Concordia - page 33

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Head Master
Summer
2013
changes to assessment affects everyone
in education. Although schools were
promised freedoms by the government
they are currently being judged by
a narrow and limiting process. Most
recently, A-level league tables were
published in which certain subjects were
privileged over others. This initiative
mimics the assertion of the pre-eminence
of certain subjects over others in the
GCSE English Baccalaureate.
One is prompted to ask a wider
question: what is education for? Should
education serve only the economic needs
of the nation or has it a wider duty? I
believe that it does and that there is value
in scholarship beyond the provision of
a practical means to generate national
wealth. He who sets aside learning for the
sake of material goals knows, in Wilde’s
comment, the cost of everything but the
value of nothing.
You have significant leadership
experience as a Head. What do
you feel that the independent and
maintained sectors can learn from
each other? Is the setting up of
academies by independent schools the
only way to go?
I think that we always have something to
learn from others. Whether as a school,
a department or an individual only the
very confident believe that there is no
possibility of learning something new and
useful from another.
I do not think that the setting up
of academies is the only route for the
independent sector, although it is one
that some may benefit from following.
Skinners’ School has set up its own
academy as lead sponsor. In the short
time since we took over the school we
have helped to transform the educational
experience of the pupils and the school’s
results have hugely improved. That is
not to say that such an approach is right
for every school – each situation must be
approached on its own merits.
What do you think are the main
challenges facing independent schools
in the next decade?
We will have to ensure that the principles
of academic rigour and scholarship are
sustained and enhanced. We will have to
define a role for the sector within the wider
community. We will need to be responsive
to the challenges and pressures imposed
upon the pupils by social networks and an
increasingly digital world. Finally, we must
equip our pupils to thrive in a world where
China and other emerging markets come
to exert an influence equivalent to that of
the USA today.
Is there a long-term future for single
sex boys’ schools?
Yes. I think there is a bright future in
which single sex boys’ schools will
thrive. There is much to be gained from
an education alongside other young
men. Friendships, sport and study thrive
amongst peers. The popularity of schools
such as Skinners’ School and Merchant
Taylors’ School show that plenty of young
men want such an education.
A-levels, Pre-U, IB – at times it seems
like an unholy mess. Is it time for
independent schools to embrace as
inevitable range and diversity in post
16 provision?
The school will need to think long and
hard about the way in which we assess the
success of our pupils. The government
sees assessment as the most effective
means to make the changes they want
to see within the curriculum. Our focus
should be upon ensuring that the range
and quality of the pupils’ experience of
the school curriculum is sustained. Rather
than allow assessment to define the
learning that takes place within the school,
we should first decide what learning we
value and then ensure that we choose the
best means to evaluate it.
It is too early to say whether the new
look A-levels will meet our requirements. I
sense no immediate necessity to make the
significant shift to the IB. The Cambridge
Pre-U is still a relatively new qualification
and will require continued study.
Should British independent schools
shadow maintained sector best
practice and the National Curriculum
or should we become more individual
in the identities, teaching styles,
curricula we offer?
The principle that we first identify what we
believe is best in education, that we seek
to understand fully the needs of the pupils
we serve and that we shape our practice
accordingly has already been expressed
in previous responses. Independent
education is founded upon the principle of
autonomy – that is a hugely valuable asset
and is not one that should be discarded or
neglected lightly. We have the freedom to
choose the path we believe to be the best.
We would be remiss if we did not take it.
What are your thoughts on the
importance of a school’s relationship
with its old boys?
I think that the relationship with former
members of the school is of crucial
importance. That link maintains the
identity and the continuity of experience of
education at MTS. It is a means by which
the school can speak to itself and both
assert and preserve the best of what has
gone before. The old boys represent an
immensely valuable resource to the current
pupils, offering their life experience, advice
on careers and work experience.
The school will, of course, also seek
to work with the old boys in supporting
bursaries and the capital projects to
develop the school site. We will draw upon
the wisdom, the professional expertise
and the support of the old boys in doing
so, always mindful of the fact that the
relationship with the old boys extends very
much further than development projects.
Will the UK follow the path of
American education where – in a
world of rising costs where one
can’t keep raising the fees – the only
way to finance bursaries and capital
projects is to prioritise the role of the
Development Office?
The Development Office will be very
important to Merchant Taylors’ School
in allowing us to create the facilities we
seek and the environment we desire.
The Development Office will also play
an increasingly significant role in
allowing the school to broaden access.
All independent schools are aware in the
current economic climate of pressures
upon parents and all must work to find
ways to mitigate those pressures. One of
the ways that the school can achieve this
is through the work of the Development
Office. However, there are other important
possibilities. We will need to be rigorous
in our management of school budgets and
ensure that value for money is achieved.
Taken as a given that we are a diverse,
multi-faith, “rainbow” school that
aims to educate “citizens of the
world”, what parts of what we used
to call “Englishness” remain of
permanent value?
I would question some assumptions that
seem to underpin the question. My first
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