Preparing for exams

I have spent a fascinating hour this morning listening to Radio 5 Live. The discussion was on revision. How much is enough? Should pupils be put under pressure to do well in exams? 

Barnaby Lenon suggested, in a blog for the ISC, that pupils should aim to revise for seven hours each day in preparation for GCSEs. To say that this has provoked a strong reaction is an understatement. Some agree with Barnaby; more, though, seem to feel that this is way beyond the capabilities of most teenagers. 

Exams can be stressful, they put pupils under pressure, certainly. What we must ask ourselves is, is this necessarily a bad thing? Providing the right sort of support is in place, putting a bit of pressure on pupils can help to get the very best out of them. I am concerned that if they never face pressure whilst at school, how will they begin to cope with life after school. What is school if it is not preparation for life? 

There are those in the prep school world who no longer believe in the benefits of Common Entrance. They don't feel that making pupils learn for these exams is in their best interests. I would suggest that the debate over how to prepare for GCSEs is an excellent argument for the benefits Common Entrance in prep schools. Our very name 'preparatory' tells us exactly what we should be doing. 

This set of exams, at the end of their prep school journey, is fantastic preparation for the public exams they will face at their senior schools. They will learn how to revise, how to cope with the pressure and understand how hard work reaps rewards. One young person on the radio this morning said that this was the first set of important exams she had taken. This does not surprise me but surely this is an argument for a rigorous and intellectually demanding set of exams earlier on, which can help prepare pupils.

Children also need to understand that sometimes we have to make sacrifices if we want to be successful. It may be that the Easter holiday before their exams is not the most fun holiday they will have but I would argue that this is a price worth paying in order to get those good grades that will set them up for their future. 

I am very aware that we need to support pupils' mental health.  Removing challenges from their lives, though, may protect them when they are young but it does not prepare them for adulthood. We need to build resilience and give them strategies to cope with stressful situations. We cannot do this if they are never faced with such situations. 

Top tips for Common Entrance Revision

• set a clear timetable for your revision - try to have a routine that you follow each day
  
• break down each syllabus into small, manageable chunks
• tackle one chunk at a time so that you can see that you have really learnt it
• take regular breaks - work for 45 minutes at a time
• give yourself rewards - once you have learnt a chunk really well, tell yourself that you have earnt 15 minutes on the XBox or a kickabout in the garden
• don't just stare at a page of notes - the process of writing helps you learn
• test yourself regularly or get a friend or family member to test you

For Common Entrance, three hours a day is enough. Try to do two hours in the morning and one in the evening.

Children in Britain spend just 16 minutes a day outside

Geoff Hurst has, today in the Times, written about a study produced by The Office of National Statistics, which states that children in Britain today spend an average of just sixteen minutes a day outside. This includes time spent outside at weekends.

This is a shocking statistic and one that I think we should all be very worried about. One of the causes of this is said to be time spent on screens. If ever there was a compelling argument for boarding school education, then surely this is one. 

At Sunningdale, all the boys spend at least an hour playing sport every day, outside. During their mid-morning break, they are outside either playing in the woods, kicking a football around or playing some other game such as Eton Fives. In the evening there is a huge range of activities on offer such as art clubs, model making, fencing or judo. 

The boys have access to technology when it enhances their learning and they use Chromebooks, tablets and desktop computers for their work. They also use technology for emails and video calls when they need or want to. 

It is vital, though, that children learn to appreciate the outdoors, to understand the benefits of exercise and also to socialise with each other face to face. There is nothing quite like a boarding education for instilling these lifelong habits in today's children. 

Battle of Hastings Anniversary

Today we celebrate 950 years since the Battle of Hastings, the last time our shores were successfully invaded. In the latest issue of Independent School Parent magazine, we published an article about how we at Sunningdale bring this momentous event in British history to life for the boys.

Common Entrance Results

Our Common Entrance candidates have triumphed again. Following very good scholarship performances, with two Winchester scholars, we were left with 22 Common Entrance candidates.

I am delighted to say, first of all, that once again all our candidates passed, but they did a lot better than that. 

51% of all grades were A* or A, a fantastic achievement. In French and History, 70% of grades were A* or A! In Greek, 100% of all grades were A*-B and in five subjects, the average grade was an A. One boy was placed in the top 28 of boys who took Common Entrance and this earns him a starred pass.

Boys took CE to the following schools:

• Eton
• Harrow
• Stowe
• Tonbridge
• Radley
  
• Sherborne
• Uppingham
• Oundle
  
• Rugby
• Monkton Combe 

Manners - a thing of the past?

