, regimented rows, you can’t access six or seven pupils, so we’ve worked with the architects to make the rooms wider”). The use of colour, too, has been thoughtfully adressed. “Using a study carried out by the Royal Navy on concentration, we decided to paint the three non-teaching walls in offwhite and the facing wall two shades darker to increase attention span.” For many schools, responding to specific new conditions is one of the chief arguments for change. Latymer Upper School, which started life as boys’ school, went entirely co-educational in 2004 and has since seen demand and numbers soar. Its long-term building programme has helped it successfully adapt, and, as well as the science block, the latest project is a £4.5m sports centre, which will open this autumn. “For us the building was justified on a number of counts,” says head David Goodhew. “We currently have great playing fields, but, in traffic, they’re half an hour away. The new sports complex will allow us to teach more lessons on site, and as well as catering for our elite athletes (such as Olympic swimming hopeful Georgie Boyle) will offer all pupils more choice, with nine activities available rather than four.” The new facility will also aid Latymer in its commitment to assist 40 local schools in ensuring every pupil leaves able to swim. “Simple things, like increasing the changingroom capacity, mean we can help more schools.” Urban day schools face one set of challenges, but boarding schools - for many the ultimate luxury purchase - undoubtedly face another. Here chilly dormitories and stark washing facilities are largely a thing of the past, but, as a global elite of parents and pupils increasingly expect domestic arrangements to match their
The new building at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
LIKE ETON, MOST INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS, SEE BUILDING PROJECTS AS THE OPPORTUNITY BOTH TO UNDERLINE PAST STRENGTHS AND TO DEVELOP NEW AVENUES experience at home, some schools are taking a five-star approach. Roedean in Brighton, for example, a famous name in girls’ education, has recently spent £9m on a ‘sensitive redesign’ of its sleeping quarters by architects BuckleyGray Yeoman, a Shoreditch-based firm known for chic, high-end urban homes. With designer furniture, a tastefully contemporary colour scheme and a high-concept country-meetsloft communal kitchen, the new accommodation has become, according to Tatler: ‘The Swankiest Boarding House in the World’. “It does make it so much easier, being away from home,” confided one resident. Day or boarding, a significant reason parents opt for independent schooling is the opportunity for
confidence-forming extra-curricular activities, from sport and art, to drama and debating. In this respect, Eton remains in the vanguard. Not only does it offer such world-class facilities as its rowing lake (which hosted the 2012 Olympic events) and 400-seat theatre (which once headlined Eddie Redmayne), it has recently added an £18m debating chamber. Financed by one old boy (Majid Jafar) and opened in 2015 by another (Prince William), the Jafar Hall is modelled on the ancient Greek theatre at Priene and should, no doubt, assure the school’s traditional pre-eminence in producing Prime Ministers and global leaders. Like Eton, most independent schools see building projects as the opportunity both to underline past strengths and to develop new avenues. “Some things have to stay the same or you’re not seeing the same school,” says David Goodhew. “Others have to move forward or you get left behind.”
Lisa Freedman runs schools advisory service At The School Gates attheschoolgates.co.uk ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 113
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THE ART OF THE MATTER The importance of arts education is vastly underestimated by the government, argues the headmaster of Rugby School By
Peter Green
T
he schools minister, Nick Gibb, says that social mobility will be delivered by restricting the national curriculum to the five EBacc subjects – History or Geography , the Sciences, a language, English and Maths, with a particular focus on the last two. He makes no apology, he says, for ‘protecting the space’ in the curriculum for these subjects. He believes that to eradicate illiteracy and innumeracy in this country we need to shut down the arts as a basic school provision. I beg to differ. Creative vision, entrepreneurial skills and artistic flair are among the characteristics of this country. They are rooted in the arts. A third of Fortune 500 companies’ CEOS have liberal arts degrees. Why have they been so successful? Precisely because of the life skills they learned in pursuing those subjects. 114 | AU T UMN / W INTER
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We have seen the transformational power of the arts in children’s education. Not every child is lucky enough to come from a home where people read for pleasure, or where music – of all kinds – is listened to, where someone might play a musical instrument, or where going to a play, a concert or an exhibition is a treat. Schools must, therefore, as part of their bill of fare, provide access to dancing, acting, singing and messing about with paint. Jesse Norman MP, the new chair of the Culture Select Committee, said recently that ‘there is a social power to music, to bringing people together to give discipline and a focus to someone’s life’. I couldn’t agree more – but I’d extend that power across all the arts. It is the opportunity to enter the creative world, in whatever capacity, that teaches a child selfconfidence. The joy of being part of a performing group, whether it’s singing a solo, painting the scenery, or dancing in the chorus line, makes a huge contribution to self-expression and creativity. Evidence shows that children with access to the arts are less stressed, more imaginative about tackling intellectual problems
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Rugby pupils' recent production of Alice in Wonderland
and better able to communicate. Yet Mr Gibb seems committed to the systematic removal of arts and culture from the UK education system, assuming loftily that they can be pursued elsewhere. This is not an argument about the arts being more important than literacy and numeracy. Yes, Maths and English are important, but not at the expense of the arts. I believe strongly that a STEAM education, combining arts, humanities, sciences, technology and maths, must be preserved in the face of the Government’s commitment to STEM - Science, Technology, English and Maths. I also believe that OFSTED should not judge a school ‘outstanding’ without findgin creative subjects somewhere in its offering.
I share the belief of the Warwick Commission, which recently published Enriching Britain: Culture, Creativity and Growth, that there should be ‘equal access for everyone to a rich cultural education’. This is where the independent schools come in. We are all committed to a curriculum that embraces the arts. My own school, Rugby, believes passionately that the encouragement of the whole person is the whole point of education. That is why we offer such a wide range of arts subjects, sports, and other activities outside the classroom. Rugby School is privileged
YES, MATHS AND ENGLISH ARE IMPORTANT, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ARTS
to have superb performing facilities and enthusiastic and experienced arts staff. We share them with many of our neighbouring maintained schools and it’s a scheme that works well for both parties. Many other independent schools do the same because they, like us, feel strongly that they have a ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 117
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A senior school offering day, weekly and full boarding for girls aged 11-18 “Incredible exam results, up in the dizzying thin air at the top of the league tables. How a relatively unselective school like this one manages it must drive the London hothouses around the bend.” The Good Schools Guide
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responsibility to do so. State schools are already feeling the pressure. Even some academies with Performing Arts in their titles are now experiencing problems in the provision of specialist arts teaching as they hasten to reorganise their resources to do as Mr Gibb wants before 2016. Music, drama and dance are the first subjects to go as schools make significant cuts in their provision of arts in order to increase the amount of teaching and testing time in Maths and English. If the government doesn’t care, then there has to be a national system of arts providers, including the independent schools. The gap must be filled. We simply cannot allow arts teaching in this country to be abandoned. The new curriculum leaves children ill-equipped for a future that will place a premium on creativity. The independent schools must do their bit to ensure that regular creative opportunities for children are encouraged across the UK. There may be noises about ‘crumbs from the rich man’s table’ but they will be unfair. This is not about lending our trumpets or inviting other schools to watch our school play. This has
Peter Green is headmaster of Rugby School
to be a much bigger initiative. But one that starts small and locally and grows into a countrywide network of genuine partnerships. Otherwise, the liberal arts in this country are simply not going to survive. I believe that the independent schools have a role to play in ensuring that this country not only continues to produce the artists, designers and creative entrepreneurs of tomorrow, but in giving children the opportunity to enjoy the fun of singing, dancing, and acting - with each other. What better way to deliver social mobility?
Rugby pupils' singing competition
THE NEW CURRICULUM LEAVES CHILDREN ILL-EQUIPPED FOR A FUTURE THAT WILL PLACE A PREMIUM ON CREATIVITY ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 119
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Moving on How independent sixth-form colleges can help with the transition to university By
Stuart Nicholson
W
hile the majority of hundreds of Year 10/11 students from independent sixthindependent schools, and I have found forms exist as that those who choose us make the part of secondary decision for range of reasons. schools, some of So, why make the switch? Often, the most successful do not. students wish for a greater degree Many 15- or 16-year-olds don’t of independence and to take more consider an alternative responsibility for their to their current school’s own learning. Secondly, sixth form but, even if many are seeking Often students wish they decide to stay where more specific support for a greater degree they are for their A-levels, in their preparation of independence those who considered for university. The other options benefitted subtle skill of the CIFE and to take more just from the looking colleges is to allow them responsibility into it. The Council for more opportunities for Independent Education independent learning (cife.org.uk) is a national whilst at the same time organisation of independent colleges to maintain unobtrusive safety rails to which specialise in preparing students, keep those who need it on track. UK and international, for university At CCSS, students find that they entrance. In my six years as Principal don’t have to choose from a limited at Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form “blocked” timetable but can choose Studies (CCSS) I have interviewed their A-Levels without restriction.
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Cambrige Centre for Sixth-Form Studies
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CCB Absolute Education Magazine 134mm x 190mm September 1st 2015
2015 EVENTS Open Day - Saturday 3rd October from 9.30am Sixth Form Information Evening
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Sat 19th September 9:30-12:00 13+ Taster Day Tuesday 29th September 11+ Taster Day Tuesday 6th October Tel: 01491 683500 enquiries@oratory.co.uk www.oratory.co.uk The Oratory School, Woodcote, South Oxfordshire RG8 0PJ
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Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies
Our timetable is not constrained by having teachers who are also having to teach younger age groups, and the teachers themselves are focused on teaching at the higher levels. This makes it easier for them to push students to go beyond the syllabus and investigate their subjects in greater depth. This focus also means that they can offer excellent and upto-date advice on choice of degree subjects, where to apply and about the UCAS process generally. A further benefit is that CIFE colleges offer a wider range of subjects. For example, in recent years we’ve had students taking A-Levels in Dutch and Portuguese, graphic design and textiles, as well as all the familiar high-entry subjects. Unsurprisingly, college students do enjoy a more informal and less
THE OBJECTIVE? TO GET STUDENTS READY TO START UNIVERSITY RATHER THAN READY TO FINISH SCHOOL
CLASSES AT SIXTHFORM COLLEGES ARE TYPICALLY HALF THE SIZE OF THOSE IN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
institutional atmosphere, but this doesn’t preclude an ethos of hard work and a demanding syllabus. Rather, the aim is to guide students to develop the passionate and selfmotivated attitude towards their learning that will be vital when academic demands increase further at university.
With class sizes typically half that found in independent schools, studies are intensive and rigorous, delving deeply into the intricacies of chosen subjects. At CCSS, our average class size is five, and with a contact time per week up to 7½ hours per subject, the learning environment is ideal. Most pupils also embrace the chance to mix with different types of people. Many will have been with the same cohort since they were 11 or 13 years old – or perhaps even younger. In college, they will get to know students from different countries as well as different backgrounds. Recent research has shown that studying alongside overseas students yields lifelong benefits and we can see that starting in the A-Level classroom. The study of economics or politics, for example, has a keener edge when global events are occurring in a fellow student’s home country. Studying with a different set of students and teachers can also help create new approaches. Exposure to fresh opinions and engaging with people with different ideas and ways of working gives students an opportunity to develop their own views and attitudes. In a personal sense, not just an academic one, students recognise that success at university depends on a mature self-determination and that being over-supervised is no better preparation for life than for university. The care of and support for our students is age-appropriate but neither heavy-handed nor overbearing. Crucially, they are encouraged as far as possible to think carefully about all the important decisions they are now making for themselves. The objective? To get students ready to start university rather than ready to finish school. Stuart Nicholson is the principal at the Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies, Chairman of the Council of Independent Education and Executive Council Member of the Independent Schools Association ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 123
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Open Morning for entry at 7+, 8+ and 9+ Saturday 3 October 9.30 – 12 noon
Open Afternoon for entry at 7+, 8+ and 9+ Thursday 5 November 1.30 – 3.15pm No appointment is necessary. Entrance on Hunts Slip Road. Mid-week visits are also available by appointment. Please call Junior Admissions on 020 8299 8432 or email junioradmissions@dulwich.org.uk.
London’s dedicated special needs tutoring and educational consultancy • Private Tuition • Classroom Support • Holiday Tutors
Open Morning for Year 7 entry Saturday 10 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.
020 8533 0676 natalie@fireflyeducation.co.uk www.fireflyeducation.co.uk
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Q&A
} THE MAKING OF ME} Penelope Chilvers Q Where did you go to school and when? A I went to Tudor Hall School in Banbury from the age of 13.
What sort of school was it? A small, country school in beautiful grounds with a room we called the ballroom, where we had assembly every morning sitting on the floor. Q
A
Q
Q Who was your favourite – or most influential – teacher? A My headteacher, Mrs Blythe, was an inspiration to me. I thought I wasn‘t interested in learning until the term before my GCSEs, when she invited me into her study for a drink at the fireside, giving up that precious quiet time at the end of the day. She treated me like a grown up and we discussed my history syllabus like it was the most interesting, poignant, and relevant and subject ever. She changed my views of learning from one day to another. After she showed interest in me I was determined to do well for her.
