This year, we’ve revised our rewards system to better reflect the things we truly value – like consistent attendance, meaningful engagement, and, a key one for us, participation. A culture of participation is important, not just for individual growth, but for the collective energy and strength of the whole school community.
This week, students have enjoyed a glorious gallimaufry of opportunities. On Tuesday, we hosted the second in our series of Tech Futures Talks, with Mia Dafe, a Computer Science with AI graduate (and a former student of Mr Maddocks) who shared her university project, “Decolonising the Curriculum with Machine Learning Techniques”. It was a fascinating talk, and it was great to see students, parents, and staff coming together to listen. Participation points were given for both attendance and asking questions – a simple yet powerful way to recognise and encourage engagement.
On Wednesday, I had the great joy of accompanying our A Level English students to the GDST’s head office in Victoria, where we hosted Lyndall Gordon, a Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and former tutor to Mrs Corcoran. Lyndall led a seminar on ‘Mrs Dalloway’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ – set texts for our students – and over the course of two wonderful hours, we were taken on a literary journey that took in the Bloomsbury set, feminist theory, multiple historical and biographical contexts, all intertwined with strands and stories from Lydall’s own life as an academic and author. Our Sixth Form literature students understood what a rare treat they had experienced, and their thoughtful contributions demonstrated the depth of their engagement, both with their set texts and with the wider contexts we explored. Mrs Corcoran and I relished the opportunity to be students again. These moments of intellectual challenge, made possible by the willingness to participate, can leave lasting marks on the way we view ourselves and our futures. I have no doubt that Lydall’s words will have had a lasting impact on those fortunate enough to hear them. After the seminar Mrs Corcoran challenged students to locate Woolf’s original manuscript for ‘The Hours’ in the British Library, incentivising them with the potential reward of five praise points. If you think Sixth Formers are too old for praise points, think again!
There has been no shortage of other exciting opportunities this week. Our historians are currently exploring the history of Berlin, our Year 8 students had the chance to visit a Buddhist temple, Year 10 artists had a grand day out at The Tate, and four able mathematicians represented the school in a “Maths Feast”. Our netballers have been in fine form: our brilliant U14 team won the SISNA tournament for the third year running, and our U13s came a nail-bitingly close second in a tournament at Lancing College. Today, sports scholars have headed to Sutton High for a day of sports enrichment with peers from across the GDST family.
Despite many in our community feeling frayed around the edges as we head into half term, we have allowed ourselves to indulge in some Valentine’s treats, with quizzes in form time, the obligatory bake sale and Years 10, 12, and 13 students enjoyed a Palentine’s brunch, fostering a sense of togetherness and fun.
Participation is powerful, and I couldn’t be prouder of the way our school embraces it.
