Absolutely Education Spring/Summer 2017

E D U C AT I ON

EDUCATION

SPRING • SUMMER 2017 • £5

SUPER WOMAN

Meet the head’s wife

S PR I N G • SU M M ER 2017

DOWN GRADE Making sense of the new GCSEs

GO WEST

Applying to US universities

HIT FOR SIX

The changing face of school cricket

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TIME TO TALK WHY THE ART OF DEBATING MATTERS

02/03/2017 15:11

We l c o m e

From the

EDITOR

S

omething a wise school head said has become my latest education earworm. “Nobody sends their children to boarding school anymore,” he (I can’t for the life of me remember who) said.

This one sentence struck me so keenly. My father was ‘sent’ to boarding school.

He was beaten and bullied and hated it. His brother, my uncle, ran away from boarding school. He was sent back where he too was beaten. How times have changed. According to James Hanson, headmaster of boy’s prep Aldro, his pupils “nag, cajole, beg and plead” with their parents to be allowed to go boarding (Talking Head, p.37). This was also Sophie Pender-Cudlip’s experience when

the sports facilities, the beautiful buildings! – we have opted to educate our children at day schools in London. My husband and I tease our brood when they behave badly that we will send them to Gordonstoun (they should be so lucky, of course, we simply choose it as a threat because it’s far away, like threatening to send them to Mars) but we never would. I think it’s a cultural thing, London professionals just haven’t historically considered a boarding school education for their children.

It’s madness, actually. Not only is the pressure to get in to London schools insane but so many boarding schools – many within an hour of London – now offer weekly boarding, an eminently sensible (and cost effective) option for a dual income household. Your children are looked after all week

“WHEN MY CHILDREN MISBEHAVE I TEASE THEM THAT I WILL SEND THEM TO GORDUNSTOUN THEY SHOULD BE SO LUCKY, OF COURSE” her youngest son begged to be allowed to board like his older siblings (Distance learning, p.38).

There is no doubt that where boarding schools were once cold, forbidding, sometimes even nasty places, they are now modern, welcoming and most importantly, warm – both metaphorically and physically. Even pastoral care, which once used to be a pat on the back from matron, if you were lucky, has evolved in to a proper support system, run by experienced and caring professionals.

And yet, it’s not something I have chosen for my own children. Despite knowing just how wonderful boarding schools can be – the acres of space,

while you work, then you get to enjoy them at the weekend.

To board or not to board is a conundrum that may never be solved. Andrew Johnson, the new head of St Benedicts in Ealing was previously head of Stonyhurst in rural Lancashire. He has his own wise words on the matter (Talking Head, page.77).

“It’s horses for courses, and everything depends on the child.” Sums up most parenting doesn’t it?

I hope you enjoy this issue.

A ma nda Consta nce EDITOR

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“In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.”

F R A N L E B OW I TZ

Ke e p o n wa l k i n g Newton Prep is barely halfway through its 25th anniversary year yet pupils and staff have already raised the £25K target for its four chosen charities, with 25% going to each. As part of their Newton@25 programme of events, everyone from nursery children to Y8 teenagers, staff and parents took to their feet for a sponsored walk and ended up ‘walking to Los Angeles’: a total of 5,436 miles! The older children walked up to 25kms while the rest walked multiple laps of Battersea Park, at 2.5km per lap (or 25 hectometers!), at one point forming a human ring around a gloriously sun-soaked Battersea Park. The £25k will go to HomeStart Lambeth, Place2Be, UNHCR and The Woodland Trust.

Top Story J U S T

Wi n n i n g way

S AY N O

Benenden School is holding a Phone Fast this month with a three day ban on mobile phones and social media. Landlines will still be available in each boarding house. The Phone Fast has been introduced to raise awareness among girls and parents of the risks that social media presents to the wellbeing of young people.

Headmistress Samantha Price said: "If just one girl decides to switch off her phone an hour before they go to bed, then it will have been worth it.”

New Hall School, a Catholic independent boarding and day school for 1,250 boys and girls aged 3-18 in Chelmsford has been awarded the Times Education Supplement Independent School of the Year 2016.

