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.

The purpose of school inspection?

What is the purpose of school inspection? This has loomed large in my thoughts in recent weeks as we have been busy preparing all of the paperwork for an Independent Schools’ Inspectorate inspection in the weeks or months ahead. We will get five days notice of when this will be.

Inevitably we have had a huge amount of paperwork to check through. This is a useful exercise from time-to-time but it does appear that increasingly school inspection is becoming a check of whether the paperwork ticks all the right boxes rather than looking at what is really going on in schools.

Thus, every document will be checked by the inspectors and the handbook to inspection gives plenty of detail as to what it should include. This takes time to check but in the end I suspect most schools will satisfy these requirements. However, I suspect that many parents will be surprised to hear that during the inspection itself only a relatively small sample of lessons will be watched. It is no longer the case that every teacher will be observed. I suspect many staff will be left short-changed by the inspection process after all their hard-work in preparation. Not every Head of Department will be spoken to by the inspectors and there is only limited time to look at the School’s wider provision.

Surely this is wrong? In my view it is in the classroom that inspection should be concentrated. It would soon become clear if a school did not have adequate procedures but this would emerge from observation rather than hours pouring over paperwork with a tick list. More importantly, more time spent in the classrooms or on looking through the pupils’ work would enable inspectors to write at length about the teaching and learning. This is the most important aspect of any school and surely much more important than if a policy contains a particular word or not! A recent inspection report I saw had just half a page on the teaching in the School yet over two pages reporting back on the various ticklists!

To me the purpose of school inspection is for fellow professionals to come into a school to observe the pupils’ experiences, to check that they are making appropriate progress and to ensure that they are having a suitable range of opportunities made available to them. It is clearly important that schools are compliant with the regulations but this will often be evident from time spent in the classroom. Schools should be trusted more to stay within the regulations – occasional spot-checks outside of the inspection regime would ensure that this is the case. Paperwork checks do not need fellow professionals to visit the school to undertake. Inspectors then could concentrate on using their professional judgement to add value to the whole process.

A useful analogy to use would be a comparison with a retail outlet like John Lewis. How do I know that they are an excellent store? It is not by looking through their company paperwork or their policies for each eventuality but it is because when I visit their store I am met by people keen to help, keen to provide service and this ethos is clearly evident each time I visit. An inspection of a school should concentrate more on whether there is a clear ethos in the school, on whether the pupils’ needs are being well-served and on whether the whole experience for both pupils and their parents is a positive one. The key to John Lewis’ success is not whether an inspector has counted the requisite number of till points, toilets, first-aiders etc. It is that when you are in the store you meet fantastic service from their employees. Why should schools be any different?

Why do so many independent school pupils make the Olympic team?

There has been a good deal of discussion in the press in recent days about the number of athletes in the British Winter Olympics team who have attended independent schools. An example is this article in the Times from Matthew Syed(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article7020963.ece )
These articles suggest that success in achieving this level in sport is down to parental income or class.

This is far from true in my opinion. Currently I am reading the book ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. He looks at successful athletes in a wide range of sports and he finds that there are two crucial factors in sporting success. The first of these is one’s date of birth! His thesis is that those players who are born just after an age-group date cut-off are much more likely to be the most successful athletes of the future. So, in football the eligibility date is September 1st and in the year he looked at in the Premier League there were 288 players born between September and November and only 136 born between June and August. This he claims is because the older athletes get more opportunities, hence more chance of success and we write off too many athletes too soon.

His other theory is that it takes 10,000 hours to become world class in any sphere. Thus, the more opportunity one has to get involved the greater the chance there is to be successful.

This brings me back to the fact that so many competing at Olympic level come from independent schools. This is no great surprise given the amount of time and effort independent schools devote to school sport. Most independent schools recognise the value of sport and spend many hours on it. Thus, it is no surprise that the increase in opportunity provided by the sector means that so many world-class athletes emerge. Indeed my own school has two ex-pupils competing at the winter games as well as one who competed in the last summer games.

The way to rectify this situation is to increase the support for sport in all schools. In independent schools fixtures are played every Saturday and for us we ensure depth by putting out up to four sides in each age group. Thus, there is every opportunity for the most able to thrive as well as for all to enjoy their sport. Sadly, there are few maintained schools still offering regular fixtures every single weekend of the school year. Some pupils will go to local sports clubs but others will be lost for good to the X-box and Playstation.

Of course, many independent schools do try to open up their facilities to such clubs. In my school our cricket coaches are involved in a number of inner-city primary schools trying to ensure that there is greater opportunity for all. In this way we hopefully start some more pupils on their way to the 10,000 hours we are told that they will need to be successful. There are maintained schools, I know, where sport is still important but successive governments have sold off playing fields and cut curriculum time for sport and this as much as anything is why so many athletes at the Olympics hail from independent schools.