Notes from Senior Management and School Highlights

Monday 22nd April 2013

Headmaster's beginning of term letter to parents:

As the wind buffets the windows of my study and the rain masks the wonderful view of the Weald of Kent, the irony of calling this my Summer Term letter is not lost on me.  If anyone knows the choreography of an anti-rain dance, then please do let me know!  In spite of promises of drought, last year’s Summer Term programme was so severely affected by the rain that many in the School may well not recognise a cricket bat or a tennis racquet anymore.  Let us hope that we can all enjoy a better summer this year.

In this term’s letter I wanted to bring you up to speed with some exciting developments in the staff structure that will take effect from September. The aim of these changes is to strengthen further our academic provision and continue the excellent work that has taken place over the last four years.

As I am sure you are aware, we are very proud to be in the top 20% of schools nationally for the value added our pupils achieved in their A Levels last year.  This is a real testament to how hard both pupils and staff are working to secure the best possible results for each individual.  Why do I like measuring the School on value added rather than purely on percentage A* to B grades or league table positions?  Because this measures how well each pupil has performed against their perceived potential not some arbitrary measure and, therefore, allows us to recognise the improvements and results of each individual.  In our community not everyone will achieve A* and A grades in all of their subjects, but if they have done better than predicted, then they have done a great job and need to be recognised for this.  Value added allows this to happen and is a fairer and more useful measure.

Moving forward, I have set the challenge to the staff to move Sutton Valence into the top 10% of schools in the country for value added.  My aim is to make SVS the best school in Kent for adding value, in all areas of our provision: academic, co-curricular and community involvement.  In order to facilitate this and to maintain our academic work at the centre of all we do, I have restructured the Senior Management Team and created an Academic Deputy Head position.  I am delighted to announce that, from a huge application field, the Governors and I have appointed Mr Adrian Wyles to this important and exciting new role beginning in September.  This post has an extensive brief, but, simply put, Mr Wyles will oversee all of the academic side of the School and lead and work with the Heads of Departments.

The Academic Deputy Head will work alongside Mr Farrell who remains the Senior Deputy Head, overseeing the day-to-day running of the School, deputising in my absence and leading our outstanding pastoral teams.  Mr Clarke becomes Director of Studies and will continue to weave his magic in preparing the timetable and option blocks that are so carefully constructed to allow the maximum flexibility for all of the subject combinations our pupils want.  He will also deal with reports and data manipulation to allow us to track and set ambitious targets for the pupils.  Mrs Hall remains our Director of Co-Curricular Activities and Child Protection Officer, even though she has decided to calm her life down a little and reduce to three days a week as of September.  I hope that you agree with me that this is a very exciting development for the School and heralds a new chapter in our long and distinguished history from which, hopefully, all students stand to benefit.

Due to Mr Wyles’s promotion, I am currently advertising internally for a new Head of Sixth Form and I will soon be able to let you know who will take over this important position, which is primarily concerned with steering the older students through their final years at the School with expert guidance, sound advice and plenty of humour and camaraderie.

Speaking of camaraderie, I hope that all of the pupils were listening carefully to Lewis Burnham as he gave his inaugural Head of School speech in assembly on Friday.  He spoke about his seven years at the School and what had happened over the same period in the big, wide world in comparison to what he had accomplished, learned and experienced in his Sutton Valence world.  In Lewis’s last paragraph about how his time at SV has prepared himself for the next step in his journey, he captured much of the ethos of Sutton Valence and why we do what we do:

“As I have tried to illustrate, there is a big world outside of these walls.  The world is constantly changing, with new opportunities but also new threats and challenges.  We all have a part to play and SV provides us with a privileged environment in which we are able to prepare to play our part, developing not only academically, but also as individuals.  Existing and thriving within the SV cocoon, it can sometimes be easy to believe we know all the answers, but outside of SV there are many unknown challenges ahead for all of us.  As we move on from SV and those challenges become reality, we can all rely on the knowledge, experiences and friendships we have gained within this community.  This will help us all to develop our full potential, contribute positively to the wider world and cross more items off our bucket lists along the way!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself, except I wasn’t aware that “bucket list” had crept into established usage! I urge you to read the whole of Lewis’s speech on the website and to encourage your children to get involved with as much as they can, whilst they can and take advantage of every opportunity we give them; as Lewis said: “SV has provided opportunities both inside and out of the classroom, the combination of which has taught me a number of life skills including teamwork, leadership, consideration, compassion, respect and confidence.”