What was your proudest achievement? A I won the art prize twice in a row. It seemed quite unachievable at the time. Q
What was the most trouble you got into? A I was often ticked off for daydreaming through lessons. We had beautiful views through the windows. Who can blame me? Q
What effect did your schooling have on your character? Did it change you? A I met life-long friends there, who run parallel creative careers: Emma Willis, shirt maker of Jermyn Street is still one of my closest friends. I recently worked on a shoot with school friend Emma Hardy, fashion photographer extraordinaire, who shot me and my family walking a pilgrimage in southern Spain for Porter Magazine, to be published in February. I think the freedom we had that came with the space and lack of structure in our weekend timetable was probably very good for a creative mind. Q
The accessories designer on her schooldays at Tudor Hall
What did you like most about the school? A There were horses at the end of the drive. I mucked out the stables and polished tack in my spare time, with the promise of a ride at the weekend.
varied and probably more rounded. They are European international children, like the ones I thought cool when I was at school. They speak three languages and have attended schools in Barcelona and London, from Fox Primary, in Notting Hill, to Stowe and Latymer Upper.
Q What is your most vivid memory of your time there? A French lessons in the music gardens, I loved learning all languages. And Halloween night. In true St Trinian’s style, Year 5 used to build a tunnel of darkness and fear for the juniors, out of mattresses and counterpanes, eyeballs and baked beans. It felt like a mile long. Very creative and probably not allowed any longer!
Were you too cool for school? The girls who lived in India or Africa seemed to have more adventurous lives. Their stories of home made my imagination run wild. Q
A
Q Would you send your own children there?
My children have had a very different schooling to me. Much more A
MY HEADTEACHER WAS AN INSPIRATION TO ME; SHE TREATED ME LIKE A GROWN UP AND MADE ME DETERMINED TO DO WELL FOR HER
Q How did it influence the person you are today? A The school seemed to appreciate that I found some subjects dull and others thrilling and helped me arrange my timetable accordingly. When I left, I knew I wanted to go to art school. I had no idea it would lead to fashion but talking to old school friends they remember that the way I put colours together is still the same: brown and blue, khaki and pink…. Certainly my love of the British countryside started here
What are you doing now? I design four collections a year and work a year in advance of it coming into store. I travel a lot for business, spending long periods at the factory in Spain working on new designs. Q
A
What are your future plans? We've opened two stores in London in the last two years; one in Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, and the latest being our new flagship store in Duke Street, Mayfair. We are also opening in Bicester Village. Q
A
How would you sum up your school days in five words? A Naughty, innocent, fun, ambitious, competitive, explorative. Q
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Ancient History As the last state school drops Greek A-Level from the curriculum, what cost the classics cull? By
Harry Mount
Y You don’t know what it’s like to be trolled – until you’ve been trolled by classics dons. That’s what happened when I wrote an article in the Daily Telegraph a few months ago bemoaning the sad decline of classics in state schools. It came on the back of the sad news that Camden School for Girls – the last comprehensive to teach Greek at A-Level – was planning to drop the subject. It could no
longer afford a teacher for the three pupils who wanted to begin Greek A-Level this autumn. And so that’s it. With barely a whimper, one of the great western European languages – a building block of civilisation, the language of Plato, Euripides and Pericles – disappears from the vast majority of British schools. What a tragedy, I wrote, that, from now on, Greek will be restricted to pupils at grammar schools and people like me, from the richest seven per cent of children, who can afford to go to private school. And then the classicists came for me. A classics teacher at Durham Sixth Form Centre predicted my next book would be “bowel-achingly derivative”. One classics student at King’s College London called me an “antediluvian ape”.
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Without classics would an art history student recognise this? The School of Athens. The fresco of the 16th century in one of the rooms of Raphael (Stanze di Raffaello) in the Vatican Museum
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Odyssey
Ancient Greece in the Footsteps of Odysseus, by Harry Mount, published by Bloomsbury
Tablet of Cebes (Socrates disciple) old illustration. Created by Merian and Valintin after Cebes, published on Magasin Pittoresque, Paris, 1844
And my old Oxford tutor, Professor Edith Hall, called me a “classical Luddite” and a “privileged and privately educated snob”. I certainly am privileged and privately educated. And that was my point – it’s deeply unfair that only people like me now have access to those privileges. “It’s woeful that there’s such a divide between the private and the public sector when it comes to
classics,” says Philip Womack, a classics tutor and writer. “It risks making the subject the preserve of an elite, when it should be open to all. The texts that founded our literature, civilization and democracies should not be unreadable in their originals to all but a few.” It never used to be like that. Christopher Pelling, the Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford, studied classics at Cardiff High School half
a century ago. You can’t study Greek at A-Level at Cardiff High School any more – once a grammar school, it’s now a comprehensive. The chances of a teenage Christopher Pelling now becoming Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford are rare to vanishing. Why is that such a bad thing? My critics argue that the rigorous study of languages has been successfully replaced by large numbers of pupils and undergraduates doing classical civilisation. Certainly it’s better to have some classics than none. But I’d say – and I can’t prove it – that rigorous language study has been replaced by not so rigorous general classical studies. I have talked to lots of classics students – and tutored several, too. Bright as they are, the expectations of them are lower than in my generation – I am 43 – and in Christopher Pelling’s. Except in the best private schools, which still maintain a classical tradition. “I think it’s desperately sad that no state school pupils will be sitting A level Greek, and ever fewer will be
IT’S WOEFUL THAT THERE'S SUCH A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 129
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Founded in 1855, one of the country’s leading independent co-educational day and boarding schools. Located in a unique 85 acre parkland setting just 30 minutes from central London.
Open Morning Saturday 3rd October 2015
Epsom College is delighted to announce the opening of the Lower School in September 2016 for 11+ entry For more information please contact: admissions@epsomcollege.org.uk 1 08/09/2015 T: 0137217:48 821234 www.epsomcollege.org.uk
Cranmore School A4 Half Page STEW.pdf
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Pupil studying Sanskrit at St James Senior Girls’ School, the only school in the country to offer Sanskrit at GCSE and A-Level
I FEAR IT IS ABOUT EVER-CREEPING UTILITARIANISM IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM sitting A level Latin,” says Will OrrEwing, whose company, Keystone Tutors, teaches around 1,000 hours of Latin and Greek, largely to independent school pupils, every year, “I fear that it has more to say about the ever-creeping utilitarianism in our education system than it does about a ‘drop in standards’: Mandarin and Coding are the curriculum darlings these days.” But classics still matters – and it will always matter. “How short-sighted it is to see classics as irrelevant,” said Woody Webster, of Bright Young Things, one of London’s biggest tutoring companies, which teaches classics to over 100 pupils a year. “It’s the basis of western European civilisation – and it’s still much respected in the greatest universities and by the best employers.” Classics is the beginning of things: of tragedy, comedy, the novel, classical architecture, philosophy, science… The list goes on. It’s not just the beginning; it goes on informing the middle and end of things. Recently, the critic Brian Sewell wrote about how younger art historians are hamstrung by not knowing Biblical and classical references. Without an understanding of those two vital crutches, the study of most art up until the early 20th century becomes one great void. Without some classical knowledge, you’re forced to concentrate on the shallow veneer of now; a crust that floats free of the thick sediment of the 3,000 or so years that came before. “I feel very strongly that all my pupils of all abilities benefited hugely from being taught classics,” says
Georgia Powell, a classics teacher in prep schools, public schools and at a large, state-maintained academy school. “I have taught extremely able pupils who liked nothing more than to construct a sentence using the pluperfect subjunctive. And I have taught classes for pupils with special needs, where we explored mythology and decoded the Greek alphabet.” “In all cases, I felt that the children benefited hugely, both linguistically and culturally. It made them more confident with learning languages as a whole and gave them a better understanding of English grammar. It gave them immense pride that they could do what is regarded as a ‘hard’ subject. Those of a more scientific/ mathematical bent enjoyed the structure of the language, while
those who leaned towards literature and language were also inspired.” Classics is such a flexible, fundamental subject that it can be taught in all sorts of ways. I completely understand that not everyone will want – or be able – to study the subject at its most rigorous. But it is staggeringly unfair only to offer the soft option in state schools – and retain the difficult stuff, including ancient Greek A-Level, for a small elite. Is it any wonder that that this elite runs the country and is represented in massively disproportionate quantities in the law, academia and the media? That wicked state of affairs will continue for ever, as long as a high-minded, vital subject is considered irrelevant - and restricted to a lucky few.
CRITIC BRIAN SEWELL RECENTLY WROTE ABOUT HOW YOUNGER ART HISTORIANS ARE HAMSTRUNG BY NOT KNOWING BIBLICAL AND CLASSICAL REFERENCES ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 131
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Education for life
Scholars and bursahips ri available es
At Bethany we inspire, encourage and challenge our pupils to achieve more than they ever thought possible.
Open Mornings: Saturday 26th September 2015 Wednesday 7th October 2015 Come and see what Bethany can do for your child.
Entrance Assessments for 2016:
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I would not be who I am today without Bethany. The teachers are always prepared to go the extra mile; I have made lifelong friends and as Joint Head of School I was delighted to be able to give something back to everyone who has helped me.
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Luke Shaw, Bethany pupil 2008-2015. Joint Head of School 2014-2015.
Year 7 – Saturday 7th November 2015 Year 9 – Saturday 16th January 2016
Contact Us: 01580 211273 or registrar@bethanyschool.org.uk www.bethanyschool.org.uk Goudhurst, Kent TN17 1LB Co-educational day and boarding school for ages 11-18.
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F E AT U R E
MOTHER TONGUE Absolutely Education reports on the UK’s first English-Mandarin bilingual nursery By
Amanda Constance
W
hen a friend bought Mandarin flash cards for her nanny to brandish in front of her dribbling toddler, I thought she was mad. But go onto the internet and you will see she is not alone; Mandarin flash cards, printable pdfs, downloadable apps – they are all there at the click of a button, every tool needed to turn your pre-school child into a worldbeating Sinologue before their fifth birthday. The government announced last year that it’s putting Mandarin on the national curriculum and training 1,200 more teachers in the language by the end of the decade. Independent schools are ahead of the state sector, with many now including Mandarin either within the curriculum or offered as an extra-curricular activity.
You can turn your preschooler into a worldbeating Sinologue before their fifth birthday
But Mandarin for toddlers? Do parents really want their infants mastering what is now the world’s most spoken language before they are out of nappies? The people behind the UK’s first bilingual Mandarin-English day nursery certainly think so. Hatching Dragons, housed in a church hall round the corner from the Barbican, opened in May. It is much like any other nursery except the staff are predominantly Chinese and they employ a 50:50 split between English and Mandarin when speaking to the children. Hatching Dragons is the brainchild of educational consultant Cennydd John. He had the idea for the nursery when he was looking for childcare for his young son. “I started thinking about what I would value in a nursery environment. I’d been to China, studied at a Chinese university but then I’d struggled with the language ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 133
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since. And so it dawned on me that having an immersion experience between the ages of nought and five would be a way for my son to pick up Mandarin immediately and naturally.” Mandarin is not ‘taught’ at Hatching Dragons, there is no hot-housing or formal lessons, the idea is that the toddlers will simply pick it up through exposure at a young age. The school claims that their “bilingual approach and intercultural focus will see your baby far exceed what is typically expected in child development.” In addition to
Setting up a Mandarin venture in London is very exciting
this, the school focuses on Chinese traditions such as calligraphy and maths taught with an abacus. They even provide lessons in Tai Chi to prepare tots for lunch breaks spent in parks, inhaling deeply and meditating on the stock market. This is nothing new. Many nurseries in London offer the same experience with French or German. And well-heeled families have long hired nannies who speak a foreign language for their young families. Charles Bonas, founder of blue-chip educational consultancy Bonas MacFarlane says they are placing more and more Mandarin speaking nannies with families, particularly in Singapore and Hong Kong where the family’s mother tongue is English or Cantonese. The most obvious reason for Mandarin to be in vogue is that as Chinese reaches economic superpower status parents want to give their children the edge in a competitive world. Nearly 17% of the planet’s population are
native Mandarin speakers, English speakers come in at 5%. Native French speakers? They barely scrape in at 1%. In many ways, the UK is behind the curve on offering English-Mandarin bilingual nurseries, there are already more than 180 in the US. One of the biggest advantages of learning Mandarin young is that it gets much harder when you are older. Mandarin is a tonal language, the same word can have different meanings if spoken with different intonations. This can be very challenging, says Li Jing, one of Hatching Dragon’s nursery staff, “We have four tones, so it’s quite different to English. But I don’t think it’s too much of a problem for the children.” There is also evidence that a bilingual upbringing delivers huge cognitive benefits which is what attracted Alexandra Brown to the nursery. “My daughter might not necessarily end up speaking Mandarin but that ability to cope with two languages will stay with her. It’s the cognitive toolkit. If she ends up speaking fluent Mandarin by the time she’s a teenager? Wow, that would be amazing. But I think that might be a little bit optimistic.” Charles Bonas strikes a similar note of caution. “The idea that Mandarin will give you the edge in a competitive world just might be a sideshow – we have the most competitive school entry system in the world and that is tested in English.” That said, Bonas knows well the difficulties faced by Western entrepreneurs in China and how much value the Chinese place on foreigners attempting their native tongue “so bringing the mountain to Mohammed and setting up a Mandarin venture in London is very exciting.” hatching-dragons.com
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North or South? We’ve got it covered
Our new compact London guides are available in ‘North’ and ‘South’ editions and come with over 200 full colour illustrations in each volume. Order now from our website: www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk
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Q&A
Read Right Year group recommended reading lists, created by schools for parents and pupils, can be an essential tool to encourage a love of words By
M
otivating children to read is simple. Sometimes it can take that one book to hook them in, capture their imagination and set them off on a lifelong journey through books. Simple in theory, but in practice seeking out that book – finding the right subject matter, age-appropriate vocabulary, as well as the complexity of language used – can be challenging for teachers as well as parents. That’s where reading lists can help – allowing teachers and school librarians to provide suggestions by year group to
Lovereading4schools
parents, to encourage children to read at home for pleasure. According to recent research undertaken by the National Literacy Trust, “Children and young people who read daily outside class are five times more likely to read above the expected level for their age compared with young people who never read outside class.” Many schools already use paperbased reading lists, but they can be time consuming to maintain and keep up-todate, let alone keep current with so many new books being published each year and others going out of print. A fast-growing alternative to traditional paper reading
lists is Lovereading4schools. This free-to-use online resource takes away the hassle of maintaining paper lists and provides schools with direct access to tools to create their own online lists to then share with parents. They can choose to set up their own lists using the site tools, or use those provided by Lovereading4schools, which are grouped by school year for children in reception through to year 9. Special categories for reluctant and dyslexic readers also feature, as do themed reading lists. Lists can be used at face value or edited by the school to suit their requirements.
