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Green Churchill

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Schools are in the business of making the future. Our job as educators is to give young people the best possible knowledge, skills, confidence and character to go out and make the world better. And one of the biggest problems that needs to be solved if that better future is going to be a reality is the problem of climate change.

It isn’t like this problem has crept up on us. I remember using Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth to teach students about climate change (and documentary film-making) back in 2006 – before many of our current students were even born. Yet, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that we are causing climate change, the crisis has deepened since then. As a species, we are not doing enough to fix it.

Here at Churchill, we are determined to do what we can to put that right. We have made a start – but we also have a long way to go.

A Greener Site

This week the Churchill Green Team, working with volunteers from Extinction Rebellion, have been hard at work across the Academy planting 105 saplings donated by the Woodland Trust. Over the summer the new broadwalk path down the centre of the Academy site was planted up to develop a sustainable habitat. The Sixth Form have worked hard on developing green spaces around the Sixth Form centre. This vital work is just one part of what we have been doing to help make – and keep – Churchill Academy & Sixth Form “green.”

Solar Panels

As part of the site redevelopment, all of our new buildings (and many of the existing ones) have their roofs covered in solar panels. These panels have vastly increased our reliance on renewable energy. The energy generated from our own solar panels has accounted for between 22-35% of our electricity consumption over the last three months. We were also delighted to see that for several (small) periods over the summer, when the sun was at its most powerful and the energy usage was at its lowest, the site was running entirely self-sufficiently for energy.

Energy Efficiency

Internal works two years ago replaced all the Academy’s traditional light bulbs with energy-efficient LED lighting. These lights uses a fraction of the energy, last longer, and are better to see by. A win-win-win! The Sixth Form have also twice run a “no-power-hour” to see if they can switch off everything possible to get to zero power in the Sixth Form Centre!

Green Team Initiatives

The Green Team have also been busy. This student-led team pioneered reusable “green” coffee cups for Sixth Formers and staff to use at the Sixth Form coffee bar. They have also designed green spaces, including the newly-planted broadwalk down the middle of the school. There are plans to open up vegetable and herb gardens so each house can grown their own produce for use in Food Science and Nutrition, and to install a greenhouse!

Recycling and recyclables

All of our waste is currently processed for recycling, but we plan to make sorting waste more high-profile for our staff and students. We have moved to recycled materials for our take-away cutlery and packaging, and we are committed to reducing the amount of plastic in our catering and our school as a whole. Our caterers, Aspens, also use locally sourced ingredients to reduce food miles and our carbon footprint. The new benches we have ordered and installed at the front of the school and in the Sixth Form area are made from recycled plastic bottles, rather than wood.

Political pressure

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Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been an inspiration to many people around the world for her determined, straight-talking challenge to those in power to take immediate action on the climate crisis. My position on the “school strikes” movement is that education is vital to solving the climate crisis. Those who deny climate change have not been educated well enough to recognise the facts that science can demonstrate. Only through education can we therefore solve the climate crisis. Therefore, rather than going on strike, I have urged Churchill students to use their education, knowledge and skills to help save the planet for future generations.

As a result of just such a conversation, Ellie, Saffron, Ruby and Eve from Year 11 met with John Penrose MP when he came into school recently, to discuss the climate crisis and what could be done about it. Their passionate and eloquent speech certainly impressed our current Member of Parliament, although he was quick to point out the complexity of the global climate problem. There are no easy answers – but we have to do something, and each of us can play our part. The quality of our students’ arguments and ideas gave me hope that we can – and will – save the planet. And they made me think about what we can do at Churchill.

A carbon-neutral school?

One question I have been asking myself recently is “what would it take to become a carbon-neutral school?” Schools are energy-hungry places: we have lots of buildings, lots of people, lots of technology which all use power. We use a lot of paper every day – it’s our stock in trade. Many of our children travel to school on diesel-engined buses. We have a significant carbon footprint. How could we reduce and offset that footprint to minimise our impact? I don’t know all the answers yet. But over the course of this year, as we think about the future of our school intertwined with the future of our children, our society and our planet, I am determined to find some.