I look forward to seeing you at many of our events this term and refer you to the School calendar to see what is happening.  I draw your attention in particular to Speech Day, on Saturday 29th June, as it is an excellent occasion at which to celebrate our community and all that we have achieved throughout the year.  Included with this letter is a flyer about the Leavers’ and Parents’ Ball which takes place on the same Saturday as Speech Day.  I would encourage as many as possible of you to attend this lovely event organised by the Friends’ Association.  There will be around 200 tickets available for parents and the event is not aimed solely at the parents of our leaving pupils, but to all of you.  Please do consider getting a table together and coming to this enjoyable event.  The ball committee has worked hard to keep the cost of this ball to a minimum, and at £55 (pupils £45) a ticket, it is very good value for all that is on offer.

I wish you all a happy, dry and warm Summer Term and, to all of those pupils taking public examinations this term, I wish them the best of luck.

With best wishes

Yours sincerely

B C W Grindlay
Headmaster

 

Friday 22nd March 2013

Congratulations to

Gregor Roberts, Fifth Form, who competed in the Kent Swimming Championships last Saturday.  His team were awarded silver in the U16 Medley and Freestyle relays and in the Open Medley and Freestyle relays, they achieved bronze.  He is also to be congratulated for making it into the U17 Southern Counties Scottish Exiles rugby squad.

Angus Weir, Fifth Form, who has raised the astonishing sum of £1090 for Blind Veterans UK, following taking part in the Night Walk that took place during half term.

The Young Enterprise group who did very well at the recent awards by coming second in the Medway region.  Despite very good presentations from Connor Neary, Alex Richardson and Tom Hemmens (all Lower Sixth), they were pipped at the post.

 

Friday 8th March 2013

Congratulations to

Ten pupils who have all had their entries in the competition accepted and published. Ava Deighton-Smythe, Emily Smith, Emily Hall, Jonathan Rowe, Alex Webb, Frances Romano, Olivia Smith, Asher Regal, Edward Carling and Edward Ermine (all First Form) are all delighted with their success. “We are very proud of them”, said Mr Davenport, Head of English. “We are looking forward to seeing all the poems in print and will be ordering a copy of the book for the School Library.”

Charlie Gellett (Fifth Form) who won the U18 Mens Fencing category at the recent South East Region qualifying competition. Charlie fences with Malling MX fencers, who swept the board at the competition and now go forward to the British Youth Championships.

Anya Livtchak (Second Form) triumphed recently at the Hastings Music Festival, coming first in the ‘Violin Solo’ class for under 14s to under 16s. Additionally, she has also gone through to the last eight in the Kent Young Musician competition. We wish her every success.

Friday 25th January 2013

Congratulations to

Jamie Drew and Georgia Ridge (both Third Form) who have been selected to play Kent U14 Hockey and to Rehannah Houghton-Judge (Second Form) who has been selected for U13 Kent Hockey.

Gregor Roberts (Fifth Form) who has made it through to the U16 National Scottish Rugby Trials in February, and the Kent County Swimming Championships in freestyle and backstroke.

Peter Bannister (Upper Sixth) has been selected for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), which will give him access to services to assist his training, including sports coaching, physiotherapy, strength and condition training, lifestyle and education support, as well as the TASS medical programme.

Monday 21st January 2013

Headmaster's letter to parents

 

Friday 11th January 2013

Congratulations to

Katie Latter (Fourth Form) who has been selected to join the Kent Cricket Girls U15 Performance Squad for winter training.

Sam Hancock (Upper Sixth) who has been successful in gaining a two-week placement in August at an orphanage in Cambodia.  He will be teaching English to the children and helping with general day–to–day care.

