Friday, December 4. 2009
I have now set up a Twitter feed for instant news items from School as an experiment. Not sure how many people use Twitter but we will see how useful this service may be in the future, and then look at innovative ways to apply it's features. One thought is that maybe homework information could be relayed via twitter by the teacher or even a reliable pupil, would that make them the class twit though?
I can be found at http://twitter.com/Pitsford_News and hopefully my latest posts (or tweets as they are called) will automatically appear on this site also.
If you already use Twitter you probably know more than I do about the service, if not then try it out by signing up for an account and listen in to @Pitsford_ News.
Sunday, October 11. 2009
This week I managed to get out to see a couple of Rugby matches, the first games of the season I have managed to travel to. On Tuesday I was very impressed with the U15’s @Moulton, who managed to out-muscle a much bigger pack and took the lead going into half time 7-5. Unfortunately, the size and speed of the opposition allowed Moulton to get the upper hand in the second half and it ended up 12-24 in favour of the home side. I was very impressed with the teamwork and commitment from our players, and although there were some flashes of individual brilliance, for me, it was how the team gelled together and all worked for each other that shone through. The 1st XV had a much tougher time @Bedford Modern, and although Ed Danis successfully kicked a difficult penalty, the home team were recently returned from a summer tour and clearly had played a great deal together, whereas ours was a very new squad playing their first game of the season with many Y11’s and a full back playing his first ever game of rugby (well done Reece!)
Overall, I am pleased with the progress we have made in such a short time since Mark Kefford joined our team as senior rugby coach. I can see the beginnings of a rugby set-up that will return us back to the time (pre- the switch to coeducation) when we would regularly be county champions at various age groups.
Sunday, September 27. 2009
I had the good fortune to be able chat to Michael Gove (shadow education minister) last week. He was speaking in the county at a conservative rally and the host kindly thought that I would welcome the opportunity to quiz him on education policies. Chris Moodie, principal of Moulton College was also invited. Chris and I were obviously interested in different aspects of how the next government would interpret the needs of young people.
It became clear that while the Conservative Government would not be friends of the independent schools, at least they were not going to be enemies. In particular it was good to hear that Michael say that he thought that simply providing education was a charitable act, and that the Charity Commission had been possibly interpreting current legislation in a politically motivated way. I think that all of our parents feel that by paying for independent education over and above their taxes, they are contributing significantly to the state education system. How would the LEAs cope if the 7% of children in private schools suddenly had to be catered for in state schools? Would taxes rise, or would standards fall? Surely independent schools benefit even those children who don’t attend them, by increasing the per capita spend per pupil in LEA schools, and by reminding politicians just what a good school should aspire to be.
Do children in Independent schools have an unfair advantage? They certainly have an advantage, but one that is due to the importance that their parents have put upon education. If our parents put more emphasis on a good quality education, rather than regularly changing cars, or 2 or more foreign holidays each year, then that is their right surely. And for those from truly disadvantaged families, we can and do offer means tested bursaries.
Ultimately, if any government wants to reduce the number of pupils in Independent Schools, perhaps it should make state schools better!
Thursday, September 10. 2009
Over the years we have arranged a day of activities on the School campus the day before term starts in order that the new Lower Sixth Formers can all meet each other and the Upper Sixth. This has been very useful in the past but as our Sixth Form has continued to grow we felt that a weekend away would enable us to achieve far more. One of the criticisms I received from last year was that they didn't mix the groups up so you only really got to know those in your group. So this year we had planned a two nights away in Lincolnshire at Caythorpe Manor. Caythorpe Manor was used in WW2 as the base for the paratroops of the 1st Airborne Division, which took part in Operation Market Garden in 1944. In fact this was 65th anniversary of the offensive so there were many veterans from the action, along with serving members of the regiment, around attending a dinner and anniversary weekend.
Although we did not have to jump from airplanes, one of the tasks did involve climbing a 30' high pole, stand on a small platform positioned at the top and leap to catch hold of a trapeze some distance away. This "leap of faith" was quite challenging for some and I so pleased that almost everyone attempted it, particularly those who clearly were not happy at that height above ground!
The most popular activity was undoubtedly the Raft Building, impossible to build without teamwork, but a lot of fun particularly when afloat even it that state did not last for very long.
This was a good way to start the year and hopefully everyone got to know each other much quicker than would have otherwise been the case. The only criticisms were that the food quality was poor (adequate but only just) and the group liaison staff were not used to working with older age groups. I was very impressed with the attitude of our "troops" throughout the weekend, even the 11.15pm fire alarm (aerosol deodorant or shower steam?  ) was met with good spirits.
Sunday, August 30. 2009
Following on from results day last week, this weekend saw the national papers publish their Schools League Tables.
The Times put NGS at 40th in the top co-educational schools in the UK, based on % of A and B grades (84.3%). If it were based on % of A grades we would have been 32nd (62.7%). In the Telegraph, because we did not have a large U6 cohort this year, we appeared in their “smaller schools” table, but amazingly in 4th position.
But what do league tables actually tell prospective parents? They do not tell you how good the teaching is, as those schools that dominate the top of the tables year after year are so over subscribed that they only accept those pupils who are bound to do exceptionally well. We are not selective, well actually we are a little, but only in the sense that we require pupils to be able to cope with a GCSE and thence hopefully an A level programme. That means that we basically offer places to anyone of average academic ability and above, and in fact most years, most of our kids are in this middle band. However, this middle band is not well served by the state education system, where you are considered a success if you achieve merely 5 C grade GCSEs! And where in many comprehensives, unless you are likely to do well at A level, you are forced down the route of vocational courses so as not to adversely affect the schools’ A level results statistics. Many parents quite rightly want more for their children, hence they turn to schools like ours. Not “posh” public schools but schools that recreate the values and philosophy of the old style grammar schools. A focus on academic learning, a very varied activity programme, competitive sports and teachers who know and care about their pupils.
Unfortunately though, good independent education is not cheap, and many parents make lots of sacrifices for their children’s education. But they feel that for a caring environment, one where teachers can actually focus on teaching rather than “crowd control”, it is money well spent.
Being of "average" ability when you arrive at NGS does not mean that that will be your level when you leave. Most children are capable of far more than they are allowed to achieve in many schools, they need to be nurtured, motivated and encouraged, in the classroom, on the stage, and on the sports field, irrespective of their so called natural ability.
Friday, August 21. 2009
Congratulations to all our U6 pupils! This was a record year for A level results and the third successive 100% pass rate. In all, 84% of all A levels were graded at A or B, and an amazing 63% A grades. 6 of our 16 U6 leavers gained four A grades: Robert Armitage, Vivian Wei and Fiona Zhang all achieved 4 A grades , and Dominic Goold, Srikanth Murali-Krishnan and Alex Edwards each gained 3 A grades at A level and another A grade at AS.
Fiona was among those pupils who logged on to the school’s online markbook system to access her results as soon as they were available at 6am GMT, although it was early afternoon in Beijing! Fiona will be studying PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Oxford next term.
Srikanth, Bobby and Dominic are all off to study Medicine, which seems to be the most popular HE course chosen by our leavers in recent years.
It was good to see teachers, pupils and parents yesterday to celebrate together with a glass of champagne. At this stage almost everyone had managed to get their University course confirmed, and Mr Lewis was on hand to help those sort out any remaining issues.
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(public domain Govt image)