If you have any suggestions, or connections or ideas which may help us, please let us know in the comments below!

Students’ Voices

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In our prospectus videos this year, we have deliberately focused on students’ voices.

Our main school video features seven of our students talking about their own experiences…before I pop up at the end!

In our Sixth Form prospectus video, eight of our Sixth Form students speak about the choices they have made and what they feel about Churchill Sixth Form. The music was composed and produced by the Sixth Form; they are responsible for the content.

These videos were reinforced on our Open Evenings. At both the Year 7 Open Evening in September, and the Sixth Form Open Evening this week, our students spoke to the visitors who were interested in finding out more about Churchill. They were our tour guides, our subject experts, our demonstrators and presenters. The Gospel Choir sang. And all of this is deliberate, because I know our students are proud of Churchill, that they are going to advocate for their school, and that they are our finest ambassadors. We hope our videos capture that; I know that visitors to the school who meet our students always comment on it.

Two new clubs have started this year, and student voice is at the forefront of both of them. This week Ruby and Kim from the Amnesty International Club prepared and shared a resource for tutors to help explain what Amnesty is all about, and to highlight a particular case of injustice that had moved them. Meanwhile, the Medusa Feminism Club has prepared a brand new display to highlight the importance of gender equality in school and society as a whole.

Throughout this week, students have been voting to nominate the Academy’s chosen charity for the year. All the charity suggestions were made by students, who researched and prepared cases for charities which meant something to them, including the MS Society, Phab Kids, Young Carers, Young Minds, Cancer Research UK and Mind.

I have personally been working closely with student representatives this year to help with our self-evaluation. This is the process where we assess what we are doing well, and what we could do better – the voice of students in this is essential, and working closely with a panel of students gives a really clear and honest “student’s eye” view of life at Churchill.

Every day, students’ voices make Churchill the school that it is. And, as I listened to the first rehearsal of the Junior Choir this week ahead of the Christmas Concerts, I was certain that there is no finer advertisement for what we do than the voices of the students themselves.

New College, Oxford

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New College Oxford’s 1993 intake. Can you find the 19-year-old me?

I will never forget the day I got the letter telling me that I’d got an offer from Oxford University. It was the last day of the Christmas term in 1992, when I was in Year 13. I remember because it was also the last night of our senior school play that year, a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night – so I celebrated the last night of the show and the offer of a place to study English Language and Literature at New College, Oxford, on the same night.

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New College Old Quad (source)

New College was new when it was founded, in 1379. The name has stuck, even though it is now one of the oldest colleges in Oxford! I was struck by the beauty of the place when I went to look round with my Mum in the summer of 1992. It remains one of my favourite places to visit – a little oasis of tranquility in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city.

I studied at Oxford between 1993 and 1996. They were three wonderful years spent studying the subject that I loved – and still love! The system at Oxford suited me down to the ground. The University itself is divided up into 35 different colleges. The colleges provide students’ accommodation, food, teaching and pastoral care. This enables the tutors to know the students really well. New College is one of the biggest colleges – when I went, there were twelve students taking English in my year – but there were three English tutors, so we were very well looked after!

We were taught mainly in tutorials, where two students would sit with a tutor for an hour each week. One of us would read our essay out loud, and the tutor and the other student would then pick it apart, looking for the strengths and weaknesses in what we had written and asking us to defend our arguments. This taught me to prepare well, think on my feet, and know when to admit when I have got something wrong! Doing this three times a week, every week, also taught me a huge amount about organising myself to make sure that everything got done. When there’s only two of you in the tutorial, with a world-leading expert in your subject, there’s nowhere to hide!

Going back to New College

This week, I took twenty three Year 11 students back to New College for a visit. They spent the day learning about university in general and Oxford in particular. They spent time with second-year undergraduates, asking lots of questions to try and find out what studying at Oxford is really like. They also had a tour of nearby St Catherine’s College, which has a much more modern feel than the ancient buildings of New College. Finally, they got to grips with ideas for A-level choices which would inform future university plans, and took on board just how stiff the competition is for places at the UK’s top universities. For example, only 9% of applicants for Medicine at Oxford are successful in gaining one of the 151 places. But, as the tutor at New College said, why shouldn’t you be one of the 9%? You can only get in if you apply in the first place!

