What makes for a 'happy school'?

What makes for a happy School?

Last Thursday night we held our School’s annual prizegiving ceremony and we were very honoured to be joined by Sir Michael Parkinson, the eminent broadcaster. He gave us a fantastic address which was humorous but also left us with plenty to think about when he relayed the story of his interview with a lady dying from AIDS, his most difficult interview ever.
In his closing comments, he said a number of lovely things about the School and our pupils. The one though I was most proud of was when he described us as a “happy school.” This got me thinking and inspired this post. Just what does make for a “happy school?”
I believe at the heart of this lies the strength of relationships between the pupils and the staff. We have good discipline at the heart of our school but this comes about through mutual respect between boys and staff and this comfortable, genuine working atmosphere allows pupils to enjoy their learning. These relationships are developed further through a wide range of extra-curricular activities from which the boys gain so much. This view of education in the round with both academic success and extra-curricular involvement means that we get the best out of individuals and this too makes for a ‘happy school’. Our games programme plays a big part in this. We all know that people feel better if they are fully active and take regular exercise. I believe too that boys thrive on elements of competition both in the classroom and on the games field and this too promotes happiness.
A further factor which I believe promotes happiness in the School is that we try to do things with a smile on our faces. Even on a formal occasion like Speech Day there is room for some humour and indeed some banter. This is not to say that we disrespect the tradition of such events but we do need to enjoy the events as well. So, when a corny phrase drew some ironic comment from the audience it was again a sign of a ‘happy school’. Similarly the pleasure that was palpable when boys in the Big Band performed so brilliantly was infectious and was another sign of a ‘happy school’.
Thus, at the heart of all this is the spirit which is evident in a ‘happy school’. It is this spirit which inspires individuals to excel and which lies behind why so many staff are prepared to give freely of their time to take trips, organise sports fixtures and put on plays and concerts. We like to encourage all to share in the success of each other and this is a common feature in our assemblies. Our vertical tutor system means that boys mix with others of all ages and this too helps boys not only to develop in confidence but it helps pupils to support each other.
It was very heart-warming that all this was apparent to our eminent visitor last week and long may we remain a ‘happy school.’

Diary of a Headmaster's Summer Holiday

What does a Headmaster do over the duration of the summer holiday? Now, this is not going to be a kiss-and-tell diary entry but it will perhaps give an indication of the sorts of things which are done which are important both on a personal and on a school level.

