Careers advice - at school and beyond

There was plenty of coverage last week about MP's concerns over the decline of Careers advice in schools (click here for BBC coverage).  Having an education which not only gives young people the skills to thrive in the workplace but also an insight into different career paths is absolutely crucial - especially in a time of economic uncertainty.

I cannot help wondering if the decline in Careers advice is linked in with the increasing emphasis on measuring schools by a narrow range (e.g. the limited number of subjects in the English Baccalaureate and how many pupils study 'facilitating subjects' at A Level).

Once again, I feel very fortunate to be working in the independent sector where there is greater freedom to select the right balance and ensure our pupils have a proper, rounded education.  Last term we launched a web-based Careers site for our current and former pupils called 'The Jobs Network'.  It draws on the expertise of current parents and former pupils (Mentors) who are willing to offer advice on their chosen career practical help with work experience, CV writing and interview skills.

For our current pupils, this has already led to CV writing clinics, workshops on preparing for interviews and introductions to different careers.  Later on this term we are setting up mock job interviews for our Upper Sixth pupils.  There is a graduate entry job specification for which they will submit a letter of application and their CV and they will then have an interview with one of our Mentors and receive feedback on the process.  Far better to make mistakes and learn from them at school than later on in life.

This sort of opportunity is invaluable.  Especially with very few universities interviewing for entry, often the first such experience comes towards the end of university when a job is at stake.  It is not difficult to build this into education.  For example, we are currently interviewing pupils for Sports Scholarships and have deliberately used the format of a job interview so that they have an experience which develops those skills.

For our former pupils, this sort of Careers advice is particularly important and points out another problem nationally in seeing Careers advice as something done in schools.  We can do a huge amount with our pupils while they are with us but we fundamentally see our association with pupils and parents as being a lifelong process.  A real education not only prepares you to leave school but also sustains you beyond the school gate.

To view The Jobs Network, click here.

Partnership through sport

Recently at King's we completed a deal with the local Council which is an interesting model of partnership and one worth sharing and explaining.  A short distance from our school is a sports centre which was built for the town by the Council.  It offered a great range of facilities including the sports hall, gym and several tennis courts but over time it had become dilapidated, public use declined and due to lack of demand it was often closed.  We have two sports halls at King's but were using the sports centre to broaden what we could offer to our pupils and out of this came the idea of how the school and council could work together for mutual benefit.

Last term we signed an agreement with the Council whereby we acquired what is now called 'King's Rochester Sports Centre'.  We are now running the Centre and putting in half a million pounds of investment to dramatically improve the facilities.  Our pupils will have use of excellent sporting opportunities which is great for them and supports our programme of development.  Crucially we are also running it as a public Sports Centre which means our local community gains a huge benefit as well.  With excellent bar and catering facilties it can become a social as well as sporting hub; indeed the childrens' parties and roller skating sessions are particularly popular which as a parent makes me very happy!

One aspect which has got real potential to transform sport locally is our plan for tennis at the Centre.  Curiously, there are not many courts in the area but we have several at the Centre, although currently only three are even halfway playable.  The LTA have been fantastic in offering their support and expertise and we are shortly going out to tender to totally resurface the area to LTA specifications. 

In two weeks time we are holding assessments for five new sports scholarships at King's to celebrate the acquistion of the Sports Centre and later in the year the refurbishment will be complete.  It is a genuinely exciting project and one which I am gaining a great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment from.  This is the sort of venture which shows how an independent school and local Council can work together to great effect and provides a platform for the legacy from the Olympics which we all want to see.

King's Rochester Sports Centre - artist's impression

Cold but beautiful

It's that time of year when cold and snow might disrupt school so we decided to put plans in place last week.  The key thing is to let parents get to work if at all possible while ensuring that disruption to learning is kept to a minimum.  Our approach is that the school always remains open and as many as can make the journey safely come and join us.  Meanwhile, teachers put the work for their lessons on the school intranet so that those forced to remain at home can keep up to date.





This morning the temperature dropped to -5 celsius.  School is carrying on as normal but Rochester does look absolutely beautiful as the photos demonstrate.  One of the castle at 7.30am and another of the Paddock after the Nursery class nativity play.  It certainly adds to the excitement among the pupils.

National challenges but local celebrations.

There has been plenty of coverage in recent days about Michael Gove's proposed exam reforms and the imposition of an EBacc - now being described as the EBC (English Baccalaureate Certificate).  It has to be said that the debate is becoming seriously polarised with a range of high profile opponents including the Chair of Ofqual (the examinations regulator), the Chair of the Commons Education Select Committee (a Conservative MP like Mr Gove), teaching unions, exam boards and leading academics.  Mr Gove does not shy from a fight but it will be interesting to see the extent to which he engages with the concerns being raised or whether he sticks his ground, being certain that he knows best.

 An interesting development has been the recent involvement of HMC in the debate.  HMC represents the 250 leading independent schools in the country (including King's Rochester) and one of the key points being made is that our schools value diversity and choice while the EBC represents a 'low trust' approach towards our level of expertise.  I have written in previous blog posts about this debate and there is a reasonable summary on the TES website (click here).

