June 2008 issue - View Magazines

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vschools
Seasonal selection
Martin Cooke, headmaster at Clayesmore, reflects on the drive
and determination of students in this exam season
it’s the silly season at
Clayesmore now,’ commented one of my
‘Isuppose
parents the other day. If ‘silly season’
means that everyone is madly busy at what is
a crucial time and a heavy few weeks in the
school year, then, yes, it’s here in abundance.
However, far from silly, for schools this is the
most serious time of all with A-level and
GCSE season in sharp focus. At the same
time as the pupils are earnestly going about
their final revision, sports days, prize-giving
and speech days, end-of-year-concerts, plays,
valedictory balls, services and dinners are all
coming into view: these events help the world
go round and make the final weeks of school
memorable and special.
Exams are a major pressure on everyone, both
at school and home. Years of target setting,
assessment and a monumental amount of
hard work are about to be judged as students
take their best shot at demonstrating their
abilities and proving their academic worth.
This is a tough time for all concerned, the
girls and boys, their parents and, of course,
the staff who have steadfastly nurtured and
encouraged every individual so that each can
perform to the absolute best of their abilities.
In common, I am sure, with most other
independent-school head teachers, every year I
write to our parents with a few tips as to how
holiday revision may best be tackled. It’s a
matter of realising that with planning there is
time for relaxation and leisure as well as
revision. We have a simple formula. Each
Clayesmore boys enjoying art classes
week has seven days: work on five of them.
Divide each day into two-hour chunks and
work for two of them. That’s the gist of it.
But I also encourage parents to support the
girls and boys by helping to keep their room
tidy, bringing them a nice treat like a bacon
sandwich or a knickerbocker glory before
they get tired and cross, and arranging the
occasional cinema trip to help keep down
the pressure.
At this time I also reflect on what it is that
drives these students – what has given them
the determination and the motivation to
work as hard as they do?
I’m sure that they all know that a string of
The joy of sporting achievement: Clayesmore’s Emily conquers the high jump
good results on their university application
form will stand them in good stead, but I
believe that Clayesmore, and schools like it,
inculcate a high level of expectation in all
sorts of other ways. Achievements stretched
over a broad canvas rather than a narrow
academic one, allow pupils to taste success
and excellence in areas such as sport, music,
drama, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
scheme, Combined Cadet Force and a
wealth of other activities. These are the
character-building, confidence-boosting
opportunities that often give young people
the will and chance to succeed. In other
words, what happens outside the classroom
is highly complementary to what happens
within it.
Of course, this broader canvas leads our
young people to a broader horizon. Their
experience of working and living together,
and of being in houses, teams, bands and
squads, leads them to think less of self and
more of others. Ultimately, this equips
them to go out into the world with the idea
that what they have to offer will be of real
value and will contribute to society. This is,
of course, the serious message of the silly
season, but it is also important that we
celebrate success, achievement and the
passing of years at school.
At Clayesmore, as at other independent
schools, we’re looking forward to
celebrating that very fully in the coming
few weeks. V
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