Education Choices SUMMER 2024 | £8.50
TH E KEY TO YO U R CH ILD’ S SUCCESS
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEWS INCLUDE: •B en Evans, Windlesham House •N ick Hewlett, St Dunstan’s College •D r. Joseph Spence, Dulwich College •S cottish schools panel
SPECIAL FEATURE:
Flexi Boarding
PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH ALEX TATE, HEAD AT ST JOHN’S SCHOOL, LEATHERHEAD
SURREY SCHOOLS LISTING - ECM recommended Surrey school options, university applications, countryside properties and design tips! PLUS Education Choices Awards 2024
REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW Parents can register their child for the Pre-Tests online now. Visit the Pre-Tests Admissions Toolkit for information, guidance and support resources.
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FROM THE FOUNDER
Dear Readers, It has been a very busy and exciting year for Education Choices Magazine and Education Corner Podcast. We are thankful to all those in education that we work with. It is wonderful to be finishing the year with our first Awards. We wish everyone a well deserved break over the summer! Chloe Abbott (Founder) www.educationchoicesmagazine.com
“A garden’s beauty never lies in one flower.” Matshona Dhliwayo
EDUCATION BOOK CORNER
Celebrating the Paris Olympics 2024 Sport-themed books for the whole family AGES 3-5:
The Frog Olympics Brian Moses (Author) and Amy Husband (Illustrator) Bring your family together with this hilariously funny tale about an army of frogs who travel from around the globe to celebrate the notorious ‘Frog Olympics’. Splash - Claire Cashmore (Author) and Sharon Davey (Illustrator) Born without a left forearm, Claire Cashmore MBE, a Paralympic gold medallist, tells her story of never letting her disability stand in the way of her dreams. AGES 6-8: Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion, Simone Biles - Michelle Meadows (Author) and Ebony Glenn (Illustrator) Learn the success story of the Olympic champion, Simone Biles. Flying High tells the story of one of the world’s best gymnasts, exploring her journey from an athletic childhood to a sporting superstar.
Ancient Games – A History of Sports and Gaming Avalon NuovoIris Volant (Author) and Avalon Nuovo (Illustrator) Just in time for the Summer 2024 Olympic Games, this book acts as the perfect guide to the history of games and sports, from legends of the Aztec god of board games to Japanese sumo wrestling. AGES 9-12: Ghost - Jason Reynolds Ghost is the first book in Reynold’s award winning Track series (followed by Patina, Sunny and Lu). In this inspiring tale, we follow Ghost as he confronts his past in the attempt to become the fastest sprinter at school. The Boy who Biked the World - Alastair Humphreys (Author) and Tom MorganJones (Illustrator) In this fantastic adaptation of Alastair Humphrey’s journey around the world, this story explores the experiences of Tom as he cycles through Europe, across Africa and all the way to the tip of South Africa!
AGES 13-17: Gravity - Sarah Deming This novel follows the life of Gravity Doomsday Delgado as she learns how to channel the anger and stress caused by her troubled home life into boxing, setting her on a path towards the Olympics. Will she make it? The Mamba Mentality: How I Play - Kobe Bryant This book reveals Kobe Bryant’s personal perspective on his experiences as he navigates the world of basketball, whilst also providing us with his expert insight on his playing style and technique. ADULT:
The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn’t Stop - Bill Jones This novel tells the story of John Tarrant, the mysterious ‘Ghost Runner’ who soon became one of the greatest long-distance runners the world has ever seen. ELLA MARIA Author
EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S UM M ER 2024 | 3
Education Choices Awards 2024 We were honoured that so many schools applied to Education Choices Awards 2024. It was humbling to see the extent of the work and effort that is taking place in so many independent schools to improve EDIB, sustainability and develop school partnerships. The competition for places was high and congratulations to the winners!