Sophie McGannan (Upper Sixth) who has been chosen as one of 40 top nominees in the country for the Duke of Westminster Award run by the charity CVQO.  Her submission will now be considered for selection to the final short list of 21.  We wish her well.

U13s Rugby captain Henry Overy who has been selected for the Kent U13s Rugby squad. Henry joins 1st XV Captain Ed Bower and George Poland in representing Kent at Rugby this season.

 

Friday 14th November 2012

In celebration of National Short Story Week, the Library ran a short story competition. The winner was Elliot Stirling (Year 3), with his story The Rise of Red and the runner up William Grabowski (Year 3), with his story Trapped. Both received copies of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

 

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic

Subject Option Discussions

The academic year was originally designed for the pre-industrial era when all able-bodied young people were needed to help with harvesting over the  summer. Not so long ago, nearly everyone worked on farms so there was a long break in July and August with the new school year beginning in September.

In contrast to the rest of the school, my academic year really starts in January as I have to begin planning for the next year’s timetable when we return to school after Christmas. I’d love to know exactly how many pupils we will have in each year group next autumn and what subjects they will be studying; if I
did, I could come up with the perfect timetable. In practice, I have a rough idea how things will pan out but know there will be many unpredictable changes along the way. What I really need is some intelligence from the pupil body!

On 11th January next term, I will address the Third Form to explain the GCSE options system and ask them to give me a rough idea of their subject preferences for next year. This is a simple straw poll and no one is committed to anything, but I will use the information to plan staffing levels for September and work out options blocks. There will be a full Parents Information Evening at the beginning of the summer term when I will ask for definitive option choices for next year.

On 19th January, I will ask the Lower Sixth to help me to plan their classes for next year. Most of them will give up one of their AS subjects and take three on to the full A level. This means that I will reorganise their option blocks aiming for about a dozen students in each class. I have to do this to balance class sizes and keep staffing levels economic. I know many of the Lower Sixth haven’t decided yet which subject they will drop but every little bit of information helps.

We have a Fifth Form Parents Evening on 17th January and afterwards I will write to parents to ask for their child’s initial Sixth Form subject preferences. I use this information to produce the option blocks from which the pupils then have to make their A level choices. We have a meeting of the Fifth Form on 26th January when I can give them their option blocks and help them through the next stage of the process.  Whilst my mind will be firmly on September next term, as far as the pupils are concerned they are very much in the middle of this academic year. Many will have important modules in January (for the last time) and all those with A level and GCSE exams will be gearing themselves up for the challenges ahead.

To help everything run smoothly, we will be hosting a 'Study Skills for Parents' session on Saturday 2nd March and a 'Dealing With Exam Stress' event on Saturday 16th March; both of them in the theatre at 11:00am.

I wish you all a peaceful and productive Christmas.

Don Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

 

Friday 30th November 2012

Notes from the Deputy Headmaster

‘Everyone else is going’. How often do you hear this as parents? As the term hurtles towards its conclusion, I have been reflecting on ways in which the School and parents can co-operate still further to enable the truth of this plea to be properly evaluated. Indeed a number of parents have contacted us to ask if it is possible to have lists of details: names, addresses, telephone and email addresses, for parents of other pupils in the same class/year. We are happy to provide this information, but need your permission to do so. With this in mind, you will be receiving a letter from Mr Millbery outlining how you can be provided with the details of the other parents who consent to the sharing of their details. Please do respond.

This idea of sharing contact details was certainly one that was raised at the Parental Forum we held at the conclusion of Peter Hall’s visit to the School. He was very honest with the pupils and the parents about his life story. So much of what he said reflected again on the need to communicate. Certainly what he had to say made an impact on his audiences: “I found the talk by Peter this morning really interesting.  Having someone like Peter who has 'been there, done that' talk to the children about drugs and alcohol is a brilliant idea. Our son certainly found what he had to say very interesting and we all feel that Peter is an inspirational person. The story of his life so far was very moving but also positive in that he has turned his life around and is able to speak so openly and honestly about his experience. As a parent it is always very helpful to hear different perspectives and receive advice in order to help our children negotiate their way into adulthood.” Again, I would welcome requests if there are other topics you would like to be addressed.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the play, the carol services or on the touchlines before the end of term.

