Though a short span, this week has brimmed with moments that remind us of what holds significance within a school’s daily life. Just within the walls of our Pilgrims’ Hall, two very different gatherings have unfolded - each speaking, in its own way, to the evolving story of learning and growing.
Readers will certainly have noticed the growing trend in the prep school landscape.
Those who create films, stories and media with children as the target audience could crudely be split into two groups:
As I write, I find myself two-thirds of the way through the excellent annual Choir Schools’ Association conference, this year being wonderfully hosted by Wells Cathedral School.
It may seem odd to have a little focus upon ‘new beginnings’ at the end of term. However, both Lent and spring offer their perspectives in a way that invites a moment’s thought.
With the Senior production of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ just around the corner – and the Year 5 and Year 3 production of ‘Omelette!’ not too far behind us – I thought it would be a suitable time to take readers back to their own school days and reflect for a moment on what makes the coming together of a drama production such an important experience for the children involved.
At Pilgrims’ we are used to the prominence of music.
Certain events around the world are throwing this particular question starkly into the foreground.
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While Mr Butcher is away at the IAPS Heads Conference, Mr Cuyler has kindly stepped into his shoes and provided some thoughts for you to consider this week...
Yesterday, we were interviewing for our next Head of TPR: a hugely enjoyable process, not least because it gave a chance to discuss the value of the subject and the skills it can help confer. This included pupils’ ability to ask the most revealing questions.
Partly in preparation for tomorrow's Parley discussion, I was recently reading an article entitled, ‘Skills for the Future’. As well as making reference to a speaker at an educational conference with the suspect job title ‘Applied Futurist’ (whatever one of those is), the article included the following as part of its conclusion:
But we are in a world where we increasingly understand that attention and the ability to hold it are under attack from every angle. I have written a number of times about the importance of language and of word choice. With the decline of attention, I genuinely think that this is an area under some considerable threat.
