KELLETT SCHOOL STRATEGIC UPDATE DECEMBER 2021
FOREWORD
FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD It has been my immense privilege to be Chair of the Board of Governors at Kellett School for the past five years. Kellett has been a key part of my family for many years, providing a wonderful education and a broad range of activities. It is now globally recognised as providing educational excellence that allows our students to thrive and be happy. For the past few years I have penned these forewords and I have often highlighted a similar theme - our community. I truly believe it is exceptional and is at the core of what makes Kellett such a special place. In moments of anxiety, the need for community and the benefits it can bring are that much more apparent. We have been tested in the last couple of years with limited travel, social distancing restrictions and school closures. The collective strength and support of the Kellett community has been essential and I thank all of you for your efforts in this area. Mark Steed has led his team with skill and huge commitment and has ensured the School continues to forge ahead. I extend my deep gratitude to all Kellett staff for their unwavering commitment to our children. Our student numbers have grown, our public exam results have improved yet again, and our children continue to have a love of learning and confidence for life. Kellett’s journey in 2020/21 has included an enormous amount of work on the development of sport and extracurricular activities, innovation enriching the curriculum and a deeper commitment to outreach to our wider community in Hong Kong. As I conclude my final year as Chair I do so with deep gratitude to all our community and a sincere belief that Kellett will continue to achieve even greater success in the future. Kind regards,
Peter Goulston Chairman of the Board of Governors
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OVERVIEW
FROM THE PRINCIPAL & CEO With things almost back to normal for students at Kellett it is difficult to recall just how difficult 2020-21 was, with extended periods of home learning, strict social distancing requirements, stress around examinations and at times frustrating interactions with bureaucracy. Perhaps that is why I look back with a focus on all that was achieved, and is bearing fruit now we have returned to relative normality. It is important to remember, reflect and feel a sense of pride that we survived and in many ways are better for it. Parents and staff have a heightened sense of respect for the additional demanding roles they took on in home learning. Students have a reinvigorated love of the classroom! My personal thanks go to every parent who managed home learning, every teacher who worked hard to make home learning effective and as fun as possible, and every student who dug deep to produce work to their best ability whilst missing many of the fun aspects of school life. You are each a credit to yourselves and to Kellett. Our focus for the year, aside from the critical role of ensuring excellence in teaching and learning continues, was to keep momentum on important strategic priorities. I have learnt a great deal during the pandemic as a leader and as an educator, the most important of which is that very little can or should derail an institution’s core strategic objectives. No matter what challenges arise, incremental moves must continue or time is wasted. Our students do not have time to waste. Their education takes place over a finite period of time. And, as such, it is our duty to them to constantly seek to improve. Ironically, in a year where less school sport was played than ever before, Kellett has reimagined its sports programme and we are reaping the benefits now children are back on the pitches and in the pools. Likewise, extracurricular activities were obliterated for much of the year, but despite this, Kellett worked on developing a whole new Period 8 initiative wherein activities are seen as an integral part of our rich and wide curriculum. Similarly, in a year where our connection with others has been hugely curtailed, Kellett has turned its attention outwards to our wider community. We have developed new partnerships, as we seek to bring our skills to bear on disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong and enrich our lives with more community service and a greater sense of responsibility for those around us. And, in a year where technology has moved forward exponentially to cater to enforced distances between people, and climate change has dominated headlines, Kellett has laid the foundations for an increase in students’ exposure to problem-solving, teamwork and resilience in new innovation classes and activities. We can proudly say that no time has been lost to Covid. When the children returned to school in August 2021 it was to a better school. I extend my thanks to my team who, in the most challenging of circumstances, were unwavering in their commitment to keep improving what we offer our students.
Mark Steed Principal & CEO
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INTRODUCTION Each year in this document we set out to check we have made good on the commitments of the year before. As such, it holds us accountable and creates a record of all we have achieved. In times of stress and challenge, these kinds of processes can fall by the wayside. At Kellett, a school seeking constant refinement and improvement, we believe these checks and balances to be even more important in times of flux. In a year that will no doubt be remembered for cancellations, Zooms, Google Classroom, masks and quarantine, this record seeks to remind us of all that has progressed and where we need to continue to strive for unrealised gains.
