“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Posted on 21/11/2025 by jameswilding

The publication of the Claires Court Inspection Report September 2025 last week provided many statements about the school’s work with the children and young people receiving their education with us. The inspection regime for our sector is conducted by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the current framework introduced in 2023, known as f23, and its reports are particularly careful now with the use of language. The words ‘Excellent, Outstanding etc.’ are no longer permitted, because the report is only a snapshot of the school in action, and the words are carefully used to highlight what the school does well, and what it needs to improve.
Nevertheless, read as a whole, the report does explain quite why the school has such a good reputation for its work, in the classroom, for our pastoral work, for our extra-curricular activities and most importantly of all, for the academic results the school achieves for its students, and across all ages and stages. The report is available on the school’s website, as are those back to 2014.

Central to the inspection process is an additional challenge for the Inspectors involved, that being whether there is something that might be unusually successful that a school does that is worth highlighting, these being known as ‘Significant Strengths’.. In the way that Cathedral Choir schools could not get a mention for the quality of their singing, so Claires Court could not get a significant strength of its excellence in PSHE, Pastoral Care, Sport, the Arts or indeed our innovative use of ICT. These are already part of the school’s reputation, both locally and nationally. These can be seen clearly in the overarching summary of 12 inspection findings, copied below, covering 3 or 4 sentences as expected, and we are delighted to read them there.

However, Summary 7, about ‘special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)’ is worth further highlighting.
“Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified early. Specialist staff review personal learning plans regularly. These are tailored carefully to each pupils’ needs. Teachers are well informed about these needs. Consequently, they offer appropriate support and well thought out activities in lessons. Sensitive support for pupils with physical disabilities or mental health needs allows them to access the curriculum fully and to participate in the activities on offer. Pupils are provided with sustained pastoral support to build confidence. As a result, pupils who have SEND make extensive progress from their given starting points. They achieve well in public examinations. The success of thoughtfully tailored provision on outcomes for individual pupils who have SEND is a significant strength* of the school”.

Everyone in the school, and most notably those who lead and support those who learn differently, is particularly pleased with this finding. This is because this approach to our work covers all children and not just those with SEND, and not just academics. During every INSET our teachers participate in, whole school and departmental activities occupy most of the time, checking our work, reflecting on what’s gone well or awry, and collaborating together for the greater benefit of all. Our CPD efforts have not just been about teaching, learning, marking and assessment, important as those are. Over the past 18 months, we’ve also tackled the emerging use of Artificial Agentive Intelligence in the classroom, the considerable differences between the way generations of adults review parenting (Victor Allen), ADHD and Neurodiversity Training (Fintan O’Regan) and understanding Abuse in society (Marilyn Hawes). All 3 are significant leaders of our thinking, each highlighting in their own way the transactional nature of human development and progress. As the last 4 summary statements make clear, the school is really on top of its brief, focused on the challenges our children and young people are facing in a world changing by the day, if not the hour!

I have chosen Arnold Schwarzenegger’s quote because it so aptly describes how the school has got where it is now, in 2025. His lifespan covers all the 65 years the school has been in existence. We started small as a school (19 children), and have 862 now as of November 2025. Over that period, we’ve had many successes and setbacks, challenges and opportunities. During my time as Head (1981- Seniors/1988 whole school), we’ve seen O levels depart, GCSEs commence, Co-education arrive, the Dot.com bubble, university expansion, the Global Financial crisis, Olympic Games, Brexit, the Pandemic and now VAT. We have learned from all of these events, particularly the Gove reforms in Education and, more recently, the growing crisis in well-being, and I am so proud of the school’s ability to lead from the front. As a school that only serves a local population, we’ve got to be connected to our local community, and now as then, we are struggling always to meet the demands that are placed on our teachers, our support staff, our parents and above all, our children.

The 2025 School Inspection may be the last in my long career at Claires Court. The findings could not be more pleasing, a validation of all that we hope for when we come to work each day. Our aims are crystal clear:
a modern, relevant education
a love of learning
a range of life skills – academic, social, musical, creative and sporting
a strong spiritual and moral character.

These are underpinned by our Core Values:
Responsibility for ourselves
Respect for others
Loyalty to our School
Integrity above all

Plus…
We recognise the importance of building confidence and self-esteem in each of our pupils, and preparing them for the next step in their schooling
We work in partnership with parents and guardians to help our pupils achieve their full potential
We promote an understanding of the need for care and consideration for others within our community and the wider world
ISI Inspection Report 2025:
The proprietor and leaders have a clear vision for the school based on the values of personal responsibility, respect for others, integrity and loyalty to the school. They understand and fulfil their responsibilities effectively. Leaders place pupils’ wellbeing at the heart of their decision-making. As a result, pupils thrive. They are proud to belong to the school community.

Need I say more?

*An Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) “Significant Strength” is a designation for a school’s provision that goes beyond simply meeting the standards and provides clear, demonstrable, and highly beneficial outcomes for pupils. It reflects the exceptional knowledge, skills, and dedication of leaders, staff, and governors in a particular area, which can include leadership and management, curriculum, or pupils’ welfare and personal development.
Key characteristics of a Significant Strength
Exceeds standards: It is not just about meeting the basic regulatory standards but about excelling in a specific area.
Leadership-driven: The strength is a result of the knowledge, skills, and decision-making of the school’s leadership, managers, and/or staff.
Impactful for pupils: It must result in a clear, demonstrable, and highly beneficial impact on pupils.
Demonstrable through evidence: Inspectors verify this strength through a range of evidence, including pupil, parent, and staff feedback; school records; observation; and scrutiny of pupils’ work and progress.

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#MakingHistoryEveryDay

Posted on 13/11/2025 by jameswilding

When the school was emerging from #lockdown, it was very evident that everyone’s ‘engines’ needed a metaphorical service, to check that all the moving parts were suitably free-running, that the ‘satnav’ switched on and the future direction of travel calibrated. At most of the following assemblies I ran at Senior Boys, and on the other sites as appropriate, I included the  hashtag “MakingHistoryEveryDay” and used the current achievements (of anyone, it must be said) to illustrate the point. And it worked. Creating aspiration is one of the key strengths headteachers need, yet often that staircase of hope does need some easy risers to get going. It’s also true that not every aspiration will be met, as my childhod ambition to play open-side flanker for England testifies!