Is it just me or do manners and courtesy seem to be becoming things of the past?

Yesterday I was on a train back from a washed out T20 Blast game at Lords. There had been a derailment at Paddington and we were crammed in like sardines. People were still queueing to get on the train. One poor girl was crying because she felt so claustrophobic. 

Standing next to me were my son and my father-in-law. It was his first time to Lords and it was a bit of a damp squib. Also standing next to us was an elderly couple who must have been in their late seventies. They were on their way back to Swindon so had a long journey ahead of them. It certainly looked like they were going to have to stand all the way to Reading. 

There were a number of much younger people on the train, sitting very comfortably, looking on. Eventually I said, to no-one in particular, but certainly loud enough for people to hear, "Would someone offer this couple their seat?" The response was amazing

​. Nobody moved, books became more interesting, text messages more important, the scenery more fascinating. Eventually, after some prodding from another standing passenger, a girl stood up and offered her seat but it took some persuading. 

At Sunningdale, we believe that teaching good manners is an essential part of a good education. It costs nothing to be courteous and considerate but it leaves a lasting impression. I wish that all schools would place their importance right at the heart of the education of all children. It would make a real difference. 

Brexit: to leave or not to leave

I am so pleased that at the moment the senior boys in the school are really engaged on this topic. Of course they will not be able to vote on the 23rd of June but this decision will really affect their futures. 

On Tuesday the scholars held a fascinating debate with boys representing both sides. Their speeches were very well researched; they were informative, challenging and thought provoking. The boys who listened to the debate were so engaged and full of questions for the speakers. At the end there was a vote and it was remarkably close, much like the real thing will be, I suspect.

Last night journalist and former parent, Simon Heffer, came to present his views. He started with the history of the European Union, explaining how we have got to this point and he made a clear case for the Brexit campaign. The boys submitted questions before the talk started and they asked such intelligent questions that prompted excellent responses from Mr Heffer. A number of parents also attended the event. 

We are in the process of trying to find a speaker for the Remain campaign to ensure that we give the boys both sides of the debate.

It would be easy for prep school boys to ignore the whole subject but it is so important that they are aware of what is going on and take an active interest. 

Schools must aim higher than teaching to the test

I refer to today's article in the Telegraph by Bernice McCabe, Headmistress of North London Collegiate School (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/05/27/schools-must-aim-higher-than-teaching-to-the-test/).

Mrs McCabe is writing as the Headmistress of one of the most successful independent girls schools in the country so I think we can assume that she knows what she is talking about. 

It worries me that our education system is so focused on testing. We have heard so much recently about the pressures the SATs put on children as young as Year 2 and those that teach them. I have seen evidence of schools being forced to limit their timetables to English and maths and the occasional PE lesson. This is not education. This is not broadening children's minds. It is simply jumping through hoops to satisfy targets and produce data that those who make decisions on our education system seem to love so much.

Don't get me wrong, testing is a valuable part of a successful education but it should be a marker post on the way to gauge pupils' understanding. Our boys are about to do their Common Entrance exams. They have been working hard towards them and they are hoping to do well. I am a big fan of Common Entrance, I think it is an excellent way to mark the end of their prep school education and it gives the pupils something to aim for. 

There are those who criticise Common Entrance for being too narrow but surely this is down to those that are teaching the syllabus. Yes, if we were to stick only to what is likely to be in the papers, it would be very narrow, and very boring. Schools have a duty to ensure that the teachers do not do this. The aim is to instil a love of learning; an enthusiasm for the subjects that they study. Unfortunately this is unmeasurable, we cannot create data for the level of engagement. Occasionally we get letters or emails from former pupils who say what they are taking for A-Levels or reading at university and they sometimes say, "It all started with Mr / Mrs so-and-so at Sunningdale." For a teacher this is manna from heaven. 

We can all remember, as pupils, some of the lessons we most enjoyed were when the teacher went off on a complete tangent about something they were passionate about. When I was at school we used to play a game where we tried to see if we could get the teacher to go off on a 'red-herring'. Of course the teachers knew what they were doing and we were learning all the time and we loved it. 

It goes beyond the classroom too. I have always felt that league tables present such a narrow view of what constitutes a good school. Good schools get good results, yes, but they do this, as Mrs McCabe says, by building those important qualities that stay with the pupils for life. Confidence, resilience, self-discipline, courage, joie de vivre; these are the things that count. 

We must strive to get good results, we owe that to our pupils, but we need to remember that a child is so much more than the sum of his or her grades.