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CONTENTS Foreward from the Chair of the Board................................................... Overview from the Principal & CEO..................................................... Introduction........................................................................................ Contents............................................................................................. Achieving Personal Excellence.............................................................. Scholarships.............................................................................. Languages................................................................................. Sport......................................................................................... Student Portfolios........................................................................ The Right Environment for Success............................................... Building Transferable Skills................................................................... Expressive Arts.......................................................................... Mini-MBA.................................................................................. Technology................................................................................. Developing a Global Outlook............................................................... Community Service..................................................................... Sustainability.............................................................................. Bursaries.................................................................................... Kellett Outreach......................................................................... Alumni...................................................................................... Kellett Foundation....................................................................... Cultivating Wellbeing........................................................................... Wellbeing of Students................................................................. Pastoral..................................................................................... Positively Kellett.......................................................................... Wellbeing of Staff...................................................................... Conclusion.........................................................................................
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THE KELLETT LEARNER PROFILE FORMS THE BASIS OF KELLETT’S STRATEGIC AIMS
A-LEVELS RESULTS DAY, 2021
ACHIEVING PERSONAL EXCELLENCE
SCHOLARSHIPS Home learning curtailed the scholars’ ability to meet in person with a group, so classes took place online. Once regular lessons resumed, Y7 & 8 scholars met weekly for lunch in the Boardroom, where topics as diverse as the Sapir Whorf hypothesis to the Uncanny Valley were discussed. Scholars also worked with Y13 students to build a giant Rube Goldberg machine. In the year ahead, Rube Goldberg will evolve into a challenge against other schools, which the scholars will arrange and advertise as well as participate. Looking further ahead, as numbers grow, our scholars will be segmented into key stage groups, as they prepare for applications to highly selective universities under the guidance of the Assistant Head of Academic and Head of Sixth Form. Discussions are ongoing with regards to expanding scholarships to cover subjects such as Sports, Music, Drama and Art, as well as extending to other year groups.
LANGUAGES Following a review of languages in the Senior School in 2020-21, the most recent academic year saw Spanish being offered to Year 7, who now do two rather than one language. As well as this, Coding is now offered as a language in Year 8 and Latin commencing in Year 9. A review of languages in the Prep School is now underway.
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SPORT In our previous edition of this document, we set out our ambitious plans for sport at Kellett. In this edition we are thrilled to report that those ambitions are well on their way to being realised. We have recruited some of the best specialist coaches around to build out our existing strong sports department. From Year 3, children start playing Kellett’s main sports football, rugby, swimming, netball and basketball - enabling the development of strong teams who have additional training before and after school. PE is timetabled once a week and focuses on educating students on fitness and developing motor skills, as well providing an opportunity to learn about different sports, techniques, movements and tactics. Our aim remains to have some of the best teams in the region, but also to give everyone the opportunity to represent Kellett at sport, and we are well on our way to realising that.
STUDENT PORTFOLIOS Starting in academic year 2021-22 all students in Years 8 to 12 curate their own online Student Portfolio of their proudest achievements at Kellett, mapped against the four sectors of the Kellett Learner Profile. The Student Portfolio is used to support regular learning conversations between students and their Form Tutor, encouraging all students to strive for excellence in all areas of life at Kellett. Evidence in Student Portfolios also support applications for positions of responsibility, Student Lead Conferences, the Kellett Award and ultimately their applications for University.