While the debate continues (and will do so for some time), I found myself reflecting on more positive matters closer to home.  The school is abuzz with that wonderful feeling of the anticipation of Christmas and coming up in the next five days we have carol services for all three schools in the Cathedral as well as nativity plays and our Cathedral Choristers singing at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham on Wednesday evening.  The Prep and Senior Schools have House matches this week and the boarders' black tie dinner on Thursday.    Meanwhile The Sunday Times is currently my favourite newspaper, having featured Rochester as an excellent place from which to commute to London and being blessed with beautiful surroundings (click here, although subscription needed) and also placing our Prep School in their Top 100 Parent Power table.  We have also recently concluded the process of defining the distinctive characteristics of King's and reaffirming our Aims of Education which I look forward to publishing shortly.

There are some important decisions to be made about the future of education but that should not come at the expense of noting and celebrating all that which is good.

Independent education - freedom to choose

Driving to visit another school yesterday, I heard an interesting discussion on Radio 4 based on a report from the new Head of Ofsted (the body responsible for inspecting state maintained schools) that too many state schools are not providing a good enough quality of education.  Click here for coverage in The Independent online.  His view is that local authorities should be ranked according to the performance of the schools in their area which raises a conundrum.  More than 50% of pupils in state secondary schools are now in Academies - schools allegedly independent of state control - and the discussion centred on the extent to which local authorities are responsible for their performance.  The discussion highlights the reality that Academies are not truly independent as they have to conform to central requirements and the views of their sponsors for most aspects of their educational provision as well as their funding.

The school I was visiting is Christ's Hospital where I was sharing views on education with colleagues in a very different setting to King's Rochester.  What we do share is true and genuine independence in forging the education which we believe to be right for our pupils.  It was an interesting day but what really made it for me after being stuck in traffic on a rain-lashed M25 was coming back to school to our Autumn concert where we were entertained with a repertoire from Handel to Jazz - a fitting analogy for the breadth of the independent sector.  Diversity united by quality.

A pupil speaks about 'Luck'

We have a regular pattern of pupils giving an adress to the school.  They are always interesting and a great way of sharing ideas as well as giving excellent practice in public speaking.  This morning Anastasia, one of our Senior Prefects, gave a thought-provoking and interesting speech about 'Luck' which I thought would be good to share.

"When I see someone being able to stand proud in front of a vast crowd and address it with passion and confidence whilst simultaneously having a total control of their emotions and fears, it simply fascinates me! Great leaders such as Martin Luther King, Churchill, Kennedy, Obama were able to lift hearts in dark times, give hope in despair, refine the characters of men, inspire and give courage to the weary, honour the dead, and change the course of history by their motivational speeches. I often think of how lucky they were to be born as naturally gifted orators. But what is luck?

Over the summer I read an article about lucky people in which Dr Richard Wiseman, a British psychologist, shared his views on the concept of luck after 10 years of research. The results of his work revealed that people aren’t born lucky. Instead, fortunate people behave in a way that seems to create luck in their lives. Here are the four distinct features of such people:

1. They notice opportunities that happen by chance more often than unlucky people. They are also more open to meeting new people and having new experiences.
2. They tend to make good decisions by listening to their intuition.
3. They are optimists and are certain that the future is going to be full of good luck. This positive attitude often makes good things happen.
4. They are also good at coping with bad luck and often cheer themselves up by imagining things could be worse than they are.  

Therefore, don’t be afraid to allow yourself to encounter new discoveries. And of course if you are challenged by making a speech in from of a class – use your fear to drive you forwards, and allow you to enjoy your new leadership skill. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.

To conclude, I urge you to take note of what one sage used to say - “Good luck is often with the man who doesn't include it in his plans”.

SO:

-Recognise your OPPORTUNITIES

-Trust your INTUITION

-Be OPTIMISTIC

-Be POSITIVE, especially when things are going wrong

And, by the way, GOOD LUCK to you!"

Farewell to exams in January

On Friday, Ofqual (the body which regulates exams) announced that after this academic year there will no longer be any AS or A2 (A Level) exams sat in January.  A little bit of history has been made, or perhaps revisited, as January exams have been part of the educational landscape since the introduction of AS and A2 Levels in the year 2000.  The big move back then was to split the old A Level course with exams sat at the end of two years of study into two halves.  AS exams sat in the Lower Sixth and A2 exams in the Upper Sixth are currently together to form the A Level.

As a result, schools were able to enter pupils to sit papers not just in the summer but also in January.  This allowed some pupils to take papers early in the year, thereby potentially reducing the number of papers to be sat in the summer.  It also enabled pupils to re-sit papers to improve their results over time.  It is easy to see why this option seems attractive, especially with the pressure on the best possible grades to secure entrance to university.  However, we had a brief discussion about this at a Head of Department's meeting at King's this evening and their unanimous view was that this was a good thing and I am in total agreement with them.

The option of re-sitting papers may seem like a good thing, especially if a pupil has a bad day and 'catches a piano'.  However, it arguably creates even greater pressure on pupils who may think, 'What if  I managed to bump up a few extra marks'.  To re-sit a paper six months later requires decent preparation which will inevitably intrude into other work and I have seen in other schools how some pupils do not put enough effort into the first sitting because of the option of re-taking later.  The worst case scenario is the paper sat in January of the Lower Sixth, then re-sat in the summer, again in the January of the Upper Sixth and once more in the summer.  In addition, the January papers are spread over a three week period and the loss of pupils from the classroom has a negative effect on the teacher's ability to keep the class moving forwards.

For sure there will be a transition period during which some may feel that opportunities have been taken away.  However, our pupils are the most over-examined in the world and I am fond of the adage that, 'if you want to know how well your carrots are growing it doesn't help to keep pulling them up to have a look'.  It will be good to get January back for teaching rather than a piecemeal period of disrupted lessons and that will ultimately be better for the pupils.