1. Holiday – This is probably the most important part. After a long school year and all of the pressures it brings it is vital to get away. I prefer to do this almost immediately the term ends so that there is a clear end to the School year just past and also a chance for a rest before tackling the various work that needs to be done for the next school year. Whilst I do have my smartphone with me, I do try to switch off completely, I do not answer emails and would only deal with urgent and serious school matters that arose. Fortunately this year I was able to have a fantastic fortnight in Rhodes and was able to leave the High School behind!
2. Family time – Inevitably the workload of my role impacts on the family. During the summer I try to ensure that we have some quality time together. This is so important in recharging my batteries and giving me a proper work/life balance. The time to be able to say yes to the numerous requests to play football or to do a domestic task is one that I value at this time of the year. I guess that I need to do more to protect such time at other times of the year too. We also use this time to catch up with friends and return some of the meals that we have enjoyed at other times in the year.
3. Rest – Those readers who are not teachers will see the long holiday that we get as excessive. I do though very much value the opportunity to just switch off and take a rest. The last few weeks of term with all of the many school functions, the reports etc mean many seven day weeks spent ensuring that all is completed on time. Thus, the chance for a few lie-ins, some time just doing nothing and the chance to switch off is very valuable. It is the only time of the year when I can do justice to the weekend newspapers.
4. Reading – Over the past year the High School has had a Year of Reading. I have tried hard to read more but during the summer I have more opportunity to do so. At this point half way through my holiday I have read six books and hope to fit in at least a couple more before we return. Next on the list is “Suite Francaise” by Irene Nemirovsky which my wife has just finished and has highly recommended. I also try to catch up on a good deal of educational reading, various articles and magazines which tend to stack up during the year but can be read when less busy and these are often the source of some good ideas or spark innovative ideas for the future. It is also a chance to read the many articles that I come across through my network on Twitter – such a rich resource for new ideas and sharing good practice.
5. Getting organised – I am a compulsive list maker! Thus, I spend time using the Task List in Microsoft Outlook to record all of the various tasks that need doing when I return to School. I do not like having to carry around in my head a mental list of things to do and thus always try to record everything into the task list so that I can be sure that I won’t forget to get something done. I also use the summer to clear my inbox. Currently there are no emails at all in there, despite the fact that since we broke up for the holiday I have still received over 600 emails! Each half-term I try to clear it down to zero so that the new term starts in an organised fashion. Those that need action when we return in September I put onto the task list. So there are currently 200 tasks to be done but at least I know what they all are and can now spend some time reducing this number. I also like to ensure that I have a clear idea of the major reports/speeches I have to write in the year ahead so that I can diarise time to complete them.
6. Work – Inevitably I spend time working during the holiday. Speech Day is the second day of term so I have to prepare my Speech for that. This tends to be done towards the end of the holiday once the exam results are in. This summer I also need to update our inspection self-evaluation in the light of the exam results, update the development plan and produce an action plan for the coming year from this plan. There is the staff meeting in September to prepare for, various letters to respond to, and I try to make a start on my report to the Governors of the previous academic year. I estimate the net total of this work to be about four weeks work.
7. Visits to School – I try to keep these to a minimum. At the time of writing this post I have been in just once. This was primarily to take over the emergency phone which one member of the Management team mans whenever a school trip is away. Currently we have boys in Bala, North Wales and the rugby teams are touring South America. So far, no calls to field and I hope that this continues given that I would only be called in an emergency. I find it easier to work from home during holiday time as this way there are less distractions.
8. Exam results time – I do though return to school for much of the week leading up to the A Level and GCSE results. In this way I can catch up on any correspondence which has come in during the holiday but also we prepare for giving the results out. There are various analyses to be done on the results themselves and I like to go through with the Head of Careers just how boys have done in relation to their university offers. The results days themselves are the highlight of this period being able to share in the joy of so many boys who through their own efforts, the support of their parents and the hard work of the staff have secured excellent results. There are some media things to do too to promote the School but above all it is a chance to congratulate the boys on their achievements. I also use this time to catch up on progress made on the summer holiday maintenance work in school. Clearly just because the teachers are away does not mean that those left in school are not incredibly busy and it is good to catch up with what has been happening.
So, in conclusion, the holiday is very much a chance to catch up. Firstly, on revitalising myself but then on getting ready for the new term. I guess though that the Confucius saying “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”, applies here. I genuinely enjoy the preparations for the new school year and look forward to welcoming everyone back in September. That I can do so having spent some quality time with the family though is equally important as it is they that sustain me through the stresses that this role inevitably brings.

My part in the World Cup

Part One:

Whilst the majority of my blog posts have been about school issues, I thought today I would reflect on the World Cup. South Africa has always been a country which has fascinated me, I would very much like to visit one day but as a History teacher I always followed closely its long struggle against apartheid.

In the early years of my teaching career South Africa was very much a pariah nation. At that time there was a sporting boycott designed to put pressure on the white government to end apartheid. There were also calls by many to boycott South African goods. At this time I taught units on American Civil Rights and was struck by the parallels between the situation at that time in South Africa and the situation in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s.

Then, my school at that time announced that we were to be visited by a South African school team. As a young, idealistic teacher I was deeply troubled by this. It appeared that we were breaking the sporting boycott that was in place at that time. The arguments were that the boycott applied to international sport and not to school sport, this was undoubtedly true but nevertheless I was uncomfortable with this. I plucked up courage and raised the issue. It turned out that a number of people shared my view. There was a healthy debate as to whether the tour should be hosted. The School decided to go ahead although those of us who were uncomfortable with that decision were allowed not to have any involvement in the hosting of the fixtures. On a simpler, personal level I did not buy any South African goods at that time. Both of these were small, perhaps pointless gestures but international pressure certainly did play its part in the changes which were to follow.