Category A Improvements in EDIB Prep Winner: Rosemead Preparatory School ECM maintained nomination: Honeywell School Senior Winner: ACS International School Egham ECM maintained nomination: Tiffin School
Category B Developing School Partnerships Prep Winner: Windlesham House School ECM Maintained nomination: Queen’s Park Primary Senior Winner: Alleyn’s School ECM maintained nomination: Tiffin Girls’ School
Category C Bursary Support Winner: Dulwich College ECM maintained nomination: Kendrick School
Category D Working with Local Charities Prep Winner: Westminster Under School ECM maintained nomination: Hampden Gurney School Senior Winner: Lancing College ECM maintained nomination: Pate’s Grammar School
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Category E Developing Student Voice Prep Winner: Cameron Vale School ECM maintained nomination: Thomas Jones Primary School Senior Winner: St Paul’s School ECM maintained nomination: Sutton Grammar School
Category F Enveloping EDI in the Curriculum Winner: Cranleigh School ECM maintained nomination: Queen Elizabeth’s School
Category H Inclusive SEN provision Winner: Heathside School Hampstead ECM maintained nomination: Belleville School
Category J Supporting Sustainability
Category G Inclusive opportunities in Art and Music (throughout the school) Prep Winner: Eagle House School ECM maintained nomination: Mayflower Primary School Senior Winner: King’s College School, Wimbledon ECM maintained nomination: Wilson’s School
Category I Diversity and Inclusion in Sport Winner: St Dunstan’s College ECM maintained nomination: Reading School
Prep Winner: Sunningdale School ECM maintained nomination: Bousfield Primary School Senior Winner: Highgate School ECM maintained nomination: St Olave’s Grammar School
Best All-Rounder Miss Daisy’s Nursery
TO READ MORE ABOUT THE WINNERS, VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.educationchoicesmagazine.com/education-choices-awards
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EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH THE HEAD
Alex Tate FROM ST JOHN’S SCHOOL, LEATHERHEAD St John’s School, Leatherhead is a leading co-educational, independent day and boarding school in Surrey for pupils aged 11 to 17. The school encourages high standards, both intellectually and emotionally, to prepare pupils to thrive in a complex world, delivering an outstanding education experience and the 21st century, the school’s house system and flexible boarding philosophy are central to the school. What are the main entry points for children and families considering St John’s?
We have three main entry points: going into Year 7, we take in between 90-96 pupils and they join us for two years; that’s topped up with around 45 pupils joining in Year 9, or Fourth Form, as we call it - a lot of those will be from the prep schools. Then, at 16 plus, we take another 30-35 pupils in. Generally speaking, we’ve got year groups of about 138-145 pupils, from Year 7 up to the Upper Sixth when they leave. On the school’s website, you emphasise Kindness as the most important value of the school’s community, and The Five Principles of Kindness: respect, inclusion, support, 3 4 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S U M M E R 2 024
empathy and service. How do these values impact life at the school?
The value of kindness and its principles were actually selected by the pupils before I arrived, but I agree with them wholeheartedly. The idea of kindness is something that resonates really strongly with our families, I think. What I like about the idea of kindness is that you can’t argue against being kind, and it has such a positive impact on so many parts of the community. Our values are embedded into daily life, they underpin how we think, how we interact and how we behave. You can stop a pupil here and ask about the values and they’ll tell you that kindness is fundamental. For example, when we’re issuing merits or rewards, we link them to kindness. Even when a child makes a mistake and we have to issue sanctions, they’re often linked to kindness - I think it resonates more with a child who’s made a mistake when you talk to them about how that behaviour is unkind. It’s much more powerful and more educational than a simple sanction, and so it really makes a difference to them. It’s reinforced all the time through assemblies and through other means and, if you visit us, it’s something you can just see, we live and breathe.
St John’s School, Leatherhead
That’s wonderful. I’ve visited recently and had a wonderful tour of the school - you offer a rather modern approach to boarding that is quite unique to St John’s School, Leatherhead - your flexi boarding. What are St John’s offering to parents and how does it work? Why did the school choose to offer it?
In our recent surveys, flexible boarding came out as something our parents are most attracted to. Over the years, we’ve moved to weekly boarding and in the last 20 years we’ve moved to day with flexi boarding. It means that you can join St John’s as a weekly boarder, you can arrive on a Sunday evening and go home on a Friday, but there are also a variety of other options. We have ‘flexi’, which can be one, two or three nights a week, then we have ad hoc, which means you could do one night one week and one night the next week to fit around parental schedules or family travel plans, for example. About 30% of our 850 pupils are regularly boarding and about 15% do ad hoc. Four of our ten houses are boarding houses, so if you are going to be a regular boarder, we will try to place you in that house, but you could be in one of the day houses and pop over to the boarding house in the evening when you decide to board to spend your nights there. It’s quite unique and it’s a model I see being copied elsewhere. However, it’s also quite challenging for House staff, because as you can imagine, having 160 children on Wednesday night, 180 on Thursday night, lower numbers on a Monday and Tuesday - that peak and trough is hard for us to manage. But the children get all the benefits of full boarding. In the evenings, they’re still using the facilities like the swimming pool and the astros, but they’re also getting the academic support and prep that they would get in a normal boarding
environment. It’s a caring, supportive community and anyone is welcome to join boarding whenever they want. Likewise, we want people to try and dip their toe in - we find flexi boarding is very attractive to our busy families that may not want to completely commit to that full, weekly Saturday boarding. So, I would imagine this is probably a win-win. In the survey, parents said to us that often the children go home and say: “I’d really like to try a couple of days.” Perhaps that’s testament to what they think they’d gain from the benefits of boarding with us. You also offer boarding to Lower School students. How does boarding differ for younger pupils? How are they and their families supported?