Mr J Farrell
Deputy Headmaster

Friday 23rd November 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Sixth Form

As I write, almost all UCAS applications have been sent and the vast majority have either received at least one offer or have been invited to interview. Four pupils have received all five offers. The next step for many is to prepare for interviews, if needed, and put together portfolios of work, again, if necessary.
Once they have received replies from all their chosen universities, they can begin the process of deciding on their firm and insurance choice, although they actually have until early May to make this decision.

As you may be aware, the government has announced that there will be no more January module examinations after this forthcoming season in January. This does reinforce the point, as I said to all the pupils in assembly this morning, of just how important it is that they aim to achieve the very best marks
first time round and not develop a ‘re-sit culture’. For those who have them, it is vital that pupils use these last few weeks of term and a good proportion of the Christmas break to prepare properly for this last season of January examinations.

One of my whole-School responsibilities is to oversee the ‘Sutton Valence Blue’ rewards scheme. As you know, pupils accumulate Blue Points across the three key areas of School life: Academic, Co-Curriculuar and Community Involvement. Awards are given out termly for those who achieve different levels of Blue Points through the Junior, Middle and Sixth Form years. The ultimate accolade goes to pupils who have reached the top award twice in their School career. I am delighted to inform you that Sophie McGannan and Alex Allsebrook (Upper Sixth) have now been awarded this top level and received their splendid, new, Sutton Valence Blue Gowns in Headmaster’s Assembly last Friday (see photo below). We now look forward to many more being awarded. The gowns, which have been made especially for us by Ede and Ravenscroft, the Academic Robemakers, were purchased using money raised from the Annual Fund, and so we thank all of you for your contribution to this.

Mr A Wyles
Assistant Head: Sixth Form

 

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic

November is a particularly tough time of year, the days are short, the weather poor and the pressure is on; pupils who have important assessments looming will be acutely aware of this.

The Fifth Form have their mock exams throughout next week; whilst there are fewer of these than in years gone by due to modules and controlled assessments, they still represent a real chance to find out how things are going and to gain valuable feedback. Our younger pupils will also have assessments in many of their subjects next week as we approach the end of term and report writing season.

Controlled Assessments were introduced two years ago to replace the coursework element of many of the GCSEs that our pupils take; the only exceptions are Mathematics and Religious Studies where all the assessment is by way of traditional exams. The intention, in part, was to avoid concerns over plagiarism and pupils getting excessive help at home. The amount of control that a department has to exercise over their assessments varies; it may be at a high, medium or low level, but what really matters is that we must be sure that all of the work is a pupil’s own. Whilst the exam boards are very prescriptive in their requirements, our Heads of Department will make sure that they are able to offer as much assistance as possible within the spirit of the regulations. However, there will inevitably come a time when our pupils have to demonstrate that they can stand on their own two feet and work independently; getting this balance right is always difficult.

So how can you help? Ask your children how they are managing their time. Do they have assessments coming up? When are particular pieces of Controlled Assessment due in? Are they spending the right amount of time on their prep? Please make sure that they are using their Prep Record Books (PRBs) and
sign them every week. Are they able to juggle other commitments such as sports fixtures and the School play successfully with their academic studies? Do they have all the necessary equipment for their studies and exams?

I am confident that we can all work together to ensure that everyone is given the best opportunity to shine in their exams.

Mr D Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

 

Congratulations to Charlie Gellett, Fifth Form, who won gold in his first under 18 sabre match at the Kent Championships.

 

Monday 5th November 2012

Congratulations to Alexander Hastings-Pollard (Fifth Form) who, at the age of 15, has become the youngest Club Champion at the Weald of Kent Golf Club.  Alex has only been playing golf for three years, but turned in rounds of 73 and 80 to secure the trophy.