During last week and this week, we’ve seen rainbows over the schools, a metaphor for the evidence in front of our eyes that, despite the rain, the sun will shine once more. We know though that the physical elements will continue to forge and shape our future, as will the changes in humanity itself affect the ongoing direction of our enterprises. School is a small microcosm of this; over the past 20 years, we’ve worked hard to provide for all sites access to all-weather pitches (to combat the rain) and progress the various pathways (academic, art, choral, drama, music, sports) to support the separate growth of these talents towards the best they can be. The long arc of history of our school includes developing a reputation for the quality of our fencing and judo; sadly, however noble and athletic those Olympic disciplines are, times moved on, and student interest refocused on so many other sports, activities, and interests.

The recruitment of Sixth Former Lily Gater by Iowa University into their ‘Hawks’ boat club went viral over Instagram this week, pleased as punch that the University would be in capturing a world-class sculler for their squad and as an international academic student for their faculty. Yes, that’s another example of a student making history, yet worth highlighting that Lily joined us in the Sixth Form for the known reputation we have for the strength we have in the sport of rowing and also because of the strength and breadth of our Sixth Form teaching programme. My banner headline does try to highlight just how proud we are of Lily and her achievements, which are to have both the academic and sporting achievements to win this pick by the ‘Hawks’.

For Christians, it was Jesus Christ who highlighted just how difficult it is for a person to be a prophet in their own land. This proverbial saying inevitably impacts not just a human, but also schools and colleges. Whilst I do spend most of my time on my feet in school, both last week and this I’ve had the opportunity to attend major gatherings during which heads and those in the wider business of education have come together to focus on the future for schools and their purpose, last at the Institute of Directors venturing further into where AI is taking teaching and learning, this with Mr Richards at the ISA Autumn Study conference, where our art work won deserved praise, and the school highly commended for the Innovation we bring to our curriculum and purpose.

As I write, it seems our 2025 School Inspection report remains unpublished, a simple issue of delay by the final piece of editing. Without the accolades within, it’s difficult to ensure that our future audience of prospective parents appreciate just how successful our school is at achieving its aims and live to our core values. As current parents can see from the school’s App and Instagram blog, the achievements, accolades and actions of our athletes carry on in all areas. Our U14 netball girls beat Wellington College on their way to becoming Berkshire Champions, and the boys’ rugby teams carry on scoring tries and tackling hard, and of course Hockey is striking the right notes too.

At Claires Court Juniors, today the staff held a quiet commemorative birthday lunch for our former colleague, Bridie Gravett, who passed away this July. Her husband, Dan, is now back at work, in school, and I know just how thankful he is to be back at work and supported by the school as a whole. Some history is not about success at all, but to note the event, understand its importance and take the opportunity to include, remember and reflect. That combined well with the broader reach of the week for Remembrance, with assemblies and silences across the sites to remember those who gave their lives in battles so we could enjoy the peace we now experience.

Claires Court CCF assembles outside the Maidenhead Town Hall on Sunday 9 November 2025

5 weeks of school at Claires Court lie ahead for us all. My efforts will continue as both headteacher and Academic Principal to (where possible) make more history and encourage my colleagues, children and young people to do so too. These weeks include many opportunities for our community to come together in many ways, and I’ll welcome all conversations that add elements to the hopes we have for our children ahead. We are always told that life is too complex, but the answer is ‘to never to give in, focus on the important and what needs to be done’, and #simples, you too could be Making History Every Day.

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‘The proof that Life imitates Art – Government policy meets Celebrity Traitors!’

Posted on 06/11/2025 by jameswilding

The 2025 Celebrity Traitors programme has attracted circa 13 million viewers per episode, and I have no doubt that by the numbers are all added up, the programme will end up challenging the final of the Women’s Euro 2025 for most-watched programme this year. Despite the very honourable intentions of all the celebrities involved in the game, with the final prize fund of over £80,000 being available for the winning celebrity’s chosen charity, a huge % of the UK population have been watching an amazingly successful TV programme which tacitly approves of’ Lying’ to win the prize that could benefit so many deserving cases.

The phrase “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” was said by Oscar Wilde in his 1889 essay, The Decay of Lying. The quote suggests that life often mimics the forms, ideas, and emotions presented in art rather than the other way around. Wilde was not the first to identify the importance of lying in public life, that honour probably belonging to the Greek philosopher, Plato, wh introduced the concept of the “noble lie” (gennaion pseudos), which are myths or falsehoods in words that the rulers of his ideal city are permitted to tell citizens for the purpose of maintaining social order and promoting the common good. This was an explicit departure from the stricter moral views of his teacher Socrates, who seems to have opposed all lies.

This week (4 November 2025), I’ve been listening to the current Secretary of State for Education highlighting that the new curriculum that her government are to introduce next year will put right the deficiencies arising from the old ‘new’ curriculum celebrated by Michael Gove 11 years ago, in his time in the same role. I remember specifically when Gove supported his changes in the Computing curriculum, supported by the then Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, requiring a focus on the teaching of the fundamentals of Computer Science, coding and programming skills within our schools. The fundamental ‘truths’ of the last decade, spouted by Government and the DfE no doubt will be replaced by the brave new world hopes that iterate that we need computing to go back to providing broader insights and knowledge about the applications and outcomes. Inevitably, we will end up examining ‘up to the hilt’ the syllabus followed by its students; another folly erected in the pursuit of education, which has already moved on because of AI, LLM and the explosion of computing power now with us, previously never perceived ever to be available.

In terms of Education across the world, and all due praise to those very Gove reforms, English education has done really well, in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Maths and Science assessments in comparison to most other developed economies. Our sector gives Mr Gove every credit he deserves for those reforms, but has to hold back in its peon of praise, because Gove chose not to see all of the reforms we needed to truly create the outcomes that benefited all children. Forcing the EBacc on the country has seen the almost complete destruction of state school Arts education in the round, and his unwillingness to recognise those industries that bring such success to the UK through Film, Music and TV. Moreover, whilst we still lead the world in food technology, our state school Sixth Formers are unable to follow Food Studies at A level.

