EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH THE HEAD
Ben McCarey FROM FRENSHAM HEIGHTS SCHOOL, SURREY In this episode of Education Corner Podcast, Ben McCarey spoke to us about the innovative and informal approach at Frensham Heights, how they encourage teachers to use creative and experimental methods and how they hope to continue to support this alternative and effective method into the future.
Ben McCarey is a third generation teacher, he told us: “My entire formative years were spent in and around education.” Although this initially propelled him to seek a different career path, soon after graduating from university he “fell into education”. Since then, he has worked in a wide range of schools: “I spent six years in Bicester in a comprehensive in North Oxfordshire, I then went and did a stint in Brixton in South London in one of the most deprived wards in the country in a state academy, from there I moved to my last job before Frensham which was at Holyport College which is a state boarding school near Maidenhead, part of Eton College.” Ben described not initially planning to leave Holyport College, having worked at the school for a decade since its inception in 2014, but commented: “Then Frensham appeared on the horizon and from afar I kind of fell in love with it and started to see it as where I wanted to be and where I wanted my kids to be, and here I am.” Frensham Heights has a deliberately informal atmosphere, all marked by: “The absence of uniform, the informality between students and 6 4 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | AU T U M N 2 024
staff, the fact that I’m no longer ‘Sir’ or ‘Mr. McCarey’, that’s been retired, the kids call me Ben.” Adding that this is to reflect the school’s core values: “A belief in the goodness of humanity, the benevolence of the human spirit and the belief that that doesn’t just apply to us as adults - it applies to kids, too.” He believes that: “Too often the education system serves to [...] put kids into boxes, to say to them, ‘actually, the most important thing is that you comply with this long and very detailed set of rules so that you can learn to be a compliant human being.’” At Frensham Heights, the very opposite of this is true: children are encouraged to express themselves freely and make their own choices, with adults and staff there to guide and support them. At the core of the school’s ethos is a desire to teach students that: “The human beings they become are so much more than the sum total of the grades they achieve,” according to Ben. Whilst Frensham Heights is an academically selective school, they also look for pupils who will thrive in their unique learning environment. Ben explained: “I see us as an all-ability school, but that doesn’t mean we’re not an academic school.” Students are supported and encouraged to thrive academically - over half of GCSE grades awarded were 7-9 last year - but pupils are also given chances to succeed elsewhere, such as on TURN BACK TO PAGES 39-41 for advice about supporting neurodiverse students
