The students have been tackling assessments this week and I am proud of them all. I am also grateful to our stoic teachers for the amount of marking and report writing they are about to do over the weekend, thank you.  

I constantly champion the same refrain, ‘It’s not just what you know, it’s what you can do with what you know, and that is inextricably linked to how you feel.’ And this is true, I believe. But when it comes to the crunch, in our current school system, what you know is still very much tested and it forms the bulk of your academic grade. Some, just like me in fact, may struggle with short term memory and the amassing of facts and figures, preferring to problem solve and think creatively. To those, I give a special shout out today, because they have had to work extra hard this week to recall the knowledge required for the tests. 

Of course, as philosopher A C Grayling tells us, education is not just about gaining knowledge, it is about gaining understanding, and that is different. We work hard to embed understanding through a mixture of learning experiences that bring both a priori and empirical knowledge to our students. 

I repeat mantras about how we feel and what we think of ourselves each week because I believe it is only our self-worth that can bring us the self-discipline we need, especially in weeks like this one, when our punctuality, time-management and self-organisation have been tested to the full. To all our students, thank you for being your best selves this week. You will be rewarded with good grades of which you can feel proud; and to those who may be disappointed by their marks, rest assured you have a brilliant team of teachers here who are highly committed to helping you fare even better next round, whilst at the same time safeguarding your self-worth and wellbeing. 

Have a good weekend all.

Yours,