Education | ED03 | Summer 2016

PRICELESS 

SUMMER 2016 

Education 

Sponsored by 

Kent | Sussex | Surrey 

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Contents 

Credit: Frewen College 

7 Notice board 

10 Smoothing the move from 

nursery to reception 

15 How boys and girls learn at 

primary school age 

18 Meet the heads 

25 Developing a life-long love of books 

28 Addressing the balance 

33 Broadening horizons 

39 Out-of-school education… 

43 Out, about, scouting for fun 

44 Opening up a whole, other world 

50 In the frame 

55 Keep calm – there will be 

bumps along the way 

59 Children’s nutrition 

63 Creatures great – and in school 

68 An age-old approach to getting 

the career you want 

72 Build your child’s inner strength 

Logic wiLL get you from A to B 

ImagInatIon wIll take you everywhere 

Albert Einstein 

GSA Girls’ Boarding and Day School 11-18 

Please call to arrange 01483 810551 

a private tour priorsfieldschool.com 

Front cover: Saint Ronan’s School. Photographed by David Merewether. 

Registered Charity No. 312038 

3 www.wealdentimes.co.uk 

PriorsfieldED03.indd 1 28/04/2016 12:55

An inspiration on the 

educational landscape 

Lancing College 

Senior School & Sixth Form 

AN EXCEPTIONAL INDEPENDENT EDUCATION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS AGED 13 TO 18 

www.lancingcollege.co.uk 

Tel 01273 465805 West Sussex BN15 0RW 

Registered Charity Number 1076483

Sponsored by 


FREWEN 

COLLEGE 

The Dyslexia Specialists - Since 1910 

Editor’s 

Letter 

Welcome to the third stand-alone Education magazine, 

published in conjunction with Wealden Times 

and Surrey Homes magazines. We’re lucky here 

in the South East to have a wide choice of great schools and 

many options... though sometimes this can make choosing 

schools seem even harder. We hope that this, the latest issue of 

Education, will encourage and inspire you as well as reminding 

you that there is so much more to learning than the classroom. 

Contributors in this issue include: education expert Hilary 

Wilce, who writes about the earliest years of your child’s 

education and how to cope with the inevitable hurdles that all 

children face; David Long, the journalist and author, on the 

importance of out-of-school clubs; and John Graham-Hart on 

the joy of reading and the importance and pleasure of learning 

a foreign language. We also have Dr Marilyn Glenville’s top-ten 

tips for food that will help your children concentrate, fill them 

with energy and set them on the path to a life of healthy eating. 

As well as looking at the academic side of learning, 

we give equal space to extra-curricular activities such as 

animal husbandry and school farms, pupils’ colourful and 

imaginative artworks as part of our In the Frame feature 

and pupils’ and former pupils’ successes in a variety of 

fields, from the music industry, to polar exploration and 

transatlantic rowing. What a talented bunch they are! 

Wealden Times Team 

Editor .................................................................................Jennifer Stuart-Smith 

Press, Social Media & Editorial Assistant........................................Helen Barton 

Design Team ...............................................................................Anthony Boxall 

Rob Cursons 

Phoebe Gilbert 

Managing Director .........................................................................Julie Simpson 

Commercial Director ................................................................ Colin Wilkinson 

Sales Team ................................................................................Hayley Biddulph 

Chris Clayton 

Lisa Gordon-Hughes 

Becky Smith 

Lisa Smith 

Distribution ......................................................................................Jude Brown 

Emma Murphy 

Prep 

School 

Senior 

• • 

School 

Sixth 

Form 

A small Independent day and boarding 

school for girls and boys aged 7-19 

with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia 

“We can’t believe the difference in our daughter in 

just a few weeks. It’s been absolutely phenomenal, 

we can’t thank your staff enough.” 

Senior school parent 

OPEN MORNING 

Saturday 11th June 

To register, please telephone 

Annabel Baker on: 01797 252494 

or email: office@frewencollege.co.uk 

Frewen College, Rye Road, 

Northiam, East Sussex, TN31 6NL 

www.frewencollege.co.uk 

Find us on 

Daily minibus services available 


FrewenCollegeED03.indd 1 12/05/2016 15:22

The only Round Square independent boarding and day school 

for girls aged 11 to 18 in the UK. In the Kent countryside, near 

A2/M2, A20/M20 & M25. Local daily transport available. 

“There is more in you than you think.” 

T: 01474 823371 

E: enquiries@cobhamhall.com 

W: www.cobhamhall.com

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Notice Board 

The latest news from schools across Kent, Sussex and Surrey 

Battle Abbey Prep School 

grow seeds from space 

Pupils at Battle Abbey Prep School are 

preparing to become space biologists 

and embark on a voyage of discovery 

by growing seeds that have 

been into space. 

In September, 2kg of rocket 

seeds were flown to the International 

Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S 

where they spent several months in 

microgravity, under the watchful eye 

of Tim Peake, before returning to 

Earth in March 2016. The seeds have 

been sent as part of Rocket Science, 

an educational project launched 

by the RHS Campaign for School 

Gardening and the UK Space Agency. 

Battle Abbey Prep received a packet 

Satnav for schools 

Head Teacher in your Pocket: The 

Essential Guide to your Prep School 

Journey by Merinda D’Aprano 

Choosing a school and navigating 

your way through the prep school years 

can be a challenging and confusing 

time. Society and the media often 

of 100 seeds from space, which they will 

grow alongside seeds that haven’t been 

to space and measure the differences 

over seven weeks. The pupils won’t 

know which seed packet contains 

which seeds until all results have been 

collected by the RHS Campaign 

for School Gardening and analysed 

by professional biostatisticians. 

The out-of-this-world, 

nationwide science experiment 

will enable the children to think 

more about how we could preserve 

human life on another planet in the 

future, what astronauts need to survive 

long-term missions in space and the 

difficulties surrounding growing 

fresh food in challenging climates. 

Rachel Wilks, Battle Abbey Prep 

School Science Teacher says: “We 

are very excited to be taking part in 

Rocket Science. This experiment is a 

fantastic way of teaching our pupils 

to think more scientifically and share 

their findings with the other scientists. 

We are particularly delighted to be 

taking part in this nationwide project 

during the time that Tim Peake is 

representing the United Kingdom on 

the International Space Station.” 

place much emphasis on academic and 

instant results and less attention to the 

pastoral development of the whole child. 

Merinda D’Aprano, Head of Notre 

Dame Prep School, has over 25 years’ 

experience teaching in the independent 

sector. Miss D’Aprano began writing 

an educational blog a couple of years 

ago in response to questions parents 

asked throughout their child’s prep 

school journey. The blog became a 

book, and joining ranks with Elizabeth 

O’Shea, a leading parenting expert, they 

have written a comprehensive guide 

to navigating the prep school years 

both educationally and pastorally. 

Head Teacher in your Pocket: The 

Essential Guide to your Prep School 

Journey by Merinda D’Aprano 

is priced at £10.00 and available 

from Amazon bookstore. 

Mayfield’s very own 

leading lady debuts in 

new West End ballet 

Lily O’Regan, a Year 9 pupil at 

Mayfield School, saw off 600 dancers 

aged between 9-16 to be cast as 

the leading lady, Dearest, in the 

adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy 

at the Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre 

in the West End of London. 

Rehearsals for The London’s 

Children’s Ballet production took 

four and a half months and played 

for four nights, receiving rave reviews. 

The premiere, 21st April, was the 

Queen’s birthday and the National 

Anthem played before the show, with 

a host of celebrities attending. 

Lily also had the pleasure of dancing 

on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch with 

other members of the company. 

She said: “London Children’s 

Ballet is an indescribable experience 

and one that I will treasure for the rest 

of my life. Being on stage is the best 

feeling and I loved playing Dearest.” 

Friedrich Nietzsche said: “Dancing 

in all its forms cannot be excluded from 

the curriculum of all noble education” 

and teachers from Mayfield School 

in East Sussex would tend to agree. 

Pupils at the all-girls school have 

benefited from a dance curriculum 

for many years, with plenty of 

opportunity to dance inside and 

outside the school day. The school 

regularly sends dance troupes to local 

festivals and competitions, and come 

January, the girls spend hours each 

week in the studio in the build-up to 

the annual Mayfield Dance Show. 

 

7 www.wealdentimes.co.uk

Sponsored by 


Notice Board 

The latest news from schools across Kent, Sussex and Surrey 

 

Rochester pupils make a 

difference to Barbados school 

Pupils from a Rochester school were 

recently able to help make a difference to 

the lives of profoundly disabled children 

and adults at an educational establishment 

in Barbados. In the two terms leading 

up to their Netball and Cricket tour to 

Barbados, pupils from King’s Rochester 

Preparatory School raised over £2000 

to buy much needed resources for The 

Challenor Creative Arts and Training 

Centre, a charity which meets the special 

educational needs of 80 children and adults 

aged from 5 to 50. The 60 King’s pupils 

who went on the tour gave eight cricket 

bags loaded with toys, games, books, 

stationery, stopwatches, sport equipment 

and other resources during a visit to the 

Centre which made a lasting impression 

on every one of the visiting children. 

King’s Preparatory School Deputy 

Headmaster Paul Medhurst said: “We 

were privileged to visit the Centre on our 

sports tour to Barbados in 2013 and saw 

the extraordinary work that the staff there 

do. Sadly the 400-year-old house has not 

been maintained, and major repairs are 

needed. On the day we visited that year, 

the school’s vital minibus finally died and 

we were all moved by the lack of basic 

teaching aids. As we had planned to return 

to Barbados in 2016, we resolved to make 

the Challenor Centre our school charity. 

The children raised the money from weekly 

chapel collections, cake sales, home clothes 

days and other sponsored events. Visiting 

the Centre again, meeting the students 

and staff and witnessing the hard work 

they all do was the highlight of our trip. 

Animals bring learning to 

life at Buckswood School… 

The school roll has grown at 

Buckswood School this month as the 

students welcome a new collection 

of animals to the country house 

estate near Hastings. The school is 

home to 220 boarders from around 

the world and the animals bring a 

homely touch to the school with the 

students able to get involved with the 

care of the animals – learning to be 

responsible for more than themselves 

and putting the needs of others first. 

After the fire at the school over 

the February half-term, work to repair 

Mead moonwalkers 

prepare for moonlit 

marathon 

Staff at The Mead School, Tunbridge 

Wells are training hard for Moonwalk 

London 2016 on 14th May. 

The Mead School is an independent 

co-educational day school for children 

ages 3-11, situated close to the historic 

Pantiles in central Tunbridge Wells. 

The Mead Moonwalkers will 

be pounding the moonlit streets 

the Science labs is nearly complete 

with seven new labs. The labs are 

home to two rabbits, two snakes and a 

bearded water dragon called Kermit! 

The school stables are usually 

home to seven school horses and the 

successful jumping team. Sheep also 

share the stable area and at the moment 

the numbers have doubled with the 

arrival of seven lambs. The lambs have 

all been named after school characters 

and the students are amazed to see 

how quickly the lambs grow. Near the 

stables, a family of ducks complete 

with four ducklings have made the 

reed bed water filtration ponds their 

home, joining the three peacocks 

who are looked after by Wisdom 

the school dog – a golden Labrador 

that students often take for walks 

over the 40 acre Buckswood estate. 

“The animals form part of 

the ‘Buckswood family’,” says 

Headteacher Mark Redsell, “and the 

students love to take care of them 

and learn more about some of the 

more unusual species on site.” 

of London for a whopping 26.5 

miles through the night. 

The team of 15, who are all 

teaching and support staff at The 

Mead, have been training hard for the 

midnight marathon and are looking 

forward to raising funds to support 

the fight against breast cancer. 

The Moonwalk London 2016 is 

health charity Walk the Walk’s 

flagship event, raising money to fund 

research on breast cancer and to 

help those living with the disease. 

“The Moonwalk has been a great 

experience from start to – hopefully! 

– finish,” says Aveline Archer, Pre- 

Reception Teacher. “We started 

training at the end of February and 

we’re now less than a month away 

from the ‘big night’. We’re a very 

close team here at The Mead, and it 

has been such a joy working on this 

together, for such a good cause.” 

www.wealdentimes.co.uk 

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Smoothing the 

move from 

nursery to 

reception 

Starting ‘real’ school 

is always a big step in 

growing up. Luckily, 

these days it’s almost 

always an easy one, 

says Hilary Wilce 

Credit: Dulwich Prep 

Thanks to improved 

communications between 

nursery and reception classes, 

good preparation work by staff on both 

sides, and progressive programmes of 

tours and visits, most children have a 

clear idea about what they are moving 

on to and make the transition from 

nursery to reception class smoothly 

and easily. They’ve often met their 

new teacher, spent time in their 

new classroom and seen where they 

will hang their coat and eat their 

lunch long before the day arrives 

when they actually start school. 

In addition, children in state schools 

continue within exactly the same 

educational framework that regulated 

their pre-school life. Independent 

schools have more freedom to choose 

their curriculum, but most teachers 

and schools now agree broadly on what 

makes a good education for the underfives, 

so they are unlikely to spring any 

big surprises on their youngest pupils. 