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THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR SUCCESS In achieving personal excellence, we always include information on learning environments, which we see as being central to learning success. For our students, after long periods of home learning, it was great to greet them for the academic year 2021-22 with some fabulous new learning spaces that were completed over the summer break. The Sixth Form Centre, solely for the use of our eldest students, provides study and social spaces to rival many company offices. The new library offers an ideal setting for some quiet reading time in comfortable chairs with light streaming in. A refitted and rewired exam suite will ensure all students wishing to sit their exams on a laptop can do so easily. Learning Central, where additional support is based, has some wonderful new pods for one-on-one and small group work, which students can also book out as a private study/discussion space. A new additional science lab supports the ever-growing number of students opting to take sciences beyond GCSE. In PFL some alterations have been made to create barrier free access (disabled access) to the campus, along with new air handling for more efficiency and better air quality. The Board is considering a larger scale redevelopment of the PFL campus, with the aim of making better use of space and flow between the Ocean and Mountain Wings, making it easier to flex to stricter social distancing should it be required, and providing ‘barrier-free’ for wheelchair users. The proposed redevelopment will result in larger classes for years Y3 and Y4, a dedicated dining room, a new reception and administrative area, refurbished specialist rooms and more multipurpose spaces. The timescale has yet to be determined. Any redevelopment plan would, of course, take great care to cause minimal disruption to teaching and learning.
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BUILDING TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
YEAR 8 LAMDA
EXPRESSIVE ARTS Following the efforts put into developing our sports offering, we now turn our attention to the expressive arts. Expressive arts not only incorporate important subjects studied in Senior School but are essential for a well-rounded curriculum across all year groups. Expressive arts help build confidence both in school and beyond, help student wellbeing and of course provide parents with a wealth of wonderful performances to enjoy. To reflect the importance the school places on expressive arts, a new director will be appointed to oversee this aspect of Kellett across all years. In the past year, Kellett introduced LAMDA to the curriculum with the appointment of two dedicated teachers. LAMDA stands for London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, a prestigious drama school in the UK, which offers a globally-renowned expressive arts curricula and examinations. One of the key courses offered at Kellett is Speaking in Public. The courses aim to foster confidence in our students to articulate their opinions, visions and views concisely, so that they are fully prepared to communicate in all aspects of their life. Currently, our Year 8 and 12 students have a weekly Speaking in Public class as part of the Kellett curriculum. Classes lead students in a range of exercises aimed at building their selfexpression through voice and body language, as well as learning the art of developing and writing speeches. LAMDA also offers an exciting range of other subjects such as acting, devising, musical theatre, mime and verse and prose, which will be incorporated over time into Kellett’s extracurricular offering.
MINI-MBA Despite being affected by Covid, 59 students completed their first year of the Mini-MBA programme. The course was adapted from an online Mini-MBA offered by the University of Buffalo’s School of Management covering 17 modules. Following the experience and reflection, this year’s programme has changed significantly. Students now start the course completing the Open University MOOC - Academy of Money, to develop their financial literacy as students prepare to join the adult world. Students then take part in the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition, a three-month competition involving teams from around the world designing an investment portfolio for a client using a real-time stock tracker and a fictional capital investment of $100,000. Talks continue to form part of the programme, on topics ranging from personal branding, to investment and entrepreneurialism. A new, exciting element follows a partnership with IE Business School in Madrid (ranked 2nd in the world for Online MBAs by the Financial Times). Details of the IE Junior Management Programme are being finalised. IE will work with us on development of the content and aim to role this out across the international school community. We will pay half-fees for the programme in perpetuity and successful completion of the programme will carry university credit. 20
TECHNOLOGY Digital Skills continue to be taught across all age groups. Students consider the efficacy of their passwords, their usage of devices and screen time. Higher up the school, GCSE students are introduced to phishing, ransomware, and other malicious uses of technology, in order to protect themselves in an ever-changing digital world. Newly launched for 2021, the subject Innovation is now thriving within Years 7 & 8, and has been well received by students. Students are participating in a number of project areas, including creating a camera trap to capture images of wildlife using the Raspberry Pi platform. Other groups are building a vertical greenhouse and learning about hydroponics and compact crop growth, or creating soft robots which can move and adapt to their environment through air pressure and flexible exteriors. In addition, students are creating animations around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Our work in this area featured as a backdrop in a recent TV broadcast on CNN International. Similarly, students are being encouraged to think about solving problems and working collaboratively in the newly launched Coding Language option for Year 8. Students learn about Python code and create simple, role-playing text adventure games as their first project, as well as creating their own websites from scratch. Looking ahead there will be a review of the tech transition from Prep to Senior, and following the successful introduction of innovation to Years 7 & 8 we are looking to roll out this subject to more year groups. Most significantly, there will be a big focus on the technology infrastructure at PFL as the redevelopment of the campus gets underway.