Friday 12th October 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic
This week is grades week so I thought that it might be helpful to elaborate a little on what goes on behind the scenes before you, as parents, receive them in the post. As part of our pupil monitoring, we issue grades every half term; the deadline for teachers to enter their grades was lunchtime on Monday. The attainment grades will have been based on regular testing done in the preceding weeks and will reflect an individual’s performance in relation to the course they are taking – be it at A level, GCSE or lower down the School. These grades, and any comments from their teachers, were printed off and handed to the tutors by teatime. Tutors then had 48 hours to chase any missing grades, issue Blue points and gather their thoughts before the Houses met to discuss their grades on Wednesday evening. During these meetings the progress of all our pupils was checked with a view to praising pupils who are doing well and helping those who are falling behind; action points from these meetings were circulated to all our teachers. After these meetings, tutors have until Friday lunchtime to write a succinct sentence to summarise their tutees’ progress in recent weeks. We can then post the grades on the Parents’ Portal so that you can see them. I know many of you still value a printed copy so we will also print these off and send them out with the mailing at the end of the half term.

When you examine your child’s grades you will see that we have split the effort grade in two, separating work done inside the classroom (marked “E”) from that done outside for prep (marked “P”). Success in school depends on pupils becoming really engaged with their subjects at all times, learning cannot stop when a pupil leaves the room; this is especially so as pupils get older. The classroom effort grade will focus on a pupil’s contribution to their lessons, their general attitude and work ethic. The prep effort grade seeks to encourage good habits away from the classroom promoting independent study and a mature attitude to their work.

Look carefully at the effort grades and give praise where it has been earned and encouragement where it is needed. If you are at all concerned by any of the grades, you should contact your child’s tutor in the first instance.

D E Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

Friday 5th October 2012

From the Assistand Head: Sixth Form

As if the atmosphere was following the Geography department's scheme of work, we have had alternating warm and cold fronts in the last two weeks, bringing welcome rain to the rugby fields and giving my Upper Sixth classes practical examples of the consequences of changes in pressure. The simplest meterological explanation is that Mother Nature is always trying to equalise pressure and maintain the status quo.

In many ways that sums up my job with teenagers, except I try to avoid sudden changes in pressure and hope to plot a calm passage for as many as possible through the Sixth Form storm. Fast and furious it is, but I sense that our pupils are better equipped than they have ever been to weather it.

The key is to look ahead and see what's coming up, then to batten down when necessary and get on with some hard graft; the beauty of education is that there will always be a calm period in the not too distant future. I personally like the rhythm of the School year and would find myself becalmed in the doldrums if I were expected to work at a lesser pace for more weeks.

Our Sixth Form pupils have already thrown themselves fully in to School life and it never ceases to amaze me just how much they can pack in. However, we do need to watch the martyrs to the cause and as parents and teachers we should be ever-vigilant of those who are letting things get on top of them.

The Upper Sixth Form are cracking on with UCAS and various other applications. There is a wealth of data out there now but I would draw your attention to the Sunday Times University Guide, published last weekend: it is an excellent summary of what is currently on offer.

Many of the Lower Sixth are already thinking about January modules and I look forward to seeing their first set of grades next week. I think we were all pleased with the way they attacked the summer holiday work; there is no doubt that this has given them a headstart this year.

My mantra with them is just do it, they often have fifteen minutes here and there which adds up to a significant amount of time over the week, which can so easily be wasted. The great paradox being that if only they could discipline themselves to use this time productively, they would suddenly find that they have some genuine free time to relax at the weekend.

Attendance on Saturdays is currently good, please help us by ensuring you have done all you can to keep it that way, especially by keeping socials and parties to Saturday evenings if at all possible.

As ever, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any concerns.

Mr Adrian Wyles
Assistant Head: Sixth Form

 

Friday 28th September 2012

From the Assistant Head: Co-Curricular

At Sutton Valence we are always trying to improve our provision and open the doors to innovative new ideas. This year we have extended the choice of co-curricular participation on Wednesday afternoons for the Lower Sixth Form. Currently 28 of them are involved in the CCF with 19 in the Army section, five in the RAF section and four in the Navy section. Those who have served in the CCF for three years are already NCOs and have instructor and leadership roles with the younger cadets.