We have a specific Lower School area in the school, so rather than being in one of the houses, there’s a Lower School area with a specific member of staff looking after them. There are slightly more pupils in each room as we want them to be socialising more with one another, and of course, they have a slightly earlier bedtime, but they have
“It’s a caring, supportive community and anyone is welcome to join boarding whenever they want. Likewise, we want people to try and dip their toe in - we find flexi boarding is very attractive to our busy families that may not want to completely commit to that full, weekly Saturday boarding.” EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S UM M ER 2024 | 35
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SPOTLIGHT: DANES HILL, OXSHOTT
Bishopsgate School
Cumnor House School
Bishopsgate School is a coeducational preparatory day school for children aged 3 to 13. Set on 30 acres of the Crown Estate next to Windsor Great Park, the school offers a vibrant and supportive environment. Bishopsgate focuses on nurturing childhood, academic excellence and personal development through a broad curriculum, extracurricular activities and exceptional pastoral care. The school prepares students for life at senior school and beyond, fostering independence, leadership and a love of learning. www.bishopsgateschool.com
Originally founded in 1931, Cumnor House School consists of four independent schools for both boys and girls aged between 2 and 13, with four campuses located on the outskirts of Croydon. The school encourages all students to aspire to be the best they can be, helping children to identify and build on their strengths, both academic and co-curricular, and to challenge themselves with high expectations. www.cumnorhouse.com
Danes Hill School Danes Hill is a co-educational nursery, pre-prep and prep school situated within 55 acres of landscaped grounds, becoming one of the last remaining 13+ schools of its kind in Surrey. They want children to enjoy their childhood for as long as possible, whilst also developing and progressing within a stimulating environment that offers opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. The school encourages pupils to become confident, articulate individuals by providing them with a broad and comprehensive range of skills and values, as well as a desire and independent ability to further themselves in the school’s vibrant community. The school’s values are passion, courage, growth
and respect. Danes Hill believes that if children are happy, they flourish, reach their full potential and carry a love of learning with them for the rest of their lives. Performing arts, languages and sport are at the heart of the school’s strengths, with students achieving great success in sporting competitions as well as their academic results. The school is divided into four houses and inter-house competition in sporting, artistic and academic spheres is encouraged. Children are expected to have the fullest possible involvement in school life and the School Council meets regularly to discuss issues affecting pupils’ wellbeing. www.daneshillschool.co.uk
Edgeborough School Edgeborough School is a co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 2 to 13 years old situated in the beautiful countryside just outside Farnham. The school’s ethos is that happy children thrive in a warm, kind environment where opportunities are abundant. Edgeborough prides itself on finding talent in each child that is recognised, nurtured and developed to create motivated, confident, independent learners. Kindness, happiness and respect for others are at the heart of everything. Emphasising a happy, family atmosphere, Edgeborough fosters all-round development and a balanced, first-class education. www.edgeborough.co.uk
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SPOTLIGHT: MILBOURNE LODGE SCHOOL, ESHER
Feltonfleet School
Feltonfleet offer co-ed education from ages 3 to 13, providing a well-rounded education, and pride themselves on their strong pastoral care which supports students throughout their time at the school. Parents and pupils endorse their motto, ‘Where individuals really matter’, praising their emphasis on individual pupils’ needs and identity. The school offers 28 extra-curricular clubs and activities to support this, alongside a strong academic curriculum. They are currently working on a 5-year strategic plan to set out their priorities for the future of Feltonfleet. www.feltonfleet.co.uk
Laleham Lea School Laleham Lea School have always firmly believed in putting the child at the centre of everything they do and this forms the solid foundation from which their students thrive. As a Catholic school, Gospel values are at the forefront of their daily routine and flow through all that they do. Their high academic expectations, coupled with outstanding pastoral care, help to give each and every student the best possible start to a happy and successful school life. www.lalehamlea.co.uk
Longacre School Longacre School is a coeducational school for children aged 2 to 11. Located just five miles south of Guildford in the village of Shamley Green, children have woods to explore, time to enjoy the fresh air and are encouraged to get muddy. Despite being an all-embracing school, pupils consistently gain entry to a wide range of prestigious senior schools, such as Epsom College, The Royal Grammar School, Guildford High, St Catherine’s and Reigate Grammar School. www.longacreschool.co.uk
Milbourne Lodge School Milbourne Lodge School is a co-educational nursery, pre-prep and prep school for pupils aged 4 to 13. They offer a strong, valuesbased education, promoting their pastoral care and emphasising their preparation of well-rounded children ready to take on the next stages of their education and life. The school maintains unique traditions while also able to embrace modernity and individual students’ needs through a broad programme of wrap-around care and extracurriculars. Their tranquil
