‘How should we prepare our students for the future?’ It’s a question always on our minds, as teachers. Naturally, we want to equip our learners with the toolkit they need to be able to flourish in adulthood and grab opportunities when they come. But it’s difficult when none of us know what the future holds. Educators like me, with the very best of intentions, sit around tables discussing what the future will look like and what skills, attributes and capacities will be most in demand. The landscapes of work and home are changing an at exponential rate and we want to future-proof the education we deliver!

But I wonder if we are missing a trick? Or, at least, missing a valuable piece of the jigsaw. Since the children in our classrooms are likely to see the 22nd century in, let’s ask them what lies ahead. They will be the architects of the future, not us. They will find solutions to the problems we have bequeathed them, not us. They are contemporaneous, of their time, Gen Z. Ask your child to set up your new digital device for you and you’ll see.

And so, with a certain relish, I sat down recently with many of our pupils to consider how the future looks. We discussed teleportation, time travel, Mars colonies and robo-teachers. Their ideas were sensational – and they are bound up and presented to you in the second episode of our podcast, Wimbledon Calling. You can listen to it using the link in the newsletter below – and I’m sure you will be enthralled by our students’ visions of the future. I learned a lot.

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We enjoyed a well-being session with the brilliant Nigel Lowson this week. Nigel met with parents online to talk about ways in which we can all help our children manage anxiety and stress when it comes to revision and exams. Healthy routines and rituals were shared, some very useful tips! (The session was recorded and emailed to parents). Nigel also met with staff last night to deliver an excellent workshop on well-being and work/life balance. We hope to have Nigel back again soon to run some pupil workshops and to join us for an episode of our Wimbledon Calling podcast!

I hope you have an enjoyable week with your families.

A J Hammond