I do feel I can speak for the Independent school sector in England to say that neither set of reforms is likely to trouble our schools, as we have always been able to see the value in a myriad of subjects and approaches. We’ve been completely loyal to the children and young people we serve, offering all the range and breadth needed for our individual communities. Some schools have chosen (as we have at Claires Court) to make use of internationally recognised qualifications, and to offer breadth and range for subjects that are better assessed through practical assessments of vocational skills rather than terminal written exams. In short, there are many ways of ‘skinning the cat’, and we can celebrate them all.

Where national government is failing now and has been for years is in failing to adopt the duty of candour needed to run the country effectively. Despite the obvious failings of all the great departments of government, be those Care, Education, Health, Judiciary, the Police and Prison services, and perhaps above all, the Treasury, all their ministers (and their departmental spokesmen) can do is state that ‘we are spending more in real terms than previously’ and that it will take time ‘to put right the mess that we inherited from the last government’.

I quote from August 2024 “During the recent state opening of parliament, the new Labour Government confirmed their intention to enact primary legislation imposing a statutory duty of candour on all public servants and authorities. Although public authorities are currently subject to guidance on candour when taking part in inquest proceedings, they are not bound by any statutory duties to tell the truth. According to the Government, the new ‘Hillsborough Law’ intends to ‘change the culture of defensiveness in the public sector that has denied families the justice they deserve and contributed to their suffering’. The inclusion of this law in the 2024 King’s Speech is the direct result of a manifesto promise made by the Labour Party to support the long-standing ‘Hillsborough Law Now’ campaign to oblige state bodies to tell the truth and proactively cooperate with official investigations and inquiries. It is also, in part, a response to the outcome of the recent Infected Blood Inquiry and other high-profile miscarriages of justice such as the Post Office Scandal.”

Of course, no such legislation will ever work when we have such an oppositional approach to running our country. Those who win elections declare that they have the mandate to empower the changes they see the country needs, but never engage with the experts who actually know what needs to be done, in part because ‘expertise’ is now so easily acquired simply by inferring ‘I’ve done the job before’. I am one of many professionals now who feel that we are badly served by our government. It appears they are indeed ‘the traitors within’. Unlike the victor(s) from the TV series, where the successful could indeed have lied their way to the top, no one wins when the government of the day acts so treacherously, both to win power and then to retain it. This is no diatribe focused on the present; our country simply has outsourced so much, so many and for so long the services needed to run what we needed as a civilised society that we find ourselves in the perilous position today. Plato observed that ‘the noble lies’ are required to serve the purpose of persuading people to accept their role and be motivated to act for the country’s stability.

Sadly, government assertions today are no longer believed, because the half-truths and worse have come too thick and fast, with evidence of their failures filling the TV screens and news bulletins to the hilt. Sadly, I suspect the viewing public has already switched over from the reality of the news to the illusions conjured by ‘Traitors’, the ‘Great Bake Off’ and all. If nothing else, at least these shows actually have some winners!

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‘Diamonds in the Sky’ – hopes and values in 2025/26

Posted on 17/10/2025 by jameswilding

This half-term, we publish the Court Report, our annual statement, which covers the various successes of last year, and includes my commentary on the times ahead. You can see the website copy here, a really colourful celebration of Claires Court in action. As I make clear, we remain acutely aware of the financial challenges placed on families due to the addition of 20% VAT, and are doing our level best to keep core charges down. However, our catering prices are set to rise, so we can continue to provide high-quality offerings, and a separate communication outlining the changes will come out over the holiday half-term.

Schools win permission to appeal government’s VAT policy

The High Court previously acknowledged that the policy would disproportionately affect families in the bottom half of the income distribution, with 3,000 pupils expected to be displaced immediately. Despite this, the Court declined to intervene, citing Parliament’s broad discretion in matters of taxation. However, the Court of Appeal’s decision recognises the serious human rights implications of the policy, including potential violations of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and Protocol 1, Article 2 (right to education) under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Our recent visit by the Independent Schools Inspectorate was most encouraging too; and we look forward to receiving the report and sharing its contents, expected in the 2nd week after half-term. Good news is always nice to receive, of course; we are very aware, though, that it is in the future that we plan our daily work, to give all of our children, whatever their strengths and differences, the skills and opportunities that will nurture the very best longer-term outcomes for their successful development. Nurture is one of the key values within education, is always spoken of within the Early Years Framework for nurseries and Reception, but seems to be quickly forgotten by so many, including Secretaries of State for Education. Nurture is a core principle in education, parenting, and personal development to emphasise the importance of caring, emotional support, commitment and providing a safe environment for growth.

To that end, and reflecting on the PTA Fireworks event on Saturday night (and the risk assessment we make every year to cover exploding mortar bombs in the air!), it provided a great opportunity for our school community to meet and enjoy a convivial evening of activity and conversation. With over 1000 present, what with ticket sales and footfall to the bar, ice cream van, pizza trailer and stalls, it provided both wonderful entertainment and a useful surplus to the PTA Foundation funds. Those in turn provide many valuable extras for the children and the school’s activities, for example, for the Flexitent providing cover for our stall as well as for other PTA events, and the next one arrives to benefit Forest school after half-term.

I appreciate that the most important recognition of the school’s suitability for our future pupils is the word-of-mouth recommendation of our current and previous families. It seems that the 2 major talks run this term, online with Marilyn Adams (video here, well worth watching) on the active parenting needed to safeguard children from the online harms of the internet and in person by Olympian 400m runner, Mark Richardson, to a good audience of parents and sports students. Mark spoke compellingly on his clear ambition to become the best in the world, and belatedly this Summer, he and Iwan Thomas, Roger Black & Jamie Baulch received their Gold medals for their victory in the World Championships in 1997, the original winners (USA) being subsequently disqualified because of the use of performance-enhancing drugs. You can see the final here, with Mark Richardson running the anchor leg and posting the fastest time he has ever run, 43.5 seconds.