I have been really encouraged by the work Oxford and Cambridge are doing to ensure that students from state schools are properly represented in their universities. Part of the battle is making sure that students from schools like Churchill Academy & Sixth Form see top universities as viable, realistic options for their further study. I will certainly do all I can to encourage our students to aim high, believe in themselves, and to have the confidence to put themselves forward – whatever they are aiming for.

Training teachers in Qatar

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A view across Doha, Qatar from the 32nd floor

On Saturday of last week I flew out to Doha, the capital city of Qatar, to work with a group of teachers and school leaders from British International Schools in the Middle East. They had heard about our work at Churchill Academy & Sixth Form and they wanted to find out more, to see whether aspects of our practice could be applied in their schools.

Where is Qatar?

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The location of Qatar; Doha is marked by the red pin

Qatar is a small state poking out into the Persian Gulf, bordering on Saudi Arabia. I went to the capital city, Doha, which sits on the Eastern coast of the country. Qatar was a British protectorate until it became independent in 1971, which is why there are still a lot of British schools there. Doha has recently hosted the World Athletics Championship and preparations are well underway for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. There is a lot of development going on – I saw three massive skyscrapers under construction and air conditioned football stadiums being built in the middle of the desert. Quite something!

What’s it like?

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Two skyscrapers under construction (centre) against the Doha skyline

It’s hot! The temperature was around 35° C during the day, dropping to 30° at night time. Despite the Persian Gulf nearby, the surrounding country is dusty desert. Everywhere has air conditioning, which meant that indoors felt quite chilly by comparison and I had to put a jumper on!

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Doha from the air

The city centre (West Bay) has a spectacular skyline of towers and skyscrapers. Many of them are government buildings, but there are also towers for Qatar Petroleum, the Qatar Olympic Committee, banks and hotels. It’s amazing! The surrounding city spreads out into the desert.

Qatar is an Islamic country and there are many mosques around the city. The call to prayer is amplified by loudspeakers from the mosques, which makes a wonderful noise echoing from building to building! Due to their religious beliefs, alcohol is not available in restaurants or hotels. All the people I met whilst I was there were very welcoming and hospitable. It seemed to me like a country which was very open to international visitors.

What are the schools like in Doha?

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Outside the Qatar International School

I was working at the Qatar International School, a British International School in Doha. It’s an all-through school, with a building for Early Years, Primary and Secondary sections. In their secondary school they study iGCSEs, the international version of the GCSEs we study, and A-levels which are the same as ours. The staff and students are a mixture of British ex-pats, Qatari nationals, and other nationalities who want a British education. This meant that the classrooms were an interesting multicultural blend of all different nationalities. Everyone got along really well!

All the schools were surrounded by high, solid perimeter walls, electric gates and security guards. There were locked pedestrian gates too – one of the schools even had security turnstiles for the students to get in and out. This seemed to be the norm across Qatar – all the buildings I went into had x-ray machines to scan your bags, too. 

School starts at 7am, and finishes at 1pm. The other difference is that the working week starts on a Sunday and runs until Thursday, so the weekend in Qatar is Friday and Saturday. I struggled with that a bit! There are two breaks during the day, but students go home for their lunch at the end of the day – they do not have lunch at school. There are seven lessons in the day, of differing lengths. Moving between buildings means going from air-conditioned-cool to blazing-hot and back to cool again – you have to brace yourself! But apart from that, there were lots of similarities to British schools – their classrooms looked just like a regular British school classroom would.

What were we working on?

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I was out in Doha to work with British International School teachers and school leaders on mindsets and metacognition. These are things that we have been working on at Churchill since I became Headteacher back in 2016. They were particularly interested in our work on attitudes to learning, feedback, and how we are working with teachers and students to unpack the thinking processes behind learning (metacognition). It was amazing to me that our work at Churchill has a reputation which stretches so far – but the colleagues I was working with out there were very impressed by what we were doing and wanted to find out more!

