Headlines

By James Saunders

Happy Friday everyone. I would like to spend some time this week continuing on from our last headlines and the topic of technology. As learners progress into the adult world they will come across multiple occasions when they have to apply for the next step. Our C11s are in the process of applying for their college places next year.

Achieving success through these processes is one thing but there are things we can do to ensure we hold onto opportunities. I would like to explore some of the reasons people get fired. Many of us are unaware of our digital footprints: the impressions and traces we leave behind when using the internet. Whilst last week’s message was about caution and security this week I am focusing on conduct and respect and cultivating a professional and dignified digital persona.

Many employers veto applications by looking at social media accounts before they shortlist for an interview. One in five applicants are being fired before they even start. Some of the reasons are: use of aggressive or offensive language; bad spelling/grammar or too many selfies.

There is a simple thing we can do to avoid this. Respect ourselves, others and the world around us. When posting online we should ask ourselves: are we being courteous? Are we providing a measured response? Are we saying something we would not say in public or to someone’s face?

If we assume that everything we do online is public then we must acknowledge that people will form an impression of us based on this content. I am not saying whether I think it is right or wrong for employers, or indeed anyone else to judge people this way. However, that is what is being done.

We have a very active school instagram page - which has almost two thousand followers; many of them learners. I can simply click on that number to see a list

of all followers and can look at their accounts. Some are not private. I imagine that some people might get nervous at the thought of what I might see on those accounts that are not locked down. The message to all of us is clear: be mindful of how we conduct ourselves online as the footprints will always lead back to us.

We have almost completed our mock exams. Sitting exams is tough. It is mentally and physically exhausting. It is perfectly normal to find this a struggle; to not want to do it in the first place. That gut wrenching feeling when entering an exam hall is very common. We want to do our best. We care. It means a lot to us. That’s why it can often cause us pain. But that pain is short, it does not last forever. In fact the only certainty regarding an exam is that after two hours it will be over and so will the pain.

Whatever your opinion is of Lance Armstrong and the choices he made, I think the following quote bears some relevance to what I have been talking about. ‘Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.’

Thank you for all of your continued effort and support this term and in the remaining weeks ahead. We have a range of activities going on as we see out the term. On Monday it’s the Winter concert - a sell out event that I am sure will provide a welcome bit of Christmas cheer and mulled wine. On Tuesday we have two governors visiting for the day. On Wednesday there are trips to: the ARU Christmas Lectures; NHS Careers Fayre; the first Dry Ski Slope session for our February skitrippers. On Thursday there is a C9 Dance trip to the sixth form and on Friday it is Christmas Jumper day and the culmination of the reverse advent calendar - I have blocked out some time to deliver supplies using the minibus.

Staff are continuing to work hard to ensure that school continues to be about more than exams by offering enriching experiences that make school such a magical place.

Have a lovely weekend.

James Saunders