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INDEPENDENT SCHOOL PARENT F R E E | S E N I O R E D I T I O N | AU T U M N 2 0 2 1 | i n d e p e n d e n t s c h o o l p a re n t .co m
Broaden your horizons Studying at a Russell Group uni is not the only option
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS OF THE YEAR 2021 AWARDS
FATHERS AND SONS Sancton Wood School’s new pastoral care initiative EXPERT ADVICE Making the best of a busy school life TIME TO SWITCH OFF? The school with a phones-free policy
FORCE OF NATURE
Top tips to combat climate anxiety
SCHOOL NEWS
IN BRIEF
STUDENT SUCCESSES • EXTRACURRICULAR EXCELLENCE • INSPIRING INITIATIVES • NEW HEADS
Open doors, open minds
Francis Holland Sloane Square, London The school’s new Sixth Form Centre was opened by the Duke of Westminster at the end of September. A stunning neo-gothic building, the Old School House has undergone a £3.5m renovation. Joined directly to the school’s existing buildings, its interior design and atmosphere are those of a creative workspace or university facility. Boasting cosy seminar rooms, a dedicated A-level science lab, a wellstocked library, a state-of-the-art fitness suite, a spacious common room, study spaces and a café, the new centre is very much in keeping with Francis Holland’s aim to provide a transformational education that promotes creativity, enterprise and innovation. The school’s sixth form prepares young women for a fast-changing, technological world, and this new centre brings teaching and facilities together to achieve this. Head Lucy Elphinstone stated “we’re indebted to the generosity of parents and friends who gave freely of their time and talent to enable this project to shine a light in the midst of the pandemic.” ▲
WORDS: LAURA SUTHERLAND
The light-filled common room has plenty of space for study and leisure
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SCHOOL NEWS
BEST OF THE REST • Full marks St Leonards School, Fife
Sixth form leavers had plenty to celebrate this summer, following exceptional International Baccalaureate Diploma results. Head Boy, Duncan Bouchard achieved a perfect score of 45. This autumn, he began a degree in Civil Engineering at HeriotWatt University, Edinburgh.
• What a result! Bedales, Hampshire
Congratulations are in order across the board with the publication of the school’s GCSE and BAC (Bedales Assessed Courses) results. A whopping 16 students have achieved a minimum of nine grade 8/9 (equivalent to A*) scores.
Guest of honour Exeter School, Devon
• Look ahead
In September, the school welcomed alumnus and seasoned human capital advisor, Ikenna Iroche, to its annual Speech Day. Ikenna gave inspiring talks to individual year groups on turning dreams into goals, diversity and inclusion, using his own experiences of coming to the school from Nigeria in the 90s. For his evening address, he gave a compelling presentation on the importance of accepting others. He reflected, “in a day full of highlights, the most enjoyable for me was the number of smiling faces I saw. Exeter School was a happy place in my time there and it was heart-warming to find it even more so today.”
Cardiff Sixth Form College
The number-one UK school for A-level results has announced plans to open a second sixth form campus in the heart of Cambridge in September 2022. A member of the Dukes Education family, the college’s new development is expected to be a natural for students with their sights set on Oxbridge.
• Start right Sheffield High School for Girls, South Yorkshire
Nina’s gambit
Track star
Denstone College, Staffordshire
Brentwood School, Essex
Kilgraston, Perthshire
A special service was held in the school chapel to celebrate the installation of new Headteacher, Miss Tulloch, and lead chaplain, Reverend Darren Edge. The congregation was welcomed by the Bishop of Stafford, who also led proceedings, including hymns and prayers.
Nina Pert was crowned British U14 Girls’ Champion at the two-day British Chess Championships held in Milton Keynes. The 13-year-old chess sensation scored 3.5 out of five to take first place within her category, and finished in third place across the overall competition.
Para-athlete, Freya Howgate, triumphed at the recent School Games National Finals at Loughborough University. Representing Team Scotland, the sixth former won silver medals in both her mixed para shot-put category and the 4x100m mixed universal relay, as a T37/F37 athlete.
independentschoolparent.com | AUTUMN 2021
• Job done UCAS, nationwide
Students researching their university and careers options can now get clear guidance by using a new career quiz tool on UCAS.com. UCAS has worked with Emsi Burning Glass to turn graduate data into a helpful interactive quiz for teens.