In fact it can often be the parents 

who are most traumatised! How is it 

possible, they think, that the newborn 

baby they held in their arms just a 

minute ago, is now a fully fledged 

schoolchild? Sometimes it can feel 

far too much like a chilly harbinger of 

all the separations that are to come. 

Other problems can arise when 

a child, although looking forward 

to their new school, hates the 

thought of leaving a much-loved 

nursery and its familiar staff. 

If that’s the case with your child, 

help foster a happy leave-taking of 

the pre-school years by encouraging 

them to start making a memory book, 

including photographs of friends 

and staff who matter to them, and 

always reassure them they will still be 

able to see their old friends and visit 

their old nursery if they want to. 

At the same time, start talking early 

about the new school that lies ahead. 

Be matter-of-fact, calm and positive 

about this so that your child feels it’s a 

normal step and something to be looked 

forward to. Be sure to hide any anxieties 

that you might have, and don’t ever 

say anything – however jokingly – that 

could make your child feel guilty about 

going. Children are incredibly sensitive 

to their parents’ moods, and quickly 

pick up on feelings like sadness and 

loss. Mopping your eyes with a tissue 

while sniffing, “Whatever is Mummy 

going to do without her little Pudsy- 

Wudsy to keep her company?” will not 

help your child voyage off to their new 

school with a glad heart and resolute 

step! On the other hand, don’t go too 

hard the other way and big up school 

as if it’s a technicolour combination of 

Disney World and non-stop CBeebies. 

If it isn’t, your child could feel that it’s 

somehow their fault that they aren’t 

enjoying it as they are supposed to. 

On a practical level, make sure your 

child’s skills are firmly in place. Can 

they go to the toilet by themselves, 

manage their clothes and wash their 

hands? Can they put on their own 

shoes and socks? Hang up their 

coat? Eat with a knife and fork? 

And when it comes to social 

skills, do they understand when 

to speak and when to listen when 

having a conversation? Do they 

feel comfortable around a range of 

different adults? Can they share and 

take turns easily? And do they help 

to tidy up and put things away? 

In fact, it’s always worth doublechecking 

these things, especially if 

you’ve had to spend time away at work 

and haven’t been around to see how 

things are going at home. I’ve heard 

reception class teachers complain 

 


10

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'Staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage have high expectations 

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'Key factors supporting high achievement are the broad curriculum, excellent 

teaching and the pupils’ outstanding attitudes towards their learning’ 

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Fosse Bank School 

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12 

FosseBankSchool-ED02.indd 1 20/03/2015 12:36

100 Years of Education, 1000 Years of History 

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bitterly about children who demand that 

their teacher hang up their coat for them, 

or do up their shoes, because this is what 

the au pair has always done at home. 

I’ve heard, too, of pupils who have to be 

taught how to eat with a knife and fork 

because they have always eaten pizza on 

their lap in front of the television, and of 

little boys standing sodden and sobbing 

in the toilet because they haven’t been 

able to figure out how to undo their 

new uniform trousers quickly enough. 

Of course, the odd muddle and 

mishap is a normal part of daily life 

in reception classes, and absolutely 

nothing to worry about, but the more 

you can ensure your child is socially 

and physically prepared for school, the 

more they are free to enjoy making 

new friends and learning new things. 

To help this process along, make 

sure any outings to buy uniform and 

school supplies are light and enjoyable, 

and encourage your child to take new 

steps in independence, maybe by paying 

for things in shops or deciding what 

they would like in their lunch box. 

Don’t be surprised if your child is 

unusually quiet after starting school. 

Think back to how it feels to start 

a new job. We all get exhausted and 

worn out by trying to absorb new 

names, routines and challenges. 

Your task now is to provide a long, 

gentle wind-down to an early bedtime, 

making sure there is no screen time 

for an hour before bed. Instead go for 

a warm bath, allow lots of time for a 

story, and a bedroom that is dark and 

well-ventilated to promote sound sleep. 

In the morning, your child needs 

plenty of time to enjoy a good, healthy 

breakfast, get their things ready and 

get to school promptly. Again, many 

reception class teachers will tell you 

that frazzled children who arrive late 

to school after an early morning of 

shouting, hassle and hurry take a long 

time to settle down and be fully present 

in the classroom. Try to develop a routine 

that builds in more time than you need, 

so that you aren’t thrown by morning 

emergencies such as lost gloves or having 

to scrape ice off the windscreen. 

As a reception class parent, don’t 

immediately bombard your child or 

the school with too many questions, 

or expect new friendships to form 

overnight. Everyone needs time 

to adjust and take stock. On the 

other hand, if you feel that it is not 

going as well as it should be, have a 

quiet word with the teacher to see 

what’s what. And do communicate 

clearly about any special issues you 

want the school to know about. 

Get involved with your child’s 

new school – everyone will benefit – 

and start practising the art of asking 

gentle, open questions, so your child 

will feel comfortable talking to you 

about life in the classroom. Not, ‘Did 

you have a good day?’, but maybe 

‘What’s the best thing that happened 

to you today?’ This basic coaching 

skill will be invaluable both now and 

in all the school years still to come. 

Hilary Wilce is an education writer, 

writing tutor and life coach. Her books 

Backbone: how to build the skills 

your child needs to succeed and 

The Six Secrets of School Success 

are available on Amazon 

Battle Abbey School 1912 - 2012 

Battle Abbey Prep School has been 

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BattleAbbeySchoolED03.indd 1 29/04/2016 16:58

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How boys and girls learn 

at primary school age 

by Catherine Walker, Head of Middle School, Marlborough House School, Hawkhurst 

Neuroscience studies have 

for years revealed subtle 

differences in the rate at 

which certain regions of the brain 

develop in young boys and girls. These 

genetic distinctions are often used to 

explain why it is thought that language 

and communication skills generally 

develop later for boys than girls, and 

why girls show earlier mastery and 

higher competencies in vocabulary 

and writing at primary school age. 

In boys’ brains, a greater part of 

the cerebral cortex is dedicated to 

spatial and mechanical functioning so 

although boys’ writing skills tend to 

develop more slowly than girls’, they 

are often ahead in more analytical 

classroom challenges in Maths and 

Science subjects for example. Boys 

tend to like to build things, manipulate 

objects, and can picture complex shapes 

in their minds. This also explains 

why younger boys are more drawn to 

construction toys, complex building 

puzzles and computer games than girls. 

So genetics certainly plays its part in 

how boys and girls learn but all children 

of primary school age have particularly 

curious minds so inevitably they are also 

very open to and influenced by their 

environments outside of school; namely 

in the home, out in the community 

and in how the media talks to them 

and their peers. (For many of us, the 

debate around gender-related toy aisles 

still continues and many of you will no 

doubt remember that in 1981, Lego was 

marketed to all children, yet now girls 

have their own pastel versions in prepackaged 

‘friends’, ‘supermarket’ and 

‘princess’-themed construction sets.) 

Educationalists acknowledge that 

gender difference born out of both 

genetic and environmental influences 

do have an impact on how children 

learn but ‘biological’ gender differences 

do not necessarily mean they are ‘hardwired’. 

When it comes to actual capacity 

and motivation for boys and girls to 

learn – there is very little difference 

between the sexes. In this respect, 

schools are well-placed to implement 

strategies for unlocking and nurturing 

what motivates every child to learn 

 


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and succeed regardless of their gender. 

Without doubt, younger boys seem to 

have much shorter concentration spans 

than girls in lessons, but where visual, 

written and verbal direction are used 

in conjunction with class participation 

and interaction, teachers can create 

multi-opportunities to learn and, in 

doing so, give children a stimulating 

learning environment where both boys 

and girls of all ages can succeed. 

Similarly, if an eight-year-old boy 

still finds reading and writing more 

of a challenge than a girl of a similar 

age, where dyslexia might be queried, 

a more appropriate plan of action 

might be to firstly acknowledge that 

his mind processes information in a 

less conventional way and then use 

adapted teaching techniques that 

meet his specific learning needs. 

But it is a two-way street – 

parents also have a role to play in 

inspiring and nurturing a love of 

learning in their child. When parents 

reinforce the teaching strategies 

used at school in other areas of 

home life, it is more likely that their 

child will be motivated to reach his 

or her potential and be noticeably 

keen to get to school each day. 

All children learn in different 

ways, regardless of gender, but as 

teachers the trick is to discover 

where every boy and girl excels and 

in partnership with parents, channel 

that confidence into other, more 

challenging areas of school life. 

Marlborough House School, 

Hawkhurst, Cranbrook, Kent 

TN18 4PY 01580 753555 

www.marlboroughhouseschool.co.uk 

Co-educational, day & boarding school for 3-18 years in South East England 

Strong academic results at 11+, GCSE and A Level 

Small class sizes offering close individual attention 

Vast range of sports and extra curricular activities 

Outstanding modern and traditional facilities 

Call for further information 

and to book a visit 

T: 01843 572931 

E: admissions@slcuk.com 

College Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 7AE 

www.slcuk.com 

IN 

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16 

StLawrenceCollegeED03.indd 1 28/04/2016 12:59

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Meet the Heads 

Just as all schools are different, so too are their head teachers. Here we speak to three different ‘heads’ to find out 

what makes them tick, how they ended up as a teacher and ask them a few other curious questions to boot... 

Merinda D’Aprano 

Head of the Prep School at 

Notre Dame School in Cobham, Surrey 

What was your favourite subject at school and why? 

My favourite subject at school was Drama. I loved the 

experience of being up on a stage. This joy of acting 

has stayed with me throughout my life and inspired 

me to push for the building of our own theatre at 

Notre Dame School which is based on the Globe 

Theatre in London. We are extremely fortunate to 

have such a facility and every child from the Nursery 

to the Sixth Form has the opportunity to perform, be 

part of and enjoy fantastic and varied productions. 

Did you always want to be a teacher? If not, what other 

jobs did you consider? I briefly considered the priesthood 

and, although I remain committed to my local church, 

I decided that teaching was my true vocation and I have 

enjoyed a varied and greatly enjoyable career so far. 

What is your favourite day of the school calendar? 

My favourite day is Feast Day when we celebrate the 

canonisation of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac, the foundress 

of the school. She became a Saint on 15th May 1949 

and today we celebrate with a Mass, music and a 

special lunch in the grounds. We have been very lucky 

in previous years that Saint Jeanne has blessed us with 

gorgeous sunshine and this year was no exception. 

Which school teacher, would you say had the greatest 

effect on your early life? My favourite teacher was 

Sister Cristina. She taught me in Year 6. My 

enduring memories of her are the way she made 

every child feel. It did not matter what she was 

doing, she always made you feel like you were the 

most important part of her day. She had a true 

passion for teaching and nurturing young minds. 

What do you like to do in your spare time? I love all 

creative pursuits and in my spare time, I like to sing, 

cook, paint, read and play my bodhran (an Irish frame 

drum). I am part of a choir both at Notre Dame and 

my church and I enjoy sharing this passion with others. 

What is your favourite holiday destination? I would 

choose the West Coast of Ireland as my favourite 

holiday destination. It is absolutely beautiful. 

What is your greatest achievement? I am extremely proud 

of my achievements in teaching and the publication of 

my book Head Teacher in Your Pocket was a real highlight 

for me as well. My greatest achievement is a difficult 

one, family is extremely important to me and I like to 

think I am a brilliant auntie to my nephews and nieces. 

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself that your 

pupils would be surprised to know! I think my 

pupils would be surprised to know that I have 

a lot of relationships with other schools in that 

I am an Independent Schools Inspector. 

Notre Dame School, Burwood House, Convent Lane, Cobham, 

Surrey KT11 1HA. 01932 869990. www.notredame.co.uk 


18

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Jill Milner, 

Headmistress, Walthamstow Hall 

What was your favourite subject at school and why? 

My favourite subject at school, by far, was English. I’ve 

always loved reading and have been fascinated by the power 

of words, either in text or on the stage, to transport you to 

another place and/or time. Being able to study literature 

always seemed more like pleasure than work, and as I was 

not a particularly diligent pupil, until I reached the Sixth 

Form (where I learned better!), English had a strong appeal. 

Did you always want to be a teacher? If not, what 

other jobs did you consider? I didn’t always want to be 

a teacher, although by my final year at Oxford I knew I 

wanted to enter the profession to share my passion for 

learning with others. At various points along the way I had 

considered research, law and working in the civil service. 

What is your favourite day in the school calendar? 

The Inter House Performing Arts competition for 

all the Senior girls, run by the Sixth Form House 

Captains is always amazing. The atmosphere 

and standards of teamwork, alongside the girls’ 

courage and creativity, always bowl me over. 


effect on your early life? Without a doubt, Miss Scott, 

my A level English teacher had a profound influence on 

my future life. She expected a huge amount from us all 

in terms of independent study and standard of work, 

but also gave us permission to think for ourselves, and 

shape our ideas in robust discussion in class. Lessons 

were hard work, unpredictable and fascinating! 

