Absolutely Education Spring 2019 by ABSOLUTELY Magazines

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WRITE OFF IS THIS THE END OF HANDWRITING?

SPRING 2019

WISE UP

Our pick of Easter revision camps

GAME ON The schools battling Fortnite

IGCSES Better or worse?

Smart

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Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll just get a really obedient dog

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The heart wants what the heart wants. Discover rural cottages with acres of space using keyword search.

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MADE IN PUTNEY Meet Charlotte, mathematics and coding wonderkid. Fluent in English, HTML and C#. www.putneyhigh.gdst.net

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We l c o m e

From the

EDITOR

really wanted to make a positive start to the New Year with a shiny happy ed’s letter. But then Dominic Floyd, Head of Mount Kelly prep school in Devon, had a nibble at my Achilles heel. He’s spoken out against the “forum of negativity” that is the dreaded class WhatsApp group. Floyd thinks that the “worrying” trend towards large group conversations on social media platforms for parents has undermined the “critical” relationship between parents and their child’s teachers. I've been banging this particular drum to anyone who will listen for a while now. I have observed the once-assumed trust between school and parents being rapidly eroded. When my eldest son, now in Year 10, was at primary school, there was no

As Floyd says: “Minor complaints become amplified to an unintelligible degree” as issues take on a life of their own and these groups can often end up becoming “home to vitriolic tirades". His suggestion, is face-to-face conversations with teachers. I don’t really have a solution, just a grump - but I am struck by what Julian de Bono, Director of Studies at Port Regis says about the art of handwriting in this issue (page 29). He says: “Handwriting forces us to take responsibility for what we put on the page.” Maybe we should learn to pause for a moment and take more care with these digital forums. If we want our children to behave responsibly on social media, shouldn’t we? Right, I’ve dismounted from my high horse…. In happier times we went to a fascinating conference at Kingston Grammar School about

“IF EMAIL AND NUANCE ARE HARD ON EMAIL, IT'S EVEN WORSE ON WHATSAPP” WhatsApp group, it didn’t exist. In contrast, my youngest, in Year 3 has a highly active WhatsApp group which at best is somewhat neurotic and at worst, downright rude. When his teacher for this year was announced at the end of the summer term, her abilities were questioned and roundly trashed, before she’d set foot in the classroom. All in the name of ‘bants’ apparently. I thought it disrespectful and offensive. We know from email that tone and nuance can be problematic, it’s even worse on WhatsApp where people ping messages to each other instantly, with little thought.

Growth Mindset. We left with our neural pathways fizzing and decided to focus on this hot– but often misunderstood – issue in the magazine. I’m very pleased that two Mindset gurus, Jonnie Noakes of Eton College and Chris Hildrew from Churchill Academy have both written on the subject for us. I hope you enjoy this issue.

A manda Constance EDITOR

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CONTENTS SPRING 2019

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Amanda Constance 

EDITOR I A L ASSISTA NT

Flora Thomas 

M AGA ZINE M A NAGER

Donna McCafferty 

UP FR O NT

GROUP A DV ERTISING M A NAGER

Nicola Owens 

10 NEWS

What’s going on in the world of education

SA LES DIR ECTOR

Craig Davies 

16 PICTURE THIS

Portraits of trail-blazing alumnae for Putney High School's 125th Anniversary

DIGITA L STR ATEGY DIR ECTOR

Leah Day 

19 BOOK BONANZA

A RT DIR ECTOR

Cranleigh Prep School's Awesome Book Awards

Phil Couzens 

20 BACK TO THE FUTURE

SENIOR DESIGNER

P R EP

MID-W EIGHT DESIGNER

Pawel Kuba 

Dulwich College turns 400

Rebecca Noonan 

26 WRITE OFF

DESIGNER

What's the future of handwriting?

Catherine Perkins 

31 LEFT BEHIND

M A R KETING M A NAGER

Are left-handed children being let down? By Libby Norman

Lucie Pearce 

FINA NCE DIR ECTOR

36 SUPERHERO SCIENCE

Jerrie Koleci 

Libby Norman discovers a STEM card game

DIR ECTORS

SENIO R

Greg Hughes, Alexandra Hunter, James Fuschillo 

41 COOL TO BE KIND

Eton's Jonnie Noakes on the unexpected benefits of teaching a growth mindset

PUBLISHING DIR ECTOR

Sherif Shaltout

For advertising enquiries please call +44 (0) 20 7704 0588 or email: education@zest-media.com Subscriptions are available simply by emailing eva@zest-media.com

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45 MASTERING OUR MINDS Introducing growth mindset to a state school, by Chris Hildrew S CHOOL LE AVER

76 MARKET FORCES

The controversy over unconditional offers, by Lisa Freedman

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@AB SOLUTELY_EDU ‘AB SOLUTELY EDUCATION’

S CHOOL'S OUT

90 ALL WORK, SOME PLAY Our pick of great Easter revision camps

92 ALTERNATIVE ASCENTS The charity teaching inner-city kids to ski, by Flora Thomas

96 ROYAL BATTLE

How schools are coping with Fortnite? By Sophie Pender-Cudlip L AST WORD

114 SAM ANTROBUS 60 seconds with the founder of Wishford Schools

F RO NT COV E R Pupils at Dulwich College, a boys' school for 11-18 year olds in London Dulwich College, Dulwich Common, London SE21 7LD 020 8299 5335, dulwich.org.uk

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• A B S O L U T E LY E D U C AT I O N ’ S •

CON T R IBU TOR S

Jonnie Noakes

Director of Teaching and Learning, Eton

Described by his peers as “Mr Growth Mindset”, Jonnie Noakes was educated at Eton and Cambridge. He is both the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of The Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning at Eton. He writes about Growth Mindset on page 41. What arena of your life would benefit from a growth mindset? My use of social media which, as my children will attest (between chuckles), I haven’t mastered (yet)!

Julian de Bono

Director of Studies, Port Regis

Julian de Bono is Director of Studies at Port Regis where he teaches English and History. He read Medieval and Old English and Icelandic at Oxford, and has worked at Winchester College, Bruern Abbey and The Oratory School. He writes about handwriting on page 29. What arena of your life would benefit from a growth mindset? There is no part of my life that would not benefit from it.

Sally-Anne Huang

Headmistress, James Allen's Girls' School

Sally-Anne Huang is Headmistress of James Allen’s Girls’ School. She was educated at Bolton School and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Her first headship was at Kent College, Pembury, and she has worked at Sevenoaks School and Roedean. She writes about social media on page 59. What arena of your life would benefit from a growth mindset? One day I will manage all my paperwork in an orderly and organised fashion!

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Expa nding Gordonstoun Junior School will welcome a new Year 1 class in September. Robert McVean, Head, said: “We've had many requests for younger children to join Gordonstoun, so we are very pleased to be expanding and creating a new Year 1 class. Our main aim is to encourage a love of learning and knowledge."

ART SALE On 4 December, Christie’s presented a stand-alone sale comprising approximately 200 lots from the collection of Rugby School. Lucas van Leyden’s rare drawing, A Young Man Standing, sparked fierce competition resulting in a sale of £11.5m. The school’s governing body will use the proceeds, totalling nearly £15m, to benefit the current and future students, including building a new museum space on the school site for the unsold art works.

“The Christie's sale raised nearly £15 million for the beneﬁt of students”

WO R L D P R E M I E R E

Crafty Work

St Mary’s Shaftesbury pupil and Elite Dance Scholar, Isabelle Evans, will perform in the world premiere of Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet in May. “It's a wonderful achievement and testament to Isabelle's hard work and commitment to dance alongside her academic studies,” said Headmistress, Maria Young,

Writer Karen Bennett and photographer Julian Calder travelled across the UK to capture the passion of the craftsmen and women whose education was funded by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. The result is a fantastic book: A Celebration of British Craftsmanship. Available from qest.org.uk

OX B R I D G E ADMISSIONS Published figures reveal the schools and colleges with the highest number of Oxbridge admissions are: Westminster School; Eton College; Hill Road Sixth Form College; St Paul’s School; Peter Symonds College; St Paul’s Girls’ School; King’s College School and Magdalen College School.

“The government doesn’t realise it's way behind when it comes to AI in education... they're still locked in the 20th-century mindset without even realising that they are. What needs changing is the mindset.” ETON COLLEGE A N T H O N Y S E L D O N I N T H E S P E C TAT O R

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UPFRON T / NEWS By FLORA THOMAS

R elocation The Lyceum School will relocate later this year. Headmistress Hilary Wyatt said: “The Lyceum’s heart has always been in the bustling and vibrant Shoreditch... We wanted to seek out an environment that would enable us to increase our capacity to take on more students.”

DNA Directed by Dominic Bell, Head of Academic Drama, students at The Ley's staged Dennis Kelly’s dark drama, DNA in the Great Hall. The cast of 12 worked hard and in a short space of time to realise Kelly’s script, which in the words of the director “turns the semi-incoherence of ordinary street speech into a highly original repetitive cross-talking poetry”.

NEW N U R S E RY St James Preparatory School in Kensington will open a nursery in September. The new space will share the school’s use of its Forest School, in addition to specialist performing arts, music and language teaching. Newly appointed Head of Nursery, Minisha Bist, brings a wealth of experience in Montessori techniques.

T E AC H E R TRAINING Instead of swapping typical Secret Santa presents this year, girls at Kilgraston School raised money for the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund which works with impoverished people across the globe. Pupils managed to raise £830 through donations, which is how much it costs for the charity to train a teacher.

Apple Awa rd Southbank International School’s Hampstead Campus has been named an Apple Distinguished School. The award recognises innovation, leadership and educational excellence in schools that use Apple products to inspire creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.

“I want my kid frolicking, drawing and playing football. Who knows more about stopping this madness and can help me? So nuts.” R O B D E L A N E Y, AC TO R , D E C RY I N G H O M E W O R K F O R S E V E N -Y E A R - O L D S O N T W I T T E R

SOMETHING THEY SAID “Young people are self-censoring because, unable to differentiate between critiquing an argument and criticising a person, they believe that disagreeing with someone may be a 'cultural crime'.” F R A N K F U R E D I , E M E R I T U S P R O F E S S O R O F S O C I O L O G Y AT K E N T U N I V E R S I T Y

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UPFRON T / NEWS By FLORA THOMAS

H igh pra ise

S TAT E O F THE ART

SCHOOL OF THE YEAR Kensington Prep School is ‘Independent Prep School of the Year’. Ground-breaking facilities have been created by transforming classrooms into powerful learning spaces. The renovation boasts spacious classrooms, an immersive hightech Explore Floor with multiscreens and moveable furniture, a multi-media recording studio and an eco-greenhouse.

“Classrooms have been transformed into learning spaces"

Tonbridge School has built a state of the art science centre. Named after distinguished British organic chemist Sir Derek Barton, an Old Tonbridgian and Nobel Prize winner, the Barton Science Centre is an ambitious development. Central to the design is an atrium space for lectures, experiments and events. There are areas for group work and private study, project rooms, a greenhouse and even a roofgarden. Bill Burnett, Head of Science, said: “We’d like the new centre to be a regional hub and a centre of excellence that the wider community will share in.”

Renowned actor, screenwriter and novelist Lord Julian Fellowes attended the opening night of the Lower School production at Benenden and declared it "marvellous". Lord Fellowes said: “I think it’s marvellous but, of course for my generation, quite surprising in its content as a school play – there were one or two moments that made me jump!”

G I R L R AC E R Babington House student Esmee Hawkey has been selected from hundreds of applicants as one of five British women to compete for places on the new, all-female, motor racing championship ‘W Series’. The W Series carries a prize fund of £1.15 million and is likely to lead to the first female Formula One racing driver. Esmee is a fantastic role model for present pupils and as an Ambassador for Babington House School, she proudly wears the Babington Logo on her racing kit.

CON FIDENCE IS KEY The incoming president of the GSA, Sue Hicks, called for public figures to remember that they are role models. She said: “Schools have a complex job to do these days because of the highly visible world in which we now live. More than ever, we need to work together to provide children with skills to enable them to navigate the 21st century.”

Top Story

B E G , B O R R OW STEAL Pupils at Beaudesert Park School in Gloucestershire looted friends’ and families’ wardrobes to stage a Year 8 production of Bugsy Malone in the school's performing arts centre. With gangsters in fedoras and dancing girls bedecked in feathers, the vast cast required 150 costumes and even a vintage Austin car on loan from a teacher.

SOMETHING THEY SAID “About 10 independent schools have signiﬁcant wealth and another 300 have buildings and land of considerable value. That leaves 2,000 independent schools with no endowment and little in the bank. These schools save the taxpayer £3.5 billion a year by taking children who would otherwise be educated by the state.” BARNABY LENON , CHAIRMAN , INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS COUNCIL , IN THE TIMES

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‘ Enjoying childhood and realising our imagination.’ “My time at Dallington has helped me to grow in body, mind and soul – this is something that I am immeasurably grateful for. Dallington has given me a push in the direction of success and I am thankful for all they have done. I will do the best I can to repay them, the best I can, by leading an honest and digniﬁed life.” - Nick (Year 6 pupil) Dallington is a family-run co-educational independent school, with a nursery, in the heart of London.

Personal tours each day of the week, except Wednesday. Next Open Evening: Thursday 16th May 2019 from 6 to 8 pm

Headteacher, Proprietor and Founder: Mogg Hercules MBE Email: hercules@dallingtonschool.co.uk Phone: 020 7251 2284 www.dallingtonschool.co.uk

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UPFRON T / NEWS By FLORA THOMAS

T H E VO I C E O F YO U T H P O L I T I C S Wellington College student and member of UK Youth Parliament, Khadeejah Hullemuth, is working to set up a junior Prime Minister’s Questions. How does she juggle school work with being a MYP? "It’s all down to organisation and knowing what you’re doing," she said. With such clarity there is no doubt that she will go far in the world. of politics.

“It's all down to knowing what you're doing”

BOTSWANA CHARITY

CRICKET WIN

Queenswood School in Hertfordshire has been sending girls to Mara-a-Palu, a school in Botswana, since 2016. The trips focus on community service, and involve spending time with Ray of Hope, a charity supporting orphans and vulnerable children in the village of Gamadubu. Now, Queenswood girls are establishing a link with a new initiative called ‘Hope for Her Botswana’, which focuses on women’s empowerment. Late last year, the school welcomed former Maru-a-Palu student Thato Mauco, who spoke with girls about the initiative.

Malvern College has named 13-year-old Grace Seedhouse as the inaugural winner of the prestigious Rachael Heyhoe Flint Cricket Award, set up in memory of the pioneering cricket star. Grace was selected from dozens of talented young cricketers who attended trials last week; she will join Malvern College in September. The award is worth thousands of pounds plus specialist menotring, and it is the first dedicated girls’ cricket scholarship offered by any school.

T R A D E S H OW In response to global interest in reducing the use of plastic, Hurst College’s Young Enterprise team, TOK, have launched a range of compact glass water bottles. TOK went along to Carfax Marketplace in Horsham to sell their products. Each practical bottle has been hand-etched with an animal at risk from the destruction of our oceans. The eco-conscious bottles even come with recyclable leaflets about the featured animal.

GOOGLE THIS 16-year-old Abingdon School student Freddie Nicholson has been crowned Google Grand Prize Winner in the global tech giant's annual competition for young coders. Freddie’s prize includes the chance to visit Google headquarters in sunny California this summer. Freddie said of his win: “When the email arrived saying that I was a Grand Prize Winner I couldn’t believe it!"

Top Story

GOING UP

OPEN DOORS

Falcons Preparatory School in Richmond will grow to include Reception and Year 1. Olivia Buchanan, Headmistress, said: "We have been thinking about our school and the community it serves... for many parents, a Reception through to Year 8 pathway is the most attractive and we strongly believe that we can offer a first-class education for boys from as young as four."

The Study Prep Wimbledon is to host its annual open morning on 9 March. The school is renowned for its caring, creative ethos and superb academic results. Last year saw a record number of senior school offers and scholarships, with a record number of 39 scholarships awarded, beating the previous year’s record of 35.

SOMETHING THEY SAID “It is a shame that parents feel they have to justify choosing private education. If the alternative is that you sacriﬁce the interests of your children’s education for some kind of political ideology or some kind of virtue ﬂagging, that doesn’t seem to be authentic parenting.” S H A U N F E N T O N , C H A I R O F T H E H M C A N D H E A D O F R E I G AT E G R A M M A R S C H O O L

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ANITA CORBIN by Antonia Cheema-Grubb AICHA MACKENZIE

PICTURE THIS

n celebration of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 125th Anniversary, Putney High commissioned a series of portraits of 12 trail-blazing alumnae, who attended the school over the generations and have gone on to make their mark in the world. The portraits were taken by Anita Corbin, the artist behind the critically acclaimed First Women UK exhibiton and herself a Putney alumna, and unveiled by the subjects themselves at a special gala evening held at the school before Christmas. Here is a selection of the portraits.

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UPFRON T / EXHIBITION

SOPHIE RAWORTH

JENNY BEAVAN

SANDIE OKORO

SOPHIE SIMNETT

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UPFRON T / FOCUS

BOOK bonanza The Awesome Book Awards is a brilliant scheme for young readers, created by the Head of English at Cranleigh Prep School A M A N DA C O N S TA N C E

he Awesome Book Awards is, well, awesome. The brainchild of Kate Schutte, Head of English at Cranleigh Prep School, it began in 2016 specifically to inspire children aged 7-10 years about books and reading. It offers pupils the chance to vote for their favourite books from five shortlisted authors in order to select the winner. Previous winners are Peter Bunzl (2018) with Cogheart and Ross Welford (2017) for Time Travelling with a Hamster. “It’s been very successful,” says Schutte, “because it’s about children, for children, aimed at children - that’s why all the authors want to be involved.” And it is for all children. While it's run by Schutte and CPS librarian Alison Fenton, the school has little involvement other than staging the ceremony. Schools can register online so their students can vote on the books and receive resources and updates such as book club blogs and Q&As with the authors. Registered schools are invited to take pupils to the awards ceremony itself in May. “It’s about creating a community of readers,” says Schutte. “We want children to explore different genres and to enjoy new authors’ adventures.”

them down to a five-book shortlist. The awards are launched in September. Participating students are then encouraged to read the shortlist - “if they read one or two, that’s fine,” says Schutte, “if they read all five, they are encouraged to vote”. Voting opens in March and culminates with the ceremony in May. “It’s like the Oscars for children - there’s real glitz and glamour,” says Schutte. Schutte admits the awards night “is already a victim of its own success. It’s too popular, more than 60 schools brought students last year,” which means they now have to limit numbers. “We’re trialling tech this year so that in 2020 we can live stream and take it national.” For something that is essentially a two-man band - plus great support from ABOVE Cranleigh’s IT and Marketing Kate Schutte with the 2019 shortlist department - the Awesome Book Awards already looks like The process to find this year’s the real deal. “It’s a lot of work, winner began last Easter. There are but great fun,” says Schutte. “With certain rules: the books must be by UKchildren you don’t want to do something based authors, it must be their debut novel half hearted. If we’re going to do it well, and it must appeal to a co-ed audience. we’re going to do it really well.” Fenton keeps an eye on all debut novels, “she’s hugely proactive,” says Schutte. They create a longlist, then a group of Voting for the 2019 Awesome Books pupils and adults read all the books over Awards opens on Monday 11 March 2019 the Easter holidays - that’s 15-20 books and closes Friday 26 April 2019. Sign up at before meeting in the summer to whittle awesomebookawards.com.