THE LISTS ARE REFRESHED ANNUALLY, READY FOR THE START OF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR 136 | AU T UMN / W INTER
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The GDST difference
Composed, confident, committed and courageous girls - that’s the GDST difference. To find out more go to www.gdst.net gdst.net twitter.com/gdst facebook.com/thegdst
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GDST schools and academies outside London The Belvedere Academy, Liverpool Birkenhead High School Academy Brighton & Hove High School Howell’s School, Llandaff Ipswich High School for Girls Newcastle High School for Girls Northampton High School Norwich High School for Girls Nottingham Girls’ High School Oxford High School Portsmouth High School The Royal High School, Bath Sheffield High School Shrewsbury High School 26/08/2015 14:26:12 28/08/2015 17:48
The Roche School An Ofsted Outstanding independent co-ed primary and nursery school just off Putney Bridge Road. Clear teaching and small class sizes ensure pupils develop their academic, sporting and artistic talents in a lively, friendly atmosphere.
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F E AT U R E
“RATHER THAN ME CHOOSING A BOOK I THINK HE WOULD LIKE, WE LOOK TOGETHER FROM HOME AT BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR HIS AGE”
But what makes the lists unique is they are overseen by Julia Eccleshare, MBE, children’s book editor for The Guardian and Lovereading’s very own Children’s Books Editor. The lists are refreshed annually, ready for the start of the new school year, perfect timing for capturing that ‘back to school’ enthusiasm in parents and pupils and to help guide them throughout the year.
The books on the lists, some of them award winners, are highly rated by the Lovereading4kids editorial experts and in some instances by our kids’ reader review panel members. As well as a review by a children’s book expert, a lot of the books have opening extracts that can be freely downloaded. Finally, parents can browse, review, assess and purchase from home – at discounted rates of up to 25%. As one parent said:
THE BOOKS ON THE LISTS, SOME OF THEM AWARD WINNERS, ARE HIGHLY RATED BY THE LOVEREADING4KIDS EDITORIAL EXPERTS AND OUR KIDS’ READER REVIEW PANEL MEMBERS
“Lovereading4schools has really helped my son get into reading. Rather than me choosing a book I think he would like, we have been able to look together from home at books recommended for his age, and choose something that has caught his interest. Being able to read an extract and a review has helped too and it’s great to see him freely choosing to read more in his own time.” To date, over 8,000 schools are signed up to Lovereading4schools and have benefited from the 5% back in Lovereading vouchers from all purchases made by parents. One such school is The Schools at Somerhill in Kent. The school’s Lovereading4school’s page is an integral part of the library, with the English department as well as the librarian, collaborating to put together reading lists. She says: “We are fortunate in having a spacious, well stocked library. It has always been an integral part of the school and is popular in large part because of the teachers’ weekly class library sessions. However, changes in technology have been beneficial too, with the library catalogue and the Lovereading4schools reading lists accessible to the pupils and parents on-line. Over the past five years I’m sure these advances have contributed to the 101% increase in our reading for pleasure issues.” MORE INFO
To register your school, visit lovereading4schools.co.uk
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Experience an education in one of the world’s most vibrant and exciting university cities Boarding and day places from 11+, 13+ and 16+
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PROMOTION
Alpha Plus Group
A
THE GOLD STANDARD IN EDUCATIONAL PROVISION
lpha Plus Group was founded in 1931 and today consists of 14 schools and nurseries and four sixth form colleges throughout the UK, which include Wetherby School, Wetherby Preparatory School and Pembridge Hall School. Alpha Plus Group stands for the Gold Standard in educational provision. We provide first class learning which enables our children and young people to achieve their full potential in a challenging yet secure and caring environment. Our teaching combines the best of traditional and modern methods and provides access to the latest classroom technology. We have recently experienced a very busy and exciting period with new locations for many of our schools and colleges. This has been undertaken in conjunction with the continued enhancement of the quality of our educational offering and facilities across the Group, including the development of new charitable and community initiatives.
Some of these exciting changes are described below: DLD College London has relocated to brand new, purpose-built premises in the heart of London, opposite the Houses of Parliament. Its new home, in a contemporary building, provides state of the art academic facilities on the first three floors, with secure student accommodation located on the floors directly above the college. The college offers a unique alternative to traditional school life, by maintaining a strong academic ethos while preparing students for University. The prestigious Wetherby Group, which currently includes Wetherby School and Wetherby Preparatory School, is further expanding to offer boys’ senior education. Wetherby Senior School opens this September at the premises previously occupied by DLD College in Marylebone. Wetherby Senior School is an academically rigorous boys’ senior school, which focuses on traditional curriculum subjects. The aim is for boys to apply and transfer to Russell
WE PROVIDE FIRST CLASS LEARNING WHICH ENABLES OUR CHILDREN TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL Group universities in the UK as well as Ivy League in the U.S. and notable universities across the globe. Wetherby Senior School will complete the Gold Standard offering of education in the Wetherby Group from 2 ½ - 18 years. Chepstow House School has recently relocated to a magnificent building on Lancaster Road in Notting Hill. The school is now growing to accommodate a 3 form entry from Reception to year 6 with a further option available to continue at the school for years 7 and
8. Chepstow House has also opened a co-education nursery provision on-site called ‘Little Chepstow Nursery’. The Falcons School for Girls secured a new location at Woodborough Road in Putney and opened in September 2014. The school is a non-selective independent school for girls aged three to eleven. The school is founded on academic excellence, creativity and lifelong learning, and enjoys a growing reputation for being ‘London’s Most Creative Preparatory School’. At the school, girls enjoy an optimal learning environment with specialist facilities and state of the art touch screens in every classroom. To discover more about Alpha Plus Group, our nurseries, schools and colleges and to learn more about our Gold Standard education, please visit our website at alphaplusgroup.co.uk ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 141
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Queen’s Gate School offers girls a warm, supportive environment, where individuality is nurtured, and academic standards are high. Academic, Art, Drama, Music and Sports Scholarships, and means-tested bursaries worth up to 100% of fees, are available to assist girls to join us. For a prospectus, or to make a private visit to the School, please contact the Registrar, Miss Janette Micklewright, on 020 7594 4982 or email, registrar@queensgate.org.uk. Queen’s Gate School, 133 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 5LE www.queensgate.org.uk QUEENSGATE SENIOR.indd 1
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Open Evening: Wednesday, 7th October from 4.00pm – 7.00pm
Catholic Day and Boarding School for girls aged 11 to 18 • Experience teaching the IB Diploma for over 35 years • Exclusive pre-IB Middle Years Programme • Nurture and support: girls gain excellent results • Places achieved at top Universities worldwide
• Scholarships and bursaries available • Multilingualism: up to 9 languages taught • Internationalism: over 40 nationalities, yet one shared mission • All faiths welcome
Please contact: admissions@marymountlondon.com www.marymountlondon.com Tel: 020 8949 0571 George Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 7PE. MARYMOUNT.indd 1
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The team of editorial experts at Lovereading4kids has selected books to inspire a generation.
A b s o lu t e l y E d u c a t i o n
TOP BOOKS Children’s
For Au t u m n
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LLY ONS
Review
T The team of experts at Lovereading4kids.co.uk has selected books to inspire a generation. A veritable feast of wonderful books all published this autumn and for children of every age and taste. Comedian, entertainer and ‘national trinket’ Julian Clary turns out to be a talented children’s writer, Derek Landy who created the massive bestselling series, Skulduggery Pleasant has come up with a brand new series for teens whilst fans of Pippi Longstocking will devour the simply stunning Miss Pettifour. Current Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell has surpassed himself in visual invention, wit and literary jokes galore with a new Goth Girl novel and if you love pugs then Pugs of the Frozen North will be for you. For teens, there’s a beautifully told and utterly gripping story of conjoined twins and for those teens who love The Arabian Nights, there’s a unique novel that will haunt readers long after the final page is turned.
ORIGINAL, FUNNY, TRUE, IT CAN ONLY BE PATRICK NESS
The Wolf Wilder
Must Read
Longbow Girl
T
by LINDA DAVIES
his is a romance, in the old fashioned sense of the word, a story full of marvels and heroic deeds. For centuries Merry Owen’s family have bred ponies in the Welsh mountains, but the farm is under threat, not least from their neighbours the aristocratic De Courcys. The discovery of a treasure trove offers a chance to save the farm, but it’s linked to old rivalries, and ancient magic it seems. Action-packed, with wonderfully vivid descriptions of landscape, ponies, history and longbows, this thrilling novel will set readers’ hearts racing! W 11+
A THRILLING NOVEL TO SET READER’S HEARTS RACING
W
by KATHERINE RUNDELL
Rest of Us Just Live Here
D
by PATRICK NESS
aring, beautifully written, full of ideas that will bring the reader up short this is a dystopian teen/young adult adventure that mocks dystopian adventures while acknowledging the genre’s power to reveal truths, particularly about teenage lives. Original, funny, true, it can only be Patrick Ness. W Teen
olves, wildness and freedom are at the heart of this thrilling story. Wolf wilders are employed to reintroduce wolves, unfortunate enough to be brought up as pets in rich households, back into the wild, and they’re easy to spot: they’ll be missing a piece of finger, the lobe of an ear, a toe or two. Feo and her mother are wolf wilders and this is their adventure. Original, beautifully written, and full of scenes and ideas that will excite and inspire young readers. W 9+
R E C OM M E N DAT ION
One
by SARAH CROSSAN Award-winning Sarah Crossan tells an astonishing and difficult story with the surest of touches in this tender, funny and lifeaffirming book. Grace and Tippi are twins. Not just twins but conjoined twins, sharing the lower half of
their bodies. Somehow they have always managed to be individuals while also part of each other. Now teenagers, Tippi and Grace are facing new experiences and especially new friendships and relationships. While Tippi longs for things to remain the same, Grace yearns for something more. An original and utterly gripping story, brilliantly told. W Teen
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Review
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inspiring independent minds
A leading boarding and day school for girls aged 11-18, offering an outstanding all-round education.
Come to an Open Morning: Saturday 3 October Friday 13 November Scholarships available at 11+, 13+ & 16+ Daily Transport Available
T: 01747 857111 or visit www.st-marys-shaftesbury.co.uk ST MARYS SHAFTSBURY.indd 1
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03/09/2015 18:12
08/09/2015 16:46
Review
MUST READ
“HE SOON TEAMS UP WITH A GIRL DESPERATELY SEEKING DOGS TO PULL HER GRANDPA’S SLED.”
