I start this blog with confirmation that the school’s students have achieved the best academic results at both A level and GCSE they have ever gained, perhaps excusing some pandemic tweaks of course. Of course there have been disappointments and challenges, but I reckon we’ve made it through to Summer 2024 by treating the challenges of the last 5 years as ones that can and will be overcome, and that we can all at #CCMakeHistory every day.

When my father retired in 1989 as a co-principal at Claires Court, he and his new wife chose Norfolk as a suitable spot for relocation, which given her place of abode at the time being near Perth, Scotland was a suitable compromise. Both families had to travel for hours before entering Norfolk, and then add circa 100 minutes before arriving in Holt. Admittedly, actually the journey from Perth for her children was twice the distance, but they’d moved nearer us anyway already.

Very quickly my father recognised just how insular his own life to date had been. Born and bred in Ealing, moving to Maidenhead, caught up in the milieu of private school, cricket and Chelsea football club, every element of his life reflected back to him what he understood. Moving to Norfolk, changing from Catholicism to CofE, establishing a marriage with a Scottish lady and all that chaos as well, guess what, my Dad very quickly discovered that the ‘world’ as he knew it previously, was not normal at all.

I’m an early riser, that’s a curse by the way, so I’ve listened to farming today all my married life. This century, thank’s to BBC’s Countryfile, I’ve been made very aware that working with crops and animals is a thankless task, so thank goodness the children of farmers take their family businesses on, because of course no-one in their right mind would do so. Over the past 10 years, in my own school I have children’s attendance slipping because at peak harvest time, they’ve been needed back at the farm. And I am in easy reach of the M25 , Heathrow and the Elizabeth line.

Those in education that know me well, understand that my core philosophy on leading my school is to exhibit and relay relentless and ruthless enthusiasm. Let’s face it, after 50 years in the business, I do know what works, that every child is unique and that every family who choose my school want their child looked after, challenged, promoted, believed in and celebrated. This Summer of 2024, and well below GCSE and A level results, I can assure you dear reader that the children have done really well. It’s not just my school but a host and myriad of state and independent schools that are celebrating their best results this century, perhaps even ever. Why has that happened?

Matthew Parris, writing in the Times newspaper this week, has tried quite hard to provide some ideas: https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/mental-health-industry-is-cheating-the-public-c306z5625. I started my Psychology degree back in 1972, an outlier at the time, now perhaps amongst the central choice of the majority. As ever, as I am doing on writing this, Parris over-complicates, but the truth is pretty easy to find. I’ve just graduated Year 11 from Secondary school aged 16 at a time when for them, every year was different, with unexpected challenges, changes and #lockdowns too. Of course for us all, the last 5 years have been unbearable, but for the majority of children actually, for them it’s been normal, because what else might they expect?

Parris’ article has received a huge amount of support, and some dissent of course but he’s so right about the problem emerging when people expect a ‘perfect society’ for all. Yes, both children and adults have faced challenges, perhaps for this century unparalleled if you are suburban gentry. In my longer lifespan of 70 years, whole decades have failed to be perfect. Last week I have been celebrating 18 year olds going off to University; 80 years ago my Uncle Patrick lost his life shortly after leaving school – you can read the whole story here, exemplifying then as now the characteristics we expect of ourselves and the communities we lead – There’s no ‘I’ in the below, the essentials being service above self.

LEADERS… Strive for team goals, Lead by example, Encourage thinking, Apply reward & discipline, Demand high performance, Encourage confidence in the team, Recognise individual strengths & weaknesses, Strive for team goals. I’ve not written this, please read the link to Pat’s story of life and death above. (ref Army Leadership code)

Following my Uncle’s Pat’s death, his mother Hilda dead of a broken heart, yet of course for his brother, my Dad, he was caught in the maelstrom of war when so many died and, as a consequence, when he completed his own national service, went back to study History at Uni, meet my mum a fellow student on the course, in due course married, had children (me too) and after a decade of teaching in London left the smoke to set up Claires Court, the school that I’ve led for 40 years now.

My parents remain the most modern of people I’ve ever known, even though they are long gone. During my brother Hugh’s first year at Uni and my time at Sixth Form, my mother took herself off to study Linguistics at MIT in Boston for the year – of course, that’s what mums do. At the same time, my dad built 2 houses in the grounds of Ridgeway to raise the next pile of cash to build the current main teaching wing at Senior Boys. Why not – oh and at the same time assist our catholic community in building a new parish and church at St Edmund Campion, and when my mum came back from Harvard, she assisted the arts community develop Norden Farm Arts centre in the 1970s as well.

Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen government of every hue try to standardise education to one size fits all, and the current Labour Government’s ambitions to tax our own community of fee-paying parents to provide the 5000 missing teachers in the state sector is perhaps the worst example of ‘crass, ignorant, political gerrymandering’ I’ve seen. There are so many great examples of state school’s succeeding, so many local role models on what needs to be done, no government needs to point at the private sector and say ‘we are benefiting’ unfairly.

Our sector is currently in the midst of a compulsory consultation until 15 September to assist in advising HM Customs & Revenue in how best to enable the imposition of VAT from 1 January 2025. Of course the consultation period is way shorter that Parliament would advise, complicated further by the fact it’s taking place when schools are closed for their summer break. After 3 decades of the private sector picking up the challenges of leading on SEN, special school support, foreign office and military family boarding provision, nursery and wrap-around care, Holiday club cover and of course, looking after the ‘talent’ that acts, conducts, performs individually, ensemble, orchestra, international sport and Olympics, it’s no surprise to me and others that the anger and fear amongst our parents is so very strong.

The best of state and private schools demonstrate time and again that all of our children can succeed. What’s normal for Norfolk won’t be the same for the Gower, from where so many Welsh families migrated into Slough to support the development of Europe’s largest and still best trading estate. I am not the only headteacher incensed that Barrow in the North West is chosen to be the worst performing area for social mobility when actually the companies around have amazing recruitment programmes for apprenticeships in industry to retain talent in the area? I’m not saying London has it easy, but as Professor Tim Brighouse pointed out as he transformed London’s schools for the better 20 years ago, it’s quite easy really when everyone can see and aspire to be in the West End, City and Docklands. You’ll find that city tries as hard as Barrow to keep its best local and ‘recruited’.

The economists over the past 10 or so years have made it clear that Cameron and Osborne’s government of 2010 crashed the economy, reduced its scale and reach for the short term aim of ‘balancing the books’ when exactly the opposite then happened – we need growth not austerity to pave the way. The UK is actually very used to ‘boom and bust’ economics, sadly a feature it seems of first past the post electoral systems. Stare and Private schools thrive because they both follow the essentials listed in my Uncle’s school epitaph – well known features that sadly because they don’t win elections are abandoned too easily.

And finally, whilst I fully respect schools wishing to name and celebrate their best achievers in public exams, I can’t do that for our own at Claires Court. I’ve 2 young people this year who’ve managed to complete a nap hand of 5 GCSE equivalents a year later than their peer group whose health challenges have been beyond belief. I’ve refugees whose first language wasn’t even in Roman script 3 years ago matriculating bypassing 3 good A levels for undergraduate courses in the UK. As the results you’ve seen show we’ve so many with top grades opening doors at Uni and work, yet I’ve taught many of their parents that went before, and they too suggest that just now (in the moment) is a time for private celebration and consideration. Have all the young people made progress over time – you betcha.