What do you like to do in your spare time? When I am not 

in school, normally Walthamstow Hall, or at the Schools at 

Somerhill and Holmewood House where I am privileged to be 

a Governor, I like to spend time with my husband Rupert and 

our three children. Fortunately they all share my enthusiasm 

for the theatre! My eldest daughter got married this spring, 

so I have spent a fair bit of 2016 helping with wedding 

planning. After a fantastic wedding day in April, I can now 

spend more time walking and going on adventures abroad. 

What is your favourite holiday destination? My favourite 

holiday destination is St Agnes in the Scilly Isles. 

What is your greatest achievement? My greatest 

personal achievement would be my family, but 

professionally I am extremely proud of my fourteen years 

at Walthamstow Hall. It is an utter joy to watch pupils 

progress through the school, and beyond, and to share 

in all that they achieve along the way. With over 650 

girls there are achievements to celebrate every day. 

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself that 

your pupils would be surprised to know! 

I’m a big fan of Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. 

Walthamstow Hall, Holly Bush Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent 

TN13 3UL. 01732 451334. www.walthamstow-hall.co.uk 


20

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Peter Goodyer 

Headmaster, Bede’s School 

What was your favourite subject at school and 

why? Geography was thoroughly enjoyable, especially 

physical geography. As I grew up in South Africa, the 

opportunities for field work were numerous, with 

extensive fold mountains not far from school. It was 

wonderful to get out of the classroom and learn in the 

environment, where the subject genuinely came to life. 

Did you always want to be a teacher? If not, 

what other jobs did you consider? Yes, it was 

something I always wanted to do. My father was a 

school chaplain and teacher; as such growing up in a 

school community probably led me to teaching. 

What is your favourite day in the school calendar? 

It is difficult to pick out one day, the school calendar 

is full with many different and valuable events which 

makes each day special for its own reason. It is the 

joy of being in teaching that each day brings with 

it something different. That said, I really do like 

the return to school after the holiday, welcoming 

everyone back and seeing the school as one again. 


effect on your early life? It would have to be my English 

teacher, Miss Baws. She was a fearsome lady, who had a 

passion for all things literary and she had a remarkable 

ability to instil this into her pupils. I have little doubt that 

my enjoyment of literature is down to her influence. 

What do you like to do in your spare time? As a family we 

like spending time in the outdoors, being from South Africa 

this is important to me. We have a good time walking and 

cycling. I enjoy taking my son swimming and always try 

to squeeze in a round of golf during the school holidays. 

I have a commitment to wildlife conservation and enjoy 

getting involved in this both here and when I visit Africa. 

What is your favourite holiday destination? I have a 

real soft spot for the Masai Mara, I love the tranquillity 

and the abundance of wildlife one encounters without 

the feeling of being overcrowded by others is very 

special. I also love the stark beauty of Death Valley 

National Park, the physical features are incredible, 

particularly the Artist’s Palette and the sailing stones. 

What is your greatest achievement? This has 

to be my conquering of Kilimanjaro, seeing 

the sunrise from the summit was an incredible 

experience and something I will never forget. 

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself that 

your pupils would be surprised to know! I am an 

avid cross-country skier, especially in Norway. 

Bede’s School, Upper Dicker East Sussex, BN27 3QH. 

01323 843252. www.bedes.org 


22

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1 03/05/2016 11:10 

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Sackville School 

An independent school for boys and girls 11-18 

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Students usually join us in Year 7, 9 or 12, 

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Call now to find out more 

T: 01732 838 888 W: sackvilleschool.co.uk 

Tonbridge Road, Hildenborough, Kent TN11 9HN 


24 

SackvilleSchoolED03.indd 1 22/04/2016 14:42

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Developing 

a life-long 

love of books 

Despite all the digital options available to children these days, it’s still 

possible to instill a love of reading, says John Graham-Hart 


When I was a child, I loved 

reading. It was escape, 

entertainment, adventure 

and a way of finding out things about 

what really interested me that day. Its 

only competition for my attention was 

sport and Children’s Hour. However, 

this, as my sons so sensitively point 

out, was shortly after the expiration 

of the last pterosaur and times 

have changed, changed utterly. 

For today’s child, digital media 

meet all the above requirements and, 

by and large, in a far more exciting and 

accessible way. Today, a child doesn’t 

merely read a story but can become part 

of it, play the lead role and personally 

affect twists and turns in the plot. 

Where I read words and looked at 

pictures of pyramids, they are able to 

take virtual reality tours of their passages 

and chambers. Never has reading had 

so much and such serious competition. 

However, the latest trends in book 

sales for books in the UK tell a very 

interesting and truly extraordinary story. 

Yes, sales of books continue to decline 

almost across the genre board – except, 

that is, in one very significant area – 

children’s books. Sales of both children’s 

fiction and non-fiction are on the rise – 

particularly the latter which is growing, 

year on year, by a whopping 35 per cent. 

The message is clear – the choice 

of popular fiction and non-fiction 

has never been greater. So, how do we 

encourage children to take full advantage 

of this new literary cornucopia? How 

do we encourage them to read? 

According to Kathryn Bender, Head 

of Nursery and pre-prep at Saint Ronan’s 

School near Hawkhurst, it’s a matter 

of engagement. She stresses that an 

experienced reader reading to children 

will have them captivated and engrossed 

in the story and this, in turn, will lead 

to their wanting to read for themselves. 

“Children love the pictures and 

feel of books and the familiarity of 

re-reading much-loved stories,” she 

says. “My class once wrote to Roald 

Dahl and he wrote back, ‘If when 

you are young you read just one book 

that is so funny and exciting that 

you fall in love with it then there is 

a good chance that this little love 

affair with a single book will convince 

you that reading is terrific fun.’” 

Saint Ronan’s Deputy Head, 

Matthew Brian, stresses that the 

teaching of reading and phonics has 

developed enormously since parents 

were learning and it’s always worth 

talking to teachers about the way in 

which children learn at school. “What 

is essential is to prioritise reading and 

make it a daily event wherever possible,” 

he says. “The reinforcement at home 

will make everything come together 

more quickly in the early days. 

“Just as children want to take their 

birthday present and play with their 

parents – not be left by themselves with 

only their imagination for company 

– so with reading it needs to be a 

shared experience. Laughing together, 

being excited about what comes next 

– these are bonding opportunities 

not to be missed,” says Matthew. 

Fiona Booth, Librarian at Dulwich 

Prep, near Cranbrook, notes that if 

there is one technological change that 

she would highlight as being a very 

positive influence on children’s reading, 

it would be the ability to download 

audiobooks. “All children can listen to 

stories that challenge them beyond their 

reading ability and listening can foster 

a love of stories,” she says. “Audiobooks 

are the next best thing to a parent who 

is prepared endlessly to read aloud.” 

She stresses that developing a 

love of reading is vital. “According to 

UNESCO, the biggest single indicator 

of whether a child is going to thrive 

at school and in work is whether or 

not that child reads for pleasure,” she 

says. “Reading fiction enables children 

to imagine and identify with lives 

and situations beyond the boundaries 

of their own experience. It is both a 

relaxing escape from a demanding world 

and a means by which the growing 

child can determine what sort of person 

they are and want to be,” she says. 

 


Sponsored by 


 

Cathy Morrison, the Librarian at 

Sackville School in Hildenborough 

underlines this importance. “Reading 

for pleasure and writing is fundamental 

to educational success as well as key 

to developing children’s imagination 

and creativity,” she says but admits 

that to many children used to 

digital devices, books can seem oldfashioned 

and dull and that it’s simply 

not enough to point them at the 

bookshelves and hope they’ll engage. 

Accordingly, the school adopts 

a range of different strategies from 

author visits to book-jacket designing, 

film-trailer making, encouragement 

to enter creative writing competitions 

and visits to literary festivals. 

Reading can be a pleasure in itself. 

It is also, despite all the competition, 

the primary key to the exchange of 

knowledge, ideas and experiences. But, 

perhaps greatest of all, it develops a 

child’s ability to express themselves 

verbally or on the blank page – more 

effectively than any number of 

spelling tests or essay writing. A love 

of reading is one of the greatest gifts 

any school or parent can bestow. 

Ten top tips to encourage your child to read 

1 6 

. Read to your child 

. Give them a sense of achievement 

Start at an early age with bedtime Respond with wild enthusiasm 

stories and don’t be afraid to ham it to anything they read to you and 

up with an extra dose of drama. lay on praise with a trowel. 

Fill your child’s room with books Take them to your local library 

2 

. 

Children who grow up with books 

all around them learn to think of books 

as friends and allies in their pursuit of 

excitement, adventure and knowledge. 

3 

. And not only books 

Video games, magazines, 

comic books, board games, 

iPads and Kindles all provide 

opportunities for reading practice. 

4 

. Be a good reading role model 

Have your own books and magazines 

on display. Let them see you reading and 

how much you enjoy it. Tell them what 

you are reading and share it with them. 

5 

. Encourage your child to find 

their own books 

Reading should be fun. Don’t thrust 

‘worthy’ tomes upon them just 

because you think they should read 

them. Let them choose material 

that they will really enjoy. 

7 

. 

Get them their ‘very own’ 

library card, show them how a 

library works and encourage them 

to choose their own books. Visit 

the library on a regular basis. 

8 

. Talk about it 

When your child is reading or 

has read a book talk to them about it. 

Discuss the characters and the story. 

9 

. Make time for reading 

Our children seem to have 

equally busy schedules as we do and 

no matter how much they enjoy 

reading, your child can only read if 

you organize set times to do so. 

10 

. Lucky, lucky, lucky 

Try to make them understand 

how special and lucky they are to be 

able to learn to read when millions of 

children around the world want to learn 

but don’t have anyone to teach them and 

no books of any kind in their homes. 

HAPPINESS • CONFIDENCE • ACHIEVEMENT 

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26 

HoeBridgeSchoolS17.indd 1 02/03/2016 09:53

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Addressing the balance 

Despite huge advances in past decades, boys and girls are still making very different choices at A-level. Why is 

this, and what can we do about it? We speak to Antonia Beary, Headmistress of Mayfield School in Sussex 

Credit: St Bede’s School 

Why do girls and boys tend to choose 

such different A-levels? Choosing 

A-Levels can be a challenge for any 

student. Advice from teachers, parents 

and friends is important, of course, but 

the culture of the school they attend and 

peer pressure can affect an individual’s 

choice far more significantly, if less 

obviously. In some places there is still 

a clear gender divide – boys do Maths 

and Science; girls do English and Art. 

We see this myth perpetuated in the 

media and sadly – but also inaccurately 

– there is the perception that Arts 

subjects are easier and that you have to 

choose either Arts or Sciences – as if 

you can only be talented in one area. 

At Mayfield girls are encouraged to 

be aspirational and choose subjects they 

enjoy, not be confined by stereotypes 

or other peoples’ choices. Girls know 

they will be taught well: challenged and 

encouraged to think for themselves. 

Good teachers, who are passionate 

about their subjects, are compelling 

and their enthusiasm is contagious. In 

today’s increasingly utilitarian society, 

results are currency so it is important 

to achieve the best possible grades, but 

inspiring a love and understanding of 

the subject and a desire to continue to 

learn after school are of more value in 

shaping an individual in the long term. 

Yes, Mayfield has an outstanding Maths 

and Science provision and consistently 

achieves outstanding results, but we 

also have outstanding humanities, 

language, performing and creative arts 

and sports provision. The important 

thing is to create an environment 

where girls feel able to choose the 

right subject combinations for them, 

not have to make conventional 

choices. It is possible to be rigorous 

and expect high standards, while still 

being supportive and giving girls this 

confidence. They need to be encouraged 

to believe that with motivation and 

application they can achieve anything 

they put their mind to, although it 

might be a challenge and there will 

inevitably be setbacks to overcome. 

I believe that teaching them in an 

all-girls environment enables us to 

do that more effectively. There are 

not yet enough women in positions 

of responsibility in public life or the 

boardrooms of FTSE companies. 

However, we are not educating young 

women to complain about this state 

of affairs, but rather to do something 

to change it. Women being confident 

and successful in areas previously 

considered to be male bastions such 

as engineering and industry can 

only be a good step forward. 

Do you think we need to address 

this balance? Most certainly we do! 

In other countries the disparity is not 

so great; I believe that in Germany, 

for example the number of male and 

female engineers are fairly equal. In 

the UK the vast majority of engineers 

are men, so there is clearly something 

 


28

Educating 

mind, body, 

heart & soul 

Open Mornings: Friday 16 September 2016, Monday 30 January 2017 

To see rst hand how we can help your daughter to ourish academically, 

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• New Sixth Form Centre 

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The Old Palace, Mayeld, East Sussex TN20 6PH 

www.mayeldgirls.org 

An independent Catholic boarding 

and day school for girls aged 11 to 18

Sponsored by 


 

going awry somewhere in the UK. 

Obviously there is no intrinsic reason 

why women can’t do the job as well as 

men, albeit that they are not the same 

and bring a different perspectives and 

skill sets. There are lots of capable 

girls whose skills and talents are not 

being directed effectively, who would 

respond positively to the challenges 

and rigour of STEM subjects, given 

half the chance. The workforce could 

benefit from their contribution; we 

undoubtedly –and urgently- need 

more female engineers. Similarly 

there may be boys who feel they are 

being pressured into STEM subjects 

when their talents lie in other areas. 