MANGO & BAMBANG
The Not-a-Pig By Polly Faber
B
& Clara Vulliamy
ambang the tapir makes his way from the jungle to the big city where he is lucky enough to be found by Mango, a very capable little girl. Though by nature he’s rather timid, she looks after him beautifully, showing him automatic doors and ice cream and trams and other wonderful things. There’s something of Paddington about Bambang – he has the same sort of innocence and a similar potential for causing mayhem! These stories already feel like little classics, and children will love them. W 5+
“THERE’S SOMETHING OF PADDINGTON ABOUT BAMBANG”
Pugs of the Frozen North By Philip Reeve
& Sarah McIntyre
A cabin boy finds himself completely alone, except for 64 little pugs, part of the ship’s cargo! He soon teams up with a girl desperately seeking dogs to pull her grandpa’s sled in the Race to the Top of the World. The eccentric competitors mean there’s something of the Wacky Races about all of this, but amongst the crazy and very entertaining scenes there are surprising notes of poignancy. W 7+
R E C OM M E N DAT ION
Goth Girl & the Wuthering Fright by Chris Riddell
Opening this book is like opening a treasure box. With its gorgeous metallic edges and golden detail it certainly looks like one, and inside are riches! A treat for readers of all ages, and don’t miss the cameo appearance by the author himself, aka Sir Christopher Riddle-of-the Sphinx RA, well-known illustrator of literary dog shows and founder of the Arts and Crufts movement. Sublime! W 7+
The Bolds
by JULIAN CLARY Clary’s first book for children, is a real treat – a funny story with a ludicrous but hugely enjoyable plotline, lots of jokes, some nail-biting moments and wonderful characters.
The Bolds live happily in Teddington where Mrs Bold sells hats and Mr Bold writes the jokes for Christmas crackers, jobs for which they are perfectly suited. Hardly anyone knows they are actually hyenas! A very special book with illustrations that are a joy to behold. W 9+
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This is your Experience
Down to Earth, caring and vibrant co-ed Nursery and Prep school just 45 minutes from Victoria and London Bridge. For a private tour please call our registrar on 01444 483528. www.greatwalstead.co.uk GREAT WALSTEAD.indd 1
14/07/2015 14:41
ST MARY’S CALNE A TOP INDEPENDENT BOARDING & DAY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AGED 11-18
“What a wonderfully nurturing and exciting environment you and your staff have created at St Mary’s. I can see why the girls thrive in such a lovely place.” Prospective parent
Tel: 01249 857200 ST MARYS COLNE.indd 1
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Contact: admissions@stmaryscalne.org www.stmaryscalne.org St Mary’s Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DF 14/07/2015 14:30
08/09/2015 16:47
Review
R E C OM M E N DAT ION
DEMON ROAD
B
By DEREK LANDY
uckle up, because you are in for a hell of a ride! Amber’s parents reveal on her 16th birthday that they are demons, and so is she. Not that that will stop them from killing and eating her. Fleeing her parents, Amber embarks on a road-trip like no other, careering from one terrifying encounter with something nasty and dead to another. Readers will be laughing out loud one minute, jumping out of the seat the next: hard to believe that something this gory should be so much fun! Unmissable! W Teen
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
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By RICK RIORDAN
his author’s unerring ability to reach readers - including those generally described as reluctant - is evident in his new series featuring Magnus Chase. Once again, just as he did with Percy Jackson, he takes ancient myths as inspiration and with it, flawed gods, epic battles and larger than life stories, Norse mythology provides brilliant source material. The writing is concise, punchy, spiced with humour and the adventure is unbeatable! W +13
The Boy at the Top of the Mountain
By JOHN BOYNE Bestselling John Boyne returns to the Second World War for The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, the story of the transformation of Pierrot, an orphan who goes to live with
his aunt at Berghof, the mountain retreat of Hitler. In a story which echoes The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, John Boyne tells a sad and moving story about how gradually and stealthily a young child is changed by his contact with power. W +13
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Psychometric profiling is increasingly being used in the education arena By
Amanda Constance
You’ve taken my soul and put it into a book.” So said a Year 10 girl on reading the results of her psychometric profile. Having read the 38 pages (yes, that’s 38) of computer-generated self-analysis produced when I completed my own profile – the Insights Discovery Personal Profile, no less – I find it hard to disagree with the sentiment. I dashed off 25 multiple choice questions in 10 minutes – what I got back was page after page of my inner workings laid bare. Not always 100% accurate but mostly on the nail and eerily prescient. In schools, psychometric profiling is on the up – it’s long been used in the corporate sector – but it is now being increasingly used in the education sector.
At the HMC annual conference earlier this year (the Headmaster’s and Headmistress’s Conference is the association of leading independent schools), headmaster Jon Reid from Larbert High School described the extraordinary successes his school achieved after using a psychometric evaluator to improve pupil performance. Colfe’s School in south-east London uses psychometric profiling for its Year 11s to help make career and university choices and there are a number of educational consultancies on the web offering
SCHOOLS ARE USING PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILING TO HELP YEAR 11S MAKE CAREER AND UNIVERSITY CHOICES
profiling to enhance your child’s learning. Ian Wigston, the co-founder of Bright Field Consulting, uses the Insights Discovery Profile, a psychometric evaluator built around the personality models originally developed by Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung. The Insights model is based around a colour wheel of four personality types: the extroverts Fiery Red and Sunshine Yellow; and the introverts Cool Blue and Earth Green. Each personality has many variations, strengths and weaknesses. For example, on a good day a Fiery Red personality can be strong-minded and purposeful, on a bad day they might be controlling and aggressive. As Wigston puts it, “the Insights Discovery Profile is a questionnaire which uses 25 bits of data to come
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up with a picture of the individual”. The “craft of it” is that, despite being entirely created by clever algorithms and tech wizardry, its ‘voice’ is very human. You feel like you have sat down with an eminent psychologist. Bright Field Consulting works with school leadership teams, particularly if there are new team members. As Wigston says, the profile “gives us a picture of the DNA of the team”. This can help greatly with improving efficiencies and performance. It is important work: there is more burnout in the teaching profession these days than in any other, apart from foreign exchange brokers. Wigston should know, he used to be a banker. The Insights profile can also help school children. Using the Insights Young Adult Profile for 15-year-olds plus, can, for example give “us a
picture of why they might struggle with certain subjects,” says Wigston. They have worked successfully with a variety of schools, including Thornhill Community Academy, the school featured in Educating Yorkshire and the Woodard Corporation, which numbers Lancing College and Ardingly College amongst its independent schools. Where it gets really interesting is the work Bright Field has done with both the teachers and the students in the same school. By gaining a psychological understanding of both, they have come up with
IT GETS REALLY INTERESTING WHEN BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN THE SAME SCHOOL ARE PROFILED
some interesting ideas, not least that, in some cases, so-called bad behaviour in class or lack of academic attainment are sometimes because of a mismatch between teaching styles and students. Certain personalities learn in certain ways. As Wigston says: “If we work only with the leadership team or only with students – we can deliver that part of the equation – but if we work on both then we can say, this is how the pedagogy could be, in order to effect better results.” But before every pushy parent runs out to get their child profiled, take note. Wigston says that using a psychometric profile “is only one way of enabling a conversation to take place”. It should only be used in conjunction with coaching or guidance for that individual. Trust me, if you go down this route, you want somebody holding your hand. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 151
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Snows Ride, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6PF Tel: 01276 472115 www.woodcotehouseschool.co.uk
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Outstanding boarding in the heart of York
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OPINION
} TALKING HEAD } Andrew Johnson The headmaster of Stonyhurst College in Lancashire on the place of religion in a modern education
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eligion in education all too often gets a bad press. Critics argue that it has no place in schools, which should be ‘neutral’ – free from the intolerance, extremism and illiberalism which, they say, religion engenders. Faith is irrelevant in everyday life, they claim: keep it in church for the few who attend. In a pluralist and diverse society, religion offers only segregation and ignorance. On the contrary: religious education is more important now than it has probably ever been. Religious education emphasises respect for others, regardless of their beliefs, race or social status. In our diverse society, children need an understanding of other principal religions and other world views. In teaching about the beliefs and traditions of other people, the subject promotes discernment and enables pupils to combat prejudice. Such tolerance is vital in today’s divided world. Too often, it is assumed that religious education is hijacked as a sinister means of indoctrination; of imposing a set of beliefs upon children. Of course, we are all the product of our environments, absorbing the views and traditions of our families, schools and communities. Education, however, is by definition about intellectual enlightenment, concerned with opening minds, not closing them. Even in faith schools, which promote the tenets and values of a particular religion, pupils are encouraged to question rather than to accept passively any given creed. The majority of faith
schools do not teach from one single faith perspective, but incorporate an element of comparison between religions. Far from being self-regarding, segregated institutions which deepen division, faith schools encourage openness to others, emphasising that the thing we all have in common is our humanity, which is of infinite value. While they acknowledge and promote the desirability of faith as an important feature of the human person, they also welcome those who do not share that faith. It’s not about indoctrination or forcing anyone to believe anything: such schools facilitate tolerance rather than preach against it.
HOW CAN CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THIS COUNTRY’S CULTURAL HERITAGE WITHOUT A KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIANITY?
CHILDREN NEED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEANING OF LIFE Without religious education, how can children acquire a knowledge of Christianity, the religion which has played such a central part in this country’s cultural heritage? Any study of literature, history, or art is impoverished without an understanding of this context. Children also need the opportunity to discuss challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, and what it is to be human; about death; about why people believe in God; the difference between right and wrong. Religious education is perhaps one curricular subject which asks more questions than it answers. It is only when young people have grappled with these enormous questions that they can begin to make sense of what they themselves believe and think. As education becomes increasingly utilitarian, viewed often as a means merely of contributing to a skills-based economy, religious education can encourage pupils to think, and to develop their own sense of identity. My own school is a Catholic, Jesuit school and strives to live up to the following description: ‘A Jesuit school should be a place where people are believed in, honoured and cared for; where natural talents and abilities are recognised and celebrated; where individual contributions and accomplishments are appreciated; where everyone is treated fairly and justly; where sacrifice on behalf of the economically poor, the socially deprived, and the educationally disadvantaged is commonplace; where each of us finds the challenge, encouragement and support we need to reach our fullest individual potential for excellence; where we help one another and work together with enthusiasm and generosity, attempting to model concretely in word and action the ideals we uphold’. These are high ideals, and as a school we try our best to live up to them, for the benefit of our pupils, who thrive when they are cared about, encouraged and supported. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 153
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WHAT MATTERS MOST? An acclaimed researcher and author wonders why we are still not teaching children what they really need to learn By
Professor Bill Lucas
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et me start with a question. What do you want for your children in their life? Happiness? To obtain a fulfilling job if they want one? To find a loving partner? Enough material success to be free from anxiety? To become a kind and generous person? Or some blend of these? When we wrote Educating Ruby: What our Children Really Need to Learn, Guy Claxton and I imagined that most parents would want all of these things and more. More than this, we assumed that all schools would want to support these broad
aims. Indeed in the independent sector, with its tradition of developing the whole person, we assumed that we would find an unambiguous commitment to the creation of character. We were wrong. While there are many outstanding examples of great schools doing just this – Gordonstoun, Wellington, Frensham Heights and Godolphin & Latymer are just four examples – the general picture is much less positive. We heard too many girls and boys tell us that the pressure to succeed in exams – from Common Entrance to A-Levels – trumped the development of character.
Pupils at Bromley High School
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We listened to young men and women reflecting on the stress of exams. We found parents who found themselves being forced to buy into a view of education they did not even like. Why have we reached this state of affairs? Headteachers tell us it is mainly because of the pressure for university places and employment in an increasingly competitive world. And they are right. Despite the best intentions of good teachers and good schools, the gravitational pull of the exam system exerts so much force that the character curriculum is sidelined as the great scramble for certificates takes over. Do you remember Willy Russell’s play and film Educating Rita? In our book Educating Ruby we imagine that Rita has a grandchild and she is now going to your child’s school. We use our fictional Ruby as an example of the kind of student we’d like schools to be developing. As the result of her schooling, Ruby develops seven important capabilities. Each of them begins with the letter C for ease of memorising: confidence, curiosity, collaboration, communication, creativity, commitment and craftsmanship. These are our 7Cs. So how should schools go about developing these capabilities and how would you know if they were doing it well? Here are five things which need to be in place at your child’s school:
WE ASSUMED WE WOULD FIND COMMITMENT TO THE CREATION OF CHARACTER IN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS. WE WERE WRONG. TOO OFTEN WE FOUND EXAM PRESSURE TRUMPED EVERYTHING
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Experience Millfield Prep at our Open Day on Saturday 3 October
Mathematician Flautist Tennis Player millfieldschool.com/everyfield
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“Be yourself” Maggie, pupil
3 –18 | Boarding & Day | 1 hour from London To book a place on an open morning or to arrange an individual visit, please contact Janie Jarman, Registrar. T 01730 711 733 E jjarman@bedales.org.uk
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1. Character capabilities are clearly identified
We have suggested the capabilities which Ruby will need to thrive. But schools and parents need to come to their own decisions. The Department for Education has recently been stressing the importance of resilience. The Confederation of British Industry, the CBI, has added its powerful voice by suggesting its own list, which includes grit, self-control, curiosity, enthusiasm, confidence, creativity, good manners and sensitivity to global concerns. You’ll see that what employers want overlaps encouragingly with our 7Cs.