Mark Richardson, Jamie Baulch, Roger Black, Iwan Thomas and Mark Hylton

During his talk, Mark was asked whether he was disappointed to receive his Gold medal 28 years late. His answer was a huge surprise: “Certainly not, as my daughters had only ever known their dad as once being an athlete a long time ago. For them to be present whilst we took the podium was an enormous satisfaction, bringing my past life into the present. And anyway, I got to keep the Silver medal too!”

Mark is one of those many ‘Diamonds’ who have enjoyed their education here at Claires Court. Whilst he did well at school and then Loughborough University, he recognises now he has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that interfere with daily functioning. Sport, in general, and Athletics, in particular, provided Mark with the discipline and excitement to help him focus. We now know that arises from the dopamine release, providing the reward for focusing so well, and it’s why we continue to include so much sport in our curriculum.

Dopamine is not the only hormone valued by education (and amongst adolescents, that’s just as well). The ISI inspectors noted just how calm the school is during the working day. We know that is due to class size, teaching quality, the children’s willingness to learn, a really well-balanced curriculum and the great relationships that are engendered. If we get that right, then those companion hormones come out to play as well, endorphins (which reduce pain and stress), serotonin (which stabilises mood), and oxytocin (associated with social bonding), which contribute to feelings of excitement and happiness. When schools get this right, then we lay down the conditions to find Diamonds, as most parents know, their children are really precious to them, not far away in the sky, but gems in their own homes, whose talents and facets of personality just need bringing out.

So, let’s all look forward to ‘Sparkling’ – it’s half-term ahead. Enjoy!

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“Comfortable Fictions – why it’s easier to make some stuff up rather than go by the evidence!”

Posted on 09/10/2025 by jameswilding

This week’s blog explains why it’s easier to make some stuff up rather than go by the evidence!,” discusses the prevalence of educational myths, contrasts them with evidence-based approaches, and features the career insights of World champion & Olympic bronze medallist Mark Richardson, Claires Court Headboy in 1987-1988.

As a professional teacher, growing up through more than the average number of decades than most, I’ve seen a ‘Heinz variety’ of Edu-myths, promoted to be kind to adults and children, on why perhaps their ‘intelligences’ were maybe different to others in the same context, and how perhaps they might be better attuned to learn differently.

The graphic below shows categories of intelligence types, yet have no scientific basis whatsoever:

Howard Gardner started this ‘Goldrush’ in the early 1980s with his ‘multiple intelligences’ model, which grew up alongside the much-promoted concept of ‘learning styles’. Other myths include the VARK model, that learning is better in bite-sized chunks, that left-brain/right-brain dominance dictates how people learn, and that a specific amount of learning (20% in this case) is lost when ‘students’ sleep. As the graphic above shows, it makes such good points that ‘surely it must be true?’ Sadly not, there’s no golden ticket to the future, just the bitter Northern Irish truth that ‘Life is hard and then you die’, perhaps even better illustrated by American Science Fiction writer David Gerrold, who wrote:

“Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order”

Our first visitor in our Speaker series this year was the athlete Mark Richardson (1983-88), Olympic medallist and World Champion and last Friday night, his 45 minute or so unscripted talk highlighted much about his development as a teenager into adulthood and his learning as an elite athlete that rang so true of what I remember about Mark in the 5 years he was at Claires Court. To an audience of parents and their sporty offspring, Mark’s presentation included his development from wannabe runner through the 1990’s culminating in his ‘greatest race’, winning the 1998 400m against Michael Johnson, world champion at the time. 

In the 1997 World Championsips, Mark ran the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay, and initially won the Silver medal behind the USA quartet, subsequently upgraded to Gold when one of the American runners admitted to doping offences. Mark was asked whether he minded having to wait until this July to receive his medal, with the other 4 involved, Jamie Baulch, Roger Black, Iwan Thomas and heat runner Mark Hylton.

Mark’s reply was simply wonderful. “Not at all. This time, in the London stadium, my daughters were present. So for them, Dad wasn’t just somebody who’d been an athlete long ago, before they were born. To have my medal presented to me and the team, whilst their mum and they watched was a magical moment’.

After his athletics career, and a period of self-doubt and reflection, Mark commenced on a career in business. 

“ I now consult with organisations and I take a lot from being an athlete and setting performance goals, deconstructing things into thinking about what it is you’re trying to achieve, thinking about those performance milestones, those key performance indicators, and then breaking it down into bite-sized chunks that you can be doing, day in and day out. 

I’m a big believer in that. I learned that skill as an athlete – and the ability to compartmentalise as well. There are loads of things I probably didn’t realise that I was doing 30 years ago as an athlete, but I’ve got the benefit of really strong knowledge about performance psychology now.”

What Mark made abundantly clear to us is that, to reach the very top, you need to have that as the goal, and you have to believe in yourself and your capabilities to improve. It is best not to spend any time dwelling on what others do, but to look after your own ambitions and then break them down into clear, compartmentalised goals, each of what are supported by specific tasks to do and changes in training so achieve them. He highlighted the many setbacks he faced throughout his running career, most notably that overtraining led to burnout and viral illness. During the audience’s opportunity to question Mark, they asked whether he ever ran that fast in training. Somewhat disarmingly, he answered, “I’m quite a lazy trainer and I’d never try that hard in training, just jog around, sort of faking it!”

All the signs are that, for whatever learning and skill acquisition needs to be completed, the support that fails is that of undeserved praise. Rather than suggesting someone is brilliant, what is much more effective is to check on what went well, highlight possible next steps and allow for feedback and goal setting.

I conclude this blog by quoting from a very recent article by Professor Carl Hendrick, formally an English teacher locally, and fellow researcher into what works best in learning: “The comfort of myth crowds out the discipline of truth (even amongst teachers):

This is not science. It is not even good pedagogy. It is moral theatre, performed for an audience of educators who want to believe they are doing the right thing without having to prove it. And the applause comes not from improved student outcomes, but from the warm glow of shared moral conviction.

The great danger of comfortable fictions is not that they are wrong, but that they make us feel right. They provide the satisfaction of moral certainty without the inconvenience of empirical accountability. They allow us to believe we are helping when we may be harming, to think we are progressive when we may be perpetuating the very inequalities we claim to oppose.”