What can we do to encourage girls to 

choose STEM subjects? Encouraging 

girls to engage with STEM subjects 

needs to begin earlier than A Level 

choices- right back to Primary school. 

We have a high take up of Maths and 

Science at A level because we expect 

all girls to study all three sciences from 

day one up to at GCSE. Many are not 

confident about their own abilities at 

the end of Year 9 but when they do 

well at GCSE [Last year 90% of girls 

achieved A*/A in Physics, Chemistry 

and Biology], they have the confidence 

and ability to continue at A Level and 

beyond. Furthermore, wherever possible, 

we encourage girls to keep their options 

open and balance their A level choices. 

Most girls will study at least one science 

or Maths at A level, and similarly those 

girls focusing predominantly on Sciences 

often study an arts subject as well. 

Do children need to choose between 

arts and STEM subjects? I worry that 

children are expected to ‘specialise’ far 

too early in their school careers, and 

indeed that they are encouraged to 

categorise themselves as either an ‘artist’ 

or a ‘scientist’ with different skills. I 

don’t think that is helpful. We need 

to be encouraging children to look for 

links between subjects and how skills 

complement each other. After all, to 

be a good scientist, you need to be 

creative and to write accurately and 

concisely. Any good piece of writing, or 

art, needs to be crafted and structured 

with discipline. What we need to 

ensure is that children are able to think 

independently and to make mistakes 

and learn from them, in a variety of 

subjects. My concern is that while 

STEM, or indeed STEAM, is crucially 

important part of education, we exclude 

emphasis on creative, artistic subjects 

at our peril. Advances in science need 

to have a cultural and moral context, 

so if we deprive our children of these 

less utilitarian, but vitally important 

subjects we are compromising their 

perspective and our future. 

Above: Antonia Beary, headteacher at Mayfield 

One School, 

many journeys 

Sutton Valence 

Preparatory School 

(Nursery to age 11) 

Come to visit, the door’s always open 

• Traditional values, small class sizes 

• Proven exam success for independent and state entry 

• Minibus routes across Kent 

Please contact: 

T: 01622 842117 | E: leckiea@svs.org.uk 

www.svs.org.uk 


SuttonValenceED03.indd 1 17/05/2016 12:09

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Broadening Horizons 

WT talks to local schools about how they encourage their pupils to look beyond traditional, academic 

studies and towards a more creative career path by organising ‘creative weeks’ and encouraging 

participation in school clubs and sports. We also meet some of the guest speakers and former pupils 

brought into schools to inspire pupils to aim high and consider a life less ordinary.... 

Image 5166: Siobhan Fogarty, Head of Creative Arts at Sackville School, with Year 10 GCSE 

Drama students after their performance of Ernest and the Pale Moon 

Siobhan Fogarty, 

Head of Creative Arts, 

at Sackville School, 

Hildenborough with specialisms 

in Drama and Media Studies 

Does your school give 

equal weight to nonacademic 

subjects? 

I am fortunate in that Sackville 

appreciates the importance of 

the creative arts in developing 

confidence and wellbeing. All 

students experience a wide range of 

Visual Arts, Drama, Music and Film 

making, both in time-tabled lessons 

and through extracurricular activities. 

My background as a professional 

actor, scriptwriter and film maker 

has been invaluable for developing 

the creative arts within school. I 

am also Director of The Curious 

Theatre Company which is based in 

Sackville’s ‘The Space’ studio theatre. 

Are pupils encouraged to 

follow a creative career? 

We encourage our students to believe 

that anything is possible in life 

and if they wish to pursue a career 

in the creative industries we give 

them our full support. Our recent 

careers fair had a number of alumni 

attending as exhibitors representing 

a broad range of occupations which 

included architectural model making, 

technical theatre, animation and 

professional music practitioners. 

How does the school help 

to ‘broaden horizons’ ? 

I firmly believe in exposing students 

to a broad range of artistic influences. 

We have an annual West End theatre 

trip and also host workshops by 

innovative performance companies. 

Each year we hold an Arts Week which 

embraces cross-curricular learning and 

culminates with a school production 

which this year will be an ecological 

piece staged outside in the school 

grounds; I am a great believer i n 

utilising ‘found’ performance spaces. 

What interesting careers have 

pupils gone on to follow? 

We were delighted when former 

student, James Benmore, was 

guest of honour at our Prize 

Giving. James is the author of a 

series of novels based on Charles 

Dickens’ character ‘The Artful 

Dodger’. His third book, Dodger 

of the Revolution, will be published 

by Quercus on 22 September. 

Sackville School 

Tonbridge Road 

Hildenborough, Kent 

TN11 9HN 

01732 836447 

www.sackvilleschool.co.uk 

Guest speaker – Junior King’s 

Charlie Sinclair 

Charlie was Head Boy at Junior King’s 

in 2010 when he played rugby in the 

JKS U11 National Champion school 

rugby team at Twickenham. He was a 

keen musician playing the trumpet and 

singing in the school choir. During the 

Remembrance Service he played the Last 

Post and it was his musical experience 

while at the Junior School that led 

him to become a Music Scholar at The 

King’s School. As he progressed through 

the school he left his rugby playing 

and trumpet behind to concentrate on 

the guitar and composition, along with 

singing a wide repertoire of musical 

styles in a number of the school’s choirs. 

He performed Sinatra’s You Make 

Feel So Young with the BBC Big Band 

while at the senior school and is now 

studying rock guitar and composition 

at The Royal Northern College of 

Music. He has formed his own band, 

Silvette, and he tours performing his 

own music. He has recently completed 

the score for a feature film Marriage, 

and he is looking forward to a varied 

future in the music business. 

The Junior King’s School, Milner Court, 

Sturry, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 0AY 

01227 714000 www.junior-kings.co.uk 

 


Sponsored by 


Edinburgh Award Scheme and the 

School Cadet Force. On Saturday 

mornings, pupils can choose from a 

menu of activities including Creative 

Writing, International Cuisine, 

Open Art and Music & Dance. 

university academics. Trips are a vital 

aspect of our educational provision 

and we offer far too many to list 

in full. However, our pupils have 

recently visited New York, Iceland, 

Berlin and Spain to name but a few. 

 

Ed O’Connor, 

Deputy Head, St Edmund’s 

School Canterbury 

Does your school give 

equal weight to nonacademic 

subjects? 

We fully understand the importance 

of challenging our pupils to develop 

outside the classroom. To that end we 

have a comprehensive extra-curricular 

programme designed to develop 

personal qualities, creativity and 

leadership skills. Friday afternoons are 

dedicated to our Skills and Services 

programme which includes characterbuilding 

opportunities including 

Community Service, the Duke of 

Are pupils encouraged to 

follow a creative career? 

St Edmund’s has a long and wellfounded 

reputation in the creative 

subjects. Music, Art and Design and 

Drama are recognised strengths of the 

school and offer fantastic opportunities 

for expression and performance at a 

high level. Many of our pupils go on to 

leading drama schools, conservatoires 

and art colleges. Developing individual 

creativity is in our school DNA. 

How does the school help to 

broaden horizons? 

We have a programme of lunchtime 

visiting speakers called “The Curiosity 

Shop” to which all pupils and parents 

are invited. These are highly successful 

events and we have had presentations 

from a representative of Bletchley 

Park on the Enigma Machine, from a 

leading UK actress on careers in film 

and theatre and from a number of 

What interesting careers have 

pupils gone on to follow? 

New pupils to the school often ask to 

be placed in Orlando Bloom’s House 

as he is an old boy of the school! 

Concert pianist Freddy Kempf visits us 

regularly and has run masterclasses for 

our pupils and we are proud of Darren 

Henley OBE who is currently the Chief 

Executive of the Arts Council. Those 

who keep an eye on the news might 

also have recently noted the name 

of Sanjeev Gupta, the international 

businessman involved in the Port 

Talbot steel works takeover. Our pupils 

go off into a huge range of careers, 

equipped I hope with the assurance, 

resilience and creativity developed as 

part of a St Edmund’s education. 

St Edmund’s School Canterbury, 

St Thomas’ Hill, Canterbury, Kent 

CT2 8HU, 01227 475600 

www.stedmunds.org.uk 

Guest Speaker – Sutton 

Valence School 

David Hayman 

Having left Sutton Valence School in 

1995, where he was Head of School 

and Head of CCF, David Hayman 

studied veterinary medicine at the 

University of Edinburgh, and then 

worked as a clinical veterinary surgeon 

with a broad range of domestic and 

wild animals, gaining experience of 

investigating and managing disease 

in a number of critically endangered 

and flagship species. These experiences 

are what led him to gain his MSc 

in Conservation Biology from the 

Durrell Institute of Conservation and 

Ecology at the University of Kent, 

UK. Prior to his role as a Senior 

Lecturer in Veterinary Public Health at 

Massey, where he works now, he also 

did a considerable amount of work 

in the USA as a David Smith Fellow 

at Colorado State University. 

David Hayman was recently 

featured at the Massey University of 

New Zealand’s ‘Defining Excellence 

Awards 2016’. Dr Hayman is 

considered a rising star in the field of 

infectious disease epidemiology and 

ecology. He has attracted considerable 

international attention for his work 

on Ebola and other related diseases. 

It is only four years since he 

did his PhD at Queen’s College, 

Cambridge, which included a threeyear 

fellowship funded by The 

Wellcome Trust. He studied bats 

and their diseases in West Africa; this 

work formed the foundation of a lot 

of the work he does. He has already 

had 40 peer-reviewed publications in 

high-ranking journals, including one 

on modelling bat viruses. This is of 

enormous importance internationally, 

given the role played by bats in 

emerging infectious disease. “I use 

multidisciplinary approaches to address 

how infectious diseases are maintained 

within their hosts and how the process 

of emergence occurs,” he said. “At the 

broadest level, my interests are public 

health and conservation biology.” 

Sutton Valence Preparatory School, Church 

Road, Chart Sutton, Kent ME17 3RF. 

01622 842117. www.svs.org.uk 

 


34

Sponsored by 


 

Guest Speaker – Vinehall 

Preparatory School 

Tom Avery 

Tom Avery is one of the world’s most 

exciting polar explorers and a former 

pupil at Vinehall. He became the 

youngest Briton to reach the South Pole 

on foot and was also leader of the fastest 

team in history to reach the North Pole. 

Last summer, Tom led a team which 

broke the record of the fastest coastto-coast 

crossing of Greenland by an 

incredible eight days. Previously the 

record time had been just under 18 days. 

Tom’s 2005 Ultimate North 

team made headlines around the 

world for recreating Robert Peary 

and Matthew Henson’s disputed 

discovery of the North Pole in 1909, 

and in the process entering the Guinness 

Book of Records for “The Fastest 

Surface Journey to the North Pole”. 

Tom’s passion for adventure began 

when he read about the exploits of 

Captain Scott whilst a seven-year-old 

pupil at Vinehall. He learnt to climb 

in the Welsh and Scottish mountains, 

first on rock, before moving on to 

snow and ice. Tom subsequently went 

on to organise and lead expeditions to 

some of the world’s biggest mountains, 

including the Alps, Tanzania’s volcanoes, 

the Andes, New Zealand’s Southern 

Alps, the Atlas Mountains of Morocco 

and the Himalayas, climbing an array 

of peaks, including several unclimbed 

summits up to 20,000 feet in height. 

In April 2005 Tom and his fivestrong 

team enthralled the exploration 

world by recreating Peary and Henson’s 

expedition to the North Pole, travelling 

with teams of Eskimo dogs and replica 

wooden sledges. Tom’s aim was to 

quash the doubt as to the validity of 

Peary’s 37-day journey to the Pole. 

After an epic dash across the world’s 

most unforgiving environment , Tom’s 

exhausted team made it to the Pole 

with five hours to spare. More than a 

decade later, they remain the fastest 

team in history to reach the North Pole. 

Tom’s most recent challenge saw 

him breaking another World Record, 

for the fastest coast-to-coast crossing 

of Greenland in May last year. Using 

kites and pulling two sledges each, 

Tom and his three teammates beat the 

previous record by more than a week, 

completing the crossing in just nine 

days, 19 hours with barely any sleep. 

Tom returns to Vinehall this summer 

as the guest of honour on the final day 

of the term, when he will present the 

prizes at the annual Prizegiving Day, as 

well as speak about his adventures. The 

pupils are really excited, and talking 

about how he has already inspired them 

to take up similar challenges when they 

are older. This fits with the ethos of 

the school, which encourages intrepid 

learning and calculated risk-taking from 

the earliest years in the Nursery and Pre- 

Prep, right up to when the pupils depart 

for senior schools at the end of Year 8. 

Vinehall School, Robertsbridge, East 

Sussex, TN32 5JL. 01580 880413. 

www.vinehallschool.com 

Guest Speaker – 

St Edmund’s School 

Olly Clark 

Olly Clark attended St Edmund’s 

from 1996 until 2003, from Junior 

School through to Sixth Form when 

he was appointed School Captain. 