It made me very proud to be talking about our wonderful school in such a different place. Although Churchill has been soaking under torrential rain for weeks, whilst Doha has been in blazing sunshine for months, there was much to be found in common between us. “The way we do things here” at Churchill certainly found an enthusiastic audience in the Middle East!

I had a great time in a brand new environment for me. I’d never done anything quite like this before! But, when I was back on duty outside the food pod on an overcast lunchtime on Wednesday, I did catch myself thinking: “there’s no place like home.”

Silly Walking on The One Show

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As many of you will have seen, last Friday I appeared on The One Show on BBC1 as part of a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and their legendary sketch, “The Ministry of Silly Walks.” What? How? Why? Let me explain…

How on earth did you end up on The One Show?

The idea came about from a discussion on a parents’ evening. I was on duty as usual, answering questions and helping with any issues, when a parent approached me. I was expecting a discussion of student progress, but no! This particular parent worked for a television production company in Bristol, and she’d had this idea…

The company (the brilliant Off The Fence) were making a segment for The One Show to mark the 50th anniversary of Monty Python. giphy In the original Silly Walks sketch, the comedy comes from John Cleese sounding and looking very serious in terms of dress and facial expression, whilst doing the silliest of silly walks. The idea was simple: take someone in a serious job, who dresses in suit and tie every day – for example, a Headteacher. Put them in a serious situation which normally requires serious behavior – for example, an assembly  – and get them to do a very silly walk. Film it, and film the reactions. What did I think?

Well, there’s no way you can say “no” to that kind of pitch, is there?

Filming at Churchill

There were a few preliminary meetings and phone calls, and the crew came in to scout the location in March – but the date of the filming was set for April 4th. The first idea was to do the whole thing as a hidden camera stunt, but we soon realised this wouldn’t work. If we wanted to film it properly, we would need multiple cameras and we would need to get permissions from everyone anyway. Instead, we told the Sixth Form that their assembly was being filmed for a BBC Factual Programme (which was the truth!). Many of them assumed it would be on a serious topic, and had no idea what to expect.

The assembly itself went pretty well. The theme was “breaking the mould” and I gave examples of how students should try and find their own individuality, originality and creativity rather than just following what everyone else has done. However, the message was somewhat lost when I started silly walking. Many of the sixth formers, I am sure, thought that I had lost it completely. Even when I explained, at the end, that this was all in aid of Monty Python, the vast majority of students gave me blank looks – I’m not sure the Pythons have the same cultural currency they once had…

I managed to keep a straight face throughout it all, although I did discover that silly walking provides quite a good cardio workout – I was quite out of breath!

Six Months Later

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Television Centre in London. The white tent on the right was where the equipment was set up to film my live silly walk!

In early September I was told that the broadcast date for the film was 4th October – six months to the day since the filming. I hadn’t seen any footage, although I was assured that it had turned out well. I put my trust in Off The Fence! Ellé, CJ and Euan were chosen by random ballot to come with me to the studio – as A-level Media students, this was a golden opportunity to see behind the scenes on a professional live TV show.

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Ellé, CJ and Euan with an actual Dalek inside Television Centre. There was a TARDIS too!

The people at the BBC are amazing. There’s a massive team behind The One Show, and they were absolutely lovely – so professional, so efficient, but really considerate to us all. When we arrived we could see right down into the newsroom which is the backdrop to all the BBC news programmes. It felt unreal.

One of the producers broke the news that they’d had the idea for me to do a silly walk behind Michelle Ackerley and Iain Stirling as they were doing the link into the film. Well, I thought, in for a penny…and next thing I knew I was wearing a bowler hat, rehearsing with a cameraman outside the studio window in front of several very confused onlookers!

