Dan Everest, head of computing and digital innovation at King’s Ely Junior, has been awarded a ‘Digital Leaders Star Teacher Award’ by Childnet International, which works in partnership with others to help make the internet a safer place for children. He was presented with the award at the Childnet Digital Leaders East of England regional event.

Danielle Antha, project manager at Childnet International, said: “The Digital Leaders Star Teacher Award is not something we have ever done before, but we thought Dan warranted it! He has shown continued enthusiasm and engagement in the Childnet Digital Leaders Programme since King’s Ely’s first year of subscription and his passion for the subject is evident.

“Dan shows true care and pride for his students, and often tells us about the fantastic and creative activities they are running to help both young people and parents. We at Childnet International wanted to show our appreciation for all he is doing in this area – he’s a great example of some of the fantastic teachers we have running the programme in their respective schools.”

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The site will be home to the UK’s most comprehensive set of free physics teaching resources with over 2,000 available.  All resources on the site are IOP approved and teacher-tested and include lesson plans, teacher notes, enrichment activities, worksheets and video content.  Many of the resources include teaching tips as well as carefully curated links to further reading.

All content on the site is curriculum themed and searchable by student age, physics topic and type of content to help save time. To make the site even more valuable as a time saving way of enhancing lesson planning, resources are linked in ways that help users find related materials and navigate through sequences of activities.

Charles Tracy, Head of Education at the Institute of Physics commented: ‘Teaching physics today is hugely rewarding. However it can be daunting to teach something new or to teach something familiar in a new way.  We know it’s also challenging for teachers to stay constantly abreast of the latest resources, news and content, particularly when teaching and lesson-planning means time is limited. 

‘Our hope is that the new IOPSpark site will provide teachers with a trusted source of ideas and professional learning, whether they are looking for a quick fix or pedagogical contemplation.  Some of the site’s resources are ready to use whilst others will allow users to delve a bit deeper and explore the best ways to present those ideas and develop their own explanations.

As well as being a trusted source of physics teaching resources, the new IOPSpark site – www.iop.org/spark – will also host:

• A wealth of CPD materials, including articles on developing professional skills
• A brand new and constantly updated glossary of physics terms
• Access to TalkPhysics – an online community in which physics teachers can share best practice and ask questions
• The latest news, research and video content to help bring lessons to life

Jemma Duncombe, Teacher of Physics at King’s College School, Wimbledon said:  ‘It’s invaluable to find all these resources under one roof.  It’s going to be my starting point whenever I’m looking at a new topic.’

An innovative area of the site will also be dedicated to helping teachers identify and address common student misconceptions in physics.  Here teachers will be able to discover links to current research, strategies and materials to help them address common misconceptions before they become an obstacle to student attainment.

IOPSpark just one element of the Institute of Physics’ rapidly growing education programme which aims to create the optimum conditions in which physics as a subject can thrive.  Another live initiative is the IOP Improving Gender Balance Research trial – a programme of positive intervention being run across hundreds of schools to encourage a greater proportion of girls to progress to study A-level physics.

To discover the thousands of physics resources now freely available log on to www.iop.org/spark today.

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Orla Burner’s creation, Jude the Liver Bird, was revealed at a special assembly at school with the help of Jade Clarke, Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 ambassador. Jude was inspired by the song Hey Jude by The Beatles.

Orla said: “I thought about all the things that Liverpool and netball are known for and used those to inspire my mascot creation. When I think about seeing Jude at the World Cup and watching England play their first game, I feel so excited I could scream!”

Orla is a netball fan and plays the sport every week, representing her school as part of its under-10 squad and watching her local Vitality Netball Superleague team Saracens Mavericks regularly.

As Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena welcomes 16 international teams and thousands of spectators this July, the role of the mascot will be to welcome people and bring the event to life.

Orla will attend the World Cup’s opening ceremony session on 12 July, where she will be introduced with Jude and see her creation in action, before watching England begin their World Cup campaign against Uganda.

Clarke said: “It’s great to see so many young people like Orla getting excited about netball, and I’m sure that Jude the Liver Bird will really help bring excitement to the event and prove a popular part of the Vitality Netball World Cup. It’s clear how excited Orla is, and it’s a fantastic opportunity for any young netball fan to be part of a piece of sporting history.”

The Vitality Netball World Cup takes place from 12–21 July 2019.

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When I left university [studying French with Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick], I was pretty determined I wasn’t going to go into teaching, having grown up in a family of teachers. Through a chance meeting at a recruitment fair, I started training as a chartered accountant with a large London firm. It was an invaluable experience that enabled me to learn a great deal about people and different types of organisations but I decided it wasn’t quite for me. 

While thinking about my next move, I was asked to help direct a play at the local prep school and this experience made me realise that working with children was absolutely what I wanted to do. My first teaching post was at a secondary modern school, which was a great foundation. From there I’ve been privileged to work at various schools including Oundle, where I taught drama and loved the busyness of boarding life. I had boarded as a child at Cranbrook School so the all-round nature of seven days a week felt familiar. I was a housemistress at St Edward’s, Oxford, which again was a fantastic experience, and then deputy principal pastoral at Queenswood School. This then led me to my current role of deputy head at St Peter’s School, York.