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YEAR 7 INNOVATION
DEVELOPING A GLOBAL OUTLOOK
EARTH DAY IN KOWLOON BAY PREP SCHOOL
LEARNING SERVICE AT SAI KUNG STRAY FRIENDS
COMMUNITY SERVICE We continue to strive to provide more opportunities for students to undertake community service. Covid restrictions severely limited the scope of community service activities in 2020-21. In lieu of making actual visits, students partnered with Room To Read and prepared some storytelling videos for local primary schools. A recent refresh of the Kellett Awards, which celebrate students who make a diverse and sustained contribution to the school community, encourages a community service component. Kellett Award winners receive a certificate and lapel badge to be displayed on their blazer. Many more community service opportunities are planned, as long as Covid restrictions allow. Alongside Period 8 opportunities with the likes of Sai Kung Stray Friends and activities with our partner Primary Schools, Kellett Outreach (see section below) will provide a chance for Senior Students to assist with lessons for disadvantaged children.
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SUSTAINABILITY Roots & Shoots, the Senior Eco-Club, partnered with The Alliance of Sustainable Schools (TASS) to undertake a sustainable meal project, which incorporated research, a presentation and a video, and will culminate in a sustainable dinner for parents. Uniforms A great deal of care was taken to ensure we dealt with our old school uniform and PE kit responsibly. Where possible the uniform and kit was passed on for others to use, with the assistance of our friends at Crossroads Foundation Hong Kong. Where this was not possible we ensured the fabrics were recycled. We will shortly be embarking on a pilot programme with TASS and Retykle to find a longer-term sustainable solution for pre-loved uniform. Energy In partnership with our facilities management company JLL efforts continued to replace all internal lighting with LED fittings at both campuses, having secured partial funding from CLP and HK Electric. The installation of a new Air Handling & Air Filtration system at PFL (summer 2021) has significantly enhanced the campus environment for students and staff, and is far more energy efficient. In the year ahead we look forward to the installation of solar PV panels at the KLB campus as we continue to look to reduce our carbon emissions. Displays of energy consumption will be accessible to provide student learning opportunities. Food Waste Sodexo, our catering partner, continued to try and reduce packaging waste, switching to canned beverages to reduce plastics (except fresh pressed juices, which only come in plastic). Clearing stations are being utilised to separate food waste and recyclables, which draws students’ attention to their own waste generation and encourages better consumption practices. A new addition for the upcoming academic year will be the installation of the ORCA food digestor, enabling the processing of food waste onsite. This will reduce the use of plastics from bagging, carbon emissions from transporting, landfill space and methane production. Sodexo has also launched Waste Watch, a global initiative to monitor, track, and report on food waste produced daily. Regarding menus, students and staff will find more plant-based meat alternatives. Accreditation As a school we are embarking on a process to try and secure Green Flag accreditation as an Eco School, a first for a school in Hong Kong. Students choose to focus on a minimum of three themes (e.g. waste minimisation, energy, food sustainability, biodiversity and nature, global citizenship, health and wellbeing, marine and coast, litter, school grounds, transport, water, and climate change). Eco School Green Flags need to be secured each year which will ensure we maintain momentum on incremental environmental improvements in our community. We are also broadening our whole school approach to incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals, in recognition of a need for a more holistic approach.