2019 Awesome Book Awards Shortlist

The Starman and Me by Sharon Cohen

Being Miss Nobody by Tamsin Winter

Brightstorm

by Vashti Hardy

Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth

The Ice Garden by Guy Jones

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Back to the

FUTURE The Master of Dulwich College tells Absolutely Education that his school’s 400th anniversary celebrations this year are not just about past glories. He has his sights set on new horizons A M A N D A C O N S TA N C E

n 2009, when Dr Joe Spence arrived at Dulwich College as the prospective new head, he spotted an opportunity. “I saw we were 10 years from a milestone anniversary,” he says. So as part of his pitch to the governors he said, “I’m here for the long game, I’m sticking around.’ I promised I would have a clearly defined message as to what a Dulwich College education is by 2019.” “And so what you will see this year is the work of a decade which we are now harvesting,” he says. Dr Spence is referring to Dulwich College’s impressive 400th Anniversary Programme, a blistering roll call of events throughout 2019 that involves and includes past and present pupils and staff, international pupils and the wider community. Highlights include the Dulwich Olympiad in March, the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in June, and the unveiling of two newly commissioned artworks, Gerard Stamp’s Dulwich College - which will sit alongside Camille Pissarro’s 1871 painting of the school and Helen Whittaker’s commemorative

stained glass window which will be installed in the Lower Hall. While the huge array of events on offer has clearly been the work of the whole school community, Dr Spence has been the engine behind it. “It has been very personal,” he admits. “This is what I promised on arrival.” But he is at pains to point out that the school’s 400th birthday will not just be about looking back over past glories. "What I want from this very special year is that balance of celebrating the best moments from our history but also looking forward, not missing the chance to think about where we go next - for me it’s about what the 2020s are going to look like.” The event that Spence thinks most symbolises this coming together of the past and present is Old Alleynians day in Founders Week (June). "It's not the most ‘wow’ day, but it’s at the heart of the year. The College is in touch with more than 3,000 alumni; leaders from every vocation imaginable will come back to their old school and give masterclasses to our current students. They will reflect on the past but also look to the future,” he says.

Dr Spence is not a man to stand still. Arriving at Dulwich via a first headship at Oakham and ten years as a History and Politics teacher and housemaster to the King’s Scholars at Eton, he fizzes with intellectual energy. And a palpable sense of moral duty; he clearly feels he must continue the remarkable legacy of the school’s founder Edward Alleyn. Alleyn - allegedly known as Ned to his friends - was one of the first celebrity actors, playing leading roles on the late Elizabethan and Jacobean stage. A darling of the theatre world, it is said that when he retired at the height of his fame circa 1598, Queen Elizabeth I personally requested his return to the stage. Through a good marriage and sound business sense, Alleyn amassed a small fortune and in 1619 he founded the College of God’s Gift in Dulwich village for ‘12 poor scholars' with letters patent from King James I. From those small beginnings grew a successful independent school for boys aged 11-18. Nowadays Dulwich College is an international global brand. There are now 1,800 pupils in London at Dulwich College and James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS). And

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UPFRON T/ FOCUS

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11 partner schools with some 7,000 pupils overseas. The roll call of alumni is long and impressive: the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, artist Jeremy Deller, the authors Graham Swift, Michael Ondaatje, Tom Rob Smith and Tom McCarthy; TV executive Sir Peter Bazalgette and further back in history, writer PG Wodehouse and explorer Ernest Shackleton. Starry indeed but the school still has the same social mission at its heart as it did 400 years ago: to provide access TOP to an outstanding education to Dulwich's rugby team pupils regardless of their ability ABOVE to pay. Spence is positively Dr Joe Spence evangelical about the need for fee BELOW Camille Pissarro's 1871 relief in the form of scholarships watercolour of the College and means-tested bursaries. Thirty five percent of boys from 11 to 18 are currently in receipt of some form of financial assistance at Dulwich and Spence wants this to grow to 50%. Even this ambition doesn’t match that of Christopher Gilkes, Master during the 1940s and 50s. During his tenure the academic standing of the College not only grew but it also took in large numbers of boys whose fees were funded by the London County Council (LCC) – this was known as the Dulwich Experiment and at its peak some 85% of the boys entering Dulwich College were in receipt of fee assistance and the College roll rose from 700 to 1,000 boys. Another of Dr Spence’s predecessors, Master Canon Carver (1858-1882), resented the prescriptive public examinations of the age and instead aimed to identify the right subjects for a boy rather than a syllabus of

shallow breadth. Today, Dulwich College has 'Free Learning' at its core, the second tenet of a College education about which Dr Spence is, well, evangelical. “When I first coined that term half the Common Room would have said, “Nice Blairite soundbite’, and looked doubtful now those very same staff are coming to me with ideas,” says Dr Spence. Free Learning, explains Dr Spence, is learning that is free from a syllabus, free from teaching to the test, and free to challenge pupils to thinking for its own sake. It is fed by intellectual curiosity, often supported by the interest and enthusiasm of a teacher, and takes place both within subject lessons and without. Examples of Free Learning at Dulwich are 'Creative Weeks’ (an entire week off timetable e.g. Political Week, Linguistics Week) and the Upper and Junior School Symposia. “We’re not all about Oxbridge here,” says Dr Spence, “we’re not all about attainment. Yes your sons will do well in public exams but if you send them here they won’t strain every sinew to get every grade.” And just as the College archives show many 18th century OAs heading into the recognisable trades of the time - tailors, carpenters, wheelwrights, drapers, dyers and stationers – so today Dulwich College supports the many and varied routes for pupils after school, including apprenticeships.

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UPFRON T / FOCUS

LEFT The Dulwich Olympiad BELOW One of the newly published Quartercentenary series

“We don’t have a crystal ball, we don’t know what the future holds but we aim to prepare our students for the world of work in the 2030s,” says Dr Spence. He believes developing students' empathy and original thinking, their IT competency, leadership and communication skills are paramount. “This will become even more the case with the death of the passive CV,” (when the listing of top exam grades will not be sufficient to secure a top job), he says.

events and showcase their talents in competitions and performances. The first Olympiad took place in 2015 when Dr Spence took 110 London pupils to Beijing. This time 600 pupils from the international schools will travel to London and it is hoped that the Olympiad will continue every four years. “It’s a way of bringing us together,” says Dr Spence. “We really are a community not just a franchise.” There are many events planned for this year but two of which Dr Spence is especially proud are the unveiling of a newly commissioned artwork of the school by architectural portraitist Gerard Stamp and the Quatercenternary Series, four newly published books concerned with, and inspired by, Alleynians. Stamp’s work, which Dr Spence personally commissioned, will be unveiled alongside Camille Pissarro’s 1871 watercolour of the Barry Building, the neo-Classical, neo Gothic New College built by Charles Barry Junior (son of the architect of the Houses of Parliament) in the mid-19th century. Stamp, an architectural portraitist, “plays off Pissarro’s watercolour,” says Dr Spence, but has included the Laboratory , the College’s newest building, thus “brilliantly capturing both the old and the new.”

“THE OLYMPIAD IS A WAY OF BRINGING US TOGETHER. WE ARE A COMMUNITY NOT JUST A FRANCHISE” And, he adds, the school isn’t afraid to back a boy who has chosen an alternative route. “We’ll encourage the boy who wants to do a Foundation Course even if his parents are still wanting him to choose STEM,” he says. For Dr Spence, it was important that the same core ethos of a Dulwich Education - the Social Mission and Free Learning - runs through the 400th Anniversary Programme. “I’d like to think it isn’t too rah rah,” says Spence. “This isn’t us saying how fabulous we are.” The grandest of all the events will be the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, at the beginning of Founders Week in June. More than 2,000 people, including all pupils aged 11 and above, will gather at St Paul’s. But the day will begin somewhat earlier for 18 Dulwich rowers

from the school who will deliver a letter of congratulation from the Queen, rowing the Queen’s rowbarge, Gloriana, from Putney to Westminster, before entering the Cathedral and processing down the aisle with blades. “That will be our moment of pomp and circumstance,” says Dr Spence. But he likes to think that the Friday before, Community Service Day, “is more emblematic of what the school is,” he says. Every pupil will be involved in a service project helping others. "We are not about looking inwards and gazing at the collective naval,” he says. Perhaps the event that most typifies this wider outlook is the Dulwich Olympiad 2019. Taking place in March, it is a celebration of sport, music, drama and art that brings together students from the Commonwealth of Dulwich College International (DCI) Schools to participate in workshops and

This year will see the last two books of the Quartercentenary Series published: a collection of 11 short stories from OAs, staff and pupils (Dr Spence is writing one) and a book about five of the best known Alleynian authors by Patrick Humphries to which Dr Spence is adding an afterword. “The idea of Dulwich as a cradle of writers is very important to me,” he says. 2019 will be a chance for Dulwich College to spread the message about what it is and what it stands for. “We have a very historic sense at this school, a tribal loyalty which perhaps my predecessors had trouble articulating," says Dr Spence. "I think we have got better at that.” And while he isn’t one to blow any sort of trumpet, he will admit to “some pride in getting to this point,” before hastily adding the proviso, “there is still much to do”. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 23

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PR EP / OPINION

Talking

HEAD

FIRST Steps Oliver Snowball, Head of Eaton House The Manor Girls’ School, on the importance of starting school at four

n a June day this year, Clara and Isabelle came to an Eaton House The Manor New Girls’ Tea Party with their mummies, who chatted as the girls enjoyed arts and crafts and made bright bead necklaces together. The teachers, hearing both of the four-year-olds say that they loved drawing, sat them together. By the time that the cakes and sandwiches had been cleared away, the mothers had arranged a playdate for the girls. They have been best friends ever since. It is this process of familiarisation and creating a warm and nurturing environment for our youngest pupils that is so important to us here. Sadly, it can be hard to play catch up if you enter independent education after the age of four, even for the brightest girls. We start with firm foundations and we build

“Developing positive habits in the early years is absolutely crucial ” on them very quickly. In the last two years, pupils were awarded 24 scholarships to London day schools and boarding schools. Beyond academics, our girls are happy, balanced, emotionally intelligent, kind and have good manners. So, what are the exact benefits of spending the full seven years with us? We feel that developing positive habits and attitudes in the early years of a child’s education is absolutely crucial. If the fundamental building blocks of learning are established in a safe, nurturing environment, children are more likely to

We understand that a girl’s date of birth can make a difference to how she approaches school life. For this reason, when girls begin with us, we place the older girls in one of our kindergarten classes and the younger girls in another. With the classes organised by age, the teachers are able to adapt their teaching according to the fine and gross motor skills, the concentration spans and emotional maturity of the girls in their A B OV E charge. Eaton House The Manor Girls' With every girl allocated School pupils into one of our four Houses at their point of entry to the school, the House fulfil their academic potential and grow into system not only provides another layer to purposeful, well-rounded young adults. our pastoral care but also a series of events With class sizes of up to 20 and two adults and competitions. The Spelling Bee, Poetry (one teacher and one teaching assistant) Recital and General Knowledge Quiz are with the girls at all times throughout the just a few of the competitions which sit first three years of their time with us, alongside the termly House sports matches, we ensure the girls are incredibly well ensuring girls with different talents are able supported. Academically, with these ratios, to compete for various trophies. we are able to give each girl significant A broad and balanced curriculum lies at amounts of one-to-one time and a more the heart of all we do. In the senior half of bespoke learning process. the school, Reasoning, Critical Thinking Through our single sex ethos, we put the and Latin are also introduced, subjects girls front and centre of all we do, offering which not only deepen the girls’ cultural a complete range of academic understanding but also and co-curricular experiences develop the creative, analytical without the pressure of any and evaluative thinking skills gender stereotyping. With the that are increasingly sought boys’ Pre-Prep and Prep on after in tertiary education and the same site, opportunities beyond. are also regularly provided For the girls to receive the for the children to come best possible tuition, many together and, as a result, of these subjects are taught OLIVER SNOWBALL Head both friendships and positive by specialists. The value of Eaton House The Manor working relationships are this deeper knowledge for the Girls' School forged. future is truly invaluable.

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RE GI ST ER FO R 20 NO W

AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY

EATON HOUSE SCHOOLS

Eaton House Schools – where potential is everything EATON HOUSE BELGRAVIA PREP, PRE-PREP AND NURSERY

EATON HOUSE THE MANOR GIRLS’ SCHOOL

EATON HOUSE THE MANOR BOYS’ SCHOOL

• The best Pre-Prep results in 5 years

• Outstanding results and pastoral care

• In 2018, 40% of 7+ and 8+ pupils received offers to Westminster Under and St Paul’s Junior School, amongst many other fine schools

• 11 Scholarships offered to top London day and boarding schools this year

• Excellent all round results to the best senior schools • A number of scholarships and a coveted John Colet Scholarship to St Paul’s School

We are non-selective, register from birth and take children from 3-13. If you want to start a conversation about your child’s brilliant future, ring Jennifer McEnhill on 0203 917 5050 to book an Open House Morning.

NURTURING EXCELLENCE EATON HOUSE SCHOOLS www.eatonhouseschools.com

EHS.indd 1 Prep & PrePrep 16.12.18 v2.indd 1 Absolutely12

02/01/2019 18/12/2018 11:25 12:09

ABOVE A pupil at the Lyceum

BELOW Is touch typing the future? Pupils at the Lyceum

WRITE ON? S

HILARY WYATT

Rising numbers of students are doing their exams on computers rather than having to complete handwritten papers. Universities such as Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge are all testing the move and more than 60% of universities have brought in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;e-examsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in at least one or two modules according to a recent academic survey. As touch-typing takes over, we ask some teachers and education experts, is this the end of handwriting?

HEAD The Lyceum

ometimes parents ask why we teach handwriting at school at all; surely it is an obsolete skill? Of course, we must teach computer skills to ensure that our children are well-prepared for the future but developing a neat and swift cursive script is just as important and there is sound academic research that supports this view. Joyce Rankin, who is on the State Board for Education in America and wrote The (Hand)writings on the Wall, cites research studies that have proven that there are direct links between developing good handwriting skills at an early age and academic achievement in both literacy and numeracy as children progress through their schooling; brain imaging has actually found that handwriting activates the brain more

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PR EP / TA LK ING POIN T

“Handwriting activates the brain, involving complex motor and cognitive skill” than typing because it involves more complex motor and cognitive skills. I have always found that the process of writing something by hand helps me to learn it and research says it helps to ‘etch it into the memory’. We all remember those long lists of spelling words that we learnt through writing them out over and over again; the process of writing them down was actually teaching the brain to remember them. Why would we deny our children this highly effective learning tool? Studies show that handwriting contributes to reading fluency as it activates the visual perception of letters. This is especially important for those who struggle with acquiring language skills. According to Marilyn Zecher, a language specialist, children with dyslexia have difficulty learning to read and to spell because their brains associate sound and letter combinations inefficiently. She says that cursive helps with the decoding process because it integrates hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and other brain and memory functions. The last and most important reason to teach handwriting is that having illegible handwriting can have a serious impact on a child’s selfesteem and can hinder their learning irreparably.

were awarded for the successful integration of ICT into the primary curriculum and I studied this subject on a scholarship to the USA. I was definitely not going to be a Luddite. But never did I consider dropping handwriting from the curriculum. There was far too much evidence to support its value. Children in Early Years develop physical co-ordination and mental stamina through mark-making, colouring and tracing. The Montessori method advocates a kinaesthetic approach, using sandpaper letters, salt trays and plasticine so children feel the shape of the letter and develop fine motor control. They draw the shape in the air as they repeat it. All children, leftor right-handed, should be taught the correct posture for writing and pencil grip to avoid discomfort. I am firmly in favour of cursive writing right from the start, with Early Years children being taught the ligatures

“I am firmly in favour of cursive writing right from the start”

to connect one letter with the next. Descenders/ascenders should be the right depth/height and the link strokes smooth and regular. Letter strings, such as in words ending in -ing or -ght, come naturally to children writing these cursively. When asked to advise on future schooling I always found the most efficient way to assess a child’s written level of English and creative potential is through a piece of unaided writing. All pupils, with only a handful of exceptions, need to write quickly and legibly in their examinations. On school visits parents should search for handwritten work by the pupils and value the integrity of the teacher who leaves untouched the occasional spelling mistake, celebrating the originality of the work displayed. To support their child’s learning, parents must, alongside paying attention to regular reading, number bonds and the world around them, ensure their child witnesses them, their primary role model, handwrite thank you letters, telephone messages or shopping lists. What better new year resolution than to spend ten screen-free minutes a day on handwriting? It will be a sound investment.

SALLY HOBBS,

FORMER HEAD AND S C H O O L S C O N S U LTA N T Mavor Associates

am very aware of how deeply embedded into our lives the typed word has become. In the 1990s and Noughties many of us involved in primary education eagerly embraced technology, seeing the potential of the infinite variety of applications. Touch-typing programs proliferated. Certificates SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 27

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Please join us for our special

Open Morning

Tuesday 26th March

to hear all about our future plans and get a sneak preview of the new building Book your place online today!

We are Confident, Creative and Kind 2019 will be an exciting year for the Lyceum as we move around the corner into our new five story building on Worship Street.

www.lyceumschool.co.uk LYCEUM.indd 1

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PR EP / TA LK ING POIN T

JULIAN DE BONO

D I R E C TO R O F S T U D I E S Port Regis

LEFT Gripping: Handwriting teaches motor-skills

BELOW Write on: Port Regis children practise handwriting

STEPHEN WINCHESTER HEAD OF ENGLISH Beaudesert Park School

andwriting is still alive and kicking here at Beaudesert, but very much part of a mix. We certainly place more importance on typing skills as the children near the age when they move on to their various senior schools of choice aged 13. Most can touch-type by the time they are 11, and we are working towards this being by the time they are 9. The children start to put pen to paper in Nursery, with dedicated handwriting sessions the order of the day during those early PrePrep years. At that stage physically forming the letters helps the children develop fine motor skills, and the action of writing or drawing them also taps into different ways of learning which helps embed the information. In fact there is a substantial body of evidence which suggests that, whatever your age, the physical act of writing something makes that thing more readily memorable. As a result,

work such as revision notes and spellings can hold more benefit if written than typed, even if the latter may take less time. Good, clear handwriting is celebrated in different ways throughout the school. Standout examples are displayed on noticeboards across various year groups, and children in Year 4 are each awarded a ‘Pen Licence’ when their handwriting has achieved a certain standard. At that point they are promoted to writing in class with a special pen instead of in pencil. There’s also a popular calligraphy extra-curricular activity. Touch-typing skills are celebrated, too. They are taught in dedicated ICT sessions, with children encouraged to practise at home using BBC Dance Mat or typing.com. Once the children have reached a certain standard they can choose to sit a WPM (words per minute) test, and we publish a top 100 list. The current winner clocked up 63 WPM.

he difference between a handwritten thought and a typed one goes beyond the merely technical. It is true that handwriting teaches fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination that will be crucial to the work of future surgeons and engineers; it is also the case that its slowness allows children to think and edit more carefully while articulating their thoughts. Every sixth-form invigilator has seen A-Level students, having spent years typing, massaging the muscle between finger and thumb just 40 minutes into a handwritten exam. There is more to it than that, however: typing and writing are not the same. Typing is the common currency in adult life: every keystroke is the same, unrelated to the eventual shape of the letters, and this disassociates us from the words we use – it promotes a bureaucratic, uniform style. We write what the reader wants to read, not what we want to say. Handwriting forces us to take responsibility for what we put on the page. Few poets start by typing a first draft; if we want our children to stand out in a world saturated with written information, we need to teach them that writing is more than a function – it is a craft.