During his school days, Olly 

displayed a great strength of character 

and worked hard, and went on to be a 

high achiever. After St Edmund’s and 

Loughborough University and via some 

rally driving in Mongolia, Olly became 

an Army officer, was commissioned into 

the Royal Engineers and subsequently 

completed the All Arms Commando 

Course, serving in Operational tours in 

Afghanistan with the Royal Marines. 

Earlier this year, with his close 

friend Dan Parsons, Olly participated 

in Talisker Atlantic Challenge which 

is dubbed the world’s toughest rowing 

race. He rowed the 3000 miles across 

the Atlantic Ocean from La Gomera 

in the Canary Islands to Antigua in 

the Caribbean in an open boat to raise 

money for ABF, The Soldiers’ Charity 

and Prostate Cancer UK. Olly and Dan 

won the pairs race in 42 days, 17 hours 

and 59 minutes – a remarkable feat. 

Olly said, “Having never been in 

a rowing boat before this adventure 

was certainly a baptism of fire at times. 

The challenge and Ocean rowing 

in itself, without doubt, drew on so 

many of the skills and qualities that I 

learnt during my time at St Edmund’s 

and then became a foundation for 

my military training. Courage, 

Determination, Unselfishness and 

Cheerfulness in the face of adversity 

were all tested on a daily basis.” 

St Edmund’s School Canterbury, 

St Thomas’ Hill, Canterbury, 

Kent, CT2 8HU. 01227 475600. 



36

We're going on a 

bear hunt! 

Bring your teddy and a friend and come along 

to Vinehall Nursery for a Teddy Bears’ Picnic 

and a fun morning of exploring... 

Friday 1st July 10am to 12pm 

For further information please contact Tessa Richardson on 

01580 883056 or at tessarichardson@vinehallschool.com 

Get ready for an adventure! 

www.vinehallschool.com 

VinehallSchoolWT172.indd 1 09/05/2016 17:17 

Invitation 

Open House 

Meet 

the 

Heads 

Louise Moelwyn-Hughes 

Head of St Edmund’s 

Saturday 11 June, 10am 

For event programme and booking form visit 


Matthew Jelley 

Head of Junior School 

Julia Exley 

Head of Pre-Prep School 


StEdmundsSchoolCanterburyED03.indd 1 13/05/2016 12:40

Blackland Farm 

Outdoor Activity Centre 

Kayaking 

Canoeing 

Bungee trampolining 

Rock climbing 

Archery 

Crate challenge 

Zip wire 

Abseiling 

Aeroball... 

...and many more! 

Come and join us for 

fun-filled activity days. 

Why not have your 

birthday party here too? 

01342 810493 

blackland@girlguiding.org.uk 

www.blacklandfarm.org.uk 

Blackland Farm 

KentWildlifeTrustED03.indd 1 19/05/2016 BlacklandFarmWT138.indd 15:20 

1 10/07/2013 17:31 

FULLY CATERED 

BIRTHDAY PARTIES 

Giant pool inflatable, flumes, bouncy 

castle, sport parties and many more 

CHARLTON ATHLETIC 

FOOTBALL CHALLENGE 

5 - 12 YEARS 

www.sencio.org.uk 

FUN FOR ALL 

THE FAMILY 

MONDAY - FRIDAY CRÈCHE 

Put your little ones in our creche whilst 

you gym, swim or do an exercise class 

ADULT AND BABY, 

PRE-SCHOOL, JUNIOR AND 

ADULT SWIMMING LESSONS 

plus swimming lesson crash courses 

during school holidays 

GIANT POOL 

INFLATABLE 

SESSIONS 

Every Saturday and Sunday 

during school holidays 

WHITE OAK LEISURE CENTRE 

01322 662188 | wolc@sencio.org.uk 

SEVENOAKS LEISURE CENTRE 

01732 470700 | slc@sencio.org.uk 

EDENBRIDGE LEISURE CENTRE 

01732 865665 | elc@sencio.org.uk 


38 

SencioCommunityED03.indd 1 03/05/2016 17:18

Sponsored by 


Out-of-school education… 

Credit:The Scout Association 

No school can teach children everything they need to 

know. David Long, the author and journalist, outlines 

the benefits of learning outside the classroom 

If the key to making the most of 

your child’s education is broadening 

his or her experience, and keeping 

as many options open as possible 

for as long as possible, then out-ofschool 

clubs and extra-curricular 

activities have a vital role to play. 

Timetabling pressures and the 

requirements of exam-based learning 

mean no school can teach everything 

a child needs to know. Regardless 

of the staff’s good intentions there 

are simply not enough hours in the 

day for everything to be squeezed 

into the classroom, and that’s where 

the growing range of after-school 

activities begins to pay dividends. 

The benefits are almost too many to 

list. Primarily, of course, it is important 

to find something your child enjoys. 

But that is only the start. Actively 

engaging with any such club should 

be pleasurable but it can also work 

wonders when it comes to boosting a 

child’s sense of responsibility and of 

self. At the same time it provides the 

perfect opportunity to extend his or her 

social network far beyond that offered 

by any individual school. Meeting and 

interacting with others of a similar 

age is invaluable, but so too is the 

chance to mingle with older and more 

mature participants and with people 

from different social backgrounds. 

The acquisition of new skills, 

clearly, is rarely a bad thing. This is as 

true for hobby-based clubs as it is for 

more traditional sports clubs, which 

generally offer a much wider range than 

most schools can – and often a much 

higher standard of play. Such clubs 

also give a child the time and space 

needed to become really good, which 

cannot be said of an hour or two each 

week of timetabled physical activity. 

Typically, schools have to pursue a 

policy of one-size-fits-all in PE, and a 

talented child’s progress can often be 

impeded by the need to move at the 

pace of the slowest or most reluctant. 

It is little wonder then, that brighter, 

more enthusiastic pupils and their 

parents increasingly look beyond the 

school to satisfy that natural, youthful 

desire to try something different. 

More parents than ever recognise that 

organised, structured out-of-school 

activities can be enormously important 

to their child’s development. Youngsters 

soon realise that the choice is better if 

they look outside school. The mere fact 

that this sort of thing takes place out of 

school removes the sense of obligation 

too, which can only be beneficial. 

Participants can also learn novel 

skills and improve them away from the 

bullying and teasing which even in wellrun 

schools can stifle a child’s faltering 

first steps into a new area of interest. 

Someone who hates team games such 

as football or rugby can nevertheless 

really shine when offered the chance 

to try something less mainstream – 

archery, perhaps, or roller hockey. 

That such clubs are generally run by 

volunteers brings with it another bonus. 

Teachers frequently have to battle with 

reluctant participants and all too often, 

regrettably but wholly understandably, 

their own passion can wilt when faced 

with a class in which many of those 

present feel press-ganged into doing 

something they would sooner not do. 

That school teachers are 

‘professional’ while clubs are typically 

run by amateurs is no guarantee of 

quality. Someone giving up his or her 

own time to share knowledge and 

skills with a new generation is less 

likely to be resentful of this – if only 

because by definition he is free to step 

back and give it all up if it becomes 

 


Sponsored by 


 

a chore. As a result the atmosphere 

is often far better in a club than in 

a classroom, and – regardless of the 

subject or activity – learning is never 

more effective than when those taking 

part are having a good time doing it. 

Schools know this, universities too, 

and of course employers certainly do. 

The primary purpose may not be career 

advancement but there is no harm in 

acknowledging the role hobbies can 

play in this. The days are long gone 

when a hopeful applicant for a degree 

course or a job could expect to get 

away with the line ‘Interests: reading, 

travel, cinema’ on a CV. We all know 

that is code for loafing around watching 

television and playing computer games. 

In an increasingly competitive 

world it is more important than ever 

for applicants to present themselves 

as rounded, engaged individuals with 

a variety of interests. Simply waving 

around a certificate full of A-stars will 

get you nowhere when almost everybody 

else has an equally impressive set of 

exam grades – and they will have. 

An unusual hobby can make an 

applicant stand out from the crowd. 

It is also something to talk about in 

an interview, enabling teenagers to 

demonstrate their articulacy by talking 

enthusiastically about things they enjoy 

and enjoy being good at. And let’s not 

forget the matter of transferable skills. 

Excelling at a team sport has long 

been taken as an indication that a 

person will be good with other people 

– literally a team-player. Participants 

in more individual sports, archery 

again for example, show a healthy 

competitive spirit, a commitment to 

improve and an ability to identify a 

target (pun intended) and to go for it. 

Away from the sports field, other 

hobbies can definitely enhance a child’s 

performance in class. My own boys 

have joined local digs organised by 

Cambridge University’s archaeology 

department. This has involved 

commitment on their part, physical 

effort and considerable patience – but 

excitement too when, for example, 

one of them unearthed fragments of 

some very rare early medieval pottery. 

That the experience boosted the 

interest of both in their history studies is 

beyond question. It required a degree of 

academic rigour in the way that finds are 

recorded, and I could see for myself how 

much they enjoyed chatting with and 

working alongside their fellow diggers, 

a very mixed bunch of professional 

archaeologists and volunteers of all ages. 

In this case the suggestion to give 

it a go was mine, but the enthusiasm 

was all theirs. Don’t be afraid to 

point your child in a new direction, 

but let them decide how far to take 

it – and then see where it leads. 

David Long, a historian and writer, is the 

author of non-fiction books for both adults 

and children, most recently The Diary of a 

Time Traveller which has been translated 

into Spanish, Italian, and Korean. 

ASSEMBLY HALL THEATRE 

Save The Last Dance For Me 

Mon 4 – Sat 9 July 

Curtis Stigers 

Wed 20 July 

Hairy Maclary and Friends 

Thu 28 July 

TW873 

An Audience with Lesley Garrett 

Wed 21 Sep 

Ministry of Science 

Sat 8 Oct 

Book online at: www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk 

Box Office: 

Follow us: 

01892 530613/532072 

The Mousetrap 

Mon 7 – Sat 12 Nov 


40 

AssemblyHallTheatreED03.indd 1 29/04/2016 16:57

EXPLORER 

ACTIVITY WEEK 

AT THE WEALD & DOWNLAND 

OPEN AIR MUSEUM 

Monday 25 to Friday 29 July 2016 

For young people aged 8 . 12 years 

Pre-booking essential - call 01243 811459 or 

email education@wealddown.co.uk to book. 

OpenAirMuseumED03.indd 1 19/05/2016 10:13 

Bespoke design and build treehouses, 

playhouses and elevated platforms 

Relationship at 

breaking point? 

The breakdown of any relationship can be very 

distressing. Whitehead Monckton family lawyers 

can help you through this stressful and painful time. 

We offer sensitive, constructive and cost effective legal 

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An initial fixed cost meeting for just £100 (inc VAT) 

with one of our lawyers can help you see your 

way forward and understand your legal position 

and options. 

Our town centre offices in Canterbury, Maidstone 

and Tenterden are conveniently located to so please 

call to set up your initial discussion: 

Emma Palmer on Canterbury 01227 643266 

Dawn Harrison on Maidstone 01622 698051 

Daniel Bennett on Tenterden 01580 767540 

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Whitehead Monckton Limited (no. 08366029), registered in 

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WT 1/16 


CheekyMonkeyWT169.indd 1 17/02/2016 WhiteheadMoncktonWT167.indd 15:21 

1 01/12/2015 12:37

Lorenden 

25 acres 

including 

9 hole golf course 

Sport 

is the 

wow factor. 

- Good Schools Guide 

Outstanding achievement in a 

supremely happy environment 

Cranmore School 

Independent Preparatory School 

for girls and boys 2 ½ - 13 

Lorenden Preparatory School 

Painter’s Forstal, Faversham, Kent ME13 0EN 

A co-educational school for 3—11 year olds. 

For a prospectus please telephone 01795 590030 

www.lorenden.org.uk email: admin@lorenden.org.uk 

Registered Charity Number: 1048805 

We are delighted to 

announce that Cranmore is 

extending its provision for 

girls by introducing full 

co-education in stages. 

admissions@cranmoreprep.co.uk 

West Horsley, Surrey KT24 6AT 

01483 280340 

www.cranmoreprep.co.uk 

LorendenPrepED03.indd 1 12/05/2016 15:38 

CranmorePrepED03.indd 1 12/05/2016 12:20 

Education 

“ 

The teachers at Bethany are great and the sports 

facilities are amazing. Sport is very important to me – I 

have been selected for the Kent Athletics squad and 

Bethany supports me in that. I also really enjoy Drama 

and love being involved in the School productions. 

Libby Donegan, Year 10. Bethany pupil since 2014. Sport and Drama Scholar. ” 

for life 

At Bethany we inspire, encourage 

and challenge our pupils to achieve more 

than they ever thought possible. 

Open Mornings: 

Saturday 24th September and 

Wednesday 5th October 

Come and see what Bethany can do for your child. 

