Author Archives: jameswilding

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About jameswilding

Academic Principal Claires Court Schools Long term member & advocate of the Independent Schools Association

The social media exodus

Posted on 23/08/2026 by jameswilding

From Timelines to Trust: A Blueprint for School Comms after the 2026 Ban Published in ISM website, 20 August 2026 As we entered the 2020s, our website became one of the most engaging tools the school has ever had. We … Continue reading →

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“Suum Cuique” – To Each His Own – and the Football

Posted on 21/08/2026 by jameswilding

Thursday 14 August 2026, A-Level results day; a parent quietly came up to share with me her pride at her child’s results, and to thank me, as it turns out, for giving them a chance, because no-one else had.  “Suum … Continue reading →

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“Time and Tide wait for no man …”

Posted on 11/08/2026 by jameswilding

Time and Tide wait for no man… Sixty years is a long tide to have turned together, and it started me thinking about what else has quietly gone out with it. This Sunday, my wider family gathered to celebrate my … Continue reading →

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The Golf, Cheese & Chess Society 2026

Posted on 06/08/2026 by jameswilding

Jenny and I spent the day at Bletchley Park this week. It is a place I could visit a dozen times and still leave with something new turning over in my mind, and this visit was no exception. It is … Continue reading →

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The Reclaim Forms

Posted on 27/07/2026 by jameswilding

I have sat through eleven education secretaries. I know that because someone once made me count. Fifty years of running a school teaches you not to get too attached to any one minister, because they are, on average, gone before … Continue reading →

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The Defensive Substitution: Why Britain must recover the courage to play forward.

Posted on 16/07/2026 by jameswilding

Back on 12 July 2019, I wrote about jinxing things. A year earlier, in a newsletter to parents, I had briefly reflected on the challenges facing the England football team just after their World Cup semi-final exit, alongside observations on … Continue reading →

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“The Tale of the Principal Emeritus”

Posted on 10/07/2026 by jameswilding

(after the manner of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner) & with apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This tale of heroic contribution, spoken on the leaving thanks after staff Inset at Claires Court Senior Boys School, commemorates the contribution made … Continue reading →

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Beyond the Thunderdome: Reclaiming Childhood from the Algorithm

Posted on 06/07/2026 by jameswilding

I was standing at the school gate on Thursday, doing what I’ve done for fifty years and counting — watching children arrive — when I noticed something that stopped me mid-thought. A line of Year 8s, games bags on backs, … Continue reading →

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Claires Court – a partnership worth backing

Posted on 02/07/2026 by jameswilding

The header shows our Junior playing fields set out for Sports Day; as ever, a welcoming place for all sports, summer or winter! This week’s news that the Department for Education is scrapping the £320 million PE and Sport Premium … Continue reading →

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“Burnham Wood, If He Takes the Chance”

Posted on 29/06/2026 by jameswilding

There’s a scene I still enjoy teaching, every time I get the chance: Macbeth, told he’s safe until Birnam Wood marches against him, treats the prophecy as a kind of cosmic permission slip — an impossibility dressed up as a … Continue reading →

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