“Handwriting forces us to take responsibility for what we put on the page” SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 29

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PR EP/ FOCUS

Left BEHIND

Do left-handed children get the support they need to thrive in a right-handed world or are they being let down? Absolutely Education investigates LIBBY NORMAN

enius or challenged – being left-handed still singles you out for labels. Parents of any child who favours left may be concerned that their offspring will have a bumpier journey, with more obstacles to overcome, because – let’s face it – the world is designed for right-handers. Parents are likely to have read eagerly the stories of famous southpaw creatives – Picasso and Einstein, et al – and read (less eagerly) that left-handers have a lower life expectancy. Misinformation is still common and both of the above widely circulated stories are

not true, according to Professor Chris McManus, author of Right Hand, Left Hand. McManus, Professor of Psychology and Medical Education at UCL, has a long-term interest and academic specialisation in handedness and lateralisation (the study of left and right brain functions). He devotes a whole chapter of his book to some of the more persistent myths surrounding left-handedness. Picasso and Einstein were both extensively photographed during their lives and every photo shows both to be right-handed, and with no other recorded evidence to suggest otherwise. Today most estimates of left-handedness place it at around ten per cent of the population. The increase is put down to a

societal shift – left-handedness is no longer a source of shame in most societies so most children are not ‘retrained’. Lefthandedness was once closely associated with otherness, even witchcraft, but if you imagine that idea had vanished by the 20th century, then think again. The English Dialect Survey, conducted on living subjects between 1950-61, unearthed only two terms for right-handed (one of which was right-handed), as opposed to at least 87 distinct dialect terms for left-handers. Many were obscene or scatological. Others, such as southpaw – which looks to have first emerged in Cumbria rather than on the baseball field or boxing ring – tap into the idea of ‘not from around here’. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 31

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PR EP / FOCUS

RIGHT A left-handed pupil

While the left-hander largely escapes negative labels today, parents who are investigating what being a ‘leftie’ means for their child’s future would be wise to read around the sources with a sceptical mind. Inaccurate information and dubious methodologies are still out there. Implied causal links between left-handedness and illness or cognitive/development issues are unproven and raise more questions than answers. What we can be certain of is that the incidence is currently somewhat higher in boys (around five boys to every four girls). The first concern for most parents of lefthanded children is development of writing skills. Children typically start to display hand preference by the age of two. In early years settings, the current practitioner focus is on all the fine motor skills. Dr Paulette Luff, Course Leader for the MA in Early Childhood Education at Anglia

“Most children start to display their hand preference by around the age of two, but it can take longer to show a dominant hand”

Ruskin University, says it’s about a head down approach. “It’s not just about hand dominance, but also arm and foot.” She also suggests we may be in danger of labelling children too early – they may take a while to show a dominant hand. So, early-years settings should offer a range of equipment so they can watch how children interact with it and let them experiment. “Children try to do things like the people around them, so sensitivity and awareness of all possible differences are key. Children who are struggling can be encouraged to try the other hand,” says Luff. “Part of the problem is that children are taught to write when their fine motor skills are still developing”.

4 really simple aids for left-handers Mark Stewart of Left ’n Write, a lefthanded shop in Worcester, believes we are not doing enough. He and his wife Heather, a teacher, have created handwriting practice books and guides, delivering courses and advice to individuals, schools and early years settings as well as retailing left-handed equipment. Their work grew out of a quest to find functioning scissors for their “very left-handed” son. They have campaigned via their MP to get more information on teaching left-handers included within the teacher-training curriculum. Stewart is particularly exercised by writing. He says: “It takes five to ten minutes to sort out a good technique and correct grip”. Children have come from as far afield as London for his guidance – his oldest pupil was in her late 60s, and she had never been taught how to use a pen left-handed.

Sitting on the left so they don’t bump elbows with their classmates • Slanting paper to stop smudges – a writing mat may help • Specially designed pencils and pens – and a left-handed nib for fountain pens • Left-handed craft scissors – so they can see what they are cutting out

Here, I should declare my own hand – left – and my recollection that even in my dim and distant schooldays at a small rural primary school I had lots of guidance. So teachers have long been helping lefthanders overcome their individual learning challenges – although there’s no doubt some have slipped through. Katie Paynter, Head of PrePrep and SENCO lead at St Nicholas Prep, says that today left-handedness is often handled by SENCO staff as they have specialist training, and know the adaptations that help. The good news for parents, she says, is that these small changes are easy to implement. The most important part of school and home support is to ensure children are encouraged to experiment, rather than made to feel awkward or different. * Anything Left-Handed; anythinglefthanded. co.uk. Left ’n Write; leftshoponline.co.uk. Right Hand, Left Hand by Chris McManus (Phoenix, 2002).

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SUPERHERO

SCIENCE

ABOVE The Mae Jemison Remarkablz card

aty Alexander is creating educational games designed to help children aim high – superhero high. It all started with her daughter’s confusion over whether girls could inhabit the world of science. She says: “We were walking home one day and my daughter asked me if she could be an astronaut – she wanted to know if this was a job that girls could do.” Alexander recognised that her daughter, then aged three, had picked up on a real issue. “If you can’t see yourself in a role, you are less likely to engage with or pursue the subject matter", she says. “Even at the age of three, children attach labels to themselves – ‘I’m a girl, and girls do/don’t do that’.” What made Alexander’s realisation more poignant is that she has a career in STEM herself. She attended medical school (leaving when she decided she was too squeamish to be a doctor) before moving into scientific publishing at journals such as BMJ and Nature. Now she is marketing and communications director at Digital Science, which provides investment and

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PR EP / FE ATUR E

“If you can’t see yourself in a role, you are less likely to engage with or pursue the subject matter”

support to cutting-edge science and technology research sectors. Alexander says female STEM pioneers still tend to be overlooked. While people may now know about the work of Ada Lovelace and Mary Seacole, chemist Alice Ball (developer of the first modern leprosy treatment) and physicist Chien-Shiung Wu (after whom the Wu parity experiment is named) have had little coverage and only recent credit for their achievements. In a recent blog post for Digital Science, Alexander noted: “We need to start much, much earlier in helping young boys and girls of any ethnicity or ability to understand that STEM-related professions can be their future”. As a past Wikimedia volunteer on the regular ‘edit-a-thon’ events that seek to improve the skewed gender balance of biographies on Wikipedia, Alexander had an existing knowledge of many lesserknown female pioneers. Her daughter’s comment set her wondering how she could help change the landscape – and that’s how The Remarkablz came into being. She has always enjoyed creating art and playing traditional card and board games. She began by designing simple cards for her daughter to play with, working in the evenings to create the images and stories around them. She initially envisaged them as trading cards, but over time they morphed into Top Quarkz, a version of the card game Top Trumps. While it was originally designed just for her family to use, this custom-made pack of playing cards attracted interest. Alexander says: “Friends with children started asking about it, and we got feedback from parents when we took the cards out with us to restaurants”. Originally she had designed the cards with a muted palette that was appealing to adults, but she soon realised that children were more engaged when colours were vibrant, so added a bolder Pop Art style to the portraits. “Whereas adults will be polite, getting feedback from children is tough,” says Alexander. “If they hate something they will throw it back at you!” After around five months’ testing, the prototype went into production. The Top Trumps method of play is maintained in Top Quarkz, so picking the

highest or lowest number is key to beating your opponents. Each of the pack’s 40 superheroes is assigned numeric values for scientific field, superpower (Einstein’s superpower is ‘space-time control’, while Mary Seacole’s is ‘empathic healing’), location, sidekick and weakness. The superhero’s weakness can be related to their field or their life story – asteroids for Victorian palaeontologist Mary Anning; horses for inveterate gambler Ada Lovelace. Four joker-style cards add extra spice – Gluon Superpower Enhancement enables you to win a hand, while the Up Quarkz card lets you skip your turn. Each superhero’s achievements are described briefly on their card in a way designed to encourage curiosity. Who wouldn’t want to find out more about curator of reptiles at London Zoo, Joan Beauchamp Procter, after finding out that she once took a pet crocodile to school – St Paul’s Girls’, incidentally – to show to her classmates? While the facts and illustrations are engaging, Alexander believes one of the game’s chief benefits is that families can play together and on the move – an alternative to solo gaming and screen time. To fuel the ambitions of would-be space travellers, including Alexander’s daughter, a female astronaut role model is in the mix – the first African-American to travel into space, Mae Jemison. She sits alongside a diverse body of female scientists, engineers, inventors and researchers. Scientists of

ABOVE The Mary Anning Remarkablz card

different nationalities and ethnicities are showcased in a gallery stretching from current pioneers to ancient-world astronomers Hypatia and Zhang Heng. The great thing about any Top Trumpsstyle game is that the cards can be switched around as more scientists join the Top Quarkz hall of fame. In the meantime, Alexander has developed two further edugames within The Remarkablz portfolio. Newton’s Rainbow is a biographical colouring book of science superheroes, while soon-to-be-launched Black Hole is an updated version of Old Maid. Alexander is planning to grow The Remarkablz portfolio further and believes that parents, scientists and educators need to engage all children in STEM, do it more creatively and start when they are very young. As she put it in a recent blog, we all need to: “consider how we can encourage more high quality, diverse role models to inspire the next generation of science superheroes”. The Remarkablz’ games cost from £4.95-£9.95; theremarkablz.com SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 35

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LEFT Abbey School pupils BELOW Overtutoring: too much preparation?

candidates. Of course, good prep schools teach these exam skills – but a tutor (or parent) can be very effective in reiterating these points, or teaching them to children who have not had the benefit of good preparation at school.

WHEN SHOULD CHILDREN START PREPARING?

11 YEARS OF 11+

The founder and director of Keystone Tutors has sage advice for parents

WILL ORR-EWING

have run a tutoring company at the crucible of the 11+ scene for the last 11 years, and have seen first-hand how hundreds of families approach the exams. Here I answer some questions often put to me by parents, teachers, tutors and others connected to the sector.

DO PARENTS NEED TO HIRE A TUTOR?

No. There are exceptions but most 11+ exams do not require children to learn more than is on a typical age-appropriate prep school syllabus (or, for parents in

the state sector, the National Curriculum) so a diligent and conscientious child should not need extra tutoring. There is lots that parents can do on their own with good textbooks and freely available past papers. If children are sitting for one of the more academically competitive schools, it is important to bear in mind, however, that there is not much room for error and that children often need to be taught how to avoid losing silly marks under exam conditions. Furthermore, successful candidates will need to be able to perform well on the more challenging questions that are designed to differentiate strong

Most, but not all, 11+ exams are sat in the January of Year 6. When families call us seeking an 11+ tutor, we tend to recommend that children begin formal preparation 12 months before that day, in January of Year 5. Some families like to do a diagnostic assessment in the first term of Year 5 to see if there are any significant gaps in understanding that require special attention. Of course, attention to reading, writing, core numeracy and any other part of the Key Stage 2 curriculum in Year 4 will not be harmful, but we would counsel against formal preparation at such an early stage. It is important to bear in mind the ‘opportunity cost’ of starting formal preparation so early. An hour of Bond or BOFA is an hour not spent reading, going for a walk, having discussions around the dinner table, playing outside and other essential human experiences.

WHERE SHOULD TUTORING BE FOCUSED?

The first point is to check the specifications of each school’s exam as some have moved away from English and Maths towards Reasoning only. As a general rule, though, shoring up children’s foundations in English and Maths should be the first priority. These core skills tend to be the most malleable and improvable in the often novel one-on-one context, and they also deliver the most long term educational benefits given the centrality of English and Maths

“It’s never as simple as number of hours equals number of marks”

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PR EP / FOCUS

When hiring a tutor, which questions should a parent ask? skills to GCSE and beyond. Tutors should check the understanding of core topics first, and then check that their students have mastered the skill of showing understanding in an exam context – quite another skill. If Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning are being assessed, they should also be attended to but less so, as Reasoning skills are less plastic. We tend to recommend that students familiarise themselves with these types of question on sites such as BOFA, Bond and Keystone Tests, but intensive practice should not be necessary. A few short sessions in the months before the test should be plenty.

HOW MUCH TUTORING IS ‘THE RIGHT AMOUNT’? Most children receive one hour per week in each subject (Maths and English) for the 12 months leading up to the exam. Given holidays etc, that usually means about 30 weeks of tutoring. It is a lot of time that could be perhaps more richly spent, but it is not excessive and means that sports and other extracurricular passions can still be comfortably accommodated. Many children establish great rapport with their tutor and many families tell us that the period of 11+ preparation was of more value than anticipated.

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS ‘TOO MUCH PREPARATION’?

There certainly is such a thing as overtutoring, and it is clear from my discussions with school leaders that it is this problem, rather than tutoring per se, that makes schools so alarmed about the effect of tutoring on their pupils. We have heard of children who have had tutoring more than five days per week in the lead up to 11+. The problem is that it is hard to apply

• What is your experience preparing children for this exam? • Have you had any relevant training? • What is your plan over the weeks and months ahead? • How will you be monitoring my child’s progress? How will you be reporting this? • Do you have testimonials or references? Can I read them and speak to the referees? • Will you be available for the entirety of the tutoring program you have suggested? • Can you let me know any holidays you have booked or intend to book? • Will you have any interaction with my child’s school teacher to make sure that your approach does not contradict theirs? • Can I see a copy of your DBS certificate?

When hiring a tutor through a tutoring company or agency, which questions should a parent ask? • How was this tutor selected or screened to join your organisation? • Was this tutor interviewed face-to-face? • Why have you selected this tutor for my particular child? • How well do you know this tutor? - how many families has this tutor worked with that you know? • How many tutors do you have on your books? (and all the questions in the question above)

a hard and fast rule as each family context is different, and each child has different capacities. My years in tutoring have certainly convinced me that, although there is a correlation between the number of lessons and the eventual 11+ performance, it is a not a simple equation of number of hours = certain number of marks. Parents should consult their own sense of balance and proportion before deciding, but should again bear in mind the opportunity cost of tutoring and the shrunken and withered hinterlands it can create in the broader lives of their 10 year olds.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ADVICE FOR PARENTS TO STAY SANE? As far as possible, keep the dialogue going with your school about which exams your child is sitting for, whether they need extra preparation and whether the school is putting on extra classes before the exam. Additionally, try to manage your own stress about the results of 11+, as stress is contagious. Even if you do not talk about 11+ explicitly, as some parents do, children are deeply attuned to the emotions of their parents and pick things up implicitly.

“The 11+ has been enthroned in parents' minds as a do-or-die stage” IS THE 11+ MORE STRESSFUL NOW THAN IT EVER HAS BEEN? CAN ANYTHING BE DONE ABOUT IT?

In the mid-1990s, I was fortunate enough to attend one of the most academic prep schools in the country. We were streamed from the age of 8, taught Latin from 9 and over three quarters of each year group typically won places at Eton. Yet I recall almost no academic stress or anxiety whatsoever. None of us applied to scores of schools; none of us sat multiple 11+ entrance exams day-after-day (I met a girl who had sat six in six days last year); none of us, as far as I’m aware, were so worried that we pulled off a toenail, as did the daughter of a mother I spoke to recently. What has changed in the past 20 years? The tragedy of it now is that the prep school years are often paradoxically less intellectually demanding (how many nine year olds are learning Latin, Greek and reading Shakespeare?) but much more stressful. Why? Top UK independent schools have never been so popular and the increased pressure on places in these top schools has undoubtedly upped the ante. Where 20 years ago, there was some parity between the number of children applying to top schools and the number of places available, now schools boast of applicant to place ratios of six to ten or even 15 to one. The 11+ exam, used by these schools to sift the outstanding from the merely excellent, has been ever more enthroned in the minds of parents as a do-or-die stage in their children’s academic future - and who can blame them when a difference of a few % can be the difference between pass and fail? Naturally, many parents look to tutors to help their children make ‘marginal gains’ over other applicants, the supposed need for which only adds more stress to an already stressful time.

WILL ORR- EWING Founder and Director Keystone Tutors SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 37

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Encouraging a ‘Growth Mindset’ is gaining ground in schools. So what is it and how can it help our children?

MINDSET M AT TE R S

FLORA THOMAS

was eight and at parents’ evening when my music teacher said I was doing well in his class. My mother raised her eyebrows, aghast, “Really? I always thought she was tone-deaf.” My mother had a particularly fixed mindset with regard to my musical ability. The idea that we are either good or bad in any given subject permeates school, and indeed adult, life. It’s not difficult to see how limiting a fixed mindset can be: “I am good at maths, so when I don’t understand something it must be impossible. I’m bad at French, so I won’t work hard because it will be a waste of time; I’ll never succeed.” In reality, those who improve the most over time are those who believe they can get better. It was Dr Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist, who coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset 30 years ago. After studying the behaviour of thousands of children, Dweck used the

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THOSE WHO IMPROVE THE MOST OVER TIME ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE THEY CAN GET BETTER

terms to describe the the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. Recent advances in neuroscience has shown us that the brain is far more malleable than previously thought; research on brain plasticity has shown how connectivity between neurons can change with experience. In other words, with effort and experience, our brains can develop and grow and that leads to higher achievement. Kingston Grammar School in south west London recently dedicated a conference to the ideas surrounding Growth Mindset. Called ‘I Can’t Do It… YET’, the conference featured an impressive array of speakers - including our most decorated female Olympian, British rower Dame Katherine Grainger - who spoke to the audience about the transformational nature of a singular belief: that one can always improve. One such speaker, ex-teacher and author of Cleverlands, Lucy Crehan, discussed the findings of her international study of highperforming education systems. In countries credited with having the most successful education systems in the world, like Japan and Singapore, working hard - really putting the effort in - is seen as a moral quality. There is a fundamental belief in the value of seeking to improve. So, as parents, what can we do to push our children in the right direction, to encourage a growth mindset? One of the most important implications for parents and teachers is the inverse power of praise. First we must accept that not all praise is equally good. That which focuses on outcomes and ability only serves to fan the fixed mindset flames. Take Dora, for example, who has dedicated herself to I L L U S T R AT I O N P H I L C O U Z E N S

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learning Pythagoras’ Theorem. Having scored top marks in a test, her teacher congratulates her, “You’ve done well which means that you’re clever and you must be good at maths!” Dora feels elated, and her niggling supposition that she’s both intelligent and good at maths has been confirmed. The next day, Dora is faced with a test on percentages. She doesn’t immediately succeed, and feels stumped. It’s understandable - she knows she’s clever, she knows she’s good at maths, yet today she’s not getting it: something’s not adding up. Very quickly she throws in the towel. “I’m clever and good at maths, yet I don’t understand percentages today, which means I never will.” Had Dora’s teacher praised her effort, that is to say the processes which led to her success in the Pythagoras test, she would likely be inclined to persist in the face of challenge. In a second scenario, having done well in her Pythagoras test, the teacher says, “You’ve clearly worked hard to learn the theory, well done you!” The pride she feels is directly related to the effort she put into preparing for the test, not to a perceived innate mathematical talent or intelligence. When it comes to the test on percentages, Dora already knows that if she works hard, she’ll get there. Although this is a somewhat trite example, it distills the idea at hand. Those with a fixed mindset see their intelligence as innate and unchangeable. Whereas those with a growth mindset understand that through hard work and effective effort, they can improve their ability and are more likely to succeed. The idea of an IQ doesn’t help matters: Alfred Binet who developed the theory which lead to the original IQ test didn’t intend for it to be used to measure a fixed level of intelligence. He stressed the limitations of the test, insisting that intelligence is influenced by a number of factors, and that it changes over time.