Entrance Assessments for 2017: 

Year 7 on Saturday 5th November 

Contact: 

01580 211273 or 

registrar@bethanyschool.org.uk 

www.bethanyschool.org.uk 

Goudhurst, Kent TN17 1LB 

Scholarships 

and bursaries 

available 

Co-educational day and boarding school for ages 11-18 


42 

BethanySchoolED03.indd 1 29/04/2016 16:47

Sponsored by 


Pupils at Belmont Academy near Thurrock have formed a new Cub Scout pack, with the help of local Scouts manager Graham Monk, and a team of volunteers Credit:The Scout Association 

Out, about, Scouting for fun 

We talk to the Scout Association about the benefits of being involved in this historic organisation 

In 2011, a survey of 2,500 people 

revealed that 91 per cent of 

volunteers and 88 per cent of youth 

members stated that Scouting had 

helped them develop key skills including 

social, team-working and leadership 

skills; and that six-out-of-ten employers 

said, “Scouts showed respect for others, 

which was important when working 

with peers, customers and clients.” 

Earlier last year, a report from the 

UK think-tank Demos demonstrated 

that non-formal education activities 

like art and drama, volunteering 

and social action, outdoor activities, 

and debates are an important way of 

delivering character education, and 

are thus essential for young people in 

developing key skills to succeed in life. 

The research team, who conducted 

fieldwork and surveyed about 4,000 

people across the UK, outlined that 

Scouting has a positive impact on young 

people’s attitudes towards school and 

that they have increased confidence 

in their character traits compared to 

those not in Scouting. For instance, 

75 per cent of Scouts strongly agreed 

that when a problem comes along they 

enjoy finding a way to fix it, compared 

to 42 per cent of non-Scouts; 49 per 

cent of Scouts felt highly confident 

talking in front of large groups of 

people, compared to 28 per cent of 

non-Scouts; and 25 per cent of young 

people not in Scouting said that most of 

the time they don’t want to go to school, 

compared to only 13 per cent of Scouts. 

The report acknowledges important 

inequalities in term of access to nonformal 

education activities, with people 

eligible for free school meals being less 

likely to report participating in those 

in every context, whilst saying they 

want more. In terms of activities within 

school, only half or less think that they 

are provided with enough opportunities 

for outdoor activities (51 per cent), 

volunteering and social action 

(41 per cent) and uniformed activities 

(21 per cent). This is even starker 

for young people from state schools 

compared to fee-paying schools: for 

instance, 82 per cent of fee-paying 

secondary school students felt their 

establishment provides enough 

opportunities for outdoors activities, 

compared to only 49 per cent of 

state secondary school students. 

Nigel Taylor from the Scout 

Association says: “In 2015 the 

Department for Education launched 

a £3.5 million Character grant fund 

to support schools, colleges and third 

sector organisations in the development 

of character education programmes. In 

addition to character education being 

firmly placed on the Government’s 

agenda, the project is in line with our 

Scouting for All vision to promote 

growth and inclusivity. We are delighted 

to be working with the Department 

for Education on a project that 

recognises the valuable role of nonformal 

learning and the expertise that 

we hold in this area. There is strong 

evidence that non-formal education 

can help young people to build 

character. However, equality of access 

to non-formal learning opportunities 

varies greatly, particularly within low 

participation neighbourhoods. At The 

Scout Association we wanted to offer 

young people more access to these 

opportunities whilst at school, allowing 

a larger number of young people to 

enjoy the benefits of Scouting.” 

A spokesperson from the 

Department for Education says: “The 

Department for Education commends 

the work of the Scout Association 

which supports the development of 

character and resilience in young 

people. That is why we are funding 

them to work in schools around the 

country – such as Belmont Castle 

Academy – so that even more young 

people benefit from the work they do.” 

Today about half a million 

young people across the UK get 

the opportunity to shape their 

character, learn new skills and have 

fun whilst making friends and 

enjoying everyday adventures. 



Sponsored by 


Opening up a whole, other world 

John Graham-Hart on why learning a foreign language is not only relevant, but immensely rewarding too 

Credit: FreeImages.Com/Alex Ling 

“ Into the face of the young man 

who sat on the terrace of the Hotel 

Magnifique at Cannes there had 

crept a look of furtive shame,” once 

wrote P.G. Wodehouse, “the shifty 

hangdog look which announces that an 

Englishman is about to speak French.” 

There’s no doubt about it, but we 

are not a nation of linguists. Perhaps it’s 

our natural reserve but more likely it is 

the fact that through conquest, trade 

and technology we have spread English 

throughout the world and can now 

make ourselves understood from Alaska 

to Tonga, Greenland to New Guinea. 

Around 90 per cent of all Europeans 

learn it as their second language. Today, 

1.5 billion people around the globe 

Credit: FreeImages.Com/Marcus Jump 

have a good command of English. 

Is it then any wonder that our 

children turn to us, as mine have done 

to me, and asked us why on earth, 

with all the other demands on their 

academic time, should they learn to 

master a foreign language? Bluster as I 

may, my boys know full well that I have 

been travelling around the world all my 

life, stumbled through more than 100 

countries and that the only time I was 

truly lost for intelligible words was on a 

housing estate in the Gorbals. English, 

a smattering of schoolboy French 

and childhood Spanish have always 

seemed to see me through elsewhere. 

But, I can hear you say, it’s always 

a pleasure to speak to someone in their 

own language. True, but consider for a 

moment that there are roughly 6,900 

living languages in the world. Europe 

alone has 234 languages spoken on 

a daily basis. So, even if I spoke my 

French and Spanish like a native of 

somewhere other than Cranbrook, 

I’d only be able to speak to a small 

minority of my fellow-Europeans 

in their mother tongues. And that’s 

before I’d so much as set foot in the 

Middle East, Africa and Asia. 

So why on earth bother to have 

our children learn a language? And if 

we are bothering, how do we convince 

them it’s worthwhile? One pretty 

convincing argument is that it’s not 

just about being able to order a crêpe 

on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique 

without causing an international 

incident, it’s about enriching one’s own 

life by more deeply understanding 

and appreciating the lives of others. 

“The ability to speak a foreign 

language is academically challenging 

as well as opening your eyes to new 

cultures and countries,” says Shirley 

Westwood, Head of Modern Languages 

at Dulwich Prep near Cranbrook. 

“At Dulwich we start learning French 

from Reception and the emphasis 

throughout the school is on speaking 

and listening skills – and fun. 

“We begin with stories and songs 

for the younger children,” she says. “In 

Year 6, there is a cultural trip to Paris 

for three days. Year 7 enjoy a week in 

a French château in Normandy over 

the Easter holidays, which includes 

activities such as canoeing and fencing. 

All the instructors speak French 

throughout. This total immersion 

approach reaps great rewards – the 

children don’t realise they are learning 

 


44

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while they are having so much fun. 

“A treasure hunt with French 

clues and French supper was a recent 

evening activity for the boarders. 

The children ran a French café at a 

recent open morning. Every year, 

Théâtre sans Frontières run a workshop 

for Upper School children who 

join in with the performance.” 

There is also a strong department 

of language teachers, many for whom 

French is their mother tongue. Children 

in Years 7 & 8 can also learn Spanish. 

In the past there have been trips to 

Barcelona, as well as visits to London 

to view Spanish art and culture. 

Sophie Carnell, Head of Modern 

Languages at Saint Ronan’s, near 

Hawkhurst, also sees the value of 

mastering a language as being well 

beyond providing the ability to get 

by on holiday. “Surely the focus of 

communication is to open up both 

speakers’ culture and language,” 

she says. “Otherwise it’s merely 

a closed-minded monologue. 

“At Saint Ronan’s we want children 

to be citizens of the world. They need 

to understand that people in foreign 

countries see things differently. By 

examining the ‘other’ way, children can 

more easily understand our own peculiar 

ways of talking and behaving.” Says 

Sophie, “Language is about so much 

more than words - if it was just about 

words then we probably could get by 

with English and Google translate. 

“To do this, however, would miss 

the joy of transporting a class, for 

35 precious minutes a day, to the 

banks of the Loire or the harbour of 

Marseille, children singing and playing, 

acting out parts in a classroom just as 

they would in the playground. The 

learning is considerable and longlasting 

and creates a love of a country 

that they might never have visited. 

“Languages are keys that unlock 

new worlds, they empower and earn 

respect,” she says. “Languages are so 

much more than a means to business 

success or enhanced employment 

prospects, they are at the heart of 

what real education should be and 

they need to be celebrated as such.” 

So English may now be the world 

lingua franca and one may get by 

on most continents but the heart of 

the matter is that the ability to order 

crêpes with confidence really is largely 

irrelevant when it comes to the pros 

and cons of learning a language. The 

real reason to learn is that it unlocks 

another world of which you otherwise 

would remain ignorant. No one can 

truly understand another culture 

unless they understand something 

of the language of that culture. 

And in a world where understanding 

is in woefully short supply, this cannot 

but be an excellent thing. 

Credit: FreeImages.Com/Johnny Maroun 

THE MEAD SCHOOL 

Co-educational day school for children ages 3–11 

A quality education at an affordable price 

Open Day 2016: 

Thursday 13 October 

10am & 2.15pm 

“The pupils are extremely well educated, in line with the school’s aims to encourage all to feel success.” 

ISI Report 2014 

To arrange a personal tour or to attend our Open Day please contact the Registrar: 

Telephone: 01892 525837 Email: office@themeadschool.co.uk 

16 Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5SN Website: www.meadschool.info 


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In the frame 

Sit back and enjoy our round-up of the 

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50

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By Alilna Wiltshire from Bede’s Senior School By Stanley Brown from 

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* Bede’s Senior School - www.bedes.org 

* Dulwich Prep - www.dcpskent.org 

* Junior King’s School- www.junior-kings.co.uk 


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Credit: FreeImages.Com/Brian Strevens 

Keep calm – there will 

be bumps along the way 

Sooner or later most children will meet with problems at school. 

Education expert Hilary Wilce offers some reassurance 

Your child looks a bit pale. 

They’ve gone very quiet. They 

don’t want to see their usual 

friends, have lost their appetite, 

and seem reluctant to go to school. 

You can’t get much out of them, 

but you can sense that something’s 

wrong. What should you do? 

First of all, don’t panic. Sooner or 

later most children hit a problem in 

school. After all, school is exactly like 

the rest of life – there’s always change 

afoot and some bumps along the way. 

Running into difficulties is 

completely normal, and can even 

be helpful to a child’s growth and 

development. Of course, they can 

be horribly painful at the time, but 

they can also bring great benefits 

in their wake. Wrestling with 

uncomfortable situations and finding 

solutions is how we all learn to grow 

the inner strength and confidence 

we need to lead full, happy lives. 

It’s also worth pointing out that a 

child who never has a problem might 

be very lucky, but also might be a 

child who is working overtime to be 

good, fit in, keep a low profile and 

do exactly what their teachers and 

parents expect. And, while such meek 

compliance might work well in the 

short term and even garner trophies 

and prizes, it is not a great quality for 

building a good career or developing 

strong relationships in adult life. 

In fact, most school problems are 

small and temporary. They might 

involve falling out with a friend, failing 

to master long division, or hating this 

year’s English teacher. Some problems, 

of course, are bigger, and occasionally 

they can turn into something that needs 

major intervention. Learning difficulties, 

entrenched bullying and teenage mental 

health issues are all sadly on the rise 

and need skilled help and support. 

But be very careful not to jump 

to conclusions about what a problem 

consists of. You might decide that 

your son no longer wants to go to 

school because he is being bullied on 

the school bus. He might not want to 

take the bus because it makes him feel 

sick when it goes round bends, but 

he doesn’t want to admit it because 

it’ll make him look like a wimp. 

If you sense your child is running 

into difficulties, watch, wait and learn. 

Try and probe gently and sensitively 

what you think might be wrong – 

driving in the car together, with no eye 

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Of course, if your child is very small, 

it’s up to you to resolve the problem and 

it makes sense to talk to their teacher as 

soon as possible. It may also help to talk 

to other parents, but be careful to avoid 

confrontation. “Your child’s bullying 

mine” will not get you very far. “Our 

children seem to be having a problem. 

I thought we ought to see what we can 

do…” will be much more productive. 

If your child is older, take more time. 

Make it crystal clear to them that you’re 

on their side, that you want them to be 

happy and you will do anything that 

might help make things better. Don’t 

make light of their worries, but show 

you understand how painful it must 

be for them and how upset they are. 

If it’s something to do with friends 

or bullying, try and suggest how 

they can stand up for themselves, 

feel strong inside, resolve conflicts 

and minimise social media pressures. 

Give them space to make their own 

decisions, but offer help when you 

can, especially if it’s something specific 

and practical. “Everyone’s teasing 

me about these horrible glasses!” 

Do your utmost to empower 

your child to help themselves. That 

way they’ll grow stronger and more 

confident – and more able to avoid 

future problems. But if the problem 

persists, go and speak to your child’s 

teacher or tutor. However be careful to 

avoid outright blame. Collaboration 

will always be better, if you can get it. 