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“Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures” – World Health Day 2025

Posted on 01/10/2025 by jameswilding

World Mental Health Day, observed on 10 October each year, is a global initiative that highlights the importance of mental health to overall well-being.

It serves as a timely reminder of the critical role families and educators play in supporting young people’s mental health. This day is not only about reducing stigma, but also about strengthening awareness, encouraging open conversations, and ensuring young people know where to turn to for support. By acknowledging World Mental Health Day we can help reduce stigma to build more compassionate and supportive environments.

I am sharing this extra Blog to empower friends and families to give some more attention to matters of well-being, and just because people look healthy, appearances are deceiving.

Parents and caregivers play a central role in shaping the mental health of their children. World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the pressures young people face in today’s world and how we can best support them. Whether it’s helping them find balance between school, technology and rest, encouraging open conversations about feelings, or modelling healthy coping strategies ourselves, taking small steps at home can make a big difference. By engaging with resources and discussions on this day, families can strengthen their understanding of mental health and contribute to a culture where seeking help is seen as a sign of strength, not weakness.

SchoolsTV are our partners in the provision of excellent advice to parents and families. SchoolTV have just been awarded Mental Health Organisation of the Year in Australia! I have every expectation that their reach will soon be across the whole of the UK, in part because of the quality of the advice they offer, all published on our website here – https://clairescourt.uk.schooltv.me/ and because the access to good clinical advice on working with children is just so poor.

One of the outstanding practitioners in this field is Dr Emma Woodward, a child and adolescent psychologist, and her short video as part of World Health Day 2025 is really worth a watch.

This supplementary advice, covered in her TED talk 2 years ago, helps provide advice for parents and other adults on matters of Trauma, that emotional response to a terrible event that can manifest in a range of emotional and physical symptoms, with the potential to develop into a mental health condition like PTSD if symptoms persist. In school, we are noticing a slow and steady rise in this field. I quote below the questions and beneficial answers she gives so well:

“How can we create a future fit for human flourishing through practical psychology for generations to come? Dr Emma Woodward will shed light on this question through her talk on healthy trauma-informed responses that can benefit all ages. Dr Emma Woodward is a leading expert in trauma-informed practice and child development. A respected and sought-after trainer and facilitator, she is also a frequent media commentator on topics to do with child and adolescent development and trauma-informed principals. Her passion lies in understanding how we can use our knowledge of human behaviour to create a future fit for human flourishing for generations to come.”

For additional resources and further information on World Mental Health Day, visit the Mental Health Foundation website.

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Founders’ Day and the dynamism of a Family school

Posted on 26/09/2025 by jameswilding

Thursday 18 September saw the 2025 scholars and their families presented with their awards, for academic excellence, for the Arts and Sports and for those who are excellent in the round. Those present included new entry and long-serving families to the schools, covering in the main Years 7 to 9. In the address I gave to the 48 scholars and accompanying adults, I highlighted of course the success the young people had achieved in winning the scholarship, yet that it meant something more to them and the school. I quote verbatim below:

”Now to business – Scholarship is a word that is rarely used, and perhaps often misunderstood. 

What this means at Claires Court is this:

Scholarships are awarded based on merit, such as academic achievement, artistic or sporting talent, or specific subject potential. Please note that for you young people, it’s not a REWARD – in a sense, you haven’t done anything yet! We have every expectation that, whatever your award, you recognise that you have entered a performance pathway that will, no doubt accelerate your knowledge and skill acquisition. As we celebrate with Holly Hatch and Gareth Wellen at the close of today’s celebration, our leading GCSE students now moving on from Year 11 into A level studies, they have been a major influence on the other students in their Year and the school more generally, and we hope you will have the same extraordinary effect on the school as you move through as Claires Court Scholars.”

This week, for both Senior School open days, Steve Richards presented to over 100 families in attendance that Claires Court was founded by my parents, that my brother Hugh and I are still fully involved in the school, but that in addition, our prospective parents would see on their tour around the school, young people who really were proud of their school, aware of the myriad of opportunities available to them every day, and clearly perhaps very conscious that they were already achieving so much more than they could ever have imagined prior to entry.

Of course at some point in the future, the 2 founding pupils (Hugh and I) will no longer be around, yet the school will be, with its ongoing aims and values being retained because of their fundamental value in what makes Claires Court the school it is. Yet the school has to be pioneering in its approach for education all the time, as what works now will certainly hit ‘cracks and potholes’ in the way ahead, a route for the ‘futures’ as yet unknown to us all.

The headteachers and I are really proud of the close relationships we build both with the children and young people in our care, but also with the parents & guardians that support their sons and daughters and our wider school community so strongly. One great recent example has been the enthusiasm and determination of our younger families to ensure their primary age children enjoy a SMARTphone-free childhood. Hosting the inaugural group of 60+ heads from RBWM at our Junior school highlighted that ‘Now was the time to act’, and it’s so good to see that message proliferate not just in our local authority but across the country as a major groundswell of parental opinion covering the next few years of their families lives so well.

For older students and us adults, the world of the SMART phone cannot be ignored, providing as it does a route to so many services required in life, and not just because we are now a cash-free society. Prime Minister Starmer announced today the need to have a digital identity card for citizens permitted to work in this country, and frankly since I no longer have a bank locally and need to access NHS services via an App, the reality of their universal use is evident to us all.

I’ve received the video released this week by the SMARTphone free pressure group in the USA. It’s a powerful message to us all; whatever the benefits of our digital economy, our children need the best protection they can get from the families they live amongst. Here’s an example of just how dynamic famly attention needs to be to the dangers let loose when young children are presented with such a device. 

And finally, very many thanks to Marliyn Hawes, Freedom from Abuse for her powerful and hard-hitting presentation on the wider challenges that now exist in navigating young people through the turbulent waters of adolescence. What makes the difference between the childhoods of parents and those older generations beyond and the young of 2025 is the the sheer mobility of society and immediacy of access to knowledge and experiences that were usually ring fenced by geography and community. 