Thus, it was that my interest in the politics of South Africa was developed. Ever since then I have followed what has happened in that country with interest. I was delighted when apartheid ended and watched with interest when Nelson Mandela was freed. I went to the Wembley concert after he was freed when he spoke to the crowd, a very memorable day.

It is thus fantastic today to see the changes that have occurred in the country since then. The stadiums at the World Cup are packed with people of all colours enjoying the football and the culture and passions of the country are clearly on show. I very much appreciate that below the surface there are still significant problems to be faced but I would like to think that those of us who in our own ways protested about the apartheid regime played our part in the journey to the World Cup being hosted in a multi-racial South Africa today.

Part Two:

Totally unrelated is my other link to the World Cup. I used to run the School football team at my previous school. We took part in a national schools’ competition and one year made the semi-final. In this game a last-minute goal by my substitute centre-half took the game into extra-time and then to penalties. The penalties went to sudden death with my time going first. We scored, so the opposition needed to score to stay in the cup. Their young right back stepped up and to my relief missed the penalty. His name…Frank Lampard who now takes penalties for England. Thus, if we do get to a penalty shoot-out and he steps up please remember that you read it here first that under real pressure as in a semi-final he has been known to miss!

Part Three:

The School has joined in with an interesting project called ‘Blog the World Cup’. 32 Schools have adopted a country each and are now blogging about their allocated country. At the High School we are following Argentina. I am trying to support this both in suggesting content and in commenting on some of our posts. Year 7 will be developing this further over the next few weeks. I suspect that this will be the first such World Cup project of this sort so it is great to have another link to this year’s tournament! You can find our pages here

Enjoy the World Cup!

The Time of your Life...

Last Thursday we bade farewell to our Upper Sixth as they went on their study leave. It proved to be a fantastic day for all concerned. The boys traditionally come in wearing fancy dress and we then have a series of photos, some fun on the front lawn with various bouncy castles, and then after lunch with the staff, they end with a nostalgic ‘assembly’ looking back on their time in the School.

What was particularly pleasing this year was the way that the boys responded to what we had put on for them. It was lovely to see staff and boys mingling throughout the day in a good-natured and friendly fashion and I know that all involved enjoyed this informal chance to say goodbye. I have received a number of comments from boys since the event saying how much they had enjoyed it. So too did the staff who spent time with them throughout the day.

As part of the day one of our senior teachers sings the Green Day song, ‘Time of your life.’ As boys look back, I hope that they will see their time at the School as a most memorable time but equally I hope that life holds a great deal more for them in the years ahead. As boys leave the School they will experience many emotions – joy, sadness, concern over forthcoming exams, nostalgia etc but I very much hope that they will look back fondly on the time that they have spent with us. Equally though it is right that they now start to look forward to the next stage of their lives when they have the opportunity to make their mark on the wider world. This year's leavers are an impressive bunch and I am sure that they have very bright futures ahead.

In his assembly for the whole school the School captain used the Mastercard advert to inspire these words:

“7 years of school fees that seem to rise every year – about £50,000; countless school trips, sports tours, plays and field days – somewhere between £1000 and £10000; stationery, uniform, bus passes – probably another £1000. The best 7 years of my life, friendships that will last a lifetime and memories that will never be forgotten – well maybe it’s just me but personally I don’t think priceless quite does that justice.”

I hope that all of these boys and indeed those that have gone before them at the School will retain their links with the School. We are very keen on building a ‘Community for Life’ to stay in touch with people and ensure that the bonds that they have with their peers, the staff and the School as a whole are nurtured in the years ahead.

Last Thursday saw the School community at its best with staff and boys mixing together in a celebration of Year 13’s time at the School. I very much hope that, in the words of Green Day, “For what it's worth, it was worth all the while.I hope you had the time of your life.”

My day as a Year 11 Student.

At the end of last term I spent a day as a Year 11 pupil in my school. This was because at a recent Auction of Promises I offered to follow a pupil around for a full day as my ‘promise’. I raised a tidy sum for the School rugby tour and associated charities in agreeing to do this.

What did I learn from the day? I should preface these comments by making it clear that none of what follows is a reflection on any of my colleagues whose lessons I attended, indeed I was hugely impressed by all that I came across. However, there were a number of thoughts that came to mind as I went through the day.