2. There is a willingness to rethink what children need to learn today
It’s not enough to allow examination syllabuses to dictate our thinking, although, for example, if a school chooses to offer the International Baccalaureate rather than A-Levels, it is clearly making a statement of intent. For as well as school subjects (and all the practically useful things like not being duped by Wikipedia, knowing how to ask for help and learning to swim) there is a really important often omitted area – learning itself. We need all children to learn how to learn, to have strategies for doing things which they have not been taught, getting unstuck when they encounter difficulty, working with others, reflecting on their progress setting goals and so forth.
beliefs. Specifically parents must have confidence that their chosen school will not buy in to the prevailing argument in the press that a good school is either one that focuses on getting good results or one that is interested in explicitly developing their learning character. This is a false opposite. Research shows that pupils who learn better also get better exam results.
4. Conversations focus on effort more than on test scores
In the last decade, largely through evidence from Stamford professor Carol Dweck, it has become clear that mindset really matters. If children believe that they can get better at something though effort and practise, then they will value hard work. And the way we can help children is not to offer generalised praise (‘Well done Guy, another A grade’) but to notice what learners actually do (‘Guy, I really liked the way you used those new words in your opening paragraph and I noticed that you stayed behind to finish your essay on time. Well done!’). When we hear our efforts and strategies praised we begin to see how we can become a more powerful learner.
3. School leaders and parents need to hold their nerve In the rush to appear at the top of school league tables in the pages of national newspapers, school leaders need to hold fast to their
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PUPILS WHO LEARN BETTER ALSO GET BETTER EXAM RESULTS
Professor Bill Lucas
WE NEED ALL CHILDREN TO LEARN HOW TO LEARN - TO HAVE STRATEGIES FOR DOING THINGS WHICH THEY HAVE NOT BEEN TAUGHT 5. Parents and teachers are clear about what they can do to develop the 7Cs
Schools which really value the 7Cs (or their chosen equivalents) talk about it. The conversations change. Teachers tell parents how Ruby’s curiosity has been piqued in her science investigation. They describe the pride and attention to detail she has shown in her design and technology project. Then, and only after they have brought your son or daughter’s learning character alive in the conversation, they tell you what grade she got. There are many practical ways in which we as parents can support the development of children’s character and schools which are really serious about this will have a ready flow of information to support parents. There is not space here to do justice to these important ideas. So, if we have piqued your interest, do please join our campaign. You’ll find regular blogs, news and comments from a wide variety of individuals. educatingruby.org ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 157
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PUKKA CHUKKA
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British Polo Day is a global polo network that showcases the best that Blighty has to offer. And that now includes our schools. Absolutely Education went to stomp some divots
T By
Jasmine Robertson
he helicopters have landed, the Taittinger has been drunk and Lord Dalmeny has whipped the audience into a post-prandial auction frenzy; the smell of money hangs heavy in the air. At last, the ponies take to the pitch. Welcome to British Polo Day. It is the day before the summer solstice and glowering skies later turn to sluicing rain. This is the home leg of the BPD tour, held at Swiss financier Urs Schwarzenbach’s Black Bears River Ground just outside Henley-On-Thames. British Polo Day is a company that showcases luxury British craftsmanship and heritage in a global polo network. Or to put it in simpler layman’s terms, the BPD founders twigged that if you mix high-class polo with the international super rich, good business gets done – in their words, “the aim of BPD is to continue the tradition of playing high quality polo against friends in host countries, while also acting as a platform for businesses in emerging and growth markets, giving them intravenous access to the global elite.” It’s a brilliant idea that started when former Household Cavalry Officer and Brit abroad Ed Olver was asked to bring over more than 50 of the Queen’s Household Cavalry Horses for The Musical Ride in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Olver’s old university pal and ex-British Army officer Tom Hudson
IF YOU MIX HIGH-CLASS POLO WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SUPER-RICH, GOOD BUSINESS GETS DONE ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 159
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Absolute Magazine (190x134)
Senior School (11 - 18) Boarding and Day Prep School (2½ - 11) Boarding and Day
I NDEPENDENT C O -E DUCATIONAL S CHOOL
First-class education in a fantastic rural location, easily accessible by road, rail and air BLUNDELLS.indd 1
Please ring 01884 252543 to arrange an individual visit Tiverton • Devon • EX16 4DN
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Educating mind, body, heart & soul ‘Excellent Academic Achievement’ ‘Excellent Pastoral Care’ ‘Excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development’ Inspectorate Report 2012
To see rst hand how we can help your daughter to ourish academically and to develop her talents – wherever they lie – and discover hidden ones, join us for an open morning or personal visit.
New Sixth Form Centre Oxbridge Success Full & Weekly Boarding Creative Thinking 01435 874642 admissions@mayeldgirls.org The Old Palace, Mayeld, East Sussex TN20 6PH
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Open Mornings: Wednesday 16 September, Friday 20 November 2015
An independent Catholic boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18
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Brompton Bicycle polo
The Hackett Cronan Cup at British Polo Day
A BPD guest meets a polo pony
was busy organising an expatriate Eton v Harrow polo match in Dubai. Realising the appetite for Britishness – albeit with a luxury leaning – in emerging markets, and the fact that the international language of the horse can bridge cultures, British Polo Day was born on a laptop in Olver’s bedroom two years later. Ben Vestey, who has polo running through his DNA, knew both Tom and Ed from Eton and the Household Cavalry respectively. He joined the team as Managing Director in 2012 and BPD has never looked back. It has since invited 12 Royal families, 100 independent billionaires and influential global business
entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Vinod Kumar and Jim Rogers, to attend the company’s 40 or so events carried across five continents. What has this got to do with education you might ask? More than you might think now that a private British education is a luxury that sits alongside owning a yacht or your own polo team as a must-have in the super-rich check list. It’s a fact not lost on super-tutors Bonas MacFarlane, one of British Polo Day's luxury sponsorship brands. For them, BPD events are great for networking and brand exposure. David Wellesley Wesley, director of Bonas Macfarlane says: 'Bonas MacFarlane Education represents and champions the British Education sector, which is admired around the world yet access and school selection is complicated. We choose to sponsor BPD to align Bonas MacFarlane with best of British exports abroad,
allowing us to build networks within and launch to new parts of the world." Co-founder Tom Hudson, whose own family have attended Eton for five generations says he’s “passionate about using the platform of BPD around the world and education is such an important part of what Britain has to offer.” One of the highlights of BPD Great Britain was the RJI Capital British Polo Schools Team taking on the Mexico Polo team. Typically for Britain, not long after they started the rain came pouring down and the likes of HH Maharaja Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur (Millfield School) and Viscount Melville (Marlborough College) had to slug it out against the de Alba family from Mexico, who proved too much for the British schools team, beating them 3-2. On the international flavour of the home team, Ed Olver said: “We’re very honoured this year to be having the Maharajah of Jaipur flying over to play. He’s a young Pacho Singh. His grandfather was a ten goal Indian player. It’s a great treat to be able to welcome him. We’re also pleased to have George Blandford, the future Duke of Marlborough.” “I think Black Bears are the top facility in the country. It’s a real privilege to hold an event with that family on such hallowed private grounds with a team as distinguished and well known as the Black Bears. It’s a real honour and I suspect it’s like playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon. It’s a jolly nice gift.”
A PRIVATE BRITISH EDUCATION IS A LUXURY THAT SITS ALONGSIDE OWNING A YACHT OR HAVING YOUR OWN POLO TEAM IN THE SUPERRICH CHECKLIST ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 161
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Join our first class independent co-educational school in Twickenham
We provide a distinctive mix of high academic standards, exceptional facilities and a caring, personalised learning environment. Find out about our exceptional school by attending one of our Open Events. SENIOR SCHOOL Saturday 3 October 2015 9.30am, 12.00pm & 2.30pm Saturday 14 November 2015 9.30am, 12.00pm & 2.30pm
SIXTH FORM Tuesday 6 October 2015 6.00-8.00pm
To attend an open event please register by visiting www.radnorhouse.org or call 020 8090 9688 Radnor House, Pope’s Villa Cross Deep, Twickenham, TW1 4QG
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Sir Jackie Stewart Lord Dalmeny runs the auction
The de Alba family arrives Ebe Sievwright and Lord Clifton Wrottesley
Jo Renwick and friend
STOMPING GOOD TIME David Leppan, Ron Wahid, Ed Olver and guests
The skies might have been low but spirits were high and the champagne flowed as British Polo Day arrived at the Black Bears Ground in Henley-on-Thames
The Harrods Green Man and Lady Violet Manners
Ben Vestey Francesca and Urs Schwarzenbach
Lady Alice Manners
Hugo Taylor, Charlie Morris and Nicholas Dellaportas
Claudia Ke
The Duke of Argyll
Lady Sascha Wrottesley
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PROMOTION
SUPPORT For Success
WHETHER LEARNING TO TYPE OR GETTING EXTRA TAILORED SUPPORT, CHILDREN FLOURISH AT THE MCLEOD CENTRE FOR LEARNING
C
hildren who struggle with reading and writing often compare their own achievement with those of their peers. They feel less intelligent, isolated and have low self-esteem. At The McLeod Centre for Learning, which has Crested accreditation, children address their learning needs within a nurturing environment, and find their way in the academic world again – or even for the first time.
Before starting, children are assessed by Specialist Teachers and an individual programme is designed. Children enrolled in the Morning School receive English (dyslexia), math (dyscalculia) and touch-typing/ handwriting (dyspraxia) lessons. Groups are no larger than three and often individual. Dependent on needs, children usually attend one to five mornings a week for usually one to three terms. The McLeod centre for Learning runs after-school
AT MCLEOD CHILDREN ADDRESS THEIR LEARNING NEEDS WITHIN A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT sessions for 5-18 years. A wide range of subjects to A-Level is offered as well as remedial handwriting, touch-typing and tutoring for 4+, 7+, 8+, 11+ and 13+ entry exams. Specialist support for dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia is also available. Their teachers, experienced in selection processes, provide interview practice for independent preparatory and senior schools. The McLeod Centre for Learning’s touch typing classes are after school and at weekends during term time. Intensive courses are run during holidays. Many children, who have already learned during a course, choose to continue to work in spelling whilst building typing speeds. Amanda McLeod is the
author and series editor of the Scholastic Handwriting series (Reception to Year 6). She’s a committee member of the National Handwriting Association, one of their trainers and also their representative in the media. 74 Lupus Street, SW1V 3EL, 020 7630 6970, amandamcleod.org
Carrot is King. At Sevenoaks, world-class IB results and table-topping GCSE performances owe much to the power of encouragement. Academic excellence is also inspired here by the International Baccalaureate, which we embraced some 40 years ago. Today, originality and breadth of mind characterise the Sevenoaks student; whom fine universities like to teach and global organisations to employ. “I went to a very academic, very strict school. I did okay. At seventeen, I transferred to Sevenoaks where the carrot reigned supreme, and still does. My IB results knocked my GCSEs into a cocked hat. I put it down to the power of positive reinforcement. If excellence is
www.sevenoaksschool.org Registered charity 1101358
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expected, it is forthcoming. No need for sticks.” Eliza Ecclestone, Class of 1991, Governor
16/07/2015 10:22
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“Heathfield is buzzing at the moment” Tatler Schools Guide 2016
Boarding and Day for Girls aged 11-18
Open Mornings: Saturday 7 November, 2015 Saturday 19 March, 2016
Incorporating St Mary’s School, Wantage
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Heathfield School, London Road, Ascot, SL5 8BQ e: registrar@heathfieldschool.net www.heathfieldschool.net t: 01344 898342
08/09/2015 20:11
Crunch Time With school rugby players increasingly mirroring the physical conditioning of the professional game, the Headmaster of Epsom College considers rugby’s future at our top schools and says its custodians need to ensure a level playing field By
Jay Piggot
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h en the headmaster of Brian O’Driscoll’s former school in Ireland, Blackrock College, was asked what made O’Driscoll possibly the finest rugby player to represent the country, he responded wisely and obliquely. He did not allude to the boy’s courage, speed, defence or handling skills; instead, he said that great schools are about the creation of community and the personal development of everyone, pupils and staff, within the environment. Those of us who have spent most of our working lives in schools know that competitive sport has a significant part to play in the creation of community and the shaping of character. At Blackrock College the young O’Driscoll learnt that passion, commitment, teamwork and discipline transforms young lives and helps to develop character. With the 2015 Rugby World Cup underway, the RFU has sought to look closely at the development of the game with a particular emphasis on the safety and development of the player rather than the development of the competition structure.