I asked Stephen Lehec, Headmaster at Kingston Grammar School, how a school can adopt a growth mindset. “Our school tries not to have a unique selling point. We’re not just a sporty school, an academic school, or a pastorally excellent school. You can expect all of those things.” “We ensure growth mindset is incorporated into teaching by constant development of teaching and learning, by really examining our successes and discussing how to improve further.” Misconceptions surrounding growth mindset are rife; the message is often diluted and simplified into an ‘anyone can do anything’ theory, which is unhelpful and inaccurate: “The resurgence of interest in growth mindset has been pushed through government channels, the Education Endowment Fund and various teaching publications, though some of it has been misinterpreted as ‘fitness for your brain’, suddenly we’re being told to ‘grow’ and strengthen across the board, rather than focus on the core of Dweck’s theory which is essentially open-mindedness and positivity.” Lehec explains that at Kingston Grammar, growth mindset is taught implicitly, “through dedicating more time to not only understanding the feedback a piece of work has received, but by taking action and improving each piece of work.” So, does a growth mindset matter for some students more than others? “Though some find it easier to adopt than others, it’s important for all students. High-achievers may not want to think about how they can improve in weaker areas, especially when they’ve spent so much time honing their particular skill, which may well lead on to their future career. The idea that they should refine other areas, or even share their successes with others who may benefit from them, might not always come naturally.” It’s not to say that children don’t have particular strengths and weaknesses - of course they do. Even Dame Katherine Grainger admits she exhibited a talent for rowing from a fairly young age. Conversely, the point is to focus on setbacks, to embrace failure as the ultimate path to improvement. AUTUMN • WINTER SPRING 2019 2018 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 39

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LEFT Students in the CIRL at Eton College

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KIND Teaching growth mindset can result in kinder students, says Jonnie Noakes, Director of the Tony Little Centre at Eton College

he work on mindsets by Stanford Professor in Psychology Carol Dweck has gained traction worldwide in education. It is easy to see why. It speaks to the heart of what educators do, and it shows how students can move beyond self-fulfilling prophesies of attainment. It has a simple central theory which makes intuitive sense to teachers: if you believe intelligence and other abilities are fixed, you are likely to avoid challenge or risk in order to avoid failure, no matter how limiting that can be. On the other hand, if you believe that you can change your abilities with effort you are likely to make more effort, and as a result, improve them.

Although the theory is not without critics, it is backed up by a solid body of research. This research shows that growth-minded students not only tend to have better academic outcomes than those with a fixed mindset, they are also more likely to be intrinsically motivated and to enjoy learning for its own sake. Dweck has also shown that growth-minded students are more likely to show respect and admiration for fellow students who succeed, while fixedminded students are more likely to show resentment towards others' successes. The Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning was set up three years ago to promote pedagogical excellence, evidence-informed practice and research into teaching, learning and

leadership in education. We collaborate with schools and universities internationally. Among other topics we have researched wellbeing, character education and growth mindset. Interested in work by Research Schools International (RSI) at Harvard which has shown that students who are more growth-minded are more likely to help their peers in need, we decided to collaborate with RSI to investigate the link between mindsets about intelligence and students’ prosocial attitudes (their willingness to be kind and empathetic) and social connections.

RESEARCHING GROWTH MINDSET AT ETON

irst, researchers collected baseline data from 187 Etonians, who were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Eton teachers delivered the growth mindset course to students in the experimental group once a week over three weeks, focusing on mindset theory and brain plasticity (the brain's ability to change as a result of how it is stimulated, which exists throughout life but especially in adolescence). Researchers collected follow-up data from the all the students and then analysed it using quantitative and qualitative methods. The results revealed that students who took the growth mindset course learned to be more growth-minded: they gave more growth-minded responses after taking the course, on average, compared to students in the control group. This difference was statistically significant. This adds to the growing body of research suggesting that by just learning about the power of your own thinking and your brain's ability to change,

“If you believe intelligence is ﬁxed, you are likely to avoid challenge or risk” SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 41

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RIGHT In the CIRL BELOW Eton pupils

you can become a more growth-minded person. We also found statistically significant differences in other scales we used to measure the differences between the control and experimental groups. Interestingly, we discovered that after taking the growth mindset course many students developed a more sophisticated understanding of the many factors that contribute to abilities, including brain plasticity. They were also more likely to emphasise the role of determination and effort in success and to express respect for determination and effort. But the findings didn't stop there. We found a statistically significant relationship between students' mindset scores and their prosocial attitude scores: students who took the growth mindset course actually improved their prosocial attitudes. That is, the growth mindset course led to a statistically significant increase in students' prosocial attitudes; we did not find a change in the control group. The findings that students who are growth-minded tend to have more prosocial

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Students who took the growth mindset course actually improved their kindness and empathyâ&#x20AC;?

IN HER OWN WORDS Professor Dweck on Mindset attitudes and to feel they have better social support are particularly interesting to us, since they have the potential to inform our work in teaching individuals who are not only academically able but also value social support and character values highly. The students who took part in the course were more likely to link kindness to academic success, they were more likely to show support to others, and more likely to understand how this kind of social support is conducive to their success at school more broadly. Since conducting this research, we have set up professional learning conversations among teaching staff on how to foster growth mindset in Etonians. As well as using instruction we have focused on the importance of the type of language we use, particularly in reports and feedback to pupils. We have also sought to counter some of the reductive misconceptions that commonly attach to growth mindset, such as that it is all about giving praise, or that it privileges effort over success. More research is needed to better understand the relationship between student mindsets and prosocial attitudes, but our study provides insights into how we can support students to be both more academically successful and kinder. Even though we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t claim that these findings can be replicated across different contexts, we suggest that encouraging a growth mindset towards one's intelligence can promote better relationships. The full report can be viewed on the Tony Little Centre website at etoncollege.com

indsets (or implicit M theories), as psychologists have studied them, are people's lay beliefs about the nature of human attributes, such as intelligence or personality. Some people hold a fixed mindset (or an entity theory) and believe that human attributes are simply fixed traits. For example, they might believe that each person has a fixed amount of intelligence and cannot change that or that each person has a certain personality or moral character and cannot do anything much to alter it. In contrast, other people hold a growth mindset (or an incremental theory). For example, they may believe that all people, no matter who they are, can become substantially more intelligent, say, through their effort and education, or that all people can take steps to develop their personality or moral character over time.

J O N N I E N OA K E S Director, The Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning Eton College SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 43

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LEFT A growth mindset requires positivity

Mastering OUR MINDS The Headteacher of Churchill Academy on introducing a growth mindset to his school

CHRIS HILDREW

n my book, Becoming a Growth Mindset School, I wrote about my role as a Deputy Headteacher and Headteacher as we worked to scale up Professor Carol Dweck’s work on mindset into a wholeschool culture. A growth mindset culture seeks to tackle motivation by instilling a school-wide ethos that we can all improve through the careful, consistent and deliberate application of appropriate strategies. We have sought to provide all our learners with strategies to overcome difficulty by celebrating behaviours such as persistence, struggle and taking on difficult challenges.

WHAT IS A GROWTH MINDSET?

rofessor Carol Dweck, the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, has conducted a lifetime’s research into mindsets and has established an opposition between a fixed mindset (the belief that intelligence is fixed) and a growth mindset (the belief that intelligence can grow). In Dweck’s research she observes that people with a growth mindset embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism and find inspiration in the success of others. As a result, they avoid the fixed

mindset that can trap them into an early plateau and cause them to fall short of their unknowable potential. These are exactly the attitudes I want to build in learners – and staff! There is a sense that Dweck’s work is ‘flavour of the month’ and that simply saying ‘growth mindset’ is supposed to wave a magic wand over your school. This is not the case, and Dweck herself is very clear about it. Having a growth mindset does not mean you will succeed at everything. In painting, simply having a growth mindset will not make me Picasso; in running it will not make me Usain Bolt. But having a growth mindset will make me better at painting and running than I am now, and that is why I adopt the approach.

GETTING GROWTH MINDSET BACK TO FRONT

hile the ideas behind growth mindset have become more widespread and popular, they have also become more widely critiqued. In our work in school, we have come to the conclusion that many people understand mindset effects back to front. The way that many of Dweck’s initial experiments have been presented led us initially to believe that developing a growth mindset in our students would lead them to increased motivation and greater academic success. This meant that our first attempts at developing a growth mindset culture saw us working on mindsets in isolation, through assemblies, displays, and specialised lessons designed to introduce the concepts and approaches. While these approaches did no harm, and perhaps helped students to understand what a growth mindset was and what we expected, they were not habitforming and did not, in many cases, change student attitudes. What we now understand is that, in fact, it is the other way around: greater academic success and progress, when it is the result SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 45

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BELOW Chris Hildrew's book on growth mindset

“We re-thought our whole school culture to align our values with a growth mindset approach”

of determined and consistent effort, develops a growth mindset in our students. When students apply effort and carefully chosen learning strategies in school, and then see the progress they make as a result, they begin to equate effort and strategy with academic success and achievement, and they are then more likely to apply that approach in future. In order to be effective, those effort-leading-to-achievement experiences need to be happening multiple times every day the child is in school, to reinforce that connection and develop the learning behaviour. At Churchill, we try to engineer those experiences through our curriculum and our extra-curricular offer. If the level of challenge is too low, students will achieve easily without too much effort and without encountering difficulty or struggle. If this is the case, they will start to equate “achievement” with “easy,” which is the beginning of a fixed mindset. Alternatively, if the level of challenge is too high and students are not appropriately supported to reach that high

expectation, they will start to see effort as fruitless and be inclined to give up – again, the seeds of a fixed mindset. The key is to find that Goldilocks pitch where the level of challenge is such that students have to struggle, try different strategies, and really apply themselves – but then they can achieve. This needs skilful teachers who know their students really well and can plan their curriculum and pitch their lessons so they are “just right.”

and characteristics that would lead to effective learning. In the end, we settled on the research of Angela Duckworth and colleagues at CharacterLab, which found that character strengths fell into three broad categories: strengths of the heart, strengths of the mind, and strengths of the will. From this framework, we settled on our three Academy values: kindness (heart), curiosity (mind), and determination (will). Underneath this framework, we then laid out the approaches and attitudes we value in learning, based in the research of Dweck, Duckworth and also Walter Mischel. The framework we have established is that at Churchill, we believe in the value of: • Determined and consistent effort • A hunger to learn new things • Challenging ourselves to go beyond our comfort zone • Viewing setbacks and mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow • Seeking and responding to feedback • Encouraging others to succeed This set of value statements informs our attitude to learning reports to families, and they are used as the basis for conversations between teachers, tutors and students in order to coach learners to ever-moreeffective study habits and approaches to their lessons. Our approach to mindset provides a road map and a template for any student who wants to thrive and make exceptional progress. Our message now is simple: if these students did it – you can too.

WORKING ON STUDENT MOTIVATION

n order to focus students on their approach to learning and the strategies they are using, rather than just the outcomes, we re-thought our whole school culture. This started with us considering the Academy’s core values, to align them to our approach to character education and developing a growth mindset. This process included teaching and support staff, and a wide-ranging group of students, researching the attributes

CHRIS HILDREW Headteacher Churchill Academy & Sixth Form in North Somerset. Becoming a Growth Mindset School (Routledge) is out now. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 47

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A wider OUTLOOK A parenting expert on bringing a growth mindset to raising children MELISSA HOOD

’ve been a parenting educator for 18 years, and every time I start a course I get parents to imagine the future when their child is grown-up. I ask them which attributes they would like to see in their child. Inevitably, parents will say happiness and success amongst the qualities mentioned. Of course parents want their child to be happy, but happiness is a state of mind that changes all the time. Pursuit of happiness can in fact lead to narcissism and dissatisfaction. Real happiness occurs when we have purpose in our lives.

So, what does success look like? Happiness may be a by-product of accepting that success comes in many different forms. Will it be attainment of wealth, power, fame, status, or accomplishment of some externally set qualification, grade or promotion? Many parents have quite a fixed view of success, determined by their upbringing and by whatever societal narrative of success they are tuned in to. When there is a definite goal for a child, in a their parents’ minds there is often one predetermined path to achieve it. There are many successful people who have not pursued a conventional path.

Think of Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney and Lucille Ball, none of whom ‘succeeded’ in conventional education. There is a Hasidic teaching that says, “If your child has a talent to be a baker, don’t tell him to be a doctor.” When this was mentioned in a class one of the parents said “Oh no, my son will be a doctor!” When success can only look one way there is potential for causing much stress in children, as well as rigid thinking, loss of creativity and missed potential. Children pursuing someone else’s agenda can feel overwhelmed and anxious. The child may feel very controlled and lose rapport with

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the parent. Juliet asked her tween son what his definition of success was and he said “It’s Usain Bolt – because he gets to do what he loves and he has the physical and mental energy to do it really well.” If we set our own standards for success, and follow them, then we are successful. Whatever it looks like, success is achieved in small steps and takes effort. Don’t feel you have to justify your version of success to anyone else. The workplace of the future will look very different from now. Machines have moved on from being able to do manual labour better than us and are now able to process and learn from data at frightening speed and without the requirement of sleep or days off. The types of white collar jobs that used to be the exclusive domain of the university graduate are rapidly being taken over by computers. Entry-level jobs in law, finance, education and healthcare may soon not exist. The rise of robots and artificial intelligence means that the set of skills to enable humans to succeed in the new world will include creativity, imagination, enterprise, the ability to challenge information (critical thinking) and the stress environment with consistent routine ability to understand the way other humans and a calm, problem-solving approach think and feel. Parents can encourage those to discipline is necessary. If you want attributes in their children and create the to encourage understanding of other conditions in which those skills will grow. perspectives, you need to show and teach You can work with your child, accepting empathy. their temperament and understanding Be an emotion coach for your child. their educational profile to help them Your child’s rational, thinking, impulsesucceed, with academic attainment being controlling brain (they have got one but it only one component to success. Success in won’t be fully mature until their mid-20s) the educational sphere and the workplace works most efficiently when less stressed. hinges on non-academic skills like When your child is upset, validate and emotional intelligence. describe their feelings to them. To encourage creativity and They will be able to manage imagination, your child needs emotions much better when they BELOW time to chill and think. A lowunderstand them and see that Parenting expert Melissa Hood you accept them. That frees up the brain to look for solutions. Children become resilient. Naming the feeling makes connections between the language centres of the brain and the emotional amygdala. Hugs also produce oxytocin which calms the brain. “I know sometimes it’s hard to get started on your homework/music practice when you’d rather play your new game. Those computer games are designed to be really appealing and when something’s new it’s even more tempting”. Emotion coaching works even better when combined with descriptive praise (noticing and mentioning the qualities you want to encourage): “You seem really stuck on this problem. It can be hard to think of solutions when you feel like that. Last week when

“If your child has a talent to be a baker, don’t tell them to be a doctor”

you had those spellings to learn you really persevered and had some creative ideas for remembering them. As I recall, you found it helped you to move around while you were memorising. You got them in the end.” Pressure to achieve at school is a leading cause of stress for children. Sometimes in our efforts to encourage our children to do their best, we may in fact be de-motivating them and adding to stress. Parents often say they want their children to be confident and self-motivated, willing to try things and take risks, to work hard and persevere. You can motivate your child without causing stress by: • Making sure you have realistic expectations for this child, given their stage of development and temperament • Showing an interest in their learning • Avoiding seven deadly habits: criticism, blaming, nagging, shouting, controlling, threatening and punishing. • Encouraging input from your child • Using descriptive praise, not for achievements, results or grades, but for effort and attitude.

For more information on the Parent Practice, visit theparentpractice.com SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 51

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GOOD HABITS The Deputy Head of Latymer Upper School on teaching a growth mindset A N D R E W M AT T H E W S

t Latymer Upper School, our approach to learning is based around the needs of the individual learner. In one sense our approach is traditional; we believe the bedrock of education lies in the acquisition and understanding of knowledge, concepts and skills related to specific academic disciplines or co-curricular activities. However, we believe that learning involves pupils’ development of more generic skills and dispositions, which we refer to as ‘Habits’, involved in intellectual endeavour and study. These include; inventiveness, problem-solving, critical thinking, curiosity, collaboration and teamwork. In addition to these is the development of our ‘Habits of Heart’, by which we mean character education. These qualities include; courage, resilience, reflection and meta-learning (a pupil’s reflection on how they learn), personal and social responsibility (including leadership), concern for others and a disposition to service. Habits of Heart can only be realised when we help pupils develop positive attitudes to learning. So, developing a growth mindset is fundamental. We took the seminal work on growth mindsets from Carol Dweck, as our initial inspiration. Then, we invited Professor of Psychology in Education, Barry Hymer, to lead our staff training programme in 2016. We wanted teachers to incorporate a growth mindset approach in their lessons and for them to introduce it to pupils at the earliest opportunity by teaching them about its benefits from Year 7 onwards.

“We want our pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning”

ABOVE Teaching at Latymer Upper

To evaluate the effectiveness of our mindset teaching our Head of Lower School designed a six-part growth mindset course for our Year 7s. Alongside a team from Harvard University, we designed a research project that enabled us to assess its impact on our pupils. Half the year group received the course in their first term and the other half acted as a control group (they received the course later in the year). The course was found to have a significant effect on each of the three growth mindset variables measured: mindset about intelligence, mindset about one’s own intelligence, and mindset about personality traits. In other words, pupils who took the course experienced significantly greater increases in growth mindset than pupils who did not receive the course. Those who were taught the course showed a shift in their attitudes about effort and mistakes; an increase in their knowledge about how the brain learns; and a more growth-minded understanding of personality traits. Less expected were various other positive effects: an increase in pupils’ prosocial

attitudes, specifically shown in their willingness to help their peers; a decrease in stress levels; and, a decrease in academic self-handicapping (in order to provide an excuse in case of failure). The positive endorsement of our approach has enabled us to continue teaching pupils about growth mindsets and refine our methods of so doing. Our teachers have growth mindset in the forefront of their minds whilst planning and teaching lessons. The growth mindset Latymer Upper has adopted means that our entire community is always seeking to improve and to learn.