There was just time for a quick coffee break before we were ushered into the studio itself for a briefing from the floor manager. The studio is quite small, with cameras, lights and screens everywhere. There must have been a crew of about twenty as well as the audience and presenters, but they all moved around each other like a perfectly oiled machine. It was amazing to watch. And then, before I knew it, I was silly walking, live on national television, outside The One Show studio window…

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It was all over in a flash. The guests were all so professional – James Morrison even held the door open for us on the way out! – and the producers let us sit on the famous sofas for a few pictures. As soon as we got outside, all four of us tried to keep track of our mentions and messages…there were a lot!

Reflecting on the experience, I think it tells me that you should take every opportunity you are given. Even if something sounds absolutely ridiculous, you never know where it might lead!

Thank you to Debbie, Amy and Roz at Off the Fence, Anya, Kirsty and the team at the BBC, and Ellé, CJ and Euan for being such good company. You can watch the episode on iPlayer until the end of October. Normal service will be resumed next week!

The Tower

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The completed Tower cladding (summer 2019)

We were faced with a problem after the demolition of the Tudor block earlier this year. The Tower – part of the original school buildings from 1956 – remained behind. What should we do with the new “end” of the building?

We knew that the exposed brickwork would be covered with cladding, since the walls had originally been internal walls and needed protecting from the elements. We wanted to come up with a simple but eye-catching design to decorate the expanse of white: something which would capture the spirit of Churchill Academy & Sixth Form but which would last; something which clearly showed the Academy’s identity. I knew that the four Houses of Churchill were a key part of this identity…so how could we get the design to reflect this?

The first idea for the Tower was sketched – literally – on the back of an envelope. After that, I superimposed the four stripes, one for each house, onto the architects’ draft plans for cladding the exterior wall using Photoshop.

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First version of the Tower design (with scribbles!) rendered in Photoshop

In this initial design, the stripes started in the same place but then separated out. Once they were flipped over, the design made perfect sense: the four separate houses of the Academy, all heading upwards towards a common shared objective. Like our students, they aren’t all the same, but they are all aspiring, growing, climbing. The stripes show our diversity and what we all share. The expanse of white shows what is yet unwritten – and suggests what is possible.

We are delighted with the final design, which was produced and installed by Naked Signs – carefully, painstakingly, by hand – with the help of a huge cherry-picker hydraulic lift. It certainly formed a talking point for the staff and students at the start of term, with some calling them “the superhero stripes” and others instantly recognising the house colours in the pattern. We hope that our Academy community, and visitors, are equally impressed!

The House Cup

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In the process of moving reception this summer, I went through the Academy’s trophy cabinet. As well as finding the Churchill County Secondary School Academic Cup,  from 1959 (which we awarded on Presentation Evening to Isaac Burchill), I re-discovered the House Cup.

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It was somewhat tarnished, but an hour with some silver polish and some elbow grease and it came up beautifully shiny! I am pleased therefore to announce that we are re-instating the overall House Competition for 2019-20. The Churchill Cup will be awarded for a combination of:

  • Conduct Points
  • Attitude to Learning
  • Attendance
  • Inter-House Competitions
  • House Matches
  • Sports Day

Why do we need a House Cup?

The House system is an vital part of Churchill’s identity. When I arrived as Headteacher in 2016, it was top of the list of things staff, students and parents wanted to “keep” as part of the Academy. We want every student to feel part of the community, and part of their House – affiliated and aligned to something bigger than themselves. Whenever they receive an R1, or gain an “Engaged” or “Highly Motivated” grade on a report, they will not only be benefitting themselves but also contributing to their House total and the overall competition.

How do you win points for your House?

  • Conduct Points: every time any student in the main school receives an R1, R2 or R3 award, those points will automatically count towards the house total. Concerns (C1, C2 etc) count as minus points.
  • Attitude to Learning: at each reporting point in the year, the combination of attitude to learning grades within each house will be added up to generate a house total. The most points will be awarded for Highly Motivated grades, then Engaged, and so on.
  • Attendance: points will be awarded according to the average attendance within each year, broken down by House, with an overall attendance trophy for the house with the highest average attendance over the year. Every day a student turns up to school, they are not only helping themselves but also helping their house total!
  • Inter-House Competitions: the Poetry Competition, Senior Trek, and so on will all contribute points to the overall total. There are also plans for some exciting new competitions this year – watch this space!
  • House Matches: Team PE already keep running totals for these termly competitions. The points from each competition will contribute to the overall total; there will also be a trophy for winning the House Matches competition.
  • Sports Day: points are already awarded in Sports Day; these will contribute to the overall total, as well as the award of the Sports Day cup.