Q. What have been the best things about being a deputy head, and the biggest challenges?

The best thing is the people I work with – both colleagues and pupils. I love being right in the middle of things and having to adapt to any situation. There is a need to be very creative and flexible, as well as have a sense of proportion and humour.

I think that the biggest challenges lie in the pressures on the pupils. We know that at school we only see about one third of a pupil’s life; home, peers and their online world are largely unseen so the challenge is to put the pieces of the puzzle together in order to be proactive and targeted in the way we support and guide. Our goal is to provide a brilliant education for each pupil and to do that well we have to understand that we’re only seeing one part of the puzzle. 

At St Peter’s, we have the privilege of being able to see a pupil’s educational journey all the way through from age three to 18; a challenge is to make sure that everything is age-appropriate.

Q. What issue in education are you most passionate about?

Pastorally I’d say it’s about clearing a pathway to enable pupils to grow up in a healthy, safe environment, taking care of them holistically, so they can explore and grow without fear of getting things wrong. Academically, it’s about making sure the quality of teaching and learning are the best that they can be. Education is what you hope will set up a child for life, not just in terms of knowledge gained, but in terms of skills acquired and the experiences shared. I’d love every child in the school to flourish, be happy, have a sense of belonging and feel that they know how to do well both now and in the future.

Q. Why did you decide to become King Edward’s Witley new head?

It may be unique in terms of its foundation and what it stays true to – the founding principle of giving young people the best, and often transformative, opportunities.
The opportunity to be the next head, the next link in the chain, building on everything that has gone before, is such a great privilege.

The school is truly diverse. I was adopted as a baby so my passion for wanting to give children opportunity is heartfelt. The school celebrates diversity and inclusivity. I think that this provides an enriching and exciting experience as it reflects society and serves pupils well for their future.

As well as being head of King Edward’s Witley, I will also be the principal of Bridewell Royal Hospital. The Bridewell Hospital, London was where the school was located for some time before it moved to Witley. The foundation oversees King Edward’s, Witley and the prep school Barrow Hills. We have this lovely journey through for children who come in at three at Barrow Hills and can move on to King Edward’s Witley at 11 or 13. 

Q. What are your plans for the school going forward?

I am very excited and looking forward to getting started. I want to make sure that I can contribute to its success by leading with a clarity of vision to take the school forward, doing our absolute best for all pupils. Preparation starts now, of course, but I don’t think anything is going to be quite like actually being there. There may be changes ahead. During its long history the school has always been forward-thinking in its educational philosophy and pastoral care, so everything we do will be with the pupils’ best interests at heart. Exciting times! 

Joanna Wright will take up her new role as head of King Edward’s Witley and principal of Bridewell Royal Hospital in September 2019.

You might also like: New King Edward’s Head to preserve school ethos

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The internationally renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards is the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK.

RoSPA Gold Award winners, like CH&CO, have achieved a very high level of performance, demonstrating well-developed occupational health and safety management systems and culture, outstanding control of risk and very low levels of error, harm and loss.

Emma Hill, head of food, health, safety and environment at CH&CO, said: “We’re thrilled to have been awarded a RoSPA Gold Award for the third consecutive year. We work very hard, all year round, to make health and safety part of CH&CO’s culture and maintain our excellent safety standards across all our sites and offices.

“We use a variety of training and communication tools to achieve this, and to have our practices and systems rubber-stamped by a globally respected and rigorous awards scheme is fantastic; we’re very proud of our safety success.”

Terry Waldron, COO at CH&CO, added: “Our business is all about people, from our teams in our sites and offices to our clients, customers and supplier partners. We have a responsibility to help them all get home safely at the end of the working day, and we take this very seriously. Our third consecutive RoSPA Gold Award upholds the clear and robust systems we have in place and our commitment to a positive health and safety culture.”

CH&CO will be presented with its award on 18 June 2019 at the ExCeL, London.

You might also like: CH&CO sets out sustainability targets

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The theatre, originally a boxing stadium in Edwardian times, has been rebuilt and extended to include a substantial glass foyer, creating a versatile space for small-scale performances, exhibitions, rehearsals and exams.

It will also provide room for receptions and gatherings before performances and during intervals. The new flexible seating will enable the staging of a variety of drama styles including theatre in the round. 

Callow said: “Honestly, I’ll open any theatre – out of self-interest. Partly because perhaps one day I’ll appear in that theatre and because if we encourage people to do plays and go to see plays, and that habit continues as it has for over 2,000 years, I might still be able to make a living.

“I little knew what a wonderful theatre this would be. It’s thrilling – one of those special, rare spaces which, as you step into it, you feel it instantly appeals and you think ‘I want to make theatre now.’”

Keith Packham, the school’s director of drama, said: “We hope that rehearsing and performing in such a wonderfully creative environment will inspire future artistic talent here at Malvern College and in the wider Malvern community.”