There are many opportunities for them to apply for a variety of courses and to seek sponsorship and participation in their favoured activity. They will also become involved in regional and national competitions. The BTEC Level 3 in Leadership is available as an additional qualification to those in the CCF who would like to take it.

Other options include Kit Car club with Mr Fowle, AS level Photography with Mr Clarke, cultural and overseas visits for overseas students with Mr Webster and Mrs Porter, GCSE Astronomy with Dr Brown and placements within the local community.

All the community placements are overseen by Miss Burden. Some have been self-sourced by the students and many are vocational. They offer invaluable experience to the students and enable them to make informed decisions about the type of university courses they will apply for next year. Some medical and education courses expect this experience and other students simply want to become involved with the community. They perform many tasks, some menial, others social and many where they share expertise. Many pupils are involved in care of the elderly, support for a social club for the elderly, nursery education, gardening and sports coaching to name but a few. Such opportunities enable leadership qualities to flourish and responsibility for themselves and others to blossom.

We wish all the Lower Sixth Form good luck with their Wednesday afternoon pursuits and hope they will find the time spent in learning and giving is rewarding and enjoyable.

Mrs M Hall
Assistant Head: Co-Curricular

Friday 21st September 2012

From the Assistant Head: Academic

As I walked across Prefects’ lawn this morning, I saw the final few house martins preparing to leave the School for their long journey back to Africa; they gather on the roof of Westminster House to warm their bodies in the early morning sun. For me, their arrival in April always heralds the start of the Summer Term and the exam season; their departure, in September, signals the end of summer and a time of reflection when we look back at our pupils’ GCSE and A level results.

In his letter last week, the Headmaster highlighted our pupils’ achievements in pushing our exam statistics ever higher. While raw data matters, much more important is the pupils’ success in gaining the university places of their choice; this weekend will see many families dropping their children off far from home eager to begin the next, exciting phase of their lives. I don’t want to repeat the Headmaster’s statistics here but will simply include a graph, produced by the University of Durham, which summarises the success of our Upper Sixth in a single image. The chart shows that our pupils gained significant value in the Sixth Form over and above what they might have been expected to achieve; it also shows a healthy upward trend over the past several years.

I’m sure that many of you will have been following the recent announcements by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary; his proposed changes to the GCSE examinations are likely to have far-reaching consequences.  The time may well be right for a radical overhaul of the education system, but I’m not sure that a return to the 1970s is the answer.  His proposed English Baccalaureate already exists in the sense that current GCSE pupils achieving at least a C grade in English, Maths, two sciences, a language and either History or Geography will be recognised as achieving an EBacc. In acknowledgment of this, we recently changed our Fourth Form curriculum so that their option blocks ensure that they take these subjects.

Gove’s proposals, which include a reduction in coursework, the end of modularity and the adoption of a single exam board for core subjects, are slated to come in to effect in September 2015 for English, Maths and Science; History, Geography and Languages will follow a year later. Whilst these proposals are initially published for consultation, Gove is likely to move quickly to embed his reforms to ensure that it would be all but impossible for Labour to reverse them if it wins in the May 2015 general elections. My concern is for pupils in our First Form as they will be the first cohort faced with these changes; whatever the outcome of Gove’s proposals, I hope that matters are settled quickly so that we can begin to plan ahead. There have been many alterations to GCSEs in recent years, what we need now is a period of stability so that we know what is coming and can get really good at teaching our pupils without constant change.

There is something reassuring about knowing what to expect; I look forward to the return of our house martins next year: they at least are constant.

 

Monday 17th September 2012

Congratulations to Lauren Cansick

Friday 4th May 2012

Note from the Assistant Head: Academic:

Sixth Form Mocks
We use two main types of assessment in School. Formative assessment for learning helps us to teach our pupils by revealing their strengths and weaknesses during the course and summative assessment of learning tells us how well both pupils and teachers have done at the end of the year.