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My family and I are always grateful for what Kellett has done for our children. There’s no doubt that it is having a positive and powerful impact on our children’s learning journey. We hope that more students can benefit from a Kellett Bursary. As Nelson Mandela said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. Parent of current Bursary Students
BURSARIES We were fortunate that some substantial individual donations meant that we could continue to offer bursaries despite not having any community fundraising events. We thank those individuals who ensured our important efforts in this area have been unaffected by Covid, enabling us to offer bursaries for three students to join Kellett in the 2021 academic year, bringing our total number of bursary students to five. Our commitment to bursaries has never been stronger, and as a result, we have announced an ambitious target of raising HK$26m by 2026 for the AMD Fund in order to build an endowment fund that enables more children who do not have the financial means to do so, to access a Kellett education. Kellett School Association has donated HK$3m to the AMD Fund for Bursaries. In addition, we will be looking to our generous community to donate to this important cause so we can make progress towards an endowment enabling Kellett to offer bursaries for many years to come.
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KELLETT OUTREACH And our ambitions do not stop there. We are launching Kellett Outreach in an effort to bring a Kellett-quality education to more marginalised children in Hong Kong. Kellett Outreach will provide weekend lessons at our Kowloon Bay campus to children from refugee and asylum communities who are unable to access education fully and experience many barriers to learning. Initially, Kellett Outreach will run on Saturdays for 120 children from ages 7 to 13 years old. Students will be offered academic lessons (Literacy, Numeracy & Science) in the mornings and enrichment activities (Sports, Arts, Music, Drama and Computing) in the afternoons. Our talented staff, assisted by students and parents, will lead the lessons. Children will be put forward for places on the programme by their relevant NGOs and caseworkers. Kellett Outreach will create a stepping-stone for children to apply for a bursary at Kellett. Efforts are underway to secure corporate sponsorship to support Kellett Outreach so that the pilot programme can become sustainable.
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As an OK and a current parent it has been wonderful to join the board and contribute to discussions about the School’s future. You never know, perhaps a third generation of my family will attend! Maddy Green, Old Kellettonian, Board Member and Kellett Parent
ALUMNI Our alumni numbers continue to grow, inching towards an Old Kellettonian online network of 1000. We are thrilled to have our first Old Kellettonian, and current Kellett parent, as a Governor on the Kellett Board, and similarly another OK is one of the leads of our Pok Fu Lam Parents Committee. As we set out in the previous edition of this document we have revamped Friends of Kellett School (FOKS). Amendments to the constitution mean FOKS now better serves US-based OKs, paving the way for more events and networking opportunities. The immediate priority looking ahead is to hold events in Hong Kong for OKs, given our inability to do so in recent years. First up in 2021-22 will be drinks for FOKS members based in Hong Kong and our inaugural dinner for our OKs who are also current parents. Additionally, as travel opens up again, we hope to be able to hold events in our hub cities of London, New York and Sydney in the coming years. It is also hoped that FOKS will organise its own events as the OK network in the US strengthens. Efforts are underway to establish a UK charity akin to the one we have in the US called Friends of Kellett in order to facilitate improved networking amongst our UK alumni, as well as ease the flow of donations to support bursaries.
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KELLETT FOUNDATION In 2020, Kellett School established the Kellett Foundation, a separate entity into which all charitable donations are channelled to either the Ann Mc Donald Fund for Bursaries and K2 for curriculum enhancements. The Foundation is governed on an arm’s length basis by past and current members of the Kellett community, including Alex Woodthorpe and Duncan Abate, former Kellett Board members who joined the Foundation Board in 2020-21.
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ALEX (LEFT) & KERILEE (RIGHT) WOODTHORPE & ANN MCDONALD (MIDDLE)
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I am delighted that we have realised the vision of having a separate entity to enable more ambitious ways to give back to our community and enhance the Kellett School experience for all. Alex Woodthorpe, Chair of Kellett Foundation & former Kellett Governor
CULTIVATING WELLBEING
WELLBEING OF STUDENTS There are a great many developments around student wellbeing in recent years. Student wellbeing is one of our highest priorities and informs all our decision-making. At Kellett our approach to wellbeing incorporates two important aspects. The first is pastoral care provided by teachers and tutors, and supported by our dedicated wellbeing team, including counsellors and nurses. The second is Positively Kellett which focuses on equipping our students with the tools to be able to handle the stresses and challenges of life.