I suspect that like most schools we start the day with a form period/tutor set or indeed an assembly. My reflection as a pupil was just how long had passed in the day before I was expected to do any work. Registration started at 8.45 but it was nearly 35 minutes later that lessons began. This start to the day is standard in most schools but given that students are fresher at the start of the day (more on this later) are there some changes that need to be made here? The counter-argument though is also strong that in the event of any lateness due to transport difficulties etc pupils would miss their first lesson regularly. As a Head the first 35 minutes of my day prior to the school day started are amongst my busiest as I try to pack in as much as I can prior to the first knocks on the door!

It was interesting to observe the pupils throughout the day. Much of this confirmed what I intuitively felt to be true. They responded best when the nature of the activity changed every 15-20 minutes and when there was real variety during the course of the lesson. They were also at their most alert when the teachers were doing question/answer sessions in which they tried to involve every pupil. By the end of the day many of them were visibly flagging. Talking to them, many of them stay up late playing on computer games, on MSN etc and this is clearly affecting their ability to stay fully involved in their lessons in the afternoon. This is concerning for us as teachers as we clearly cannot influence their bed-times but the issue is clearly affecting their performance for us.

I was surprised by how much reassurance pupils seek during the course of the day. Seemingly bright and able pupils were often asking for reassurance that the answer they had worked out was indeed correct. Is this wrong? Probably not, I guess we all like to receive such praise and reassurance from time to time.

It was really encouraging to see boys turning up for a lunchtime workshop revision session. Such sessions clearly do such a great deal to reinforce skills previously taught and also play a significant role in ensuring boys are prepared for public examinations. I guess my only regret is that I know that there are many boys who do not routinely take up such opportunities. Perhaps we need to do more to advertise them to parents to ensure boys turn up.

It was interesting for both myself and the boy I was following around to see the reactions of his peers. Some were completely comfortable in coming across to talk to us both, others smiled in an embarrassed fashion and turned around! I guess this made me reflect on just how difficult it is for senior leaders in school to be approachable. Quite simply not everyone wants to approach us even if we are making every effort to approach them! I was delighted though by how open and welcoming my colleagues made me as I went into their lessons. They allowed me to join in and indeed most insisted that I did so.

ICT in lessons was clearly very popular with the boys. They were comfortable using it and enjoyed doing so. Staff use of it also brought topics to life. It made me feel though that it would be so much easier if we were able to equip the pupils with handheld devices so that they could access the internet easily from wherever they were working rather than having to book the ICT room so much in advance. It was great to see boys being directed to relevant websites rather than having to just ‘google’ it.

The topic material of the lessons I attended was all very interesting. I guess that once you have stopped your formal education you develop your own interests. I very much enjoyed hearing about such things as kidneys, dialysis, globalisation and enjoyed the challenge of undertaking a chemistry experiment. I felt most comfortable in the subjects (e.g. English, Geography) closest in style to my own specialism of History but was reassured to know that I could still do a good number of the GCSE Maths questions – clearly my own O Level some 30 years ago had left more of a lasting impression than I would ever have realised at the time.

So all in all a fascinating day. I would recommend this to all school leaders – it does enable you to reflect on your school in a completely different way to usual and yet all of us in schools are there for the pupils so it makes complete sense to experience what they do. There are a number of small changes to make to things which I would never have spotted without doing this – these do not relate to teaching but just to things around the school. Whether this be providing mint sauce with the lamb at lunchtime or painting the odd wall here and there, again this was very useful. So next time we have an auction of promises I will again offer myself for ‘hire’!

The Teaching of Confidence

When parents of prospective pupils come to see me one of the most regularly asked questions is how does the School ‘teach’ boys to become confident? Generally speaking this arises from the tour that a sixth former has conducted with the parents and their son. Our boys show themselves to be confident but not arrogant. In the words of the Good Schools' Guide boys "are genuinely grounded, rounded individuals with bags of personality and myriads of interests, not a swot in sight - we doubt arrogance, even a mild dose, would be tolerated by anyone." They go on that boys "present as great lads, able to hold their own in conversation and debate but with a wicked sense of humour and lovely ability to poke fun at themselves – what more could you ask?"