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Junior School:
9.30am - 12.30pm, Saturday 3 October 2015
Senior School:
9.30am - 12.30pm, Saturday 10 October 2015
Sixth Form:
6.30pm - 9.00pm, Tuesday 3 November 2015
Come along to one of our Open Days to find out why. Book your place via our website, by contacting our admissions team on 01223 224167, or by emailing admissions@stmaryscambridge.co.uk ST MARYS SCHOOL CAMBRIDGE.indd 1
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Open Mornings Lower School Saturday 16 January 2016 Saturday 12 March 2016 Saturday 14 May 2016 Upper School Saturday 10 October 2015
Stowe is an independent co-educational boarding and day school inspiring pupils aged between 13 and 18.
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Mark Saltmarsh, Head of Education Development at the RFU, in April 2015 presented an RFU Age Grade Review that has been fully endorsed by the RFU Council. In September 2015 new rules will inform the game from the outset; for example, in Year 6 (Under 11) there will only be nine in a team and a maximum of three in the scrum, in Year 7 (Under 12), 10 per team and five in the scrum, Year 8 (U13) 13 players and six in the scrum, in Year 9 (U14) 15 players form a team and only in Year 10 (U15) are line-outs introduced. Significantly, the principle of ‘one game for all’ is fundamental to these changes and, finally, schools and clubs will play the same game at each age-group. Also in advance of the World Cup the RFU launched a video targeted at parents explaining the aims of the game and the steps that are being taken to minimise the risk of injury. Why is the RFU investing so heavily in public relations and communication in the run-up to the RWC in the autumn? The short answer is that the game of rugby has changed significantly in recent years and the advent of the professional game has not always translated as safely as required into schools and mini-rugby at clubs. For example, the tackle has changed radically. In the golden days when I played the game, if you tackled your opponent around the legs and brought him to ground, your work was complete and your reputation remained intact. By contrast, in today’s game the tackle is now about impact, offensive defence, running up on your opponent at full speed with a view to hitting him hard around the arms to dislodge the ball, or at least, preventing him from passing and so effect a turn-over of possession. Similarly, the scrum has changed in emphasis, forwards have through conditioning become much larger and more physical; the art of the hooker being able to heel the ball back to his side of the scum through timing, technique and guile has given way to the physical dominance of one set of forwards solely being able to impose their weight and strength upon the opponent pack. The line-out has the potential to be dangerous
IN ADVANCE OF THE WORLD CUP, THE RFU LAUNCHED A VIDEO TARGETED AT PARENTS EXPLAINING THE AIMS OF THE GAME AND THE STEPS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN TO MINIMISE THE RISK OF INJURY
as players are lifted high into the air and, if not brought safely to ground, they can land dangerously on their head and neck. The incidents of increased injuries are seemingly on the rise, though it is difficult to get reliable data unequivocally showing this to be the case. A series of important research projects is being undertaken, notably the FMC: Rugby Project at Bath University and the pioneering work unfolding at Saracens RFC using new technologies to record levels of physical impact upon players in match conditions. How do these developments influence the game of rugby as played in independent schools? ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 169
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St Catherine’s weekly boarding
adj.
A dynamic & exciting alternative to the daily school run. 2. A combination of study & after school activities, all on-site, Monday to Friday. 3. Weekends may be spent at home. syn: happy families. 1.
ST CATHERINE’S, BRAMLEY offers the definitive education for girls, under an hour from London. Space and time to learn and grow. Open mornings held throughout the year.
w w w.stcatherines.info Guildford, Surrey GU5 0DF | 01483 899609 | admissions@stcatherines.info HH_134hx190w_TRO.qxp_Layout 1 08/07/2015 17:08 Page 1 Absolute Education01 July 2015.indd 11 ST CATHERINES BRAMLEY.indd
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We share the high aspirations you have for your child and offer an outstanding education to all our pupils, whatever their abilities, interests and talents. Holmewood pupils are happy, content, industrious, enthusiastic, motivated and hugely proud of their school, which generates a wonderful, almost tangible, sense of endeavour and adventure. HOLMEWOOD HOUSE INDEPENDENT DAY & BOARDING SCHOOL FOR BOYS & GIRLS AGED 3 TO 13 YEARS
Come and share the adventure with us at our next Open Morning on: Thursday 8th October 9.30 – 11.30am … or come and chat with us on our stand at the Independent Schools Show, Battersea Park, 14th & 15th November For more information about our Open Morning or to arrange an individual visit, please telephone or email Karen Gwinnett registrar@holmewoodhouse.co.uk Extraordinary lives begin at Holmewood House
LANGTON GREEN, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT, TN3 0EB +44 (0)1892 860006 holmewoodhouse.co.uk registrar@holmewoodhouse.co.uk Reg. charity no. 279267
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VIGILANCE IS REQUIRED IN SCHOOLS BY HEADMASTERS AND DIRECTORS OF SPORTS TO ENSURE THAT THE PHYSICAL MISMATCHES OF TEAMS ACROSS YEAR GROUPS ARE AVOIDED
The school rugby circuit has changed radically across my time of coaching rugby at Millfield School, running the 1st XV at Eton and then as headmaster of two schools that compete in their top respective circuits, Campbell College in Belfast and Epsom College in Surrey. Schools that exist on the top circuits will have players that are attached to professional organisations such as Ulster Rugby or Harlequins RFC. The boys within these set-ups, in general, receive sensible advice and guidance and their progress and conditioning is safely monitored. However, difficulties
may arise as these elite athletes return to their school environments and the conditioning and regimen they undertake is misapplied by their teammates. In this case, schools need to take responsibility for all their players and monitor their development and wellbeing assiduously. Vigilance is also required in schools by headmasters and directors of sport to ensure that physical mismatches of teams across various year groups are avoided. The key is to have individuals of proper sense and judgement in charge of the sport in schools and to adjust the teams in advance of the fixture or on the day to
ensure the safety of everyone involved. Just as the RFU has changed the rules of the game to ensure the safety of players over and above the ‘win at all costs’ approach, schools in turn need to do all they can to ensure that the right values and approach protect all players and the future of the game. Ideally on a school circuit the most gifted players will be spread fairly evenly across the schools. However, problems may arise when one or two schools begin to attract a preponderance of top physical athletes. As a consequence, time-honoured fixtures that formerly were evenly contested now become mismatched and potentially dangerous. The RFU and the other governing bodies of the Home Nations can legislate to safeguard the protection of players. However, at a local level those figures in charge of the players in schools also need to put the safety and the development of the individual player ahead of other wider school considerations. As the excitement of the RWC beckons, I think there is cause for optimism within our sport. If we in schools continue to take our responsibilities for player welfare seriously, we will continue to create communities that nurture the next generation of Brian O’Driscolls. Furthermore, we will continue to create an environment where sport is able to enhance our pupils and their relations with staff, and where passion and commitment can transform pupils and prepare them for the richest possible lives as adults. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 171
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BACK TO OUR ROOTS Does your urban teenager know how to skin a rabbit? Thought not. Absolutely Education meets a woman on a mission to reconnect our kids with the kitchen and the countryside By
Amanda Constance
D
oes your child have the faintest idea how to cook? Or does their idea of culinary bliss involve a microwave and a Pot Noodle? If so, you might be feeling the same panic that Cassia Kidron felt watching her teens stumble ineptly around the kitchen. This musician cum photographer cum mum-of-three panicked about her grown-up babies heading blindly into a fast-food world, so she set about teaching them how to cook. Fast forward five years and Kidron is running Root Camp, a not-for-profit residential cookery school for young people aged 14 to 21 years.
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Open Day
Visit the Stretch & Challenge Zone
www.stedmunds.org.uk
Saturday 26 September Tours 9.30am –12.00pm
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ORWELL PARK SCHOOL LEADING INDEPENDENT PREP SCHOOL CO-EDUCATIONAL BOARDING AND DAY 2½ TO 13 “The overall quality and standards of the EYFS are outstanding….”(Independent Schools Inspectorate 2014) “The school is extremely successful in fulfilling its aims of providing an academically challenging and fulfilling all-round education, and strong pastoral care where all pupils are able to benefit from a vibrant boarding experience.” Independent Schools Inspectorate 2014
Open Morning 3 October 2015
01473 659225 admissions@orwellpark.co.uk www.orwellpark.co.uk
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Four residential camps have been held in the past few months, two in Wales and two in Devon, where for a week at a time, teenagers have worked alongside each other in outdoor kitchens and fields under the tutelage of experts such as exMoro chef Sylvain Jamois and TV chef Valentine Warner. They picked vegetables, foraged in the wild, learned to make bread, cheese, and preserving techniques; and were taught how to gut fish and skin rabbits. Jamois has taught them all to cook from scratch; simple,
“Cassia is a visionary who rolls up her sleeves and gets the job done” informal dishes such as summer ratatouille with courgettes picked by young cooks, chard (again, handpicked) cheese tarts, and homemade pad Thai. Root Camp is much more than a cookery school; it is a social enterprise, says Kidron “with a mission to reconnect our disconnected youth with food”. And to do that, she says, young people must cook it themselves. “If you cook from scratch you know what you are putting inside you; it’s about arming young people with the right experience and knowledge to become independent grown-ups.” Food has always been central in Kidron’s life. Her early years were spent in Yorkshire where, she says, “I remember rolling in hay, riding on milk floats, the smell of it, the freedom of it – I’m sure much of Root Camp is a yearning for those days.” And her mother was always
a passionate and productive cook. “I remember her teaching me to fry garlic and onion in olive oil and butter,” she says. Her ‘Root Camp moment’ came when her oldest son was 18 and she realised he was going to leave home not being able to cook. So she gathered a gang of his friends and taught them over a weekend. It was social, informal and great fun, “an important aspect of cooking,” Kidron insists. These weekends morphed into a more formal enterprise, Teen Cuisine, with Kidron teaching the teenagers how to create, cheap, fast, seasonal meals. It was Guy Watson, the founder of Riverford Organics, who suggested Kidron move the courses to the country. He loved her idea but asked: “What about teaching them about the provenance of what they are making?” Kidron’s said: “Fine, you provide the field, I’ll do ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 175
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Independent HMC boarding and day school for 440 pupils Situated in an inspirational 45 acre site on the banks of the River Thames, 2.5 miles from Henley-on-Thames Boys 11-18 • Girls 16-18 • Boarding available from Year 9 A full ISI inspection in 2015 judged Shiplake College as EXCELLENT across every inspection category
Upcoming Open Mornings Whole School: Saturday 3 October 2015 Sixth Form: Saturday 10 October 2015
www.shiplake.org.uk/excellent
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Open up a world of possibilities
Wellesley House
Independent Co-educational Prep School Boarding and Day 7-13 years
St James provides for the intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of every pupil.
Open Events 2015 Sixth Form Open Evening
BE PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL
Wednesday 30th September 5.15pm – 7.30pm
Open Morning Saturday 3rd October
Visit us at the Independent Schools Show in Battersea or book a private tour of the school to find out why our children enjoy schooling the Wellesley Way.
9.30am – 12.15pm
Open Evening Wednesday 7th October
4.15pm – 6.30pm
School in Action Wednesday 4th November
With our London bus transfers, a great education is closer than you think.