In my family history there are ancestors from Essex/East End who were transported to Australia for criminal activity, but kept local and out of sight from the rest of the country. As a boy, I remember seeing the appalling photos of children in flames during the Vietnam war, and of the civil war of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Yet they weren’t sent to the screen in my hands, but arrived perhaps in a colour supplement delivered first to my parents who with some care might have talked me through the stories. That’s the major difference now, and why managing the access to the world of troubles so sharply expressed in the video above is an essential part of the dynamism that schools and families need to embrace.

Ending on a high note about our pupils at Claires Court, whether they be the scholars winning awards last week or the wider school on show yesterday and today, they clearly just love that the continuity between schools is welcomed, and gives them the skills to express their voice, support their school and enjoy so many of the opportunities around them, very much beyond my wildest dreams from 1960, when I first started at Claires Court!

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Diplomacy – Whether to Grin & Bear it?

Posted on 19/09/2025 by jameswilding

Current events around the world, and with specific reference to this week’s visit of the President of the United States as well as peace talks around the Gaza crisis and the war in Ukraine, reminds us all that progress around problems (and finding their solution) can’t be made unless all parties are included in the conversation. As the general title of my blog suggests (A Principled View), should not we all call a spade a spade to remind people of the work that has to be done? Perhaps not, and that’s where Diplomacy comes in! It’s as unwise to gloss over the challenges as it is to call out that it’s a ‘bloody shovel’.

Over my time as a headteacher, I’ve carried to staff meetings a small figurine, see below, identifying that, as often as not, someone has had to ‘suck it up’, go the hard yards and ‘Grin & Bear It’. It’s been really useful to carry this ‘GBI’ statue, some times associated with a bottle of pop or Amazon voucher, because when all said and done’, a colleague or team has stood up and carried a significant load, unexpected to either their job description or pay grade. Inevitably this is the diplomatic view to take, to appreciate the support has been given and to recognise the pain and inconvenience that came with it.

I don’t support that King Charles and the Royal Household had too many options when last Summer the Prime Minister encouraged him to invite ‘The Donald’ for the Royal Visit just witnessed. Over the 2 days of Red Carpet, treatment, including the fly past, the parachute jump, the Castle banquet and umpteen photo calls, it’s clear that both King and President have confirmed the that the close relationship between both countries is of vital importance, and probably not just to us, but the wider world as well. Sure there were legitimate protests around the country, for some the sycophancy, for others the blind eye being turned to previous acts, to yet more the failure to act with determination to stay the hand of Putin or Netanyahu spoke of ‘empty promises, never to be fulfilled.

Sir Winston Churchill had an alternative view on Diplomacy, highlighting that if the outcome of such discussions were to be a victory for the ‘home team’, then the work to be done had to be result-focused. The reality of our country’s situation at the time was that Neville Chamberlain glossed over the problem; after signing the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler, which allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise of no further territorial expansion, Chamberlain declared “Peace for our time” on September 30, 1938, after signing the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler, which allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise of no further territorial expansion. We know how that went, as a year later, the Second World War broke out! See the poster at the bottom, which expresses Churchill’s approach really well.

In whatever life you lead, be that private or public, and wherever you are in the hierarchy of life itself, being sure your voice is heard is really important. You can measure the quality of the people you are working with by whether they are open to listening and hearing your point of view. It’s the nature of life that the parties could disagree, yet the quality of the discussion will always highlight the there has been clarity of purpose and that the respect for both parties has been maintained. Prior to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the American political activist, in support for Trump’s MAGA campaign expressed some pretty extreme views which many would take great exception to. I’d watched his various debates with students from the Cambridge Union, exceptional short exchanges of views, from which I suspect we’d have to declare a draw when time was called. What I do respect is that Kirk was prepared all the time to debate the issues, to pursued and take the hit if he lost the argument on the day.

Kirk’s murder was completely unacceptable, as all such crimes across the world are. The subsequent further polarisation of views clearly show we are now further away from developing a consensus around the way our collective societies should behave. I am deeply concerned by the extreme left’s Fabian views of the direction of travel they wish, that being the peaceful takeover of our values led, meritocratic, democratic society and its replacement by a socialist society, believing that all private property is theft and that we are best being ‘nationalised’ to a common view point. Their coat of arms carries a ‘Wolf in Sheep’s clothing, so we need to very afraid, because their activist sit at the heart of the current Labour government,

Opinion polls show that more generally that the voice of the right wing is now dominant, with Reform led by Nigel Farage leading the way. The promises they bring are as likely to be as hollow as those that Labour expressed as they sought power (save the NHS and Smash the Gangs) or as they were by the Brexiteers a decade go as they sought to persuade us that leaving the EU would save us billions, to be directed to save the NHS and permit our economy to grow so much more rapidly. The reasoned middle way has ‘disappeared’ for the time being, and it seems we are returning to the potential bankrupt ideas of the 1970s and 1990s.

So why am I writing this political take in an Academic’s blog usually reserved for Education matters? It’s quite clear that the expected nursery and school provision of services to parents and children are now hitting the ‘requirements to change’, without reasoned discussions or even inclusion of the related parties affected. Changes to VAT, funding for nurseries & Ofsted inspection reports, new education acts to renationalise state academies and review the SEN funding for those with additional needs to reduce the current spend dramatically are all taking place WITHOUt consultation. The latter are not manifesto promises, yet the DfE snowplough moves relentlessly onwards and the politicians defending them publicly defend their ‘improvements’, in the the face of the sector’s growing anxiety that the outcomes are going to be so much worse for the children in our care.

As senior, sector professional, I will keep calling this out. At its best, the Department for Education has done and will continue to develop a system for education the envy of the world. Yet, with politicians changing the rules daily, trumpeting like Chamberlain did 60+ years ago that all is well, keep calm and carry on, to be fair, I’ll side with Winston Churchill. I just hope there is someone out there in authority that wants to listen to me.