So how do we achieve this? This is not an easy question to answer. Certainly there are no ‘Confidence lessons’. So how do our boys acquire this important life skill?

At the heart of this is our vertical tutor system. When boys join the School they are assigned to a tutor set with approximately three boys from each year of the School. Thus, from their very first day at the School boys get used to mixing with older pupils. These natural relationships develop over time to make them comfortable in each other’s company. As boys move up through the School they mix freely with boys both older and younger than them and this certainly assists in their developing confidence. The tutor system is tied in with our House structure. Senior boys take responsibility for a vast range of activities and in running things like House choirs they learn how to manage their peers and this too helps in the development of confidence.

Another key factor is our wide range of school activities. It is very much the case that boys who do not do very many activities do find it more difficult to become confident. The activities again often put boys of different ages together, perhaps in a play or a musical group, and again this helps to develop confidence. The more relaxed relationships with staff in these different settings also help boys to develop a wide range of communication skills so important to the development of confidence.

Confidence is also developed in the classroom. There is an atmosphere in the vast majority of lessons which nurtures boys in both giving and listening to opinions. Tolerance of each other’s views is very much encouraged and this gives boys the confidence to express their views. Regular involvement in form assemblies and in presenting to their peers in class also helps to ensure that boys are comfortable in speaking in public.

Another reason that boys develop in confidence is that we place trust in them. At Open Day, for example, we use volunteer boys of all ages to conduct tours. Even from Year 7 this helps to equip boys with the skills to communicate with our visitors. We do not hand-pick our tour guides – we hope that any boy would be able to do this. Equally our major sporting programme gives boys opportunities to develop in confidence; they are given positions of responsibility in teams but equally important have to take decisions on the field of play.

There may well be many other ways in which schools develop confidence and I hope that this blog post will encourage others to reflect both on what else we do at the High School but also perhaps to anyone reading this from outside of the School to reflect on what they do to develop confidence. Please leave a comment below.

A community

Over the past week I have experienced many examples of the School as a community. Last weekend I went to the Old Boys dinner in Oxford. This was a really good evening bringing together a good number of ex-pupils of the School and their partners. I started the evening sitting with a group of our recent leavers and it was fantastic to hear their enthusiasm for both their current university but also the way that they were reflecting back on their time at the School so warmly. Indeed, the passing of only a relatively short time since they left us had given them a sense of perspective to their experiences at the School. The key to many of them had been the teachers who had worked with them and inspired them. Later in the evening I spoke to some of the ‘older’ contingent and it was amazing just how much they had in common with the younger ones. They too still felt a strong bond to their school but also had their own memories of the staff who had done so much to inspire them. It was great to see just how interested they were in the School today and the sense of community was very evident.

Later in the week I met with the mother of a young old boy who very sadly lost a battle with cancer just prior to his twenty-first birthday. She has been a long-term supporter of the School so I was delighted to be able to help with her fundraising campaign for the Teenage Cancer Trust – more on this in a future post. Again this was a really positive example of the wider school community at work. We are currently developing the concept of a ‘community for life’ to link the School back to our ex-pupils, ex-staff, the parents of boys who have left, together with the current pupils and parents. I hope that these sorts of links can be developed so that over generations people will stay connected with the School.

On Friday we were visited by the new Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham who was undertaking a ‘Pilgrimage by Tram’ to link into his new community. He came into school to have lunch with a number of boys involved in our own community action programme as well as with boys of all faiths. It was good to meet him and be able to explain to him how we link into our own community. Soon we have a field day when a large number of boys will go into local schools and help at various locations to give something back to the Nottingham community.

I think that the key point in all this is that together we are so much stronger than we are individually. The term ‘Old Boys Network’ is often used in derogative terms but the purpose of any community surely has to be to support each other, to remain good neighbours and friends and to help out the less fortunate members of that community. We all belong to many communities, at school, at home and in the wider world. Perhaps we should all reflect on the contribution we make to the communities we are connected to. And if there are any Old Boys of Nottingham High School out there reading this who have not been in touch for a while do contact us, we’d love to hear from you.