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A warm welcome
The school has become the first in Yorkshire to become a member of the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB), with the renowned programme of study being now delivered to students in years seven and eight..
COMMENT
SAFE SPACES
Stamford School’s radical Learning for Life curriculum is starting vital conversations around respect and relationships, says KENDAL MILLS
T
he allegations earlier this year of historic peer-on-peer sexual harassment and abuse by students at thousands of schools, colleges and universities rocked the education world, and the harrowing accounts on the Everyone’s Invited website made for difficult reading. As schools, we had to respond without any hint of defensiveness or by appearing to underplay the problem. The media-coined term ‘rape culture’, was initially applied to ‘private’ schools and tended to be linked to words like ‘elitism’ and ‘entitlement’. That was unhelpful and somewhat misleading because it generated a caricature of the issue. The thousands of allegations made by current and former students were varied – degrading language used by male students towards female students, body-shaming, indecent postings online, nonconsensual sexual touching and, in extreme cases, rape – so our response to that complex range of transgressions needed to be sure-footed enough to
group chats. In doing so, we draw on the work done in year seven on respectful relationships and extend that into their online lives – which they often perceive as being totally separate from ‘real life’. This continues through to year 13. Teaching boys about consent and the distinction between consensual and nonconsensual sexual activity can be daunting, and delivering such critically important messages in the right way needs clear thinking and a great deal of sensitivity. After all, we’re involving ourselves in very intimate aspects of young people’s lives, and the topic is awkward for many of them. While colleagues are happy to engage with the topic in our Learning for Life lessons, we do make use of external facilitators who possess greater expertise and whom students feel they can ask questions of that they might not wish to ask a teacher or tutor. We’re fortunate to have access to a local organisation called The Conversation (theconversationstamford.co.uk) whose practitioners run workshops on healthy
Kendal Mills is Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Stamford School, Lincolnshire
TEACHING BOYS ABOUT the distinction between consensual and nonconsensual sexual activity can be daunting, AND DELIVERING SUCH CRITICALLY IMPORTANT MESSAGES IN THE RIGHT WAY NEEDS CLEAR THINKING AND A GREAT DEAL OF SENSITIVITY address them all in a variety of ways. Although it only became statutory from September 2020, Stamford School has been delivering a robust and relevant Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) curriculum for many years. We’ve always believed that part of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) – which we now call Learning for Life – to be of central importance, as it touches on so many aspects of young people’s lives and is territory that they, by their own admission, find difficult to negotiate. In year seven, our focus is firmly on respectful relationships of all kinds, and incorporates a strong anti-bullying message. In year eight, we explore online behaviour because that tends to be the age when boys and girls begin to get drawn into some of the more unsavoury aspects of the internet such as the sending of indecent images of one another and writing offensive messages in
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relationships, consent, e-safety (aptly dubbed ‘cyber wisdom’) and the corrosive impact of online pornography on the developing male brain. Similarly the Good Lad Initiative, a Londonbased charity, provides excellent advice designed to encourage boys and young men to tackle the root causes of gender inequality, challenge toxic masculinity, and teach them to grow up to become respectful, sensitive men who understand that consent lies at the heart of all relationships. In the months following the whistleblowing of Everyone’s Invited and other online platforms, it has become clear that boys of all ages are genuinely worried about those boundaries and are asking open and probing questions. The fact that such questions are being asked is a positive sign, and should be seen as an expression of desire for change. It’s up to schools, colleges and universities to continue to lead that change.