A N D R E W M AT T H E W S Deputy Head Latymer Upper School

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An all-through education for your whole family Boys and Girls 2-18 years old To book a tour of any of our Nursery, Preparatory or Upper Schools visit:

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Kensington Ages 4 - 11

Mayfair Ages 11 - 18

17/01/2019 11:26

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10/01/2019 15:48

Talking

SENIOR / OPINION

HEAD

QUIET TIME Maria Young, Headmistress of St Mary’s Shaftesbury, on the importance of silence in young people’s lives

hen do young people have the opportunity to experience silence in their lives? Usually, it is either during the somewhat stressful quietness of a test, or in the reverential quiet of a visit to a museum, historic building, cemetery or similar. Unless we deliberately set out to achieve a sustained intentional silence at school, we run the very real risk of raising a generation that has never experienced the transformative power of stillness, against a backdrop of increasing levels of white noise. It is striking how little conversation takes place on public transport today: a new silence has fallen there. Each individual is immersed in their own music or movie world, experiencing sounds chosen to underline or transform their own current

“We run the risk of raising a generation that hasn’t experienced stillness” mood, without needing to interact with anyone else nor take any account of the world around them. Levels of anxiety continue to rocket, however. Plugging in to one’s favourite music compilation is not really alleviating the pressures in the way one would hope. Long before the admirable trend for mindfulness in an educational setting, Catholic schools were emphasising the need to experience silence as part of a full prayer life. Such periods of ‘silent reflection’ could lead directly into the transformational practice of meditative prayer, and the

A B OV E

A St Mary’s pupil in the chapel

beginning of a lifetime’s spiritual journey. part of the weekly evening routine when Our schools reach out to those of all faiths I ran a boarding house. The girls sat in or none, however, and I have yet to meet the darkened Abbey church, the altar was a person who did not grow to value the spotlit and two candles were burning: as experience of intentional silence, wherever a mis en scène for deep interior work, the they might sit on the faith spectrum. The setting was hard to beat. Sometimes the practice offers a unique possibility to initial ‘emotional chatter’ could turn up experience stillness, which has its own tricky thoughts, but the beautifully safe value, given the observations above. space and the power of undertaking silence When starting out, the very act of trying as part of one’s community life meant to empty one’s mind tends to achieve the that the girls really valued the experience, reverse, as a host of unbidden thoughts and referring to it appreciatively long after issues rush chattering in. The meditative leaving the school. journey teaches a person to Discovering within oneself acknowledge these thoughts a profound sense of peace and then let them go, so that and love, whether or not one a deep and powerful sense wished to identify that as an emerges of being able to experience of the transcendent, control and get one’s anxieties gave an extra dimension into perspective. It is the very to our pupils’ ability to be opposite of ‘overthinking’: resilient and self-confident at learning to ‘accept’ and ‘let go’ an elemental level. If you wish MARIA YOUNG is a blessing. this for your own child, then a Headmistress Fifteen-minute Silent Catholic education has much to St Mary's Shaftesbury Reflection sessions were commend it. SPRING 2018 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 55

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SENIOR / OPINION

Talking

HEAD

TEAM sport Nicola Huggett, Head of Cheltenham College, on the importance of parents and schools working together

ou have reviewed the glossy prospectuses, shortlisted your favourites, had the red carpet treatment at numerous open days and now it’s time. Of course every school looked the part and the subject teachers said the right things. But how exactly are you supposed to know which school will provide the all-important behind the scenes pastoral support, to best help them in all other areas of their school life; in the classroom, on the sports field, or when being ambitious with their higher education goals? At the core of a really excellent school are their values, communication and willingness to form a team approach with parents. Good parent / school teams share the same values. If you support the school’s values and boundaries, you show your child that they are in safe hands. That trust and confidence from a parent means that a child can relax and just get on with doing their best. Clear boundaries and consistent routines mean that, as a pupil, you know where you stand and you know what is going to happen if you do not, on occasion, meet those expectations. If you get it wrong – and people always do – you want the same thing to happen and then we all move on again with no lingering disappointment, shame or long-lasting guilt.

“A good school with staff who pick up the phone rather than email will give you conﬁdence”

open dialogue with your teenager is really good news and nothing to be feared. Excellent parent / school teams realise that your child is part of the team, too. When you are attending open days, observe how your child interacts with both staff and pupils. If they feel relaxed in their company even after just a few hours, then it is probably the right fit for them. For all A B OV E of the lists and tally charts Cheltenham you can make comparing College students one school to another, never forget to trust your gut on these decisions. Great parent / school teams It can be a challenge entrusting a school communicate well. Ask lots of questions with the care of the most precious person about the communication you will have in the world to you. But don’t ever think with those staff who care most closely for that we do not understand or appreciate your child; their tutor, form teacher, Head the responsibility that you have placed of Year or House Parent. A good school in us. Once you have made your choice, with staff who pick up the phone rather take a deep breath and relax about the than email will give you all the confidence contact you have with your son or daughter. that you need. If you keep in close touch Sometimes, the best thing to do is to just with the school pastoral staff, giving them sit back and wait. We all want the same as much information as you can, you will thing for your child; confidence without become part of the essential dialogue that arrogance, the curiosity to take on the they are having daily with your child, albeit inherent risks of growing up with caution indirectly for a time. Remember that, but not fear, and a willingness to see the funnily enough, teenagers can glass that is half full. That find it easier to talk to teachers is at the heart of the growth than to their parents. That is mindset that we all seek to not the sign of a failing homedevelop. life in any sense. It is just If you can trust the that the fear of disappointing school to encourage this allyour parents is removed and important independence, you you’ll often just get straight, will be amazed, and justifiably consistent advice, that you proud, of the engaging and NICOLA HUGGETT may or may not want to hear. resilient young person that The Head Cheltenham College As a parent, good pastoral returns home to you at the care at school that encourages end of each term.

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Benenden School A Complete Education for girls aged 11 - 18

For a prospectus and application form or to book a visit to the School contact: The Registry Benenden School Cranbrook Kent TN17 4AA 01580 240592 registry@benenden.kent.sch.uk www.benenden.kent.sch.uk

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Talking

SENIOR / OPINION

HEAD

KEEPING IT REAL

Sally-Anne Huang, Headmistress of James Allen’s Girls’ School, on her highly successful social media campaign #headteachersreallife

t’s impossible to listen to the news these days without hearing stories about the mental health crisis amongst young people. Schools, universities and doctors are all acutely aware of the increased number of reported cases and are also keen to explain the cause of the problem. It seems that social media is an easy target. A relatively new phenomenon, it can often be blamed for all sorts of evil. From my own perspective, I think social media can do a lot of good. It helps people to connect, stay in touch and share ideas. Many of the teenagers I know use it to sustain friendships and plan fuller lives. I do tend to think the line of ‘total evil which should be banned’ has Luddite overtones and merely indicates the failure of one generation to understand another. However, I do recognise we all have a tendency to portray only the best of ourselves online. For teenagers, this pressure seems much worse. In a world of filters, they pick only the very best images of themselves to post – often counting the likes and being offended if people don’t comment positively or follow back. Any one individual participating is then on the receiving end of other carefully curated accounts where everyone is seen in the right light from the right angle and is having a great time with their many friends. Real life, as it is really lived, with grey clouds, slight discomfort and bad hair days, never gets a look in. It stands to reason that, if you are forever pursuing a false, edited ideal, mental health

“My posts reveal the less-thanperfect moments in my day”

A B OV E

Firmly grounded: JAG’s students

and real happiness will often be sacrificed. campaign has seen coverage in the Evening We get told that teachers are role models Standard, iNews and the BBC. to the young people in our schools. I’m not The girls who have spoken about the sure that extends entirely to headteachers hashtag say that they have enjoyed seeing but, in any case, I have tried to do things aspects of my daily life and found comfort differently for a little while. For the past in the fact that I have mishaps too. They few months I have been posting with the do feel that it makes me seem more tag #headteachersreallife, photos and approachable. Similarly, I take comfort in comments which reveal the less than the tweets from other heads who also admit perfect moments in my day. Don’t worry to having bad days. – I haven’t gone for the really tragic or There’s always the pressure when you’re depressing, but you might have seen untidy growing up to think that you’re the only one desks, missed trains and sad looking that has any problems. It takes confidence lunches. I am astounded by the to admit that not everything response, and have enjoyed in your day has gone as you seeing other heads from might have liked it to go. For across the country embracing me, there’s great mental health the hashtag. Tweets have in being able to say that and ranged from one head being in being able to laugh at it. If stung on the foot by a bee in we believe that striving for his sock to another admitting an impossibly perfect ideal to to insomnia before the start match those edited online lives SALLY-ANNE HUANG of term. The response from is making our students ill, then Headmistress James Allen's Girls' School the national media has also we should at least offer a more been overwhelming, and the realistic alternative. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 59

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PA RTNERSHIP

Out of your

LEAGUE

Katharine Woodcock, the Headmistress of Sydenham High School, on why league tables don’t measure success

iscouraging children from comparing their achievements with those of their peers is one of the biggest challenges parents and teachers face. We work hard to ensure that all our pupils see success in the context of identifying their own potential. Every year, I wince when league tables come out, calculating schools’ results and ranking them. What concerns me most is that league tables do not tell the whole story about the school or the pupils behind the statistics. Also, different league tables use different measures of comparison. As a result, parents may make unfair assumptions about an institution without considering the wider context. Good teachers want to bring the best out in children. League tables do not reflect the starting point of any given pupil. Schools that are super selective are inevitably high

“We no longer want to feed the frenzy of results comparison” up in the league tables. What these tables do not measure is the progress made, the wider distance travelled and the valueadded aspect of those pupils who are perhaps late developers. Schools that have succeeded in helping such pupils fulfil their potential beyond expectation, may not necessarily make the top places in any league tables, but they are no less worthy than those schools that do. Measuring the success of pupils must transcend letters and numbers. GCSE and A-Level results alone should not define the

ABOVE Katharine Woodcock with Sydenham High girls

worth of a pupil, or indeed a school. What matters is that a school holistically enables all its pupils to do their very best in an environment where they can be true to themselves, and those around them. Judge a school on how it has helped to shape and prepare an individual for their next steps and the future. Schools mental health champion, Natasha Devon MBE, rightly pointed out last summer that results “don’t tell you anything about all those little moments that leave an indelible mark on pupils intellectually and emotionally. They simply can’t quantify what has been ‘learned’.” Mental health and wellbeing are key priorities for us all today. Not least because according to a recent survey conducted by the charity Action for Children, one in three young people suffer from mental health troubles. Theresa May has announced new plans to alleviate this problem and

the teaching of ‘resilience’ is to become part of the National Curriculum. We must consider whether, by comparing every cohort’s results with those of another, we are perpetuating a culture that is damaging the wellbeing of our children. Next year we hope to join a number of other schools in not submitting our results to the national press. We no longer want to feed the frenzy of results comparison. As Zig Zaglar states, “success is doing the best with what we have”, so let us help our young people to identify and nurture their talents and abilities, take pride in who they are, and rightly applaud their achievements.

For further information or to arrange a visit, please contact: admissions@syd.gdst.net Tel: 020 8557 7004 sydenhamhighschool.gdst.net SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 61

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SENIOR / INSIDER

REACHING O UT The Director of Outreach at Forest School on collaborating with the community A D E L A K AY

orest School seeks to engage young minds and teach the whole student; to bring into the world young people with excellent qualifications and a sense of the wider world around them. As part of this educational philosophy we believe that it is important that as a school we engage with our local, national and international community to improve students' awareness and encourage them to be an active members of their communities. As part of our focus on partnerships and community, Forest has an extensive programme of initiatives every year. Community Action is one such initiative which seeks to further our ongoing commitment to local charities. We recently collaborated with Wrap Up London, a charity which collects warm clothing to distribute to charities supporting vulnerable people. The event was organised by an extremely committed group of Year 11 pupils who led the planning, created poster appeals to pupils and their families to donate their warm clothing, and collected many bags worth of coats for the worthy cause. Laurie, in Year 11, said: “We could not imagine not having a roof over our heads or a coat to keep us warm, and so we wanted to help collect as many coats as possible, so those in need could be kept warm this winter.” Also this year, Forest held its 13th Prep and Primary music day, open to children from any of our local primary schools. The day, organised by our Director of Music, Mr McGregor, saw an eclectic array of practical music-making activities, typical of a musical

“We could not imagine not having a roof over our heads”

ABOVE Year 11 pupils collecting warm clothing

day at Forest School. Students had the opportunity to experience group singing, learning a song off by heart and working on the skills of blend, tone and balance. There were ensembles comprised of tenor horns, French horns, trumpets, cornets, clarinets, oboes, flutes, recorders and piano. At the end of the event, the entire group took part in a performance of samba music which proved to be a real high point of the day. Forest has also been developing links internationally. Following a visit from Principal He of Shanghai Aurora Foreign Language Middle School last May, I accompanied our Head of Mandarin, Ms Chen, to Shanghai in October. Our visit consisted of three days at the Aurora Middle School and a day at the Aurora Vocational College, observing lessons, talking to staff and taking part in activities. We were particularly interested in their approach to teaching and learning, and we enjoyed taking part in symposiums with their staff. Exciting research aside, our main

task was to set up a cultural programme that Forest students will benefit from when they visit. This will involve both staff and students undertaking study visits as well as our Mandarin students working with their Chinese counterparts in Shanghai. At Forest School we are fortunate to benefit from wonderful facilities, resources and individuals. We would hope that, year on year, more and more schools in our locality will be able to participate in mutually beneficial future partnerships.

A D E L A K AY Director of Outreach Forest School SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 63

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SENIOR / FOCUS

TIME TO TY Transition Year is the Irish schools’ system’s USP, discovers Absolutely Education LIBERTY BRETT

n leaving primary school at the age of 12, children in Ireland start secondary education. The first three years are the Junior Cycle. They culminate in the Junior Certificate exams which (like GCSEs) are state examinations developed for the end of compulsory education. The Senior Cycle, for children aged 15 to 18, involves an optional first year: the Transition Year (TY). Free from formal exams, it provides an opportunity for students to pursue a range of experiences. Those who don’t opt for TY go directly in to the two-year Senior Cycle, whereby finishing school a year ahead of those who go through TY. In a survey by the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union, nearly 80

“Like many highachieving schools in Ireland, TY is compulsory at Glenstal Abbey”

ABOVE A Glenstal trip to Mt Kilimanjaro

per cent of pupils found TY to be worthwhile. An optional extra year of school isn’t obviously appealing to children, so why is it popular? At Glenstal Abbey, as is the case in many high-achieving schools in Ireland, TY is an integral and compulsory part of the educational experience. TY in a boarding school offers unique opportunities for participation in a wide range of interesting, formative and entertaining activities. The school believes strongly in the merits and benefits of this experience. It is not a year where every last detail of what will be studied or experienced will be prescribed in advance. Instead, boys, staff and parents work together to allow varied and new experiences of learning to take place, and it's where valuable skills for life are discovered. The programme at Glenstal has three clear aims: to emphasise personal development, social awareness and increased social competence; to promote

academic skill with a focus on self-directed learning; and to educate through experience of adult and working life. During their first term, Glenstal boys sample subjects they have never tried before, giving them the chance to ignite new areas of interest. The process also helps students make informed decisions as to what subjects to choose for their final years of school. Various TYspecific modules are on offer at Glenstal. 'Press-Pass' is one such module: it’s designed to enable students to learn all about newspapers and the writing, analysis, preparation and photography that’s involved in putting one together. ‘Mini-Company’ is a module which encourages boys to think of a creative enterprise whereby they come up with a product, market it and sell it to a target audience. Last year a group of students designed and sold Glenstal Abbey rugby hoodies, and the proceeds were donated to charity. Those who study a foreign language are encouraged to engage in exchange programmes during TY. Boys travel to France, Germany of Spain during their final term. In return, their exchange partner will come to experience Irish life for a number of weeks during the year. The Transition Year is an important break from the cycle of public exams, it's a valuable opportunity for students to engage with the wider world. A well-organised, high quality programme provides a positive and appropriate transition for students into Senior Cycle. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 65

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30/11/2018 12:03

SENIOR / INSIDER

ALL ABOARD The Head of Admissions at Dauntsey’s School on the beneﬁts of boarding in the UK JO SAGERS

WHY BOARD IN BRITAIN?

ending children to boarding school is a big decision for any family, but overseas parents are increasingly recognising the significant benefits that come from a British education. At its best, a modern British boarding school offers an all-round education that develops the whole person. Outstanding pastoral care is afforded by staff who set clear boundaries and high expectations while nurturing self-esteem and selfreliance, enabling pupils to go out into the wider world with confidence.

BOARDING AT DAUNTSEY’S

auntsey’s has more than 300 full boarders who are joined each day by some 500 day pupils. We have approximately 70 international pupils from a wide range of countries including; Hong Kong, Spain, India, Nigeria, Dubai and the Gulf States, Italy, Germany, China, Austria, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

At the heart of our community is the house system which creates a feeling of belonging and collective responsibility. The house is designed to mirror family life and rapidly becomes a home from home for pupils. Dauntsey’s has its own International Society to which all international pupils automatically become members. It is run by the school’s full-time chaplain, the Reverend Johnson, who organises events throughout the year enabling international pupils to get together socially. There are trips held during the autumn and spring exeat weekends which pupils can choose to join rather than go to a guardian.

to and from Heathrow, as well as local railway stations. There is a structured welcome programme for all new pupils to provide support and guidance from the outset. Everyone will be linked with a 'buddy' who will make contact before the new pupil arrives and will be a constant point of contact during those first few weeks. Each pupil is appointed a tutor who lives in their house, meaning they are able to get to know each other quickly through both formal and informal meetings. The tutor is responsible for ensuring a pupil fulfils their potential academically as well as for their pastoral care. The tutors report to the housemaster or mistress who acts as an additional constant presence for pupils. To help build friendships and break down barriers, there is a structured introduction programme which, for younger pupils, involves activiites such as a treasure hunt around the school; For older pupils, there are several teambuilding events during the first weekend of the academic year and a structured programme of social activities.

LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS

iving alongside your peers through adolescence creates very close bonds and builds a strong sense of mutual respect and tolerance. As pupils leave us at the end of Sixth Form they take with them friendships which can last a lifetime. In an increasingly globalised world, there is something very special about having a connection from boarding school with friends from all over the world.