On the other hand, once a problem has 

been aired and shared, stay on the case 

to ensure the school does everything 

in its power to defuse and resolve 

the situation. With nasty, ingrained 

bullying, for example, it’s very hard 

for parents ever to go it alone. 

Learning problems are rather 

different. If you feel your child is 

struggling, don’t hesitate to talk to the 

school about it and about what can be 

done. It may be a temporary glitch that 

can be resolved with some extra teaching 

or tutoring, or it may be the first signs of 

a learning difficulty that needs specialist 

support. If the problem persists, and the 

school is not taking effective action, roll 

up your sleeves and insist that they do. 

Bigger problems will always need 

your full-on involvement. Whatever the 

issue, listen to your instincts and don’t 

brush your worries under the carpet. If 

you think your daughter looks too thin, 

don’t tell yourself ‘it’s only because she 

does so much sport’ and decide that 

everything is fine. Watch, listen and 

sensitively probe for more information. 

Whatever the problem, though, 

try and remain as calm and logical 

as possible. More than anything 

else, your child needs your loving 

(but not suffocating) attention and 

support. Gather as much information 

as you can. Ask the school for help, 

advice and action, and be quietly 

and determinedly persistent if 

you feel you are not getting it. 

Arm yourself with professional 

guidance – there are many excellent 

websites which offer advice to parents 

on issues like bullying, truanting, 

drugs and self-harm – and ask yourself 

honestly whether there is anything going 

on at home that could be contributing 

to the problem. If you’ve been piling on 

the pressure for good exam results, you 

might need to back off. If everyone in 

the house is over-worked and overstressed 

then that might be something to 

think about as well. As a last resort, you 

might want to consider whether a move 

to another school could be helpful. 

But extreme situations are rare, 

and schools are getting much more 

sophisticated and sympathetic in 

dealing with them. Meanwhile, 

most other school problems are like 

passing showers, disappearing just 

as quickly as they appear. And, in all 

probability, the only person who has 

lost any sleep over them is you! 

Hilary Wilce is an education writer, 

writing tutor and life coach. Her books 

Backbone: developing the character 

your child needs to succeed and 

The Six Secrets of School Success 

are available on Amazon. 

Credit: Frewen College 


56

WALTHAMSTOW HALL 

Junior School 

Open Morning 

Thursday 13th October 

10.00am - 12noon 

Full Day Care from 

3 months to 5 years 

Open 51 weeks a year 

DoverCollegeED03.indd 1 20/05/2016 11:00 

TONBRIDGE 

Cranbrook Opening June 2015 

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted 

Adjacent to Tonbridge Train Station 

Tonbridge 

Full daycare • 3 months to 5 years • Open 51 weeks per year 

Newly For opened more information July 2015 on Child places and Staff vacancies contact: 

Email: tonbridge@juniorsdaynursery.co.uk Mobile: 07462 641 341 

cranbrook@juniorsdaynursery.co.uk or Telephone 01580 713 033 

www.juniorsdaynursery.co.uk 

tonbridge@juniorsdaynursery.co.uk or Telephone 01732 365 188 

www.juniorsdaynursery.co.uk 

Dan Goldsmith Photography 

“Pupils receive a high quality education” 

“Achievement in extra-curricular 

activities is excellent” 

Independent Schools Inspectorate 

“A caring and nurturing school” 

The Good Schools Guide 

Walthamstow Hall Junior School 

Bradbourne Park Road, Sevenoaks, TN13 3LD 

www.walthamstow-hall.co.uk 


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Children’s nutrition – eating to 

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The well-known nutritionist, Dr Marilyn Glenville, shares her ten simple tips for providing 

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Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables 

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Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK’s leading 

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to the Menopause’ and ‘The Natural Health 

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She runs a number of clinics in Harley Street 

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60

WALTHAMSTOW HALL 

S e v e n o a k s K e n t 

CO-EDUCATIONAL DAY SCHOOL 

FOR CHILDREN AGES 2-13 

preparing pupils for their senior schools at 11+ & 13+ 

Senior School 

Open Morning 

Saturday 24th September 

10.00am - 12.15pm 

Every Amesbury pupil is an individual and so 

is every Amesbury teacher. Our cause, 

our responsibility, is to provide the 

spark of curiosity in each individual 

child and a culture in which 

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OPEN 

MORNINGS 

February, May, October 

“Parents in search of an education which will 

deliver confident children who see their 

futures in terms of unlimited options 

rather than curtailed ambitions .... 

would be well advised to pay a visit” 

(Good Schools’ Guide) 

To find out more and to arrange a visit contact 

Liz Wright at l.wright@amesburyschool.co.uk 

Amesbury 

Hazel Grove, Hindhead, Surrey, GU26 6BL 

01428 604322 

www.amesburyschool.co.uk 

“Thriving girls’ day school in Sevenoaks. 

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Walthamstow Hall Senior School 

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Creatures great – and in school 

School farms are a great way for children to learn about farming and animal husbandry 

as well as offering the perfect place to de-stress and unwind outside the classroom. We visit 

three local school farms and meet some of their furry and feathered residents 

Lancing College 

How long have you had a school 

farm? The farm at Lancing College was 

established in 1983 (33 years ago) as an 

off-shoot of the Science Department. 

It ran then, pretty much as it does 

today, as an extra-curricular activity 

for our pupils, rooted in conservation 

and open to all-comers. The most 

significant difference in recent years 

is its integration with the academic 

side of life at the College, providing 

opportunities to take subjects such 

as Biology, Geography and Business 

Studies out of the classroom, offering a 

cross-curricular educational experience. 

What animals do you have? Our main 

stock are pigs and sheep - producing 

rare breed pork and lamb from a 

flock of over a hundred South and 

Hampshire Downs, Jacob, Suffolk 

and Shetland sheep. This is supplied 

to the school kitchens and is also 

marketed locally and within the school 

community. We also have poultry, 

including geese and turkeys, and 

donkeys, alpacas, goats and a small 

animal unit with rabbits and ferrets. 

What benefit does it bring to 

pupils? The farm is an ideal place 

for those wanting to study veterinary 

science or zoology at university. It 

also gives pupils the opportunity to 

participate in something completely 

different, away from the school 

curriculum. The College hosts visits 

from other schools, takes part in 

Open Farm Sunday and offers work 

placements to agricultural colleges. 

Which animal do the children like 

the most? Our pigs are always very 

popular, especially the breeding sows. 

Lancing College, Lancing, West Sussex 

BN15 0RW. 01273 452213. 

www.lancingcollege.co.uk 

 


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Kent College 

How long have you had a school 

farm? The School Farm has been 

in existence since 1953 so is an 

established and important part of the 

school. 

What animals do you have? The 

Farm has Sussex, Aberdeen Angus 

cattle as well as a Friesian suckler herd. 

Then there are the sheep and pigs: a 

flock of 45 pure bred Texel and crossbred 

ewes and our free range sows and 

a boar. The children adore the piglets. 

We are home to various poultry, 

from Buff and Black Orpington 

chickens, to friendly little bantams 

and different breeds of ducks. Smaller 

animals and pets include rabbits and 

guinea pigs. The equine centrre is 

home to five ponies and one horse 

and we offer riding lessons at all 

levels. We are soon hoping to add 

five alpacas to our menagerie. 

What benefit does it bring to pupils? 

Pupils have the opportunity to see 

all facets of the life cycle of several 

species of animal to complement what 

is learnt in the classroom. There is 

the chance to be involved in animal 

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Which animal do the children like 

the most? It varies, but the guinea 

pigs are always a good starter. 

Kent College Canterbury, 

Whitstable Rd, Canterbury CT2 9DT. 

01227 762436. kentcollege.com 

 


64

Kent College is a 

Great Place to Learn 

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8 OCTOBER 

www.lingfieldnd.co.uk 

PROGRESSIVE. MODERN. INNOVATIVE. 


LingfieldNotreDameED03.indd 1 19/05/2016 12:21

Achievement and confidence for all 

Greenacre School is a successful school that challenges, develops and 

nurtures each individual girl to be the very best she can be. Our uniquely 

supportive atmosphere and small class sizes enable us to work closely with 

every girl so that they all have the opportunity to develop and grow with 

confidence. Please contact Admissions to arrange a visit to the school. 

Greenacre School, Sutton Lane, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3RA 01737 363601 

www.greenacre.surrey.sch.uk admissions@greenacre.surrey.sch.uk 

 

Sacred Heart School and Nursery 

GreenacreSchoolED03.indd 1 20/05/2016 10:34 

Excellent in all areas: 

ISI Inspection 

Independent Catholic 

primary school and nursery. 

Welcomes boys and girls 

from ages 3 to 11. 

T 01892 783414 E admin@sacredheartwadhurst.org.uk 

www.sacredheartwadhurst.org.uk Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 6DQ 


66 

SacredHeartSchoolED03.indd 1 20/05/2016 09:46

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Hadlow College 

How long has Hadlow 

had a school farm? 

Hadlow began running the Princess 

Christian Farm site over seven years 

ago, in partnership with Kent County 

Council, who own the land. 

What animals or crops do you have? 

Our farm animals include pigs and 

piglets, sheep and lambs and calves. 

There are also over 1,000 hens, whose 

eggs are collected and graded. There 

is also a small Animal Management 

Unit, which has rabbits, guinea pigs, 

ferrets, hamsters, rats, snakes and lizards. 

We also have Rodney the goat and 

two Shetland ponies, Josie and Daisy. 

Within the glasshouses and polytunnels, 

the horticulture department grows 

plants, herbs and vegetables for sale 

in the Hadlow Farm Shop, alongside 

planters and hanging baskets 

What benefit does it bring to the pupils? 

The farm comprises 115 acres of 

pasture and woodland and provides a 

unique opportunity for individuals with 

learning difficulties and/or disabilities 

to develop employability skills within 

a land-based setting. It aims to assist 

people in developing social skills, 

self-esteem, personal responsibility, 

confidence, independence and the 

ability to work as a team. 

We are able to offer a variety of 

different learning opportunities 

which could include working 

towards gaining nationally recognised 

qualifications – for example, Land 

Based NVQs – and supporting 

students to reach their personal 

goals and aspirations. Students are 

proud of working here and really 

enjoy showing the farm off to 

visitors – it’s a great way for them to 

engage with the local community. 

Which animals do the 

students like the most? 

Lambs are a definite favourite, but 

it really varies. Some students really 

enjoy mucking out and looking 

after the pigs, while others love the 

chickens and collecting their eggs. 

Hadlow College, Hadlow, 

Tonbridge, Kent TN11 0AL 

01732 850551. hadlow.ac.uk 


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An age-old approach to 

getting the career you want 

Credit: FreeImages.com/Iraine 

Apprenticeship schemes are no longer seen as a second choice, or inferior to a university education, and are a 

fantastic alternative option, says the employment expert Angela Middleton 

What are the principles behind apprenticeships? 

Apprenticeships in England date back to the Middle 

Ages and the principles behind them remain the same 

today, that is, the tradition of the master craftsman 

passing down their skills to a young unskilled junior. It is 

important to note that apprenticeships have never been 

seen as a quick fix and they should have longevity. 

The apprentice should continue to move from one level 

to the next as they progress with their training and develop 

their experience and skill-sets. Traditional apprenticeships 

used to be 5-7 years, and this remains the same with the 

current categories of 2-7 years. During this time, it is 

possible for a young, unskilled apprentice to become the 

equivalent of a graduate by the end of an apprenticeship. 

The potential to learn is central to an apprenticeship, 

as is the ability for an apprentice to develop, taking strides 

in their personal and career progression. For young people 

who have little-to-no work experience, an apprenticeship 

means that the apprentice will gradually build on their 

skills, in the form of stepping stones, until one day they 

too are accomplished within their chosen field. 

Offering apprenticeships is a fantastic means of 

building a business and ensuring that innovative, fresh 

ideas are put back into a company culture that may be 

antiquated. In turn, the apprentice benefits due to the 

apprenticeship giving them the ability to start from the 

beginning and build a career, in the direction they choose. 

What kind of young people are attracted to apprenticeships? 

In the early days, we found that most candidates tended to have 

a non-academic background and opted for an apprenticeship 

because of this. This has changed quite dramatically in recent 

years and increasing numbers of apprentices who work 

with us are more than capable of completing A levels and a 

degree but choose an apprenticeship as their first option. 

Although, historically, there has been the assumption 

that an apprenticeship is a second option, we are finding 

that the balance is getting better. Personally, I’m looking 

forward to the day where this is equal, and apprenticeships 

are positioned as viable and ambitious first options. 

Are there apprenticeships across many professions? 

The variety and extensive range of apprenticeships is 

something that people often find surprising. Traditional 

apprenticeships were often ‘skilled craft’ roles such as carpentry, 

but today they span a variety of sectors, with examples of 

health and social care, marketing, maritime occupations, 

graphic design and production to name just a few. 

Who benefits from an apprenticeship? (i.e. employee and 

employer?) When an apprenticeship works properly, both 

the employer and the employee benefit equally. From the 

perspective of the apprentice, they are rewarded with the 

experience that they need in order to embark on their 

career. The employability skills and training that are gained 

 


68

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both contribute to career development. I firmly believe that 

there is little point in doing the same thing every day for a 

year, as you won’t have the opportunity to take the next step 

and an apprenticeship is often very varied, which is fantastic. 