We’re really looking forward to the competition this year – and may the best House win!

Welcome Back!

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The 2019-20 academic year has got off to a flying start this week. Monday and Tuesday were staff training days, focusing on our four Academy priorities, before we welcomed our Year 7-12 students back on Wednesday and our Year 13 on Thursday.

Inset Days

During our first training day on Monday, staff received training on both behaviour and teaching and learning, as well as important briefings on safeguarding and inclusion. There was also time put aside for staff to work in their faculty and house teams to prepare for the year ahead.

On the second training day, all staff spent the morning working with an expert trainer exploring mental health issues, so that we can continue our efforts to support the mental health of our students. This is a complex area, but vitally important for us as a school which values the personal accomplishments of our young people – their character, wellbeing, and attitude to learning – in equal measure to their academic progress.

The Academy Site

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A huge amount of work has gone on across the Academy Site over the summer. This includes:

  • Completion of the new reception and administration hub at the heart of the school. This facility brings together all of the administration functions – finance, human resources, office, reprographics, reception, medical – into one location, increasing our efficiency and effectiveness by creating a “one stop shop” for students, staff and visitors.
  • Completion of the new staff and sixth form car park on the footprint of the old Tudor building, which will help reduce the number of cars pared on the narrow country roads around the Academy and allow safer drop-off and pick-up in the Sports Centre car park. This work has been accompanied by a striking new “Tower” design (more of which in a future blog!)
  • Completion of a new social area for students on the site of the old reception and office area
  • Redecoration of the Windsor / Maths classrooms, complete with new furniture and carpeting. This makes a big difference to the teaching and learning, reducing echo and preventing chair-scraping noises, as well as dampening sound to create a quieter, more focused classroom environment.
  • Planting along the central broadwalk, designed by the Academy’s Green Team, creating a beautiful space which will thrive as the new plants grow and spread.

I want to pay a public tribute to our amazing Site Team, IT Network Team, contractors and administration staff who have achieved an astonishing amount in a very short space of time. The Academy looked wonderful when the students arrived on Wednesday!

Focus on behaviour

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In my first assemblies with the four Houses on Wednesday, I spoke to students about our expectations of their behaviour. In consultation with students, we have revised our code of conduct so that our expectations of behaviour align with the Academy’s values of kindness, curiosity and determination. I’d like thanks to Mrs Griffiths, who led this project alongside the student representatives. The final document, pictured above, captures our high expectations of student behaviour in positive, inclusive language which links smoothly with our vision and values. I know that our students will respond well to this revision, which they helped to shape, so that we can continue to ensure that our students’ behaviour supports their learning.

I also introduced students to the revival of the Inter House Competition, which we will run this year towards the award of the House Cup – but I will save that for a future blog!

My overwhelming feeling over this first week has been one of immense pride. It is an honour to be the Headteacher of Churchill Academy & Sixth Form, working with such dedicated and expert colleagues in the teaching and support staff, and so many wonderful students. I am excited about the year ahead – there’s no limit to what we can achieve. 

2018-19 in review

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Facts and Figures

2018-19 in facts and figures

What a year! As you can see from the facts and figures above, we have much to be proud of in the progress we have made. In this, my final Headteacher’s Blog of the academic year, I’d like to take a look back and take stock of what we’ve achieved.

Term 1

We started the year strongly, with our annual Presentation Evening and ever-popular Sports Awards Evening. Our Open Evening in September led to us being over-subscribed with Year 7 applications for the third year running. The term finished on a musical note, with the Junior Young Musician of the Year and the wonderful junior production of Bugsy Malone!