TRANSITION TO BOARDING

he first few weeks of boarding are a significant milestone for international pupils and we do everything possible to make this transition as smooth as possible. The school has a dedicated transport manager who organises transport

J O S AG E R S Head of Admissions Dauntsey's School SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 67

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13/12/2018 16:26

Talking

SENIOR / OPINION

HEAD

CROSSING the DIVIDE

Rob Pavis, Deputy Head of Gordon’s School, on sending his own children boarding

s someone who has spent their entire career in boarding education, I have lauded and advocated the benefits of boarding to hundreds, if not thousands of families over the years. But the transition from boarding professional to boarding parent was not straightforward. Firstly, whilst I have always been aware of the financial sacrifices that parents make in order for their children to attend a boarding school, having not previously experienced it for myself I was unprepared for what this actually meant. Having been through the last four years of sacrifice and compromise myself, my respect and admiration for many of our boarding parents has risen exponentially. I now understand why parents want the very best outcomes for the investment they are making. Certainly any thoughts I might have had about replacing my 12 year-old car were quickly shelved and I found myself a good mechanic instead! The second surprise I then had was the sense of detachment. Again, I have spent 25 years working with parents and their families, dealing with the tears at drop-off time – and I mean the parents’ tears rather than the child’s. As we well know, a child is very quickly distracted and will find a game of football or a Wii dance-off to immerse themselves in within five minutes of their

“My respect and admiration for boarding parents has risen exponentially”

A B OV E

Gordon’s School sutdents

parents driving out of the school gates. To very early on. That weekly phone call be the parent whose eyes were still welling spoke volumes about how much they were up 45 minutes later on the long, silent drive enjoying their new independence and all the home after dropping-off was something of opportunities that were open to them. a shock – and it didn’t get any easier for a Where are we now? Both of my children very long time! Again, my understanding of achieved their full academic potential a parent’s sacrifice was heightened. (without me being the one to do the nagging Finally, the bit I always knew and – something that has been worth so much trusted. The enormous amount of fun and more than I ever imagined!) and are now at achievement that my children their first choice universities. experienced from their time More than that, they became as boarders is something that the confident, independent, I just can’t put a price on. The go-getting young people that I idea that they would be weekly had always seen (and envied) boarders soon fell by the in my Year 13s when bidding wayside as the weekly phone farewell to them at the end of calls on Thursday evenings every year. As for me, well the asking if they can “stay in car is now 16 years old and ROB PAVIS boarding this weekend” meant with university education to Deputy Head Gordon's School that we resigned ourselves pay for, the search is on for an to them being full-boarders even better mechanic! SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 69

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SENIOR / OPINION

Talking

HEAD

MODERN family Alice Phillips, Headmistress of St Catherine’s, Bramley, on the beneﬁts of weekly boarding

odern boarding is a revelation for many of the parents I meet. Gone are the cold showers from their own boarding-school days, and many need little persuasion that it makes perfect sense for their own children. But there are worries; the girls themselves are usually very eager, but Mum and Dad often need more reassurance. One of the first concerns parents express is that they will lose touch with their daughter. Mobile technology and social media, Facetime, Skype etc. ensure parents and daughters can and do stay in touch regularly. Long gone are the days when parents were kept at arm’s length. Parents ask about the ‘right’ age to start boarding. Traditionally, 11+ has been the transition stage for girls’ schools and I believe that this is the optimum age for the step up to senior school of any kind. So much care and guidance go into the welfare of every single girl during the two vital developmental years, from 11 to 13; watching our younger boarders negotiate their way to becoming confident and considerate young adults is a huge source of satisfaction for my boarding staff. Girls who join us later, at Year 9, benefit from a full three terms of teaching and learning before the onset of GCSEs. The new GCSE syllabuses are far more content-laden; therefore, many

“Mobile phones and Skype mean the days when parents were kept at arm’s length are long gone”

A B OV E

St Catherine’s, Bramley students in a dance show

departments have begun to teach exam grid-locked traffic as they juggle competing topics in Year 9. As a consequence, we very demands of children’s busy lives with their rarely accept new pupils in Year 10. own career. Parents’ careers are another factor One boarding mum recently wrote to me in choosing weekly boarding. Mum or about what weekly boarding has meant to Dad might be looking to return to work her: "It has made my life less stressful, as or to move from part-time into full-time we can all manage work commitments and employment. This usually coincides with then have quality family life at the weekend, the time when their daughters’ extraknowing the homework (and laundry) is curricular activities are beginning to make taken care of." greater demands on familyThe final word goes to one time. At a boarding school, of our Year 7 boarders: "For extra-curricular activities me, the benefits of boarding - orchestra, choirs, dance, are more time for work and netball, tennis, lacrosse, play, no travel sickness on the gymnastics, swimming, way to school, always having school productions etc - are something to do, and lots more all on-site and fully accessible time to do more club activities before school and into the because they are right on my ALICE PHILLIPS evening. Weekly boarding doorstep." Weekly boarding Headmistress St Catherine’s, Bramley parents certainly do not might just be what you have miss the frantic pick-ups and been looking for. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 71

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A leading boarding school for boys aged 12 to 18 years in Ireland • A small school of 250 students, with small class sizes (12 to 16) • A caring community oﬀering personal pastoral care for your son • The highest educational standards in our broad and diverse curriculum, with students achieving the equivalent of three A* grades in the Irish Leaving Certiﬁcate • Situated in 500 acres of parkland in the heart of Munster • 40 minutes from Shannon Airport and two hours from Dublin Airport

Every Day is an Open Day at Glenstal Abbey School, please do come and see for yourself... Glenstal Abbey School, Murroe, Co. Limerick, Ireland +353 61 621044 - admissions@glenstal.com - www.glenstal.com

GA.indd 1

16/01/2019 13:06

SENIOR / INSIDER

ON COURSE FOR

SUCCESS The Head of English at Kensington Park School on why many private schools have opted for the modular IGCSE

n the 2015 GCSE reforms, all coursework elements in English Literature were removed resulting in the entire GCSE English Literature grade being based on the final summer examinations. The change has generated a lot of debate over whether a pupil’s grade should be based solely on examinations. Arguably it should not, which is why Kensington Park School, like many independent schools, has opted to teach the International GCSE (IGCSE) instead, highly valuing its flexibility and suitability for preparing pupils for a modern future. One of the greatest strengths of the IGCSE courses available is the option for pupils to complete coursework. For schools, coursework allows pupils the opportunity to practise their skills in drafting, analysis, and creativity. At Kensington Park School, we champion imaginative thinking and academic excellence. Coursework allows for pupils to shine, as they can demonstrate their independent learning and creative potential. Equally, it is an element of the IGCSE course which prepares pupils for their later education, as A-Level and university courses will both demand coursework style tasks. I have watched pupils engage passionately with coursework, considering their planning and construction carefully. They enjoy the process, because they understand the purpose for it. After all, our focus as educators is to prepare our pupils for their future; limiting them to an exam-only route arguably does not do this.

“Coursework means students walk into exams with more conﬁdence”

S T E FA N I E J O N E S

ABOVE Kensington Park School students

In a modern education system, we need to be moving back towards an IGCSE system, where flexibility allows teachers to more readily adapt their curriculum and teaching choices to fit the students they care for. Furthermore, an exam-only route in a handful of subjects may be suitable, but if students are limited to this option in all subjects, they can be left facing 20 or so examinations in the summer, where all their work over two years is judged over a period of two or three weeks. This puts an intolerable amount of pressure on pupils. The modular approach of the IGCSE allows for pupils to complete aspects of the course prior to their final examination, removing some pressure. Coursework gives students the opportunity to walk into the exam knowing that they have already achieved a specific percentage in their subject, building their confidence and managing expectations. Equally, teachers have an accurate working grade as a result of their coursework, which we use to differentiate and adapt their teaching throughout the year. Predicted grades are grounded in more clear evidence, and data is more accurate and usable. In summary, alongside the more practical

benefits of coursework, it is undoubtedly the case that schools have a duty of care to consider the wellbeing of their students. Arguably, an exam-only route for assessment creates a more pressurised environment, and it can feel like a onesize-fits-all structure that does not benefit all pupils for whom we care. We believe that an excellent education should be grounded in variety, choice, and outstanding opportunities, not limitations. A diverse range of curriculum options and routes allows schools to create an exceptional education, and the modular approach of the IGCSE is focused on just this.

S T E FA N I E J O N E S Head of English Kensington Park School SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 73

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EXCELLENT ISI inspection 2018

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OPEN MORNINGS Sat 9 March 9.45am to 12 noon Sat 11 May 9.45am to 12 noon To book, email registrar@heathfieldschool.net

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HF.indd 1

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Talking

SCHOOL LE AV ER / OPINION

HEAD

ALL ROUNDER Martin Hall, Head of ACS Hillingdon International School, on why the IB Diploma beats A-Levels

roponents of the IB Diploma and A-Levels have spent decades presenting the benefits of the two exam systems, claiming that they each offer the best preparation for future success. Both qualifications have history and strong advocates. For some, A-Levels are largely perceived to be the traditional choice, not surprisingly as it’s the UK national curriculum and has greater familiarity. However, if a parent explores the wider differences that the IB Diploma offers, they can then make a better choice for their child.

DIFFERENCES IN STUDY

Both the IB and A-Levels involve studying three subjects in depth, and carry equal UCAS tariff points at top grade level, 56 points. For the IB, however, three further subjects are studied at a ‘Standard Level’. In an examination, an IB question and A-Level question would probably look very similar. In both tests a student will be assessed on the knowledge retained, an understanding of concepts or methodologies, and the application of standard techniques. Unlike the A-Level, however, the IB exam also assesses whether a student is skilled in analysing and presenting information; whether they can evaluate and construct arguments; and if they can apply what they

“It's evident that the IB Diploma is better suited to our varied and fast-paced lives”

not formally examined. From this, it is evident that the IB Diploma is a more ‘all round’ qualification, suited to our varied and fast-paced 21st century lifestyles.

WHAT EXPERTS THINK

A B OV E

Hillingdon students studying for the IB

know to real life situations or to another subject matter. Being able to construct and evaluate an answer creatively and with individual flair, is also held with high regard by IB examiners.

PREPARATION DIFFERENCES

In a study conducted in 2017 by ACS International Schools, 94 per cent of university admissions officers claimed the IB Diploma helped students develop a skill for independent enquiry compared to just 49 per cent for the A-Level. University admissions officers cited that the nature of the IB Diploma teaches students to research and investigate independently and efficiently and, along with its academic rigour, this helped prepare students proficiently for university study, more so than A-Levels.

The main difference of the IB to the A-Level THE IB AND ACS HILLINGDON is that written exams are just one part of The IB Diploma is a challenging the whole IB qualification. qualification, however, an IB school such The IB Diploma includes an Extended as ACS Hillingdon, will also teach students Essay within the realms of one of the three time management and study skills to help subjects studied at higher level. Students students complete their Diploma to the also complete a course in the highest possible level. Theory of Knowledge – which When compared to assesses the ability of students A-Levels, the IB is a holistic to apply knowledge gained to qualification, perfect for real life situations. the 21st century student. A further component, It enables a child to be Creativity, Action, Service challenged academically, but (CAS), encourages students to also provides them with the take part in extra-curricular perfect opportunity to develop MARTIN HALL activities that involve creative the analytical and independent Head ACS Hillingdon International thinking, physical activity or thinking skills needed for School voluntary work; however, it’s future success. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 75

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Under OFFER The government seems determined to turn higher education into a competitive marketplace LISA FREEDMAN

hen I was at school, a boy I knew used to brag about the fact that he’d got into Oxford with ease. It was, however, a joke. He had, in fact, won his place at Oxford with two grade Es in his A-Levels. In those days, most university offers, were ‘unconditional’, i.e. if you passed your exams, you were through the door, even of the most hallowed institutions. Last summer, however, a new educational ‘scandal’ emerged, as a more recent incarnation of the ‘unconditional offer’

seemed to be in surprising ascendance. In July 2018, the university admissions body UCAS announced that the number of ‘unconditional’ offers made to UK 18 year olds had risen from just 2,985 in 2013 to 67,915 in 2018. Before this recent explosion – now representing over seven per cent of university applications – virtually all places at UK universities were dependent on applicants achieving specified grades in their A-Levels or equivalents. Even then, however, there were exceptions, particularly for those whose talent trumped their exam technique, and a strong portfolio or audition has always taken precedence over the mark scheme.

The current inflation in unconditional offers is, of course, entirely unsurprising. It coincides with the government's determination to turn higher-education into a competitive marketplace, first by tripling tuition fees for those entering university in 2012, then by ‘uncapping’ student numbers in 2015, allowing universities to admit as many students as they wished as long as applicants met the minimum requirements. Universities, of course, reacted like the businesses they have been forced to become, maximising their appeal to the broadest numbers, and, in the government’s telling phrase, putting students ‘in the driving seat’. Canny applicants, like well-educated consumers of trainers or mobile phones, are of course attracted by cut-price entry. Hence the growth of the unconditional offer. What is now worrying government ministers is that this policy may have led to lower ‘standards’, specifically fearing this outcome at leading brand ‘Russell Group’ universities, such as Birmingham, which was one of the first to introduce the practice, and Nottingham. Somewhat ironically, Sam Gyimah, the Conservative MP and former Minister for Universities, accused universities of acting in a ‘completely irresponsible’ manner, and undermining ‘the credibility of the university system’. Universities, however, like airlines and restaurants, are now heavily dependent on fee-paying customers to stay afloat, and need to know in advance if they have sufficient numbers to fill the beds in their halls of residences or students in their German department to justify offering this increasingly rarefied ingredient. These budgetary considerations have become

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SCHOOL LE AV ER / FOCUS

particularly pressing during a period when the number of 18 years olds is – albeit briefly – in decline. The most recent hullabaloo has focussed specifically on students failing to work for their exams in the wake of receiving an unconditional offer, with Mike Buchanan, executive director of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses Conference, which represents 289 UK independent schools, suggesting that, recipients may perhaps ‘take their foot off the gas’. Heads of independent schools, however, don’t seem overwhelmingly in agreement with his premise. ‘We’ve not found unconditional offers affect performance,’ says Rachel Dent, head of high-flying all-girls’ independent school, the Abbey School in Reading. ‘On the other hand, we have found that for a number of girls they do take away a lot of the anxiety. Girls can be certain where they’re going, can sort out their accommodation and get to enjoy their summer holidays.’ Dr Millan Sachania, headmaster of Clapham and Streatham High School, a selective Girls’ Day School Trust school in south London, agrees, arguing that getting pupils to work should be his responsibility, not that of the universities. ‘Our girls do just as well, if not better, because they’re more relaxed. If that’s not the case, the school needs to hold students to account. It’s a matter of discipline. Work has to come in, it has to be marked. Pupils have to appreciate that they’re part of a school community and these are the expectations.’ Schools, of course, recognise that A-Level results can have significant consequences for life after university, when employers continue to use this universally understood benchmark as a means to sift job applicants, and Dr Sachania makes it clear to his sixth formers, too, that their first choice of university course may not necessarily be their last. ‘If the course they’ve chosen doesn’t work out and they want to change, the right qualifications will give them much more flexibility to do so.’

The government is determined to turn higher education into a competitive marketplace

If pupil application does not appear an overwhelming issue, headteachers do have more over-arching criticisms of the unconditional-offer system. One of these is its inconsistency, with not all universities adopting the practice and even those who do not handing out unconditional offers in an even-handed manner. ‘We’ve monitored it and found that we’ll have two students with identical profiles in the same subject and one is getting an unconditional offer and the other isn’t,’ says Rachel Dent, who feels universities need to be more transparent about their decision making. To address the issue, Dent believes, as do many others, that it’s finally time that universities started to make offers based on achieved rather than predicted grades, with final exams sat and marked earlier allowing the introduction of a new type of admissions system. ‘The International Baccalaureate (IB), for example, sets exams in May and publishes results in early July. If A Levels used the same time frame, it would be possible to offer all applicants places after they knew their results.’ Given that many universities now fill spare places through ‘Clearing’, which involves three weeks in August, this new world order would have less impact on academics’ summer holiday, one of the key arguments against altering the status quo. Earlier exams and actual grades would ensure that both students and universities could be in the ‘driving seat’, though rising numbers of 18 year olds over the next few years and the mooted reintroduction of the numbers cap may eradicate the ‘E’zy route long before.

IS AN UNCONDITIONAL OFFER THE RIGHT OFFER FOR YOU? Try and look beyond the sales pitch to understand the reason for your ‘unconditional offer’. If, for example, you’re a girl being invited with open arms to study mechanical engineering, could you end up being the only female in the lecture hall? If so, would it matter to you? • Don’t immediately move away from your ‘first love’ just because you fear you won’t get the grades. Remember, the same departments making unconditional offers, may still have places in Clearing. • Make sure the offer is genuinely unconditional. Understandably, some universities make their ‘unconditional’ offers ‘conditional’ on you putting them first. Sadly, this means you can’t use their offer as your fallback if you don’t get in to the university you really want.

LI S A F R E E D M A N Runs the education consultancy, At The Schools Gates www.attheschoolgates.co.uk SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 77

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Talking

SCHOOL LE AV ER / OPINION

HEAD

MARKET forces Adam Pettitt, Head of Highgate School, unravels the unconditional offers ‘controversy’

’m nervous about trenchancy when it comes to something that hasn’t affected my school or pupils. With only one pupil in the last three years having accepted an unconditional offer (Nottingham), it’s not an issue I am qualified to thunder about. I am, however, worried about what unconditional offers tell us about the relationship between schools and universities, between funded and funders. So, first of all, I ask myself whether sixth formers’ needs are the reason for unconditional offers, and I have to conclude that it’s the need for universities to fill places that leads them to offer guaranteed places regardless of grades, provided the applicant accepts the place as their first choice. It’s a commercial response to regulatory change (now that Government no longer foots the bill for tuition, universities are at liberty to take as many students as they can find; some competitive-entry universities have

“The temptation is to coast through their ﬁnal year and end up with lower grades and less knowledge” expanded, leaving some universities short of applicants with higher grades). That’s not inherently unhelpful, and commercial responses – unless the taxpayer is asked to step in – are clearly necessary if universities are going to survive and thrive. But just as universities react to circumstances beyond their control, so do sixth formers and, faced with unconditional offers from some universities and not from others, they are, we hear, accepting places with less regard to what is the best

to imagine the least wellinformed, the less confident or the most tentative applicants opting for certainty when the system is designed to allow them flexibility and choice, albeit with parameters – after all, they are only able to apply for five courses. The system is throwing up alternative (sharp?) practices: some universities advertise one grade tariff, and offer to lower it if they are made a candidate’s first choice. Surely that too is a commercial response which A B OV E will tempt sixth formers to Sixthformers opt for courses they haven’t at Highgate School weighed up. Grade inflation in degree classifications suggests that universities course for them. Relieved of the pressure need to tempt students in with promises of (or motivation) to meet offer requirements higher numbers of firsts. Universities have by working hard throughout Year 13, they their own list of schools’ sharp practices, are tempted to coast through a final year, of course: grade predictions reveal that on ending up with lower grades and, crucially, average each applicant’s prediction is two less knowledge, less understanding and grades north of their August results. less academic grit to equip them for their Now the market is allowed to determine undergraduate course. I wonder whether how many students a university can this experience may make that first year at admit, there’s a need for a new rule book university all the more bewildering, even to make educational and pastoral sense more challenging and disorienting than it of commercial innovation in university need or should be. admissions. My hunch is that unconditional Which group of sixth formers is being offers shouldn’t be in the gift of a university targeted with unconditional without very specific reasons offers? My experience is that and a strong social mobility the most confident, the most rationale: if unconditional experienced and the ablest, offers can play a part in solving are treating unconditional the real problems facing offers with suspicion: they universities in encouraging get a whiff of desperation in applications from all kinds of tactics they associate with schools, so be it, but they can panic discounting before otherwise have no place in a ADAM PETTITT Christmas rather than with largely unregulated system. Head Highgate School considered decisions about Clear sky, rather than their futures. It’s difficult not thunder. SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 79

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A small school, big on heart, big on ambition. Loretto is Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first boarding school, founded in 1827. Set in a safe, leafy, spacious, 85 acre campus, our school welcomes just over 600 pupils. Being a small school enables us to know every pupil personally, and offer them the opportunity to grow and develop wherever their interests may lie. Our uniquely rounded approach focuses on the development of the whole person, in mind, body, and spirit. We offer a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular activities including comprehensive programmes in Sport and Creative Arts. Our campus integrates extensive playing fields, several Sports Halls, a Steinway Music School, Dance and Drama Studios, a dedicated Science Centre, and the industry-leading Loretto Golf Academy. Ranked in the top 7% of schools in the UK at A Level, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re delighted that 97% of pupils enter the University of their Choice, such as Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, and Durham.