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Making Sense of the World of Marginal Gains…

Posted on 12/09/2025 by jameswilding

Most of the readers of my blog will be very well aware that things get better step by step. My first car bought whilst I was at Leicester University, in the summer of 1972 was a Ford Popular 100E (1960 model as in photo below), replacing my Honda 75 motor scooter. Travelling the 100 miles each way to Uni to get home on the Honda, open to the elements in a dreadful winter was no fun at all, so replacing that with a car, with some heating and room for 3 friends was life changing. The ‘Pop’ was by all measures a dreadful car, not capable of going faster than the scooter, and when travelling up hill, the windscreen wipers would crawl to a halt, running as they did on the air intake manifold. As for acceleration, 0-60 mph was only possible downhill, and over 30 seconds. Where GB car ownership now is beyond any recognition of those times, who knows what we will be in 50 years from now, yet it’s likely to be approximately the same space and size for 4 or 5 humans to use.

The same can be said of so many sports; in my times, GB sports have moved from participation to world leading, and these improvements have not occurred by luck, but through the careful and systematic research, starting with the question ‘Why?’ David Brailsford ‘reinventing the wheel’ is nicely described in this Harvard Business Review , in which he explains how the ‘podium principles’ for success were broken down into strategy, human performance and continuous improvement. In Bounce (2010), Matthew Syed gives so many examples on why practice makes perfect, not least by repeating the mantra practice makes perfect! Because GB sport has learned these lessons, in almost all areas of sporting endeavour we are right up there, hence our place as number 2 in the Olympics.

You won’t be surprised to hear that critics of the classroom suggest that it has not changed over the past 200 years’ designed as it was for the industrial age to create automatons for the factory floor. Images of the Victorian classroom are placed alongside those of the 21st-century classroom, where now in the AI age it is suggested that little is to be learned by gathering knowledge; what we need are the many and various transferable skills to meet the multiple challenges of the post-industrial world, where machines will replace all of our working careers. Such ideas are worth exploring, testing and indeed seem enticing. At the time of my graduating, us new young things were enticed by the idea that our improving wealth would give us more leisure time, happy families and a world of ‘perfect’. So we know how that’s worked out – not!

Certainly, at my school, we’ve adopted all the podium principles suggested by Brailsford, embraced most of Syed’s psychological and philosophical standpoints, and in every area of our school lives, we’ve seen the marginal gains arise for the children. We’ve learned the lessons of too much screen time; we know that children must learn how to be bored, how to build resilience by failing and enjoyed/admire hugely seeing the extraordinary successes of 18 Ukrainian refugees over 3 years, with little knowledge of the Roman alphabet and spoken English on arrival to the UK, be able to graduate to secondary school, sixth forms and Universities with academic results that most families would say ‘I’d take that!’

I was intrigued this week when watching a short BBC news clip on Otters, once considered vermin and almost exterminated by vicars and game keepers up to the time I was at Uni. Now they are welcomed back into rivers across the countryside, with some care of course, because they’ll eat you out of fish House and Home in a trice. As with humans, otter pups are intensely curious, and they need be stimulated and enabled to roam, through which they learn all the necessary skills for successful adulthood. It’s just the same for children. Before the age of 5 or 6, learning happens most successfully by play, in a cohort, working together and learning how to socialise. You check out Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to see how success starts, understand the steps taken here, each won through marginal gains. From then onwards, the way we organise our higher thinking skills requires some formalised teaching, not least to keep the child’s emotional development in harness with their intellect – see Bloom’s taxonomy for more on this. Originally shown as a pyramid, I prefer Bloom’s intellectual development in the shape of a 20th-century light bulb because when working with others, we know when our own or their light bulb moment happens – a marginal gain switching on the ‘wow’ and ‘wonder’ and ‘I get it’ moments!

Whether Bloom, Brailsford, Maslow or Otters, it’s clear the adult coach has their place to steer improvement to happen Yet necessary to that struggle is peer group socialisation, intervention when that’s not going right, teaching to lift the child over the knowledge and skills barriers that are counter-intuitive, ‘parenting not friending’ when managing the household and above all, not putting one’s brain on the shelf and letting others, including AI, carry the load and not bother learning the skills ourselves. I’m intrigued by the latest research that highlights that children need to learn to write physically before using a modern keyboard and computer. Back in the day, whether using paper & pen or typewriter, you had to think about your writing before hardcopy simply because, whether be ink from the pen or the ribbon, once on the paper the mark was permanent. Now, you don’t need to trouble yourself because the screen is a friend to correction. Using such a modern screen, it seems the child can’t remember what they wrote 2 or 3 sentences before, and within about 10 minutes after the work is complete, the work done has been completely forgotten.

Taking the time to do things well encourages the world of marginal gains, and such practice makes perfect, and after much repetition, practice makes permanent. From brain surgery, through cycling to table tennis, it turns out it’s never about talent (5%), it’s perspiration (95%) – fired of course by curiosity and the desire to improve one’s own performances and seeking, if not a podium finish, at least the self-actualisation of a job done well. And most of the time, that needs a peer group of about 20, of people of about the same age and interests. As indeed the ancient Syrians knew 9 centuries ago, as we’ve discovered from the archaeologists uncovering the ruins of their towns, they found classrooms. And that clearing of the dirt to reveal the evidence beneath can only be done, brush stroke by brush stroke, with common purpose and understanding, that classrooms were just big enough to house a teacher and 20 learners. Well, who knew that?

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Claires Court: Resilience, Vision, and Futures 2025

Posted on 28/08/2025 by jameswilding

As we reflect on the past year and look towards the promising horizon of “Claires Court Futures 2025,” it is with immense pride and profound gratitude that we present this annual report. Claires Court’s journey has always been one of ambition and adaptation, a spirit that has been tested and triumphed in recent years. Just five years ago, our ambitious plans for a new campus at Maidenhead Thicket faced national planning hurdles, swiftly followed by the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, with our school community navigating closures and the transition to online learning for extended periods. Yet, it is precisely in overcoming these adversities that the true strength and resilience of Claires Court has shone brightest.

