At this point in the academic year there is usually a little time to take a breath before the next onslaught. The start of the autumn term is a frenzy with lots of new boys and some new staff who need to get to know the ropes, new courses to bed in and fresh issues to confront. The combination of planning work, organising assessment, reviewing results and completing priority university applications is an all-consuming one through September and October. By the half-term break everyone should know what they are doing , I have completed all of the staff appraisals and suddenly life seems to have emerged onto an open plain where the horizon is more visible; instead of rushing to keep up, looking at my feet I can start to look ahead and think about what the next few months might bring.
November is also the time when I get to see all of the new teachers do their stuff, and it is always really interesting to see what they bring to their classrooms. This year (so far) I have seen excellent use of peer assessment in Art, thoughtful analysis of materials in DT and a super lesson on the English Civil War which began with Billy Bragg! I doubt that any teacher is masochistic enough to look forward to the Head watching a classroom session, but the teachers I have watched thus far have been both welcoming and natural while I was with them. More will follow, which I very much look forward to.
It is also at this time of year that I have the privilege of talking to many of the boys who have applied for priority university places. Once again I am not sure that they look forward to the experience as much as I do, but I find it uplifting to have the opportunity to talk to the boys about their experience and their aims for the next few years. Interviews beckon for them around Christmas, whichever course they have chosen, and so the slightly austere environment of the Head Master’s office provides some preparation for operating on at an away fixture. My job is not to examine subject competence, but more to probe their reasons for their choice of path and whether their foundation for application is firm. Invariably they come through with flying colours and I emerge deeply impressed.
SDS