See all that we offer at our upcoming Open Day on Saturday, 23 March 2019. Loretto School

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Talking

SCHOOL LE AV ER / OPINION

HEAD

TIMING is all Bernard Canetti, the Principal at Brampton College, on moving your teenager to a new school

or those who haven’t yet settled at school, the New Year can be a tough time. Whether it’s down to academic difficulties, struggling to make friends or simply not feeling challenged, being unsettled at school will often spill out into a teenager’s personal life. It leads to changes in behaviour such as underachieving academically, not wanting to go to school, a drop in motivation or even apathy. For parents it can be difficult to know when a problem is normal teenage behaviour or something more. Changing school is a big decision. If your child is unhappy or unmotivated, however, moving school for their final year or their entire sixth form can be the best boost to getting a young person back on track. Preparing early and looking at schools in the New Year will help ensure you’re adequately prepared for a move come September. To help you make the right decision you may want to consider the following:

IS YOUR CHILD BEING STRETCHED ACADEMICALLY?

Some schools have more rigorous academic standards than others, while some put greater emphasis on helping struggling students achieve their personal academic aspirations. Focusing on just the highest and lowest achievers can be a problem for many children who fall in the middle bracket and can get lost amid a class of 20 or more. Those who could have been pushed to attain A or even A* grades may not gain the grades they are capable of achieving.

“Sixth form is a crucial time, it should be marked by subject specialism”

A B OV E

Brampton College students

SOCIAL DIFFICULTIES

academic pressure to succeed, which becomes detrimental to their confidence. It is often the case that a student has the ability and intelligence to do well but just hasn’t been adequately supported. Students may lack confidence in their current school’s academic provision or the quality of teaching may be inconsistent – for example too many changes of teachers or the absence of rapport and trust. Often teachers are simply not accessible enough. SCHOOL ETHOS Ultimately, sixth form is a crucial time Sometimes the overall ethos of a student’s in a student’s life – a time of significant current school may just not be right. At development which should be marked Brampton we often meet students who feel by subject specialism, increased their current school is at odds with their responsibility and leadership opportunities own targets. These same students often with a view to life beyond comment that they feel a lack school. If these opportunities of individual attention and aren’t being offered, another care, one student told us he school may be a better fit. felt like ‘just another number’. Ensuring that your teenager If your child is experiencing gains their A-Levels at a similar feelings it’s possibly school which adequately time to consider a move. supports them emotionally and academically is the ACADEMIC BERNARD CANETTI best route to ensuring they STRUGGLES Principal Brampton College succeed with the next step on We also meet students who their academic path. have experienced too much For teenagers, the pressure to fit in can strongly affect them academically and emotionally. A new school which places an emphasis on wellbeing can provide a fresh start. A sixth-form college also offers a great opportunity to make new friends as everybody is new and there are no existing and long-established friendship groups.

SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 81

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“A clear-eyed, energetic, forward-thinking school” - The Good Schools Guide

Call us to book a visit

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When you board

You’ll never get bored Benefit from all that Oakham has to offer

With a proud heritage and progressive outlook, Oakham is a high-achieving independent school in the heart of England where opportunities are both inspirational and obtainable. A shared belief in making the most out of any opportunity and to be the best you can be sets us apart from other schools. With a welcoming and friendly support structure, Oakham offers an ideal environment for boys and girls aged between 10 and 18 to learn, thrive and prosper in our modern world. OS.indd 1

What makes Oakham so special?

oakham.rutland.sch.uk/Arrange-a-Visit To organise a visit please get in touch with our admissions team:

admissions@oakham.rutland.sch.uk 01572 758758 oakham.rutland.sch.uk We look forward to meeting you 20/08/2018 18:22

PA RTNERSHIP

FAMILY affair Ted Jackson, Housemaster at Hurtwood House, on what sets the school apart

f you think that schools stifle creativity and enterprise, that most of the academic syllabuses are out of touch with the modern world, then why not start your own school? That’s what Richard Jackson, my father, did in 1970. With a clear vision of what a truly modern school should be, he moved enfamille, with just 17 students, to a rambling mansion in stunning countryside of the Surrey Hills and Hurtwood House was born. Just 44 years later, Hurtwood has 330 boarding students and is one of the top ten co-ed boarding schools in the league tables. More importantly, it has received universal acclaim as the best school in the country for the creative and performing arts. “It’s the personal development of each individual that’s really important to me, rather than being top of the league table,” says Richard Jackson. “If students are excited by what they are doing, if they can see the relevance of it, and if there’s a spirit of ambition and adventure in the school, the results will follow naturally – and they have.” While my father has handed over the dayto-day running of the school to my brother Cosmo, he is still very much involved. I'm a housemaster and my sister Ashleigh is the domestic bursar. It truly is a family affair. Hurtwood House is a boarding school with a big difference.It has all the facilities of a typical public school but specialises exclusively in the 16-18 age bracket. Changing schools at the age of 16 opens up a world of fresh experiences and challenges. A move at this stage provides

LEFT

Hurtwood House students

“We are more boutique than department store” the perfect stepping stone between school and university. Hurtwood House is young, exciting, dynamic and, most importantly, exceptionally creative. Well known former students include Hans Zimmer and Emily Blunt. Small wonder, then, that the world is beating a path to Hurtwood’s door. One of the first things to strike visitors is the 'campus' feel. That’s because there are no juniors – our pupils join after they have taken their GCSEs. In many ways, it defies definition - more public school than sixth form college, but smaller and less institutional – more boutique than department store. We believe that traditional public schools simply offer more of the same. It’s important for teenagers to leave their comfort zone and learn to cope with change. It’s the ideal preparation for university. A lot of parents agree wholeheartedly: "We've put four children through the public-

school system... Hurtwood House is the only school really delivering what it promises,” say some satisfied parents. It’s clear that they appreciate what Hurtwood has given their children: the confidence to cope with anything. “Her mind was turned on,” says one parent. “Her appetite for learning is voracious. I want you to know that you lit the fuse.” Who could ask for anything more? Surely no school can be absolutely perfect? There must be a catch – and there is. Hurtwood House is one of the most expensive schools in the country and, frustratingly, it’s full for the foreseeable future. But scholarships and bursaries are available and there will always be room for a talented child.

T E D JAC K S O N Housemaster Hurtwood House SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 83

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PA RTNERSHIP

TECH TALK Programme Director at Immerse Education, Sean Stevens, on teaching technology

EMILY BUTTERS PHOTOGRAPHY

echnology has enriched our lives with greater convenience and improved access to information. It has revolutionised how we work. It's of paramount importance that we support children so they're not left behind. Here we discuss how parents and educators can help equip children to develop the skills that will be required to thrive in tomorrow’s world.

DEVELOPING EXPERTISE

tudents who develop tech skills move ahead of their competition. From artificial intelligence to machine learning, shifts in the way businesses operate are occuring. Understanding technology enables children to flourish. Skills like coding don’t only support technological understanding, they also develop coveted transferable skills. In a world of accessible information, knowing the right answer is less important that knowing the right question to ask. The project-centric nature of learning technology skills instills a mindset in children which encourages them to break down complex problems into more manageable pieces.

IN THE ABSENCE OF TECH SKILLS

hildren who don’t develop technological expertise will be left behind in the digital revolution. They may miss out on the secondary benefits of learning technology skills; the development of problem-solving and logic skills. Learning new skills equips children with a developmental mindset, which improves learning agility. Continuous learning will be an essential component to keep up with the changing world of work. The real danger in not learning technological skills is of children becoming passive consumers. They should learn to play an active role in the future of content.

ABOVE Students on an Immerse Education tech programme

HOW TO DEVELOP TECH SKILLS

o, how can we encourage children to develop crucial tech skills? First, engagement with extracurricular activities is vital. Leaders in technological professions are concerned by a lack of engagement in technology at secondary school. Providing children with opportunities to learn advanced skills in this field will broaden their prospects as adults. Furthermore, students will benefit from consistent reinforcement of skills, meaning immersive exposure is most beneficial. Learning tech skills can be likened to learning languages, in the sense that full exposure is the best way to gain thorough understanding. An immersive approach should be encouraged when children are young and their brains more plastic.

IMMERSE EDUCATION

hrough its award-winning summer schools, Immerse Education aims to inspire future generations to become technologically-minded.

On its technology programmes, students aged 11 to 15 are encouraged to develop practical and transferable skills that can be applied to their studies. The courses teach innovative tech skills and encourage students to develop flexibility and problem solving strategies. Passionate tutors nurture the students’ passion for tech subjects. This guidance transforms interest in technology. Through technical workshops, teaching of key theories, and exciting hands-on projects, students are shown the endless possibilities that technological knowledge can provide. These skills are developed in an inspiring and supportive environment which also teaches young people to develop balanced and healthy lifestyles. Skills sessions are interspersed with cultural and social activities and excursions that ensure students enjoy all the opportunities that their summer holiday has to offer. To learn more, visit immerse.education USE CODE TECH20 FOR £250 OFF ALL TECH COURSES SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 85

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CRICKET STARR The cricket coach at Mayﬁeld School on her journey into teaching E M I LY S T A R R

t was my grandparents who first inspired my passion for sport, encouraging me and watching my matches whenever they could. My grandfather played football in his youth with the late David Frost, journalist and media host, so our family is football-mad, and by the time I was a toddler, I was enthusiastically kicking a ball around the garden with my dad. My love of football has continued throughout my life and I was lucky enough to be able to play competitively at school. When I was nine, I began playing for Leicester City Football Club Juniors and forged great friendships with girls who were also playing county cricket. Short of a player one weekend, they asked me to join them, and the rest, as they say, is history. I played cricket for Leicestershire Girls until I started studying for my GCSEs when the travelling became too much on top of a heavy academic workload, so I began playing for the more local Northants instead. There I was given the opportunity to try out for the England Indoor Cricket Squad and play international cricket. I was over the moon to be selected and I played my first international match at the Indoor World Cup in Bristol. This was a

ABOVE & BELOW Young cricketers at Mayfield

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” wonderful experience, but the highlight of my cricketing career came when I was invited to play at the Indoor Cricket World Cup in Brisbane in 2009. I will never forget the wonderful team camaraderie, fantastic beaches, the outstanding cricket, and singing the National Anthem ahead of the game. It was quite an adventure for one so young. I went on to study Sports Science and Business Studies at Loughborough, where I played for the MCCU Academy. The Loughborough University team included nine members of the England Women’s Cricket Squad, so another door opened

for me when I was selected to play outdoor cricket with them for the England Regional Development Squad. My ultimate dream had always been to play outdoor cricket for England and it was everything that I had hoped it would be. An unfortunate stress fracture in my spine led me to consider coaching opportunities instead. I returned to my former school, Bishop Stopford, to coach sport and to train ‘on the job’ for my QTS. Two years later, I began teaching sport at Mayfield School in East Sussex, where I now live and work. I launched straight into setting up a cricketing programme for the girls, most of whom had not played cricket before. A year on, I am in the process of organising Mayfield’s greatly anticipated first-ever cricket tour to Sri Lanka which will see the U14 and U15 teams heading off on an adventure next summer. Teams of all age groups have developed enormously, with some notable match successes against schools with much longer cricketing histories than ours. I am very lucky to have such enthusiastic and committed players, and whenever they need bolstering, I remind them that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”! Alongside coaching, I am currently trying out for the Kent County Cricket Squad. I’m hoping to get back on the pitch again soon to inspire more of our Mayfield girls to try out for county cricket themselves.

E M I LY S TA R R PE Teacher and Cricket Coach Mayfield School SPRING 2018 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 87

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POLE POSITION The Head of Sixth Form at Loretto school on a STEM project with added va va voom DR RICHARD PHILLIPS

areer prospects are bright for those in STEM fields. The UK’s engineering industry will need 1.8 million new employees by 2025 and the need for people with STEM qualifications is set to expand further. Almost every organisation today relies on graduates with STEM qualifications to run their IT systems or to manage their accounts. At Loretto, our approach is to develop extra-curricular learning through practical, fun activities and ‘real-life’ projects, with great success. Last year, five of our Sixth Form girls and boys went on to study STEM subjects at Oxford or Cambridge, and many more at top Russell Group Universities. The Loretto Engineer’s Club welcomes Sixth Form pupils interested in a career in engineering, but their journey often begins much earlier on. At Loretto Junior School, pupils take on simple engineering challenges, such as erecting a giant aqueduct using only newspaper. Those who show a keen interest can join weekly club meetings and apply their STEM knowledge in practical projects. This year, Loretto Engineers have embarked on an ambitious project that has captivated their passion, imagination and enthusiasm. Their aim is to build and race a full-sized electric car… with the support of Aston Martin. This started last term, when the school registered to take part in the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Formula 24+ championships, organised by Greenpower Education Trust.

“Aston Martin has agreed to help students with the car build”

ABOVE Loretto engineers building their electric car

Last November we got a call from reception to inform us that some very large packages had arrived for Loretto Engineers. The excitement of the pupils was palpable. They all went to collect the packages and returned to the Science Centre with the biggest of smiles and a great sense of anticipation. Countless boxes contained over 1,000 parts – from a large steel chassis to tiny electrical circuits. The pupils' first task was to audit the components, before pinning up construction diagrams all over the lab’s wall. Then the pupils grouped into teams, each responsible for the build of specific components such as the braking and steering systems, electrical wiring, and the computer-aided design of the aerodynamic shell. The pupils are working hard to get the car ready by Easter and race in the first IET Formula 24+ round. They will compete against other teams of young people from across the globe, with Greenpower events taking place in the UK and other countries including the USA, Poland, and China.

Just before the Christmas holidays, Loretto Engineers received more brilliant news to add to their excitement. Aston Martin agreed to support their project. Aston Martin will help with the car build, and invite our pupils to meet engineers at their factory, giving them an invaluable insight into the real-world application of STEM subjects. With this ambitious project, Loretto Engineers are bringing a buzz to the Science Centre, where much talk is going on about engineering futures beyond the school.

DR RICHARD PHILLIPS Head of Sixth Form Loretto School SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 89

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ALL WORK AND SOME PLAY Ten great revision courses for the Easter holidays LIBERTY BRETT

Gordonstoun

What? GCSE, choose two subjects to study from: English Language, Maths and Science When? Saturday 13 April until Friday 19 April Where? Gordonstoun School USP? Residential, active revision which involves daily aerobic activity, and an excursion to a ‘wild place’ Cost: £1,500 activerevision.org.uk

MPW

What? GCSE and A-Level When? Choose one week: Monday 1 April until Friday 5 April; Monday 8 April until Friday 12 April; Monday 15 April until Friday 19 April Where? MPW in London, Birmingham and Cambridge USP: Non-residential, no-frills approach to intensive revision Cost: On enquiry mpw.ac.uk

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Harrow School

Cost: Residential is £1,175 per week; non-residential is £835 per week oxss.co.uk

What? GCSE and A-Level When? For GCSE revision it’s either Monday 8 April and Tuesday 9 April; Wednesday 10 April and Thursday 11 April; or Friday 12 and Saturday 13 April. For A-Level, it’s either Monday 8 April until Thursday 11 April, Thursday 11 April until Sunday 14. Where? Harrow School USP: Taught by Harrow teachers and the best of the best from surrounding schools. Cost: GCSE two-day course is £395; A-Level four-day course is £735 harrowschoolenterprises.com

Wellington College

What? GCSE, A-Level and IB When? Monday 8 April until Friday 12 April (residential students arrive on Sunday 7 April) Where? Wellington College USP: Residential and non-residential Cost: Residential course is £995; Non-residential is £750 wellingtoncollege.org.uk

What? GCSE and A-Level When? Monday 1 April until Friday 19 April Where? Cherwell College, Oxford USP: Central Oxford location; accommodation is single occupancy with en-suite bathroom Cost: Residential course is £1,375; non-residential is £975 cherwell-college.co.uk

Dean Close School Cheltenham

Millﬁeld

What? GCSE When? Monday 8 April until Friday 12 April, with residential students arriving on Sunday 7 April Where? Dean Close School USP: Full access to the school’s sporting facilities Cost: Residential is £980; nonresidential is £660 deanclose.org.uk

What? GCSE, A-Level and Pre-U When? Monday 1st until Friday 5 April Where? Millfield, Somerset USP: The course is offered on both a residential and a non-residential basis, with accommodation provided in single-sex boarding houses Cost: Residential is £873; nonresidential is £747 millfieldenterprises.com

Clifton College Bristol

Giggleswick School

What? GCSE and A-Level When? Monday 15 April until Friday 19 April, residents invited from Sunday 14 April Where? Clifton College USP: Equal emphasis on subject revision, exam technique and exam practice. Plus, you’re invited to use Clifton’s sporting facilities. Pastoral staff are on hand for all residents.

Cherwell College Oxford

Cost: One subject (15hrs) is £375; two subjects (30hrs) is £750; two subjects plus residential is £900 ccsl-cliftoncollege.com

What? GCSE and A-Level When? Choose one, two or three days per subject from Tuesday 9 April until Tuesday 16 April Where? Giggleswick School USP: Uber-flexible structure Cost: Sliding scale based upon how many days spent on the course. From £130 per day. giggleswick.org.uk

LEFT Go wild: Gordonstoun students on an excursion BELOW Wellington College pupils

Oxford Science Studies

What? GCSE, A-Level and IB When? Monday 1 April until Friday 5 April; Monday 8 April until Friday 12 April; Monday 15 until Friday 19 April Where? St Edward’s School, Oxford USP: Choose between one, two or three weeks. Full-board accommodation is available throughout the three weeks SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 91

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Alternative ASCENTS

Snowsports charity Snow-Camp provides inner-city youngsters with an opportunity of a lifetime FLORA THOMAS

now-Camp is a UK charity that uses winter sports to affect change in the lives of disadvantaged, innercity youngsters. Founded in London in 2003, the organisation has supported more than 10,000 young people in its 15-year history and operates today in Bristol, Scotland, Cardiff, the Midlands and Manchester. Snow Camp ambassadors include Sir Steve Redgrave and it is the UK’s only registered charity using a combination of snowsports, life skills sessions, qualifications and vocational opportunities to support young people. By making snowsports accessible to those who would never normally have the opportunity to learn how to ski or snowboard, Snow-Camp breaks down barriers and broadens horizons by introducing young people to entirely new environments and affording them invaluable life skills. The charity’s work increases youngsters’ motivations and aspirations, enabling them to gain employment in the snowsports industry and beyond. To gain a place on Snow-Camp’s initial programme,

young people must have no prior snowsports experience. Initially, children as young as 13 are referred to the charity’s First Tracks Programme which is a two-day course in skiing or snowboarding in one of the UK’s artificial winter sports centres. Then, having experienced the thrill of snowsports for the first time, they move on to the Graduate Programme which takes place over six weeks and involves a series of group classes. This gives youngsters the opportunity to learn from professionals in the snowsports industry and athletes, with the aim to inform and inspire youngsters. Those who have been through Graduate Programme are awarded an ASDAN Sports and Fitness qualification. The Excel Programme is Snow-Camp’s ten-week youth instructor training programme. It involves a week-long trip to Italy and those who complete it are an accredited Snowsport England Level 1 Ski or Snowboard instructor. For the vast majority of young people on the Italian trip it’s their first time boarding an aeroplane. For five of those who have completed the Excel Programme there is

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ABOVE A skiier in the Vals Thorens resort

FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE IT’S THEIR FIRST TIME BOARDING AN AEROPLANE SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 93

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LEFT Two young Snowcampers at an artificial winter sports centre BELOW Snowcampers celebrating completion of First Tracks

the opportunity to progress onto the next step: apprenticeship. SnowCamp apprentices benefit from work placements across the industry over the course of a year, including the chance to work at international snowsports events. Those who complete the Excel Programme, but don’t make into the competitive paid apprenticeship route, are directed toward the Snow-Camp Youth Forum. The Youth Forum meets monthly in each region, and is run entirely by its members - two of whom sit on the charity’s Board of Trustees. Now, as part of a partnership between Snow-Camp and Les Hotels d’en Haut hotel group, two young Snow-Campers and Youth Forum members have been selected to spend a season working at the five-star Le Fitz Roy Hotel in Val Thorens. 18-year-old Zulekha Dennis and 19-year-old Hamza Alkebida, both from London, were first introduced to Snow-Camp at the age

“The dedication to changing lives made us jump at the opportunity to get involved” of 13. The partnership has allowed them to practise the skills they learnt on their Snow-Camp journey. Dan Charlish, founder of SnowCamp has said of the partnership: ‘‘We’re so proud to be partnering with Les Hôtels d’en Haut. They are offering our young people an amazing opportunity to build on the skills they’ve learnt with SnowCamp that will help them go onto securing successful careers in the ski industry. We’re extremely grateful for Les Hôtels d’en Haut’s support and can’t wait for our young people to experience working in such an impressive ski resort.’’ Ten further youngsters have also benefited from the partnership through the chance

to visit the hotel group’s nearby Hotel Le Val Thorens, to get a taste of professional life in the mountains at an Alpine hotel. Valéry Grégo, Founder of Les Hôtel’s d’en Haut said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Snow Camp on such an exciting and worthwhile project. Seeing their amazing work and their dedication to changing lives made us jump at the opportunity to be involved in any way we could.” Last year, 100 per cent of young people who completed the SnowCamp programme journey gained at least one nationally recognised qualification and 91 percent went on to further education or employment and perhaps, more importantly, 98 percent said they were proud of themselves.