The remarkable achievements of our students, particularly those who began their secondary education in lockdown – our “Pandemic Year 7s” now flourishing at GCSE, and those in Year 13 whose school careers were equally interrupted – stand as a testament to their unwavering spirit and our dedicated support. We are thrilled to report that our GCSE and A-level results have not only recovered but have risen back to the highest levels we could possibly expect. Beyond academic excellence, our pupils have garnered national recognition across athletic pursuits, performing arts, and community involvements, showcasing a holistic development that truly defines the Claires Court experience. This success reinforces our fundamental belief that while we maintain a strong reputation for fostering elite scholarship, we equally regard each child as an individual with immense potential, nurturing their strengths and even uncovering “unknown unknowns” that ignite lifelong passions. This ethos was powerfully demonstrated by the successful integration and remarkable progress of Ukrainian refugees into our school community, many of whom arrived without knowledge of the Roman alphabet or English language, yet three years on, have passed public examinations and matriculated for further and higher education. This is the strength of Claires Court: not to deselect or decline, but to welcome children, because ‘their place is here’.

Our vision for Claires Court Futures 2025 extends to a significant reimagining of our existing campus to meet the specifications for a fully balanced program for boys and girls. We are committed to offering ‘Diamond provision,’ ensuring high-quality facilities that are commensurate with our high aspirations, though not necessarily identical in every respect. A cornerstone of this vision has been the successful unification of our Junior boys and girls onto a single campus at Ridgeway. We are incredibly proud of the two years they have spent working together, fostering a junior community that feels fully cohesive and vibrant. Furthermore, we have meticulously modelled and adapted the junior curriculum to encompass not only key features of literacy, numeracy, and physical development, but also a rich array of creative aesthetic and outdoor learning activities, including our popular Forest School. Myriad summer activities across all our sites further underscore the school’s flourishing state. Looking ahead, we have secured the necessary planning permissions for the final steps in developing our Senior School boys and girls facilities, particularly in music, drama, and physical education capacities, and now focus on securing the finances to complete these crucial enhancements.

The School’s commitment extends far beyond the campus walls, actively forging relationships and making a significant impact within the wider community. Our co-curricular, before and after school, and residential programs have expanded to their fullest extent, providing unparalleled opportunities for our students. We have cultivated strong partnerships with many of Maidenhead’s major sports clubs, Norden Farm Arts Centre, and the National Sports Centre, Bisham Abbey. We are particularly excited about our next steps: partnering with Redroofs School for the Performing Arts to introduce Level 3 BTEC qualifications in Musical Theatre, Dance, and Drama into our Sixth Form, broadening our reach and offering diverse pathways for artistic talent. Our support for the development of new waterways linking the River Thames to Maidenhead town centre, and the establishment of our own kayaking and canoeing centre – accessible also to adults for acquiring waterman skills – exemplifies our dedication to community enrichment and skill development. Internally, we have proactively addressed considerable societal challenges, working across all age groups to highlight and change behaviours, calling out misogyny, and teaching children from all backgrounds to aspire, develop ambition, resilience, an interest in others, and above all, to serve their school community and the wider nation. It is inspiring to see our students contemplating futures in public service, the military, and critical fields like artificial intelligence and medical sciences.

Claires Court recognises the limitations of a narrowly focused English curriculum that often prioritises academic achievement as the sole measure of success. While we excel in this, we embrace a broader, more holistic approach. Beyond traditional A-levels, we offer a diverse array of respected co-curricular and co-academic programs, including the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), BTEC National Certificates and Diplomas, and other Level 3 qualifications such as Food Technology from the Welsh board. Our goal is not solely to prepare students for Russell Group universities and the professions beyond, but also to keep their artistic and creative flair alive, preparing them for a wide range of foundation courses, university degrees in advertising, fashion, theatre, or commercial activities, and valuable apprenticeships. This open and welcoming approach, embracing boys and girls from different backgrounds, enriches our community life. Our young people can no longer prepare for just one career, and need a far wider palette of skills and interests to assist in making their way successfully in the futures they will face.

In an ever-changing world, we are committed to educational innovation, particularly through the thoughtful integration of technology. We have invested significantly in developing our adult teaching faculty, with experts like Victor Allen, Marlyn Hawes, and Finn O’Regan providing training to ensure our staff remain at the cutting edge of educational practice. Critically, Claires Court has embraced Artificial Intelligence at the heart of our work, utilising tools like Merlyn Mind at Junior level and Google Workspace, Gemini, and NotebookLM at Secondary School. This strategic adoption of AI has empowered our staff to manage their workload more efficiently, develop new and innovative learning methods, and ultimately benefit our children. We are proud to have made a significant contribution to its adoption in the UK, USA, Eire, Europe and the Middle East. Furthermore, recognising the current crisis in adolescent mental health, we are steadfast in providing an environment with sufficient time in the working day that fosters genuine friendships and social interaction, helping children navigate the complexities of growing up in a digital age, learning to trust, communicate, compete, and forge effective pathways into adulthood.

Looking to the future, we acknowledge the considerable challenge posed by austerity and taxation on families’ ability to fund independent education. To ensure Claires Court remains affordable to the vast majority of parents seeking a broad, holistic education for their children, we are forging strategic partnerships with community groups to bring additional revenues into the school. In terms of new recruitment of children for the future, our goal is to attract enough boys and girls each year, aiming to keep our maximum class size at 20 and GCSE groups at around 16. It’s an important balance we need to strike, with classes large enough for competition, small enough for individual attention, and with full agreement that the core values we stand for are adopted by all. We also offer flexible entry and exit points, from a few years in Reception or Junior School, a full secondary education commencing from Year 7 as well as a warm welcome for children switching from middle schools that graduate at the end of Year 8. Adding transition programmes for external students that need to flesh out their GCSE qualifications, and creating Foundation program years beyond Sixth Form to allow students to perfect skills in arts, theatre, dance, and sports have commenced well, and these can only enrich what Claires Court stands for as a leading centre of education. Both Principals of Claires Court, my brother Hugh and I, remain incredibly ambitious for our school. We carry our responsibilities with utmost fidelity, profoundly supported by our outstanding heads, deputies and senior leadership teams across all three sites, who manage the day-to-day running of our exceptional education. Their commitment to the future is as serious as their dedication to the past, and we continually test our success through the invaluable insights of external visitors, who help us identify areas for even greater improvement. The boys and girls of all abilities know their place is here with us. With the continued support of our community, our talented staff, and our forward-thinking strategies, we look forward to the future with huge enthusiasm, confident that Claires Court will continue to flourish and shape exceptional young individuals for many generations to come.

James Wilding
Academic Principal
26 August 2025

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