The school’s principal, Katherine Jeffrey, who collected the award said: “This recognition was unexpected and it is a real joy to know that our wonderful school is considered a model of excellence and an inspiration to so many.”

Judges cited that “New Hall is a clearly effective school at all levels and exemplar of a can-do attitude throughout.”

G O O G L E T H AT Mariella Frostrup visited Dauntsey’s school to give a talk titled ‘What you won't find on Google’, the latest in the School’s Mercers’ lecture series. Tackling the challenges of the digital world head-on, Mariella encouraged teenagers today to focus on their own success, relationships and ambitions, rather than on what is perceived to be success by the world's media. Using her own path from a humble background to becoming a successful journalist and presenter, she spoke about the importance of believing in yourself and focusing on your goals. India Wild, an Upper Sixth Form pupil from Dauntsey’s said: “It was a genuinely inspiring and thought-provoking talk that was enjoyed by all. It was a pleasure to meet someone so passionate about their work.”

“Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.”

E.M. FORSTER

SOMETHING THEY SAID “I think it would help if we used a different vocabulary for education from the one we’ve got now. We really want to think of education outside the narrow strictures of exams. And, if education was really much more integrated into the whole of society – if it stopped being a posh word for ‘babysitting’ – we’d value teachers more.”

Tony Robinson AKA Baldrick

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CONTE SPRING / SUMMER 2017

upfront

20 NEWS What's going on in the world of education

26 SOCIAL NETWORK Climbing the career ladder at the school gates

28 COVER FASHION The hidden treasures of Notting Hill & Ealing High School's digital archive

n u r s e ry & p r e - P r e p

32 MEET SUPERWOMAN The wives of prep heads are marvels, says Eleanor Doughty

38 DISTANCE LEARNING An overseas parent shares her experience of UK boarding, by Sophie Pender-Cudlip

43 STARTER FOR STEM Why science must be taught in primaries,

by Hayley Jordan

46 EASTERN PROMISE Why a dual language curriculum is a 21st century education, by Professor Hugo de Burgh

108 senior

52 GOOD TO TALK Why debating helps engage pupils with politics, by Janette Wallis

57 STATE DEBATE State schools are catching on to the importance of oratory skills, says Joel Starkey

64 GOING DOWN Exhorbitant fees might be a thing of the past, says Lisa Freedman

70 GO SLOW In an accelerating world, schools must provide balance, says David James

79 DOWN GRADE Making sense of this summer's GCSE changes

6498 MOOCS

88 GO WEST Top tips on applying to US universities,

by Dr Jon Tabbert

school's out

94 SPRING BOOKS

28

Great reads for the new season

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NTS

100 EDITOR

Amanda Constance

A DV ERTISING M A NAGER

Andy Mabbitt

SENIOR SA L ES E X ECU TI V E

Hayden Taylor

A RT DIR ECTOR

Phil Couzens

SENIOR DESIGNER

Pawel Kuba

DESIGNER S

Ekrem Yilmaz, Rebecca Noonan

PRODUCTION M A NAGER

Chris Couchman

M A R K ETING M A NAGER

Nefeli Kritikou

FINA NCE DIR ECTOR

Alexandra Hvid

PA TO THE DIR ECTOR S

Kerry Hollingsworth

DIR ECTOR S

Greg Hughes, Alexandra Hunter

PUBL ISHING DIR ECTOR

Sherif Shaltout

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ABSOLUTELY-EDUCATION.CO.UK

102 MAKING OF ME Paddington creator Michael Bond's memories of unhappy schooldays

106 HIT FOR SIX? Cricket is changing, even at schools, reports Mark Greenhouse

108 PLAYING LIKE A GIRL How schools are encouraging girls to take up cricket

l a s t wo r d

130 JOHN CLAUGHTON Former Chief Master of King Edward's Birmingham and IB champion

26

F RO NT COV E R The cover depicts pupils at Rendcomb College, a co-ed boarding and day school for children aged 3-18 in Gloucestershire. Rendcomb College, Rendcomb, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 7HA rendcombcollege.org.uk

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