FOR MORE INFORMATION • Twitter: @SnowCampInfo • Facebook: @SnowCampCharity • Instagram: snowcampcharity • Web: snow-camp.org.uk SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 95

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R O Y A L B A T T L E A war is being waged in our homes and schools. Absolutely Education takes on gaming phenomenon, Fortnite SOPHIE PENDER-CUDLIP

inner party conversations have shifted to a new topic in recent months. Property and schools are out the window and replaced with something much more pressing amongst 21st century parents – Fortnite. It seems the survival game which has attracted around 125 million players across the world, has captured the attention of most youngsters (mainly boys), much to the exasperation of parents and teachers. With three sons, our parenting has been tested to its limit and at times irrational in a desperate attempt to break the Fortnite craze. We have hidden controllers in the attic and my husband even took the console with him in his briefcase on an overseas business trip. It seems the firm ‘no’ and subsequent threats don’t make a jot of difference to the boys’ desire to play the game. And we aren’t alone. One friend described how he arrived home to find his son on his knees pleading for his mother to return the confiscated controller. “Next year, he’s going to a holiday camp so we don’t have to battle with him.” Despite thinking we are fairly sensible parents who have embraced parenting well up to this point, it appears Fortnite is presenting some of us with one of the biggest parenting challenges of our time.

Schools, both boarding and day, are also wrestling with gaming culture. Some teachers believe there is a link between gaming addiction and mental health and that it has a detrimental effect on pupils’ learning. Others have even gone so far as to tell parents to ban the game at home. A few heads believe gaming leads to aggressive behaviour as children act out violent scenes from Fortnite. One school banned 'flossing' on the grounds that the dance moves were intimidating others in the playground. Parents of those children who don’t have Fortnite complain to schools that their children are being excluded, with one prep school going so far as to ban Fortnite chat at lunchtime. We all accept that Fortnite is addictive. The game designers understand cognitive structures and they aim to hook the player. As parents, we can either continue the parenting battle or try to understand it better, educate ourselves over Fortnite’s potential advantages and perhaps refine our parenting approach towards it. After all, not all gaming children are destined for addiction, although some may display a touch of cold turkey when they’re forced to end a game mid-battle. But there is a difference between casual play and unhealthy obsession. Alicia Drummond, a therapist who works with over 100 schools offering pastoral consultancy, explains that because of its

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WE CAN EITHER CONTINUE THE PARENTING BATTLE OR TRY TO UNDERSTAND ITS POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES

addictive nature, Fortnite fires up the reward system in the brain releasing stress hormones in the player’s quest for survival. “Teenagers aren’t wired to think about longterm outcome. Revision or homework don’t satisfy their needs, but the instant thrill of gaming does.” The key thing she says is, “to get the stress hormones out of the system after the game has ended and to rebalance the nervous system, so that the sympathetic (fight and flight) and para sympathetic (rest and digest) nervous systems are balanced.” She believes that education around gaming is crucial and schools should be involved at prep and senior schools. “Screens are great and children will spend up to three quarters of their time on them but, like a plate of food, it needs to be balanced with exercise, hobbies and conversing with one another face-to-face.” She does point out that Fortnite is not such a bad game if played in moderation as it's cartoon-like in appearance and with each game being 20 minutes, it can be easily stopped. Fortnite is also sociable, bringing together friends across schools and year SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 97

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groups. One mother of a boy at a leading boarding school, says Fortnite has helped her son to integrate with his peers. “When he started playing Fortnite, he made friends, and now enjoys school.” Alicia Drummond agrees that Fortnite does benefit those who lack confidence socially, providing they also exercise social skills face-to-face. A London parent, with two sons at day school, also likes the social element of Fortnite limiting play to an hour a night after homework. A parent of a 13-year-old boy at boarding school, Harrow, praises its technology policy in limiting gaming. The device restrictions are rigorous which prevents boys from gaming and pupils only have access to mobile phones for half an hour each evening. “I feel empowered as a parent that someone is doing this on my behalf. When my son was at a day

TH I S PAG E 'Cartoon-like': images from the online game Fortnite

school, I would hide the controllers when I was at work. He has now learnt to self-regulate. She adds, “Harrow have formed a super link between parent and child and the housemaster is an important parentfigure in my son’s life.” One headteacher believes all schools must have a stance on gaming and work with and support parents. “Forcing gaming underground and not allowing children to play or talk about it is ludicrous. Offer workshops to parents and educate pupils on selfregulation, particularly ahead of them joining senior schools,” he says. After much analysis and battling with Fortnite, I am beginning to understand it a little better. It’s encouraging that researchers at Stanford Graduate School of Education conclude the game encourages teamwork, collaborations, strategic thinking, spatial understanding and imagination. But without doubt, what our boys love most about it is its social element. “We just like playing with our friends,” they say. As a result, I’ve decided to stop

demonising Fortnite and put an end to the endless arguments with our children, because whether we like it or not, it is here to stay. It’s not the technology but the use of it that is the challenge and that responsibility lies with us parents, endorsed by schools, to teach children how to self-regulate, to enjoy a rich variety of activities and perhaps even acknowledge that it might have a positive impact on our children’s education.

ALICIA DRUMMOND’S GAMING TIPS: MANAGE TIME ON FORTNITE GAME BY GAME RATHER THAN BY TIME. • ENSURE YOUR CHILDREN DO SOMETHING ACTIVE AFTER GAMING • KEEP SCREENS OUT OF BEDROOMS AT NIGHT

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Amber Waite, Deputy Head Pastoral at St Dunstan’s College, on offering mental health training to all staff

e know that, on average, one in eight young people aged 5-19 have a diagnosable mental health condition. Despite our young people being more in need of mental health support services than ever, the Royal College of Psychiatrists recently reported that the total income for mental health support is lower in real terms than five years ago. The government’s strategy paper No Health without Mental Health identifies the urgent need for more and better early intervention services, particularly during the crucial childhood and teenage years. Intervention is the best way of preventing mental illness from developing and mitigating its effects when it does. However, budget constraints mean that young people are not accessing this essential early help. When more serious mental health problems develop, the over-stretched Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is not always able to provide care in a timely manner – children with

“The Pavilion is our dedicated student mental health centre” diagnosed problems wait up to 18 months to be treated. The Department of Health and Social Care launched funding in June 2017 to allow every state secondary school in England one free place on a Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) one-day course. The programme enables teachers to use a wellestablished dialogic intervention process with young people in need of support,

and use evidence-based mental health support practice in school settings. At St Dunstan’s College in south east London, we also recognise the need for early intervention. Teachers who work with young people on a daily basis are ideally placed to provide much of this early support. However, a survey by the Teachers’ Union NASUWT found that nearly half of teachers have never had training on pupil mental health. We’ve embarked on an ambitious project: to provide the YMHFA course to all staff, including teachers and support staff, with a goal of having 100 YMH First-Aiders within the College by the end of the 2019-2020 school year. We have made a great start: 30 staff have completed the training, and a further 30 will do so over the spring term. We recognise the importance of providing a joined-up service to support ABOVE St Dunstan's College students

the mental and physical health needs of the young people at the College. Having a cadre of YMH FirstAiders is only one aspect of support we offer. In September, we proudly opened the Pavilion, our new pupil wellness centre. The Pavilion provides a hub of services, including the college nurse and healthcare team, a team of counsellors, the college chaplaincy, and our YMH FirstAiders. Additionally, the Pavilion provides our pupils with some much-needed ‘break-out space’ – the large, inviting reception area with its cafe-seating is in near-constant use by pupils during break and lunch times, and by Middle School and Sixth Form students during study periods and exam preparation periods. We know that some young people have needs that cannot be met through schoolsponsored early support, impressive though it is at St Dunstan’s College. That’s why we have built links with outside agencies and charities, including Lewisham Compass and the South London and Maudsley Hospital. We are proud to be able to offer such a variety of support and services to the pupils of St Dunstan’s College, and know that our multi-faceted and well-resourced approach to youth mental health support is unique amongst UK schools.

Find out more about St Dunstan’s College at www.stdunstans.org.uk SPRING 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 101

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AND A TRADITIONAL BOARDING ETHOS.” An independent boarding and day co-ed school near Bath, England | Pre-Prep, Prep & Senior 2–18 year olds

www.monktoncombeschool.co.uk Open Mornings Pre-Prep and Prep Schools Saturday 2nd March, 9.30am–12pm Senior School Saturday 9th March, 10am–1pm Absolutely Education 134mm MONTONCOOMBE.indd 1 high x 190mm wide (Senior) Lent 2019.indd 1

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NEW Get practising in the tricky areas of Independent School Entrance Exams.

25 at S T T E L e d o Use c o.uk c . n o i s i v e r letts 5% and save 2 LETTSREVISION.indd 1

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Co-educational Boarding and Day for pupils aged 13 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 18

Open Days Saturday 4th May 2019 (Lower School entry)

Saturday 15th June 2019 (Sixth Form entry)

www.malverncollege.org.uk

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Oakfield Preparatory School 125 -128 Thurlow Park Road, London SE21 8HP T: 0208 670 4206 www.oakfield.dulwich.sch.uk

Where every child is valued and nurtured, leading to exceptional outcomes

To book a visit or register your child please email admissions@oakfield.dulwich.sch.uk

130 years of education for boys and girls aged 2 to 11

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Open Morning Saturday 2 9 March 2019 9.30 -12.00

Learn about our creative and nurturing ethos Meet our dedicated and passionate staff Explore our two wonderful sites Wilberforce House, Camp Road SW19 4UN 020 8947 6969 www.thestudyprep.co.uk Registered Charity No. 271012

We welcome enquires about our scheme of assistance with fees for girls aged 7+.

New bursary available for entry into Year 1 or Year 2 in September 2019.

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Frid

OP DA EN YS ay 8

th F e a Frid nd bruary ay 1 7th May

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Boys 13 - 18 • Boarding and Day

OPEN MORNINGS 2019 Saturday 9 March • Saturday 18 May Come and see our new Barton Science Centre

18KSC

Scholarships & Bursaries available at 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: 01732 304297 • Email: admissions@tonbridge-school.org /TonbridgeUK

www.tonbridge-school.co.uk

@TonbridgeUK 18KSC3

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Hawkesdown House School

For Boys & Girls aged 3 to 11 years

27 Edge Street, Kensington, London W8 7PN Telephone: 0207 727 9090 Email: admin@hawkesdown.co.uk www.hawkesdown.co.uk

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SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES AVAILABLE

LEARN • CREATE • EXPLORE WHERE WILL YOUR FUTURE TAKE YOU? Top quality boarding provision from age 7, with superb pastoral care

Rated ‘excellent’ in all areas of the latest Inspection Report Over 100 co-curricular activities available Reputation for sport and links with professional clubs Inspirational music, drama and creative arts Outstanding academic results with the vast majority of applicants securing places at their preferred university

Contact admissions@kingswood.bath.sch.uk or call 01225 734210 for further information www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk An Independent Co-educational Boarding & Day School for pupils aged 9 months - 18 years

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We are delighted to announce that

THE ORATORY SCHOOL IS BECOMING COEDUCATIONAL FROM SEPTEMBER 2020 We look forward to welcoming girls and boys to the Oratory family Near Reading • 01491 683522 • registrar@oratory.co.uk • oratory.co.uk HMC DAY AND BOARDING SCHOOL FOR BOYS AGED 11 TO 18 WELCOMING GIRLS AND BOYS, AS A COEDUCATIONAL SCHOOL, FROM 2020

WELCOMING GIRLS AND BOYS, AS A COEDUCATIONAL SCHOOL, FROM 2020 HMC DAY AND BOARDING SCHOOL FOR BOYS AGED 11 TO 18

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A leading independent day and boarding school in Somerset, offering excellence in education to 3-13 year olds

OPEN

Mornings Friday 25th January and Friday 10th May 2019

www.perrotthill.com @perrotthill /perrotthillschool

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Dolphin School

unlocking each child’s full and unique potential 4–11 years Co-ed 106 Northcote Road, SW11 6QW 020 7924 3472 ext 2 admissions@dolphinschool.org.uk

www.dolphinschool.org.uk OPEN MORNINGS Open Days on Thursday mornings Thursdays 09.15-10.30 by appointment with the Registrar 09.10 - 10.40 by appointment with the Registrar Bursaries also available 133mm (H) x 93mm (W) STMC.indd 1

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Can we reverse climate change?

Why does snow sometimes disappear without melting?

Why does lightning smell?

Does iodine sublime?

17/01/2019 12:21

Can we improve on photosynthesis to capture the sun’s energy?

Why are airbags dangerous?

“The quality of the pupils’ achievements and learning is exceptional” ISI Inspection Report

@KESBath

Winner ‘Independent Prep School of the Year’ 2018

Kensington Prep School is an award-winning school in Fulham for girls aged 4-11. www.kensingtonprep.gdst.net

“One of the top ﬁve independent schools in the South West.” The Sunday Times Schools Guide, Parent Power Survey 2019 To ﬁnd out more, come and visit King Edward’s School for yourself. Please contact our Registrar on 01225 820 399 to arrange a tour. Further details available on www.kesbath.com.

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L A ST WOR D

seconds with

Sam Antrobus Founder of Wishford Schools, a group of independent prep and senior schools

Tell us about Wishford Schools. When did you start the group and why? I founded Wishford Schools in 2011 and we brought the first two schools into the group in 2012. Since then, we’ve grown to nine schools across the UK, and around 2,000 pupils. Our idea was to bring together great education with a business-like approach to running schools and a focus on customer service. From the outset we wanted to create a genuine group with a shared ethos and approach, not just a collection of schools, so we’ve been really picky. To get to nine schools today we’ve said no to well over a hundred. Why did you become involved in education? Most of my family work in education, so it was inevitable really. I wanted to create something I believed in and could feel proud of. I was lucky enough to attend an independent school, which gave me a fantastic start and the belief that anything is possible. I want every child to have that same belief. What is your vision for Wishford? To be a true community for our pupils and staff and to be an innovator in educational theory and practice. Education is incredibly traditional and conservative, but the world we are preparing children for is changing at an unbelievable rate. What is your gameplan - do you have an end goal? We aim to grow the group to about 12 schools, but we're not in a hurry. I’m planning to run the group until I retire, so I’ve got time on my side. There’s plenty to keep us busy – I really want to embed entrepreneurship in the curriculum, to get our pupils involved in real-world challenges.

“A parent described Westonbirt as magical”

Do you think we will see more and more consolidation of small independents by schools groups? Absolutely. It is inevitable and the trend is going to accelerate as the pressures on small schools increase. It is increasingly difficult for small schools to provide a really high quality offering, cope with the huge regulatory burden and manage rising costs. There will be more closures, particularly in marginal areas. We are approached by one or two schools each week at the moment, all looking for a partner to help them stay afloat.

A B OV E

Sam Antrobus

You have written about the role of headship. Why? I met and interviewed many aspiring heads and it became increasingly obvious that a lot of candidates were unprepared. They might have answers prepared about their experience and motivation, but a lot of them haven’t thought about what being a head involves and whether it would suit their skills set. I got fed up with hearing rehearsed answers about how the candidate would ‘lead from the front’. The reality of leadership is more nuanced, and that’s why I wrote about what it takes to be a successful head. What do you think about schools being run as businesses? When a school is run as a business, there’s an alignment of interests between the school, pupils and parents. The business will only succeed if we deliver a great experience for pupils and parents. That isn’t necessarily the focus in a charitable trust school. There are lots that are excellent schools, but equally there are plenty with atrocious governance.

What have you learnt in your time so far? So much! I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way, but have learnt from them. Everyone says that education is different from business, but fundamentally it isn’t. It is a people-based service business. What creates the amazing learning environments within our schools is the people. Their skills, experiences, enthusiasm and passion. Tell us about Westonbirt recently becoming a Wishford School Westonbirt is such a perfect fit for us, in terms of the school’s ethos, geography and our ambitions as a group. It’s an amazing school - a new parent recently described it to me as magical. We are moving the senior school to co-education this September, which is a big step after 90 years of girls only, but so far it has been a really smooth transition. Three of our prep schools sit within the school’s catchment area, so we can offer parents the option to stay within the group as their children move up to senior school... so far the response has been fantastic – we’ve registered a record numbers of pupils for Year 7 entry. Describe yourself in five words Optimistic, creative, motivated, collaborative, tenacious.

114 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | SPRING 2019

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Mayﬁeld B OARDI NG & DAY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AGED 1 1 TO 1 8

OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC RESULTS • SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE EXTENSIVE CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMME EXEMPLARY PASTORAL CARE & NURTURING ENVIRONMENT SET IN THE BEAUTIFUL SUSSEX COUNTRYSIDE FLEXI, WEEKLY AND FULL BOARDING OPTIONS WEEKEND RETURN BUS TO LONDON MINIBUS SERVICE ACROSS SUSSEX AND KENT

Open Mornings

FRIDAY 22 ND MARCH 2019 TUESDAY 30 TH APRIL 2019

TO ARRANGE A VISIT PLEASE CONTACT OUR REGISTRAR, MRS SHIRLEY COPPARD, REGISTRAR@MAYFIELDGIRLS.ORG

WWW.MAYFIELDGIRLS.ORG

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