9.00am – 10.45am
Wellesley House School Broadstairs Kent CT10 2DG t: 01843 862 991 e: hmsec@wellesleyhouse.net
To book: 020 7348 1748 admissions@sjsg.org.uk www.stjamesgirls.co.uk Earsby Street | London W14 8SH
ST JAMES
Registered Charity No. 270156
Senior Girls’ School
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FEATURE
the rest.” And Root Camp was born, with the first few courses based at Riverford’s farms in Devon. With this year’s courses carrying a price tag of £675, it’s unsurprising that, so far, the majority of students have come via Kidron’s school-mum network, but she is determined to make Root Camp a mixed community and offers assisted places for children whose parents can’t afford it. “I am tenaciously keen on bursting the social bubble,” says Kidron. “I want the kids all in the same tent, living and breathing with people they wouldn’t normally meet.” A Root Camper agrees this is one of the best aspects of the experience. “The fact that the food we
“We must reconnect our disconnected youth with food”
produced from a basic, nonprofessional kitchen was so great,” says Samson Ayoade, 19, of his Root Camp experience. “And it’s that the quality of the produce was so high— organic and local. But really the most special thing was just the group was together on one table united by food.” For three years, Ocado sponsored some assisted places after Kidron met Jason Gissing, co-founder of Ocado. He describes Kidron as “a visionary” who is “prepared to roll up her sleeves and get the job done”. Now on the board of Root Camp, he’s as committed to food
and environmental issues as Kidron. There is a real need for this: “There are about a billion people in the world who are overweight and a billion people who don’t get enough to eat,” he says, before adding, “Our teenagers know very little about food, nutrition, provenance or impact of farming.” “Cassia has taken quite a simple idea but it resonates far beyond just kids learning how to cook.” After five years of holding cookery courses in rural locations, Root Camp is now expanding to the capital and launches its first Urban Root Camp, a cookery skills day at London’s Stepney City Farm with the Ginger Pig this October. “London is a burgeoning network of growers. There are little patches of land all over the place where people are growing crops,” says Kidron. “It’s about bringing together the London scene and saying to kids that this isn’t just in the countryside, it is right around the corner from you and you can get involved just by growing something on a window sill. That is very empowering.” “This idea works and it’s so replicable. I want the world to know about it., I want it to be a force for change and wake up kids to working with food and the land and not to be afraid of it.” MORE INFO
Places are available for Urban Root Camp 2015, 26-28 October (half term) at Stepney City Farm, EI . rootcamp.co.uk ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 177
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Party Animals Entering the world of Sharky and George, the children’s entertainers for the luxury generation By
Pendle Harte
W
hat did you do for your eighth birthday? Musical chairs and homemade cake? Or, if you were lucky, a magician and a bought cake? Not if your uncle is George Whitefield, in which case yours would have been a blueprint for some of the most fabulous kiddie parties of the generation. Because in London’s prime postcodes and among the well-heeled of the provinces, there is only one person to call when your little darling’s special day approaches. Or make that two people. Sharky (Charlie Astor) and George (Whitefield) are the children’s party
THEIR NAMES NOW REFER TO AN EMPIRE THAT INCLUDES LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF SHARKY & GEORGES
entertainers du jour, so much so that their names now refer to an empire that includes literally hundreds of Sharky and Georges, with outposts in the Caribbean, requests from all over the world and high profile clients including the Camerons, Paul McCartney and Holly Willoughby. I’ve come to Fulham to meet them on their own turf, which is in fact an actual treehouse. Of course it is. Climb up the ladder, sit on a toadstool and a pulley system will deliver your drink. The boys (you can’t help calling them that) are charming ex-Etonians: Sharky is the quiet, serious one (he went out with Pippa Middleton, apparently) while George is a madcap Peter Pan/Willy Wonka hybrid character with a shock of curly hair and a big elfin grin. On the face of it you’d imagine George as the natural entertainer and Sharky as the business face. Though maybe that’s too obvious. Perhaps it’s the other way round. They’re very busy people, they say. What are they working on? Let’s take this coming weekend. ‘I’m a bit worried
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Founded 1642
New Hall School
An independent ‘diamond model’ school, 30 minutes from London Magnificent campus with extensive and safe grounds Day (3-18 years) • Boarding (7-18 years) Preparatory • Girls’ Division • Boys’ Division • Sixth Form
A Co-Ed Boarding and Day School for children aged 3-13
Open Morning with Activities Saturday 17th October – booking essential
The boarding provision is “excellent” ISI and Ofsted
Open Mornings:
Saturday 26 September 2015 & 30 April 2016 9.00am - 12.00noon To book your place, visit newhallschool.co.uk/openmorning. Alternatively, please call 01245 236098 to arrange a visit at a time to suit you.
ISI rated ‘Excellent’ in ALL categories Situated on the Dorset / Wiltshire border
newhallschool.co.uk The Avenue, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HS “A Catholic foundation and ethos, welcoming all”
Tel: 01725 516264 • www.sandroyd.org
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GIVING TALENTED CHILDREN A HEAD START TO A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE Tring Park for young people with outstanding talent in Ballet, Dance, Drama, Musical Theatre and Commercial Music
14/07/2015 12:23
Kensington Prep School in Fulham received the highest possible grades across the board in the recent school inspection.
Co-educational boarding and day school for children from age 8 – 19
See the full Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) Report on our website for more details.
Outstanding academic education to A Level
OPEN DAYS 9, 15 & 16 OCTOBER
The quality of the pupils’ achievements and learning is exceptional
596 Fulham Road London SW6 5PA Phone: 020 7731 9300 Email: enquiries@kenprep.gdst.net www.kensingtonprep.gdst.net
Book online at www.tringpark.com/opendays
Registration deadline for 4+ entry in September 2016: 30 September 2015. Entry is selective by assessment.
www.tringpark.com info@tringpark.com or tel. 01442 824255 Photo: Brian O’Carroll
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about the weather,’ says Sharky. ‘We’re entertaining 600 adults at the Tower of London.’ There’s also a children’s party. ‘This should be a good fun one. We’ve made four worlds – a Peter Pan one, a Harry Potter one, a Narnia one and a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one. Eighty children will go round the world in teams and have cool experiences,’ says Sharky, matter-of-factly. Eighty children? It sounds more like a theme park than a party. I bet none of those kids could be swayed by musical chairs. ‘Oh, it’s a joint party for three sisters. We’ve devised a big Quiddich game.’ Clearly we have come a long way from pass the parcel. Sharky and George have revolutionised the (already quite high-octane, in these parts of town)
THE PARTIES ARE MORE LIKE IMMERSIVE THEATRE THAN PARTIES; THE STORYLINES INVOLVE LOTS OF PLANNING
children’s party since they launched in London eight years ago, before which they’d already gained a reputation through turning up at George’s nieces and nephews’ parties as the fun uncles. ‘We did our first party when we were
at school, then carried on through university. The basic party is more or less the same today; it’s all about really getting the children involved.’ Can any Sharky and George party really be described as basic? ‘The majority of what we do are £300-£400 parties in someone’s garden,’ says George. These will involve a lot of high energy running around with a large dose of spontaneity and fun. But these ‘basic’ bashes aren’t always enough in the highly competitive world of children’s party planning, and with many London children attending multiple parties in an average month, the bar gets raised at an alarming pace. ‘The bigger parties have grown over the years,’ admits George, though he won’t get drawn into ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 181
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A thriving independent day, weekly and flexi-boarding co-ed prep school for children aged 3 - 13
BREASIDE
PREPARATORY SCHOOL For boys and girls aged 2½-11 years
We are “Outstanding”
OPEN DAY
Open Morning Friday 23rd October 9.30 - 12.00 noon
Wednesday 7th October 2015 9.30am - 12noon
If you are unable to attend our Open Day please make an appointment for a personal tour of the school. We will be delighted to welcome you to Breaside.
Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire t: 01453 837318 e: enquiries@beaudesert.gloucs.sch.uk w: www.beaudesert.gloucs.sch.uk
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41 Orchard Road, Bromley, Kent BR1 2PR For more information please call 020 8460 0916 www.breaside.co.uk info@breaside.co.uk
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Outstanding October 2014
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A fresh approach to school photography As found at some of the best schools on the planet ABU DHABI, BELGIUM, CHINA, DUBAI, GERMANY, INDONESIA,
KOREA, LUXEMBOURG, MALAYSIA, OMAN, QATAR, ROMANIA, SINGAPORE, SWITZERLAND, THAILAND & THE UNITED KINGDOM
For more information please call Philip Wilson 0800 021 7626
www.pret-a-portrait.net
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WHAT’S THE MOST OUTLANDISH THING THEY’VE BEEN ASKED FOR? ‘A TIGER,’ REPLIES GEORGE QUICKLY
any discussion about competitive parent behavior. Surely there must be some demanding clients? What’s the most outlandish thing they’ve been asked for? ‘A tiger,’ replies George in a flash. ‘Yesterday we were asked whether we could organise a tiger for this weekend. So we did. But today they phoned back and said actually can we have some talking parrots instead? So we had to cancel the tiger. And it turns out that talking parrots are quite difficult to find.’ Harder than tigers? ‘It’s amazing what you find yourself researching. Lots of people do have parrots that can talk but when they’re in front of lots of people they get quite shy, apparently.’ Tigers and shy parrots. All in a day’s work at Sharky and George HQ. The pair’s latest foray is into the world of adult parties, which are a natural progression from the uber-elaborate teenage parties they’ve been working on lately. ‘We’re getting more of a reputation for being able to pull off these amazing experiences involving boat chases around London with actors and helicopters and spy equipment and things.’ These are the parties for the people who have everything and have done it all before. Those who are sick of cocktails and conversation can find themselves embroiled in a complex treasure hunt centred around an insurance scam, a fake work of art and a list of possible suspects. The scenarios are more like immersive theatre than parties; the storylines involve a lot of professionalism and planning. A recent code-breaking party for a group of highly intelligent 16 yearolds involved code written specially for them by a Cambridge computer science
expert. ‘We knew that the boys loved The Apprentice, Fort Boyard and the film The Game and that they were very good at maths and science, so we made them work out GPS coordinates and solve an algorithm in order to enter the enemy lair. We spent ages trying to work out the code but they saw it instantly. The whole thing ended up in a chase across London.’ Another one involved a 24-hour St Trinians-themed sleepover for a group of 11 year-old girls, taking in an art heist and a headmistress figure in a country house done up as a boarding school, along with a complicated backstory about Ofsted. ‘We were working on that one for quite a while.’ Clearly they can’t do it all themselves, but who else can deliver such a service? They both claim to be able to spot the
right people straight off. ‘Actors make up 60% of the core team but we have teachers, musicians, medical students and even a tree surgeon on the books. You have to be good at losing your inhibitions and being energetic.’ The Sharky and George empire is expanding to take on kids clubs in hotels (the Four Seasons in Hampshire and Jumbly Bay in Antigua, to start) as well as the expanded adults offering, so expect to see more of them. Plainly there is no limit to what we will do to protect our little darlings from boredom and obscurity. Can anything shock them? ‘Not yet.’ Book your own bespoke, no-expense-spared experience now. sharkyandgeorge.com ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 183
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Trust us
The remarkable story of Thomas's day schools long charitable association with the people of Nepal By
Ben Thomas
M
y parents, David and Joanna Thomas, who started Thomas’s in the 1970s, retired from active management of the schools some ten years ago. Never ones to stand still, they promptly set about a number of retirement projects, one of which was to set up the CAIRN Trust. Standing for ‘Child Aid in Rural Nepal’, the CAIRN Trust is a UK-registered charity, which believes that every child deserves an enriching education. In pursuit of this vision, the charity seeks to support communities and children in the villages of rural Nepal, by building schools, libraries and early years centres, providing educational supplies to children with the least resources and training teachers to make the most of these new facilities. To achieve these objectives, the charity works with four key partners: the Gurkha Welfare Trust, the Pahar Trust, SATHI Nepal and Global Action Nepal, all of which have a significant presence in our areas of operation. ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 185
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BURGESS HILL GIRLS. HIGH FLYERS Who do you want to be?
VISIT OUR STAND AT THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS SHOW burgesshillgirls.com
Open Mornings: 3 October 2015 & 6 February 2016 or contact us to arrange your personal visit Direct trains to Great Malvern. 15 Avenue Road, Great Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 3BA. Tel: 01684 892288
www.malvernstjames.co.uk
admissions@malvernstjames.co.uk
@malvernstjames
Excellence in Education Since 1906
The Boarding and Day School for Girls aged 4 - 18
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Success on For a life the Court in the Law
St George’s Junior School 01932 839400
Open Mornings
Open Mornings for 2016 entry Junior Sat 26 September Weds 7 October
Friday 2nd October 2015 Saturday 3rd October 2015
Senior & Sixth Form 10am-1pm Weds 30 September 9.30-11am 9.30-11am Weds 4 November 9.30-11am
Please see our website for additional Open Morning dates and details of Taster Sessions in October and November for 2016 entry. 15 & 19 Westwood Hill, London SE26 6BL www.sydenhamhighschool.gdst.net
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020 8557 7004 admissions@syd.gdst.net
Learning For a life in the Bard the Theatre
St George’s College & Sixth Form 01932 839300
Open Morning Saturday 3rd October 2015
Did you know your child can join our Nursery from age 3 upwards?
