Why extracurricular activities are important for child development
In the fast-paced world of modern education, where academic excellence often takes centre stage, it's easy to overlook the profound impact that extracurricular activities can have on a child's development.While classroom learning is undeniably important, it is often the experiences beyond the textbooks that shape a child into a well-rounded, confident, and capable individual.From honing…
Ben Fogle has mixed feelings about his boarding schools days
The broadcaster, writer and adventurer Ben Fogle has mixed feelings about his boarding school days at Bryanston in DorsetWhere did you go to school and when? Bryanston for five years in the Nineties.Did you enjoy it? I was really homesick in the first year but then I loved it.What did you like about it?I liked the fact that it was rural. I grew up in…
Preparing pupils for the real world: five benefits of co-education
The benefits of co-education and why it could be right for your child…Co-education is increasingly popular among parents who see that, in exposing young people to 'real-world situations', they are also giving their child the best preparation for modern life and careers. More than 80% of secondary schools in the UK are already co-educational, but as it's increasingly seen as a marker of…
Old Buckenham Hall Prep on the parent-school partnership
Old Buckenham Hall Headmaster David Griffiths discusses how parents and schools ensure productive partnerships to the benefit of childrenThe relationship between teachers and parents is vital in making a child’s time a success at school. This applies to senior and prep, but I believe is more critical in the prep sector due to the higher interaction between parents and teachers.As a Head,…
The Making of Me: Aldo Kane discusses his schooldays
Aldo Kane, the former Royal Marine and now TV extreme adventurer and specialist in hostile environments, discusses his journey through school, his love of Geography and the education he gained from travelling the worldWhere did you go to school and when?Kilwinning Academy in Kilwinning, Ayrshire between 1990 and 1994.What was your school like?I grew up on the south-west coast of…
What age should children be given homework?
When should children start homework and should they be doing it at all?Homework can be an emotive subject. For some, that feeling of Sunday night dread (when you’d left it to the last possible moment) never properly leaves us. Still creeping up in waves of panic like an irrational fear, or returning to us in nightmares. For others, one too many excuses about peckish dogs brings back…
Day pupils join Benenden boarders
Benenden School has welcomed day boarders for the first time – pupils who attend the all girls' boarding school on a daily basisBenenden School has welcomed a small number of day boarders – pupils who attend daily rather than boarding – in Years 9 and 12. The first cohort arrived last September and this marks the first time since the school opened in 1923 that it has offered anything other…
Maida Vale School – new Head appointed
Maida Vale School has a new Head Teacher from April 2023, when Magnus Bashaarat takes over at the helm of the Gardener Schools Group seniorMaida Vale School (MVS), a co-ed senior in north-west London, will have a new Head Teacher from April 2023. Gardener Schools Group has announced the appointment of Magnus Bashaarat, a highly-experienced school leader who has been Head of Milton Abbey…
St Benedict’s School Head arrival
St Benedict’s School, Ealing has a new Head from September 2023, when Joe Smith takes up the roleSt Benedict’s School, Ealing, has appointed Joe Smith as the new Head from September 2023. He joins from The Oratory School, near Reading, where he has been Head since 2017, having also taught at Colfe’s School, Greenwich and Monkton Combe School near Bath during his career. He studied English at…
New Head at Francis Holland School, Sloane Square
Francis Holland School, Sloane Square welcomed a new Head, Alexandra Haydon, at the start of JanuaryAlexandra Haydon became Head of Francis Holland School, Sloane Square from January 2024, succeeding Lucy Elphinstone.The new Head of FHS Sloane Square was formerly Deputy Head, Academic at Millfield and her career includes time at St Mary's Calne, Wiltshire, as Head of Science and latterly…