Welcome to the 2017 winter edition There is always cause for celebration at Bablake! Our GCSE results this year were the best ever at A* (40%), with 69% A*/A comparing outstandingly well with the national average of 21% and placing the school 37th co-educational independent nationally. Without exception, our leavers who wanted to go to university this year have done so, with a few others embarking on competitive apprenticeships, taking a GAP year or proceeding directly to employment. Above all – and that is our principal aim – we hope that they have emerged from their Bablake education as well-rounded, fulfilled and generous individuals with exciting futures and the commitment to play a very positive role in society. League tables only tell part of the story and our children’s success does not just depend on brain-power! In fact, very few people in life are natural geniuses. The inventor Thomas Edison is credited with saying: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." It could be said that he made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb before he hit upon the right formula. When a reporter asked him, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?", Edison apparently replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." So, there is no substitute for steady hard work (perspiration). But is that hard work on its own enough? No, because it has to be the right sort of work! Presumably, with the 1,000 steps, Edison’s light bulb was getting better and better. He was constantly taking it to the next level, making the right sort of refinements, determined to make improvements and to make the light bulb as good as it could be. And the 1% inspiration is also actually pretty important. Because our pupils have to aim high, to believe they can get there – and they have to think for themselves as they reach for the stars. The relationship they have with their teachers and the care of their teachers are other vital ingredients in success. And the inspiration should not just come from their teachers: it is two-way. It’s also about our pupils inspiring their teachers and inspiring each other. We don’t want them simply to be compliant learners, to just do as they’re told, slavishly taking down notes, meeting the assessment criteria. We want them to ask off-the-wall questions, to be curious, to want to learn more, to push the bounds of their knowledge – because without that spark, they will never excel. We all like the sweet taste of success. Our pupils should be able to say, in all sincerity: “I did my best and I’m proud of my efforts.” And success and happiness in life are far more than a string of grades. They concern how we relate to others, how we encourage others and work with them in a team, being a generous and caring person, having a quiet inner self-belief and making the most of all our gifts and opportunities. So we remain very optimistic about our young people’s futures. Do come to visit us soon, to meet members of today’s community and to see some of the recent improvements we have made to facilities, to underpin our educational aims: a completely transformed Sixth Form Centre, new Medical, Careers and Learning Support Centres, and a much brighter ‘undercroft’ to the Sixth Form Centre, as well as a new Dining Hall concourse. None of these projects cost vast sums of money to complete – but they have made a real difference to our education, guidance and care of pupils. I wish you all a Happy Christmas, as well as good health for 2018
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