Leading independent co-educational Roman Catholic day schools in Surrey offering a values-led education for all. Book now at www.stgeorgesweybridge.com
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A Registered Educational Charity No.1017853
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F E AT U R E
An elderly gentleman attends the Durbar in Pokhara last April, just weeks before the devastating earthquake. Taken by Ivo Thomas, Ben's son
Our connection with Nepal goes back more than 50 years, to my father’s time as an officer in the 2nd/2nd Gurkhas (known as the Sirmoor Rifles), with whom he served for ten years in the 1950s and 1960s. Gurkhas and the people of Nepal have been a part of our lives for as long as I can remember. Indeed, my brother and sister were taken on a trek in the hills above Pokhara when they were just three years and 18 months old, travelling the perilous mountain paths usually fast asleep in baskets shouldered by ever-patient Nepalese hillsmen. Unusual today; unheard of in the mid-1960s. Their arrival in each village was a cause of great curiosity and excitement: I grew up with black and white photos around the house of my sister in her dungarees,
Gurkhas and the people of Nepal have been part of our lives for as long as I can remember
Pupils at the CAIRN library in Pasgaon, Nepal
surrounded by a small crowd of Nepalese children, who were fascinated by their first ever friend from Europe. My mother, an actress at the time made a film of the adventure, now sadly lost somewhere in the archives of Granada TV. But a sound recording survives. (My mother, slightly puffed, in a cut-glass English accent:) “It’s evening… we’ve reached our camp for the night… Bianca is playing and Tobyn is on his potty…. The view from here is quite incredible…. The mountains are so beautiful… Oh my goodness: Tobyn’s got worms.” (Tape ends abruptly.) Other sayings from the same trip have entered our family folklore, not least Bianca’s plaintive wail, when the young goat, which had accompanied them during the week and with which she had become friendly, was summarily slaughtered to provide that evening’s meal: “Mummy! Daddy! They’ve bashed my baa!” ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 187
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OPEN DAY SINCLAIR HOUSE SCHOOL Preparatory School for Boys and Girls aged 4-13
“Without the Sixth Form I absolutely wouldn’t be the person I am today.” Into the Sixth Open Evening 22 September 2015 info@wim.gdst.net @WimbledonHigh @Sixth_WHS
10.00AM – 12.00 NOON
SATURDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER
100% bursaries available at 16+ and 11+
59 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JJ TEL 020
Registered charity no. 306983
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7736 9182 EMAIL info@sinclairhouseschool.co.uk www.sinclairhouseschool.co.uk
15/07/2015 11:49 HOUSE SCHOOL.indd 1 SINCLAIR
14/07/2015 13:00
Preparatory School for girls aged four to eleven
“One school, two buildings, great teaching and tip top facilities.” The Good Schools Guide
• A leading South West London Prep School on the borders of Wimbledon Common • A happy, supportive community with excellent opportunities in music, sport and the performing and creative arts • High academic standards with scholarships and places at top senior schools at 11+ We offer an assisted places scheme for girls aged 7+
Co-educational boarding in Switzerland for 11-18 yrs
For further details and to book a school visit, contact Jane Davis on 020 8947 6969 www.thestudyprep.co.uk REGISTERED CHARITY NO.271012
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F E AT U R E
By the time I was born, my father had taken the decision to leave the army, but many of my childhood memories are of a happy round of Gurkha reunions and curry lunches, with both my parents chatting away in fluent Nepalese to their former comrades-in-arms and their wives. An instinctive affection for and understanding of the loyal, warm and enduring people of Nepal has been a part of our family’s story. This relationship has lived on in the life of Thomas’s London Day Schools. Each year, my parents (and now my brother, who has become Chairman of the CAIRN Trust) lead a trek of around 25 Thomas’s pupils, parents and teachers to the charity’s areas of operation in foothills of the Himalayas above Pokhara. Many of them describe the experience as life-changing. Each Thomas’s school holds an annual ‘Nepal Day’, with dressing up, Nepalese food for lunch and a day of activities linking the curriculum to Nepal. It is our hope that, by the end of their time at prep school, each Thomas’s pupil will have a secure knowledge of and affinity for the country, on which they might act in the future. The contrast with their own lives is itself an education.
For Thomas’s pupils the contrast of a Nepalese child’s life with their own is itself an education
Shree Mirkot School, Gorkha, Lamjung completed in February 2014 and fully funded by Thomas's Battersea
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Absolutely Education Sep15 134 x 90.qxp_Absolutely Education 01/09/2015 1
QUAINTON HALL SCHOOL
Open Dapteymber 19th1S0e:00am ‐ 12:30pm
BERKHAMSTED The School that grows with you
QHS is an academically selective Independent Co‐Ed Preparatory School and Nursery for Boys 2½ ‐ 13 & Girls 2½ ‐ 11
BERKHAMSTED
PREP
For Further information: Quainton Hall School, Hindes Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1RX BERKHAMSTED
BERKHAMSTED
Telephone:
GIRLS
020 8861 8861
BOYS
Open Days 2015 : Thursday 1, Friday 2 & Saturday 3 October
Email: admin@quaintonhall.org.uk
Call 01442 358001 or visit our website for full details
www.quaintonhall.org.uk
www.berkhamstedschool.org A member of the Berkhamsted Schools Group
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BERKHAMSTED
SIXTH
Registered Charity No. 310630
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Alleyn’s
HMC day school for boys and girls ages 11-18
Come to our open days this autumn
Open Morning Saturday 26th September 2015, 09.00 – 12.00
for entry in September 2016 All welcome – no need to book Wednesday 16 September, 2.00 pm, 11+ & 13+ Saturday 3 October, 9.30 am, 11+, 13+ & 16+ Tuesday 3 November, 2.30 pm, 16+ Wednesday 4 November, 2.00 pm, 11+ & 13+
A leading independent co-educational day and boarding school offering high academic standards, excellent pastoral care and a wide extra-curricular programme within a supportive Christian environment.
For more information visit our website alleyns.org.uk Tel: 020 8557 1478
Co-education Juniors 3 – 11, Seniors 11 – 16, Sixth Form 16 - 18
Townley Road, Dulwich, London SE22 8SU
Academic, co-educational excellence
Perry Street, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6LR T: 020 8467 0256
Founded 1619
www.farringtons.org.uk
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F E AT U R E
Finally along with another school charity, the Thomas’s Schools Foundation (which operates in each school’s local community), the CAIRN Trust is supported in rotation as its charity of the year by the PTA of each of the four preparatory schools. The Thomas’s community has been extraordinarily supportive of both charities and their operations, often raising in excess of £100,000 each year. As a result, since its inception the CAIRN Trust has built 20 schools in Nepal, installed 30 libraries, trained 140 teachers and supported more than 11,000 children with educational supplies. In April this year, keen to pass on our love of Nepal to the third generation, I took my own children to Kathmandu and Pokhara for a grand ‘Durbar’ or gathering, part of a series of events to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the raising of the Gurkha Rifles in 1815. My father
Since its inception, the CAIRN Trust has built 20 schools and installed 30 libraries in Nepal
CAIRN pupils from Pasagon, Nepal
had once again been involved in the organisation, which saw 3,000 former Gurkha soldiers and officers gather in Kathmandu, and another 1,000 in Pokhara, for a moving parade, followed by much backslapping, beer and dahl bhat. One old soldier told his former officer that it had taken him ten days to walk from his village to Pokhara for the event – and that he had last been in the city 47 years previously. It was a time of laughter, kindness, fond memories and mutual respect, which encapsulated the extraordinary relationship between Britain and Nepal that has endured for 200 years. Amidst such a joyful time, none of us could have predicted the devastation and misery that would be brought by Nepal’s earthquakes just two weeks later. The statistics were widely reported at the time, though they have inevitably slipped from the headlines since: more than 8,000 people killed; 800,000 homes ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION | 191
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Africa
Asia
Europe
Eastern
Latin America & the
South
..where happy children succeed! academic excellence • sporting and creative • the best in boarding to find out more search “fsmschool” Next Open Morning ~ Saturday 19th September, 2015
Caribbean
Pacific
Volunteer Projects Abroad
Projects include Care, Teaching, Conservation, Medicine, Law & Human Rights and more.
Come and see us at the Independent Schools Show, Battersea, 14th-15th November 2015 Independent Pre-Prep and Preparatory School, Boarding and Day, for Boys and Girls 3-13 Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 1NS ~ 01425 653181 ~ office@fsmschool.com
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www.projects-abroad.co.uk info@projects-abroad.co.uk Tel: 01903 708300
17/02/2015 15:43
B LACKHEATH P REPARATORY S CHOOL IAPS co-educational school for 3-11 years
Overlooking Blackheath and set in five acres of beautiful grounds, this leading prep school offers an outstanding education. Regular open mornings are held throughout the term when you can come and join us on a normal working day. 4 St. Germans Place, Blackheath, London. SE3 0NJ Tel: 020 8858 0692 Email: info@blackheathprepschool.com www.blackheathprepschool.com Company limited by guarantee No. 672569 Charitable Status No. 312732
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F E AT U R E
damaged or destroyed; tens of thousands of people left in makeshift shelters as the monsoon descended. As we woke to the news of the first earthquake, I was by coincidence making my way to Blackheath for the start of the London Marathon, which I was running for CAIRN. After the race, I wrote again to the Thomas’s community. They responded by doubling my fundraising effort to a total of £88,000. It was an astonishing response to a time of unimaginable need. Whatever the logistical and political challenges, that need will continue for years to come. My brother returned to the country in May and reported that, quite apart from the physical devastation, the emotional trauma experienced by Nepal’s children in particular, will take years from which to recover. Mercifully, CAIRN’s schools remained standing and provided, in many cases, temporary shelter for the village populations: an image, perhaps, of our commitment to support the children and communities of rural Nepal for as long as there is a need. Ben Thomas is the Headmaster of Thomas's, Battersea and a Principal of Thomas's London Day Schools. The earthquake aftermath
CAIRN pupils making use of a fully equipped and resourced CAIRN library
The response from the Thomas’s school community to the earthquake was astonishing, raising a total of £88,000
Ben Thomas completes the London Marathon
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Q&A
SECONDS WITH… Julian Thomas The new headmaster of Wellington College
T
he new headmaster of Wellington started his career in ICT in the banking sector before training to be a teacher. Headmaster of Caterham School in Surrey since 2007, Thomas is passionate about the outdoors, finding time to trek to the South Pole last winter. He is married to Julia and they have two sons, George and Christian. Q What drew you into a career in teaching? A It is a cliché, but my parents, in particular my mother. I value greatly the experience which my early career outside teaching gave me, but knowing that my colleagues and I have, on any given day, the opportunity to have a deep and lasting impact on the lives of the young people in our care is an immense privilege. My mother had an innate understanding of the transformative power of education and she instilled it into me at an early age. Q What is your view of what an outstanding education should be? A I am a firm believer that the best education is an all-round education where the development of individual character through everything that goes on outside of the classroom is just as important as what goes on inside the classroom. Of course, it is vital that schools enable every child to secure the best exam results they
MY MOTHER HAD AN INNATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF EDUCATION AND SHE INSTILLED IT INTO ME AT AN EARLY AGE
can; this is partly achieved through inspirational teaching and a highly aspirational school culture. I am convinced, however, that the skills and life lessons which children learn through everything else which goes on at schools like Wellington - the plays and music ensembles, the competitive team and individual sports, the service activities and outdoor education programmes - feed directly back into students’ academic lives. Quite simply, by encouraging students to develop themselves in every way across all of their individual talents, they not only become the best version of themselves possible, but they also become better independent learners. An outstanding education equips students with the skills not only to have happy and successful personal lives, but also to have a positive and sustained impact on those around them. Q What first drew you to Wellington College? A There are so many things and I have long been an admirer of how Wellington has shaped and led the
educational debate in the UK in recent years. Most importantly, however, Wellington College is an institution that doesn’t assume it has all the answers; it constantly seeks to improve and, in doing so, takes the very best of modern educational thinking and combines it with all that is good in traditional education. This forward-thinking and outward-facing approach is a key characteristic of the College and one of the reasons I was so attracted to it. I have also found the whole Wellington community to be incredibly warm and welcoming to me and my family. This positive community spirit leaves such an impression on all who visit the College and I am just thrilled to be part of it. Q What are your ambitions for the College? A I want everyone at Wellington – students and staff alike – to have the highest aspirations in all they do. Obviously, I want to maintain the superb academic reputation which now characterises the school, without diminishing the students’ phenomenal achievements across all their co-curricular activities. We will continue to be self-reflective, and I am particularly keen to develop further a culture of independent learning within the students. This does not mean leaving them to their own devices, but equipping them with the skills and mindset to become self-starters with a life-long love of learning. Q Tell us a little about your recent trek to the South Pole A It was a truly life-affirming experience. I have wanted to complete an expedition from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole since I was a young boy, captivated by the experiences of Scott and Amundsen. Just setting off from the coast was the fulfilment of a dream. The expedition pushed me to my physical and mental limits but in the process I discovered so much about myself. Long days hauling a sled in unchanging landscape brought extraordinary clarity of thought which helped me to focus on the things in life that really matter. Reaching the Pole was an emotional experience. Simply unforgettable.
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ALPHA PLUS GROUP 1 GROUP - 14 INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS - 4 INDIVIDUAL COLLEGES
Wetherby Senior School
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The Falcons School for Girls
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Chepstow House School
St Anthony’s School Rolfe’s Nursery School Abingdon House School
Portland Place School
Pembridge Hall School
Hilden Grange School
Davenport Lodge School
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DISCOVERMORE
Embracing an innovative, modern approach whilst keeping traditional values at its core, Kew House School takes an exciting stance on 21st century education. With state-of-the-art facilities, a broad curriculum and excellent pastoral care, Kew House is
Open Days September 23rd/30th (9.30am/9.30am) October 16 th/21st (9.30am/7pm)
a place where you would want to be – a place of learning and
November 3rd/12th (9.30am/7pm)
discovery, laughter and friendship.
November 18th/27th (9.30am/9.30am)
T: 0208 742 2038 E: info@kewhouseschool.com W: www.kewhouseschool.com
The new independent co-educational senior school for students aged 11-18 in West London
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@kewhouseschool
06/08/2015 12:42