COMMENT
SCREEN WIPE
Mobile phone dependency proliferated during lockdown, but is it time to switch off? LARA PECHARD explains her school’s phones-free policy
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oung people’s relationships with their mobile phones have changed during the pandemic and, many would argue, not for the better. As a result, many schools have started to ban their use altogether, but is banning the answer? How do we redress the balance and nurture the right behaviours in a way that’s also sensitive to the pressures young people face today? St Margaret’s has a no-mobile-phone policy. As a result, it is gloriously unusual to see a student using their mobile phone during the school day. I must declare that this initiative was put in place before I arrived as Head. It’s incredibly popular with our parents and staff, and well-respected by our students. When I met with parents at events during my first term I was asked more about my intentions to keep the no-phones policy than anything else. Almost two years later and I wouldn’t change the policy today, there would likely be a walk out if I did! I do, however, have concerns about how we model good behaviour
behaviour from the top down has to be a priority. For parents there are a multitude of concerns; from no let up from peer pressure to image bombardment, as well as an increasing risk of online sexual abuse, grooming and sharing of nude images. For some parents, the phone has been a necessary risk. It might have been essential for the continuity of their teenager’s education, and it may have been the lesser of two evils to keep them connected with their friends and avoid an even greater mental health risk. So how do we move on from this unquestionable overuse? If my school’s experience is anything to go by, parents prefer it when schools are clear and firm, we make it easier to replicate that at home. Parents benefit when schools make them aware of what they often deny, or simply don’t know is happening. In my career I’ve heard countless times “my child wouldn’t write/ share/post that” only to be presented with the screenshot and the reality sets in. Parents need encouragement to replicate clearer and timed
Lara Péchard is Headteacher at St Margaret’s School in Hertfordshire
WE’VE ALL FOUND DISTRACTION 24/7 THROUGH MOBILE PHONES. THE AVERAGE TEENAGER WILL be quick to highlight the hypocrisy of your overuse when challenging theirs, SO MODELLING THE RIGHT BEHAVIOUR FROM THE TOP DOWN HAS TO BE A PRIORITY with phone usage, and I feel we have a duty to our young people to help them find a healthy balance. Many parents with teenage children will have understandably struggled to maintain routines and rules around mobile-phone time during the lockdowns. As such, teenagers have on the whole, enjoyed or perhaps in some cases endured, more unfettered access. Given our policy and the impact of lockdown, we’ve started to tackle this issue with staff and parents through training and pastoral webinars. We must consider carefully how we encourage screen-free time and balance. After all, it isn’t just teenagers that have used their phones more in the pandemic; we’ve all found distraction, comfort and social interaction 24/7 through mobile phones. The average teenager will be quick to highlight the hypocrisy of your overuse when challenging theirs, so modelling the right
parameters at home. I do wonder if the weekly screen-time alert that pops up on your phone might be helpful in terms of setting targets, how can I spend this time differently? How can I aim to get my phone use levels down? In fact, this is my next assembly topic! Engaging the whole class or family in this together could have traction. Tackling the overuse and the need the phone fulfils must be the first aim. All of which will involve time and engagement. We also need more open conversations at school and home about the behaviour that we might not like. We need to do this in a way that attempts to understand, empathise and support our young people, outlining concerns and consequences rather than offering sanction or judgement. Real life cases, anonymised, are always more powerful, such as the health risks around deterioration of eyesight and poor physical health. AUTUMN 2021 | independentschoolparent.com
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AWARDS
First performed during London’s Great Plague, Epicene was a fitting choice during a pandemic
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AWARDS
The show must
GO ON
How do you create a showstopping performance of a 17th century play during a pandemic? Perth’s Glenalmond College’s whole school community rose to this theatrical – and logistical – challenge
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AWARDS
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lenalmond was one of very few schools in the UK to stage a play in the midst of 2020/21 restrictions and allow pupils to experience fully a performance while adhering to Covid-safe measures. The show – which was not be seen by a live audience – was Epicene, the 1609 Renaissance comedy by Ben Jonson, which caught the eye of Glenalmond’s Director of Theatre, Liz Moss. The play was originally performed after a long period when London theatres were closed due to the plague, so the timing of its Glenalmond revival chimes keenly with the present day.
THIS PRODUCTION OF EPICENE
had girls and boys playing both male and female roles, CHALLENGING
THE AUDIENCE TO THINK ABOUT GENDER AND SOCIETY
Getting the show on the road
Online auditions for the play started during remote learning in June 2020,when pupils from all year groups were assessed for the parts via GoogleMeet interviews with Mrs Moss, from Scotland to Italy to Thailand. The pupils’ enthusiasm to take part in a play when they returned to school after the summer spurred Mrs Moss’s determination to make it work, and so during the summer holidays she began the meticulous task of adapting the play to ensure it could be performed to meet Covid-safety requirements. She also wanted to adapt the play to make sure the production was pacey and fun and absolutely relevant.