You might also like: Malvern College Qingdao to send first student to Cambridge

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Holyport College, established by Eton College, and Harris Westminster Sixth Form (HWSF), a co-venture between Westminster School and Harris Federation, both opened their doors to pupils in 2014. The schools have been visited by reviewers from the long-running parents’ education guide and are included in its pages for the first time.

Holyport, unlike its partner school, is academically non-selective and accepts boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It offers a limited number of boarding places, for which there is a fee. The guide reports that it teaches ‘a traditional, fairly narrow, Ebacc-centred, academic curriculum’, and calls the most recent GCSE results ‘superb’.

The teaching of Latin and single sciences, as well as a school day which finishes at 5.30pm, points to its public school origins. The school’s first set of A-level results are due in August.

Harris Westminster Sixth Form, a selective school where a third of pupils are eligible for free school meals, made headlines in January when it announced that 37 pupils had been offered places at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Characterised in The Good Schools Guide review as ‘highly academic’, the school’s timetable is closely aligned to Westminster School, including Saturday morning classes; those pupils studying classics, history of art, drama and German attend lessons there. The guide describes it as ‘a genuinely stimulating and scholarly environment in which to study’, and ‘students feel fortunate to be there, staff feel privileged to teach them, a stunning combination’.

Editor, Ralph Lucas, speaking ahead of the launch of the 22nd edition of the guide, believes the run of successful partnerships between the state and private sector is excellent news for our education system. “It’s a pleasure to see relatively new state schools providing a high standard of education so early on – it is challenging to get a new school right; having a strong and supportive partner makes a big difference. Much comes from a determination by some independent schools to find opportunities in the state sector and to involve time, facilities and staff to make sure they get it right. Our previous edition featured London Academy of Excellence, because its relationship with Brighton College and other independents blazed a trail for such free school projects – we can see that this winning combination was not a one off.

“The key, to my mind, is that the state school, and in particular its head, should take the lead. Independent schools have a great deal to offer – high expectations, excellent teaching, facilities and budgets – but their role is putting their shoulder to the wheel and working up a sweat, not to be in the driving seat.”

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Dan Fleming, who led the design project for Broadway Malyan, said the aspiration for the project was to create a facility that continued to elevate the school’s performing arts offer while also providing a high-quality venue that could be used by both the school and the local community.

He said: “Waterlow Hall is currently a functional space used by the school for exams and assemblies and some performances but it is a visually unappealing space, suffers from poor acoustics and lacks the necessary infrastructure and flexibility to meet the school’s needs.

It will dramatically transform the atmosphere and experience for both performer and audience

“The design proposal works within the spatial constraints of the existing structure to create a performance space that focuses on supporting and encouraging creativity at the new ‘heart’ of South Hampstead High School. It will dramatically transform the atmosphere and experience for both performer and audience while providing significant additional utility in the everyday life of the school.”

The refurbishment will include the installation of a new floating timber floor throughout the hall and rhomboid tiered seating that will retract back into a concealed storage cupboard when they are not required.

The project will also include the installation of a decorative LED lighting system inspired by the Canadian National Music Centre in Calgary, amplifying the performance space while also having the ability to adapt to the diverse lighting requirements in the hall.

It will be completed in November 2019.

You might also like: What is the value of the arts in independent education?

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The modern incarnation of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, celebrating their 15th birthday this year – and 425 years since the original company was created – are bringing the open-air production to the picturesque gardens of King’s Ely’s Old Palace.

With audiences encouraged to bring picnics, a chair or blanket and a glass of something chilled, the show follows last year’s staging of The Tempest.

King’s Ely wasn’t the only place staging The Tempest last year – the Young Shakespeare Company put on a performance of the stormy tale for pupils at St Benedict’s, Ealing

Artistic director, Peter Stickney, said: “This supernatural comedy of mischievous fairies, confused lovers and rude mechanicals is an intoxicating tale of clarity found from chaos, as tangled love gives way to happily ever-afters. A play like this, set outdoors and in our trademark style bursting with song and magic, makes for an evening not to be missed!”

The production starts at 7pm, although doors open at 6pm to allow people to set up their picnics, etc. For further info, please visit kingsely.org/boxoffice

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Ralph Lucas said prep schools are falling behind because independent senior schools had changed the way they recruit students and were more focused on recruiting the highest achieving children.

“State primaries are getting much better, and independent secondary schools are getting much better at recruiting their pupils from there. Tutoring has become a really professional business with highly qualified tutors supporting children for entrance tests. It makes more sense economically for parents to send children to their local primary and get a tutor,” Lucas told The Times.

As a result of this competition, the traditional links between preparatory and senior schools were being “cast aside”, according to Lucas.

Ofsted now considers 87% of state primaries to be either good or outstanding. Figures from the Department for Education show that in the past year the number of children aged five to 10 attending private schools fell from 197,551 to 196,000.

The Independent Schools Council’s 2019 census, which collected data from over 600 junior schools, showed a 0.9% decline in the number of students enrolled at prep schools.

Many independent senior schools have changed their admissions with most students now enrolling in year seven at the age of 11. This aligns them with the state system rather than preparatory schools which traditionally tutor students until the age of 13.

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