location, surrounded by greenery, allows students to engage with their surroundings and foster a connection with nature to enhance their wellbeing. Renowned for its academic excellence, Milbourne Lodge students consistently achieve above the national average for both English and Maths, sending pupils to leading senior schools such as St Paul’s School, Winchester College, Eton College and Epsom College. A parent commented that:
“Milbourne is a nurturing school and really prepares the children for their entrance exams. It realistically prepares them and that’s key. We love the teachers and vibe of the school.” www.milbournelodge.co.uk
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UCAS TIPS
Writing a Successful Personal Statement Advice from the University of Exeter The personal statement is a young person’s opportunity to explain why they want to study a particular course, as well as what will make them a good student. They’ll need to demonstrate their enthusiasm, subject knowledge and any relevant skills. Things to consider when writing a personal statement
You write just one statement for up to five UCAS choices, so don’t mention a specific university or college by name. There is a limit of 4,000 characters (47 lines), so keep your statement concise and to the point. We suggest that 70-80% of your personal statement is focused on the subject(s) that you are applying for. Use recent examples of achievements and accomplishments and tell universities what you have gained/learned from doing them. Some higher education providers may use the personal statement
as the basis for an interview, so be prepared to answer questions on it. Thinking about motivation
When writing your personal statement, it is important to focus on the subjects you are applying to, so carefully consider your reasons for applying. Universities will want to know why you have selected the subject you wish to study with them. Perhaps you are motivated by your passion for the subject, or perhaps it relates to future career ambitions. The rainbow diagram below offers a structure for drafting the personal statement. Your chosen subject is the core: everything you discuss in the personal statement should link back to what you want to study and why. The first ‘layer’ is about particular areas of that subject that interest you, which can then be further developed in the second layer, where you consider why you have chosen those particular areas of interest. What fascinates you about a particular
PERSONAL STATEMENT DOS AND DON’TS DO Research the chosen subject(s) and providers Research the admissions policy for each university you are applying to, as this will provide you with key information about how they process applications and use personal statements Write what comes naturally Ensure that the statement flows and has a logical structure
DON’T Include misleading information Include jokes, cliches or overused famous quotations from others Plagiarise Use bullet points or lists Leave it until the last minute Submit the statement without checking it
Check that it’s free from grammar and spelling mistakes Proofread
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period of history, for example? What additional research have you done and what did you think about it? The third and final layer requires you to consider additional relevant experience that you have gained and can relate to the subject(s) you are applying for. Using this rainbow diagram or simply writing notes for each heading will help to pin down the relevant knowledge, interests and experiences that need to be included in the personal statement and will also enable you to effectively include the additional research that you have undertaken. Thinking about skills
Alongside the academic content and motivation for study, discussing relevant transferable skills is another important part of the personal statement as it helps to ascertain your suitability for the courses to which you are applying. Alongside previous and current studies, hobbies, volunteering and work experience can all be used as examples of transferable skills. In order to select the most appropriate examples to include in the personal statement, ask yourself the following questions: What was the activity? What transferable skills did you gain from the experience and can you provide specific examples? How do these skills link to your chosen subject? RACHEL CAUNTER Campaign Manager Discover University: www.exeter.ac.uk/discoveruniversity Advice for parents and supporters: www.exeter.ac.uk/supporters.
Discover University in Exeter and Cornwall The University of Exeter is ranked in the top 15 of UK universities and in the top 10 in the Russell Group for student satisfaction. Our Discover University website has a range of activites and resources designed to support your journey to higher education, including: l Bookable events including our Discover University virtual conferences l Advice on how to explore your chosen subject
l Subject Q&A panels l Higher Education Jargon Buster l Advice on your application and personal statement l Advice and insights from our Student Ambassadors
Visit our website to find out more: exeter.ac.uk/discoveruniversity To find out more about visiting our campuses either virtually or in person, visit: exeter.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/visit
l Essay competitions to strengthen your supercurricular activies
@DiscoverUniExe Access, Participation and Outreach Office, Exeter EX4 4RN
Top 15 in the Complete University Guide 2024 and The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 Ranked Top 10 in the Russell Group for student satisfaction in six out of seven themes in the National Student Survey 2023 153rd in the QS World University Rankings 2024
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exeter.ac.uk/discoveruniversity