Across the centuries
The drama department created a surreal world, blending a Renaissance aesthetic with a 1980s New Romantic look and sound. Both genres, though centuries apart, explored androgyny, so it seems to work! The electropop music and graphic neon make-up put a fun spin on the Jacobean text. Behind the scenes, a period-accurate London street set was created, with staff ensuring that no detail was spared and everything looked meticulous. The pupils have really embraced this aspect of the play and it has generated considerable discussion and input from them. The cast contributing their own ideas made the whole process of adapting the play very collaborative, exciting and enjoyable. The script, acting and backstage ways of working were adapted to meet social-distancing constraints such as limits on the number of performers on the stage at any one time and to ensure our Covid-safe year-group bubbles were kept physically distanced at all times. There were a great many factors to consider to ensure that
ALL ABOUT EPICENE
A comedy written in 1609 by Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson, the play is about a man named Dauphine who schemes to secure his inheritance from his uncle Morose. His plan involves setting up Morose to marry Epicene a boy disguised as a woman. It was originally performed by the Blackfriars Children or Children of the Queen’s Revels, a group of boy players.
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Artist-in-Resident, Christopher Moss worked around the clock to deliver the awe-inspiring stage design
AWARDS
Many pupils got involved in all aspects of the drama production, from set design to costumes and performance
the show was fully compliant. They even inverted the classic Commedia half-mask, to create face coverings for the actors to use during the performance. One key aspect of the play was the way it embraced the subject of gender performance. This production of Epicene had girls and boys playing both male and female roles, challenging the audience to think about gender and how society expects men and women to behave. Glenalmond’s Artist-in-Residence, Christopher Moss, produced a stunning set – working evenings and weekends to complete it. The attention to detail in the set design was exceptional – the drama department was determined that pupils wouldn’t miss out on any aspect of the play experience.
Music, make-up and sets
As a result, the play had the most amazing set, which has given all the pupils involved a huge lift, along with the costumes and props our staff and pupils have been working hard on, and the make-up looks created by our art department. The play, which really is a whole-school effort, features adaptations of 80s music, produced by the school’s Director of Music Tim Ridley, and recorded by school musicians, both staff and students. Glenalmond College is in a unique position to be able to do something like this, with its own theatre, staff living on site and a very tight-knit community of people willing to go the extra mile. The arts have a hugely important role to play in connecting people and helping them cope with whatever life throws at them, and school staff were thrilled to have been able to give the pupils a stage experience they’ll never forget during this incredibly challenging time for everyone. Press coverage included a piece in The Times, before an online premiere for pupils, families and others took place. Commedia half masks acted as Covid-appropriate face coverings
Glenalmond College was able to put on the performance of Epicene in its own theatre
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AWARDS
Let’s get physical
Epsom College’s Director of Sport, MICHAEL JOHNSON discusses the sports department’s efforts to create a broader offering for girls, in the hope that it will inspire them to stay active for life
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n recent years, our sports department has worked hard to build upon its offering for girls, to encourage every pupil to feel inspired by sport and exercise from an early age, so that participating in physical activity becomes an enjoyable part of everyday life. Epsom’s efforts in recent years have included large investments in state-of-the-art training facilities for our major girls’ sports, an increase in specialist-coaching expertise with the appointment of a host of former county and national players, and launch of an inspiring female industry speaker programme. Our girls’ sports push was driven by a Sport England study that found by the time girls reach their mid-teens, only 10 per cent meet the recommended activity levels of 60 minutes every day. Now, I can detail how the college is bucking this worrying national trend to achieve exceptionally high participation rates, as well as success at the highest competitive level. Epsom has invested heavily in girls’ sports in recent years. The college is one of only a handful of schools in the UK to have a professionalgrade, water-based AstroTurf, the same as those used at the Olympic
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AWARDS
Epsom College benefits from having several experienced former pro hockey players in its sports department
EPSOM HAS HEAVILY INVESTED IN GIRLS’ SPORTS IN RECENT YEARS. The
college is one of only a handful of schools in the UK to have professional-grade, WATER-
BASED ASTROTURF, THE SAME USED AT THE OLYMPIC PARK IN LONDON
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