PASTORAL Along with the launch of a Student Wellbeing website, which provided invaluable information during long periods of home learning, our School Counsellor’s role was made full-time. Our two full-time counsellors completed courses on Acceptance Commitment Therapy and then delivered related lessons to Year 11 students. In the Senior School, a strong emphasis is being placed on tutor-student relationships moving forward, in line with this, Student Advisory will be renamed Tutor Time. An improved, centralised tracking system of student attitudes is being developed to improve channels of communication between the School, students and parents. Assemblies are to become more focussed on specific pastoral needs of year groups, of relevance to their age, context and current issues or challenges. In some cases, these are supplemented with parent dinner discussions on relevant themes, for example Year 8 on pre-teen and Year 11/12 on Young Adults. In Prep, a House system is being introduced to help children feel happy, safe and valued and to create some healthy competition through events, sporting and otherwise. Staff will also be assigned houses, and students will able to take on house leadership roles. Prep houses differ from Senior Houses and will be an extension of the houses already introduced to Prep sports - Boars, Cobras, Dolphins and Eagles.
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POSITIVELY KELLETT The academic year 2020-2021 was the year most impacted by Home Learning due to Covid. This had implications for student wellbeing, and so it became a key priority throughout the year. The Positively Kellett curriculum shifted to a digital model, which differed according to topic, age range and priority for each class. In Senior, Positively Kellett Assemblies became “Kellett Keynotes”, where staff members presented on a range of wellbeing-related topics. Our planned parent events shifted to webinar and this proved to be a successful method of sharing our approach and continues to this date on a range of wellbeing-related topics. Throughout the year in Senior, we informally checked on student’s wellbeing through a simple survey. Where scores indicated a low perception of wellbeing, the Student Wellbeing Team and Pastoral Team intervened. Once learning shifted back to in-school learning, different issues arose related to wellbeing. The social cohesion of our student community was (and remains) a focal point. Whilst navigating EDB guidelines, opportunities were sought to run community events to help our students (re)connect with each other, including Feel Good Fridays, socially-distanced assemblies and shows. For the academic year 2021-2022, we are undertaking a systemic review of the Positively Kellett curriculum, looking to increase awareness on issues related to International Mobility and Transitions, more parent webinars and Dinner Discussion with the Principal & CEO, and an evaluation and review of our student monitoring systems.
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YEAR 5 KLB PREP POSITIVELY KELLETT LESSON
CRYSTAL MAZE, 2021
WELLBEING OF STAFF 2020-21 saw staff being afforded access to counselling services along with regular surveys checking in on staff. The Staff Consultative Group continued to enable staff to raise issues with the Senior Management. Use of the school gym and swimming pool was made available when Covid restrictions allowed. Looking ahead, we will be refreshing the staff wellbeing policy to take into account the impact of Covid and other challenges faced in the previous year. A Diversity and Inclusion working party will be established to ensure we are an inclusive place to work. A new app for staff and students will be introduced to provide wellbeing data which can be acted upon. The BUPA Wellness Programme provides a range of support and wellbeing options for staff, alongside access to medical insurance packages for staff The new appraisal system is in the process of being rolled out.
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FEELING ENLIGHTENED, SENIOR SCHOOL DIWALI CELEBRATIONS, 2021
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION 2020-21 was almost certainly the most disrupted year in the School’s history and it is testament to the resilience of our community that, along with maintaining excellence in teaching and learning, we were able to move forward on some major areas of development of the School, most notably sport and innovation. It is with pride that we can look back and say no time was wasted in moving forward on our strategic objectives for the year that we set out in the previous edition of this document. Importantly, the progress made in 2020-21 meant that when the children returned to campus to commence the following academic year, having endured long periods of home learning, they were greeted with exciting changes to reinvigorate their love of learning and confidence for life. Thank you. As a school, we commit to updating the parent body at regular intervals across the year and welcome feedback at any point via development@kellettschool.com or directly to the Board via board@kellettschool.com.
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