When an employer commits to an apprentice and takes 

the time to work with the training provider to work out a 

bespoke training plan, the benefits are tremendous. Due 

to the rate with which an apprentice learns, and because 

of the nature of their entry level employment, we’ve seen 

huge differences in candidates in a matter of weeks. 

From a financial perspective, apprenticeships are 

cost-effective for employers due to the initial low wage. 

Although this has received criticism from those who are 

perhaps uninformed as to the nature of apprenticeships, 

if you consider that those young people studying for 

A-levels do not get paid, this serves to explain the lowertiered 

wages for younger, ill-experienced apprentices. 

Both parties can benefit hugely from apprenticeships, and 

our extensive business roster certainly enforces this. We have 

loyal businesses who continue to take apprentices from us 

year in year out, and have witnessed countless success stories. 

Angela Middleton, is CEO and founder of award-winning 

recruitment and training provider MiddletonMurray. 

Established in 2002, MiddletonMurray has now grown into a 

group of companies with branches in Central London. 

Case Study: Wealden Times 

Phoebe Gilbert: 

Design Assistant 

What were you doing before 

your apprenticeship? 

I was a student at Cornwallis Academy 

and had just finished two A-levels and 

one AS. I was just about to begin my 

third year of sixth form when I decided, 

the night before the school year began, 

that sixth form wasn’t for me any more. 

What led you to look for 

an apprenticeship? 

The reason I started to look for an 

apprenticeship was because I realised that 

I was ready for a full-time job, to become 

independent and make that next grownup 

step in my life. I then decided that 

an apprenticeship was the perfect way to 

learn more and get an income at the same 

time as I have always known university 

was not the path I wanted to take. 

How did you find out about the 

Wealden Times apprenticeship? 

I started my research and found the 

website GOV.UK and that is when 

I stumbled upon the apprenticeship 

at Wealden Times. It seemed perfect 

for me, so I applied straight away, 

eager to hear back promptly. I then 

went to a few interviews and got 

offered the job. The rest is history. 

What have you learnt and experienced? 

In the last year and half at Wealden 

Times I have probably learnt more than I 

thought my brain capable of! Jokes aside, 

to sum it up I have learnt a huge amount. 

My colleagues (Anthony & Rob) have 

been very patient and taught me an 

immense number of skills and shared lots 

of their knowledge. The job has helped 

me thrive and discover my full potential. 

In all honesty, choosing to do an 

apprenticeship was the best thing I could 

have done because I absolutely love my 

job and could not thank the team more. 

Megan Longworth: 

e-Commerce Assistant 

Where I was? 

After studying Beauty Therapy for two 

years at Mid Kent College I came to 

realise that this was not an industry 

I wanted to pursue a career in. I was 

working in retail at the time and, 

although I was improving my customer 

service skills, I knew I wanted to 

start learning something different. 

Was it a good idea? 

Yes, I would recommend doing an 

apprenticeship to anyone. It is the 

perfect way to start off your career, 

especially when you are unsure of 

what route you would like to follow. 

It is also the perfect way to earn and 

learn on the job, gaining a variety of 

skills that may help you in the future. 

How I found out? 

An opportunity arose to become an 

e-Commerce assistant within a local 

publishing and events company. I was 

fortunate enough to find out about 

the apprenticeship through a friend 

who had also just started one. After 

leaving my job in retail and leaving 

college I was unsure what it was I 

wanted to do. I had never heard of 

an e-Commerce assistant before, so 

I thought this would be the perfect 

time to gain more experience. 

What have I learnt? 

During my apprenticeship I had the 

chance to learn all aspects of an 

e-Commerce platform while 

working within an office environment, 

teamwork, customer service, time 

management and organisation are just a 

few of the skills I have learnt to perfect, 

which I believe have helped me to fulfil 

my potential and secure a full-time job. 


70

MAKE 

IT 

HAPPEN 

Foundation Diploma 

BTEC 

A Level 

GCSE 

Case Study: Training apprentices 

at Thermofisher Scientific 

Brian Cursons: Toolmaker/Precision Engineer 

For how many years have you worked alongside 

apprentices? I have trained three apprentices and 

worked alongside them for around 25 years. 

Do apprenticeships work? I did an apprenticeship 

myself, which was five years with a college, on a dayrelease 

basis, with four days hands-on involvement 

in the tool room with a qualified tool-maker. It was 

invaluable experience as I not only learnt the trade but 

also how to interact with others on a professional level. 

What do apprentices in your company go on to do? 

Our apprentices have the choice to either stay 

with the company or take their new skill set and 

qualifications to another company and explore 

different avenues within the industry. 

Is it satisfying helping young people to develop a career? 

I found it really satisfying training these guys and opening 

up opportunities for them. One of my apprentices emigrated 

to Australia and now owns his own tool-making company. 

It was my input with him that set him on his way, which 

gives me a sense of pride in a job well done. Apprenticeships 

teach you practical hands-on skills which you can draw on 

in all aspects of life, not just academic qualifications gained 

in the sheltered protected environment of a college campus. 

Art 

Art History 

Photography 

Graphics 

Textiles 

Creative Media 

Fashion and Clothing 

Performing Arts: Dance, Drama, Music 

Production Arts 

Enterprise and Entrepreneurship 

Theatrical Hair and Makeup 

English Language and Literature 

Mathematics 

Accounting 

Business 

IT 

Science 

Psychology 

“OUTSTANDING” 

i n A L L a r e a s 

Open Evening: 

19th October 2016 5-8pm 

RYE 

S 

DI TU O 

For the Creative Industries 

Plus 

Industry specific work 

placementsand internships 

Arts Awards 

Visit Local and National galleries 

Participate and perform at 

Theatres, Operas and Concerts 

Organise and style Fashion 

shows and photo shoots 

Experience cultural trips to 

France, Denmark, 

Amsterdam, Florence 

and New York 

Collaborate and host 

Gigs, Pop up Shops 

and Festivals 

Graduate Private View & 

Fashion Show: 

24th June 2016, 6-9.30pm 

The Grove, Rye 

East Sussex TN31 7NQ 

01797 228434 

www.ryestudioschool.co.uk 


RyeStudioSchoolED03.indd 1 05/05/2016 09:53

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Build Your Child’s Inner Strength 

Today’s children have been born into a world of competitive schooling and pervasive social media 

and are feeling the pressure like no children have ever felt it before, says Hilary Wilce 

Top public schools have recently 

announced they are taking 

measures to counteract the 

rising tide of depression, self-harm 

and eating disorders they see among 

pupils and that these include parenting 

classes and family counselling to tackle 

the problem of ‘pushy parents’. 

But, while some parents do pile 

on unreasonable pressure, others 

are the most wonderful source of 

strength and inspiration for their 

children. What do these parents do? 

In my book I identify the six 

fundamental character strengths that will 

help any child live a strong, happy and 

healthy life and look at the key actions 

that parents can take to build these. 

Loving 

A good backbone can only grow out 

of love, calm and security. This loving 

security is priceless in the earliest years, 

and vital all through childhood. Let 

your child feel and know that you love 

them, that you see them for who they 

are, and are interested in their life. Let 

them know that your love is consistent 

and dependable – not dependent on 

how they look, achieve or behave –– and 

that the limits and boundaries you set 

for them are set out of love in order to 

keep them safe and help them to grow. 

Make sure they feel secure in this love 

even when you are physically absent, or 

are a parent living in a different home. 

And help them see how this love can 

ripple outwards towards pets, siblings, 

family and friends. Help them learn to 

love the world they live in by teaching 

them to take pleasure in others, develop 

compassion for people less fortunate, 

enjoy the arts and creativity, and grow 

a sense of wonder and delight in the 

natural world. And help them learn how 

to be always grateful for what they have. 

Thinking 

Keep a clear sense of where you are going 

as a parent and be honest to yourself 

about your actions and intentions. 

When you strap your toddler into the 

buggy to walk round the corner, is it 

for their safety or your convenience? Is 

how you are speaking to them going 

to make them feel loved and respected, 

and help them grow up balanced and 

strong? Hold in mind the long-term 

goal – a firm, flexible backbone –– 

and think about the messages you are 

conveying with all your words, deeds 

and gestures. Be mindful of how a good 

character is built of good habits, and help 

your child develop a good disposition 

of mind through games, goals, 

projections, planning and evaluation. 

As they grow, teach them techniques 

to help them run their own minds. 

Playing 

Promote play –– it is the main way 

children grow physical, emotional and 

mental skills. Encourage playing in every 

way possible –– online, with puzzles 

and board games, through make-believe, 

singing, rhyming, running, laughing, 

playing sports, word games, acting, 

dancing, being bored, playing family 

games and exploring. Provide different 

spaces to play in, and opportunities to 

play alone and with others. Encourage 

playing and exploring outside at every 

opportunity. Make sure there is always 

time for play by limiting screen time 

and structured activities. Hold firmly 

in mind that trips to the shops, or 

out for pizza or a hamburger, are not 

play for your child, and that they offer 

none of the advantages of active play. 

Neither are long car journeys, watching 

movies, or visiting adult friends. Play 

is active, participatory, and fun. 

Balancing 

Keep a balance. Be an authoritative 

parent, who knows how to provide both 

love and boundaries. Be thoughtful 

and wise, but accept you don’t know 

all the answers. Expect high standards, 

but keep the pressure off so your child 

can grow and learn without fear. Help 

your child make friends, and also be 

happy in their own company. Balance 

courage with kindness, resilience with 

honesty. Remember that being a parent 

throws up dilemmas on a daily basis, 

and aiming for a grounded balance 

will always help keep things on track. 

And that’s it. Helping your child to 

grow a strong and flexible backbone will 

always be a long, slow, hidden journey, 

but I can absolutely promise you that by 

holding the goal in mind and navigating 

steadily towards it you are certain to 

get there in the end. And the prize will 

be truly priceless. You will have helped 

grow a wonderful human being, able to 

achieve their greatest potential, enjoy 

fulfilling relationships and simply be 

happy to be alive. And no achievement 

will ever be greater than that. 

Backbone: How to Build the Character 

Your Child Needs To Succeed by Hilary 

Wilce is available as a Kindle edition 

on Amazon.co.uk for £2.99 


72

“ 

Alina 

Lower Sixth 

Artist 

The quality of boarding 

provision and care is excellent. 

ISI Inspection Report, May 2015 

” 

Flexible boarding options 

You Boarding are warmly at invited St Andrew’s to our Prep will empower your child To register in a safe, please happy contact: and 

fun, family environment. Come and see the smiles and admissions@bedes.org 

hear the laughter. 

“The quality of boarding provision T 01323 and 843252 care 

St Andrew’s Prep is a co-educational prep school or for online boys at bedes.org and girls 

is excellent.” ISI Inspection Report. May 2015 

from nine months to 13 years. 

Senior School Open Morning 

Saturday 17 September 2016 

9.30am to noon (Entry at 13 and 16) 

Bede’s Senior School 

HMC – Day, weekly and full boarding 

Call us on 01323 733203 or email or email admissions@standrewsprep.co.uk 

Upper Dicker 

Boys and girls 13 to 18 

East Sussex BN27 3QH 

www.VisitStAndrewsPrep.co.uk

Saint Ronan’s School 

Hawkhurst, Kent • Founded 1883 • www.saintronans.co.uk 

Boys & Girls from 3-13 • Day & Boarding • 249 acres 

Over 70 scholarships won in three years 

1 THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE 

ISI INSPECTION REPORT 

a How well the Early Years Provision meets the needs of the children who attend 

b The contribution of the Early Years Provision to the chidrens’ wellbeing 

EXCELLENT 

EXCELLENT 

c The leadership & management of the Early Years Provision EXCELLENT 

d The overall standards of the Early Years Provision 

EXCELLENT 

2 THE QUALITY OF ACADEMIC AND OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS 

a The quality of pupils’ achievements & learning 

b The contribution of the curricular and extra-curricular provision 

EXCELLENT 

EXCELLENT 

c The contribution of teaching EXCELLENT 

3 THE QUALITY OF PUPILS’ PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 

a The spritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils 

b The contribution of the arrangements for pastoral care 

EXCELLENT 

EXCELLENT 

c The contribution of the arrangements for welfare, health & safety EXCELLENT 

d The quality of boarding 

EXCELLENT 

4 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT 

a The quality of governance 

EXCELLENT 

b The quality of leadership & management, including links with parents, carers & guardians EXCELLENT 

“This prep is a lively, eccentric place: 

pupils breed pigs... Brilliant! There is a 

rigorous side too” 

“If Enid Blyton was still around, Saint 

Ronan’s would be exactly the sort of 

school she would be writing about.” 

Tatler Schools Guide 2016 The Good Schools Guide 2015 

Discover the magic! Email emmatv@saintronans.co.uk 

or call 01580 752271 to book an appointment.

Education | ED03 | Summer 2016

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