Term 2

We returned with things getting serious for Year 11 as they prepared for their mock exams. We also enjoyed two nights of fabulous Christmas Concerts as well as the traditional festive celebrations – including the Sixth Form fancy dress spectacular! In the midst of all this, removers were busy moving the entire Science and Food departments from one end of the school to the other…

Term 3

We returned in 2019 to the brand new Science and Technology building, open and ready for business! This was a monumental achievement by a huge team of people. Boosted by a £50,000 grant from the Wolfson Foundation, our new rooms and brand new equipment have revolutionised our provision in this area. It’s hard to remember now that it’s only been in use for six months!

Term 4

After the February half term I took a spooky last look around the derelict, pre-demolition Tudor Block. This was an unforgettable experience as we bade farewell to the Academy’s original classrooms. We were then thrilled to welcome Professor Dame Athene Donald to formally open the building named in her honour.

Term 5

Year 13 Class of 2019

Exam season kicked in during Term 5, with our students engaged in their final revision before taking on the challenges of GCSEs and A-levels. The Tudor Block came down in a matter of weeks, and before we knew it we were saying farewell to the class of 2019!

Term 6

We’ve finished the year strong, with the opening of the Food rooms by chef Josh Eggleton, the annual Sponsored Walk and Trek, Sports Day and Activities Week. Finally this week, I have given out over 400 awards at our House Celebration of Success events. It’s a real privilege to see the young people at Churchill working so hard, and seeing the progress they have all made over the course of this year as a result of the efforts they have put in.

There is much to look forward to in 2019-20. But first, I’m sure all of us are looking forward to the summer holidays: a well-deserved chance to rest and recharge, get out in the fresh air, catch up on reading for pleasure, and hopefully spend time with family and friends. I urge you all to make the most of the break, so that you are refreshed and ready to do it all again – even better this time! – in September.

Finding your fire

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fire

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”

Plutarch

I often use that quotation when I am talking about education. When I was at school in north west London in the early 1990s, my mind was lit up by English Literature, and particularly poetry. My teachers were skilful and knowledgeable enough to feed that fire, which led me to studying English Language and Literature at university. The flame continued to burn brightly as I trained to teach English, and has been the torch that has guided me throughout my career. There is no greater pleasure than passing on that spark to somebody else, and seeing them get as excited as you do about your subject.

For me it was English. For others it’s Mathematics, or hockey, or cooking, or chemistry, or painting, dance, textiles, the saxophone…

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Our Year 7 students in a cookery workshop with Michelin-star-winning chef Josh Eggleton, and Churchill alumnus Nick Woodhouse, who completed an apprenticeship with Josh after leaving Churchill

Where our students have already found their passion, we do our best as a school to nurture it. But one of the most important things adults can do for young people is introduce them to as many new subjects, skills and experiences as possible. Every time we do, we open up possibilities. This could be the thing that really lights their fire.

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Game Stars competition winner Tabitha with Josh Eggleton (and me!) this week at the opening of the food rooms

Another important thing that we must do is help the next generation see that they don’t always have to do things the way that they have always been done. We have to help them see past stereotyping in subjects, jobs, and careers. We try hard to help our students challenge stereotypes and do things differently. We named the Athene Donald Building after the first woman to be made a professor in any of the physical sciences in Cambridge to show that women and girls have just as much of a future in scientific careers as men and boys.

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Our students Saffron, Mimi and Mia with the Soroptimists and dignitaries at this week’s Skirting Science event

This week we built on that tradition with our Skirting Science event, welcoming girls from nine different schools to Churchill to get experiences of possible futures in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, by hearing from women in those fields. Also this week we invited Michelin-starred chef Josh Eggleton to open the new food rooms to show that a career in the kitchen is not defined by gender but by skill, passion and enthusiasm.

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Students at work with forensic scientists from the University of the West of England (Bristol) at Skirting Science

The vision for our school is “to set no limits on what we can achieve.” If we are serious about this, it means that we need to challenge the limits that other people’s expectations place on us. We aim to kindle the flame that sustains the skills, talents, passions and enthusiasms of our young people, whether they pursue them within school or beyond.