On their return to School after the Easter holiday the Sixth Form were faced with four, intensive days of mock A level exams. We believe that it is important that they are given the chance to show what they can do in controlled conditions against the clock. Many of them found it difficult to pace themselves to make best use of the time available. They need to be given the opportunity to make mistakes and to learn from them; I hope they have. Equally, some pupils didn’t spend enough time on their studies during the three week break and now have a much better idea of quantity of revision that they have to do in the remaining weeks. On the other hand, many pupils did very well in their mocks and should now be confident of success in their A levels. The mocks were formative assessment as the information that we now have will be used to help our pupils in their remaining weeks before their exams start in earnest.

Our Heads of Department have analysed their pupils’ results and I have published them in the Parents’ Portal for your information; I am assuming that you know how to access information stored in our database. If you haven’t yet logged in, please contact the school for guidance. Many pupils have already
taken modules in their courses and have completed their coursework; these results have been added on to the mock exam grade to get the best possible idea of where they are in their studies.

Public exams are about to start and many of our pupils will soon be on study leave. Whilst our teachers have plenty to do in the summer term, I do not use them for invigilation when their classes are away; consequently they should always be available to help anyone who wants to come in to School for extra help.

It is not only our older pupils who have assessments to face this term, we also have important, summative end of year exams for pupils in the First Form to Fourth Forms inclusive. These exams take place just after half term and will give us excellent feedback on their progress. I will use this information,
together with what we already know of their abilities, to set them in classes ready for next year.

Mr Don Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

 

Friday 27th April 2012

Notes from the Headmaster:
Earlier this week I was in London for a meeting and observed a fire warning sign in the building, which read: 'In case of fire, please exit the building before tweeting about it'.

Modern Society is not great about living in the present, real world, rather than in a virtual world of Facebook friends, texts, tweets. online communication, anonymous, faceless social exchanges and the reporting of trivia.  Living one's life without moving from the comfort of the sofa and played out entirely on a computer or smart phone.

This School values above all, three things: our community, our opportunities in and out of the classroom and making ourselves better thatn we could have been - increasing our potential.  This past holiday goes to show that for many of us we don't live a virtual life, but actually get out there and do things; constructive, self-improving and fun things.

During the Easter break students went on the Ski Trip, a Spanish Exchange, the Jazz Band Tour of Paris, had Art Department Open Studio time.  There was a huge number of CCF courses and competitions (with more to come next week) and over 62 pupils were involved in Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.  Well done to you all and thank you to the staff who made it all possible.

Bruce Grindlay
Headmaster

Friday 23rd March 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic
There will be an intense three days of mock exams for the Sixth Form starting on their first day back after the Easter break. A level and GCSE exams then begin in earnest a couple of weeks later in the middle of May, consequently the four weeks of April will have to be used by our older pupils for some serious exam preparation. Yes, of course they can have a small holiday over Easter and will no doubt have many social and sporting commitments lined up, however, the majority of their time should have an academic focus.

The real issue for parents will be how best to help them. Many of our pupils will produce detailed revision timetables and will knuckle down to hours of productive labour every day with little encouragement; parents of these children are indeed blessed. None of my own boys were like this; I have a great deal of empathy with the majority of you who have children who will need quite a lot of support.

Daniel H Pink, in his excellent little book Drive, refers to three levels of motivation. For millennia humans lived on the edge of survival, our ancestors' primary concern would have been finding enough food and shelter and someone to share their alleles with (ask an A level biologist). As our living conditions improved this simple biological drive was overlain by 'stick and carrot' motivation. If I do this, I will be rewarded; if I don’t, I will be punished. This works for simple repetitive tasks such as fruit picking, but has been shown to be ineffective, or even counterproductive, for the more complex, creative tasks found in education. For these, motivation has to come from within, pupils who really want to do well need an intrinsic desire to succeed. According to Pink, to get in to a state of 'flow', where tasks become enjoyable and your time productive, you need to have a sense of purpose, you must strive for mastery and you should have the autonomy to feel in control of your destiny. Isn't this what we want for our children? They must see beyond the collection of examination certificates to the rewards that these will bring to engender a sense of purpose; this is clearly evident in the Upper Sixth once their university offers come in. They should be striving to really master their subjects so that no exam question fazes them in the summer. Finally, and most important of all, they should feel in control, being able to organise their own time to ensure success in their exams.

How can parents help their children to revise over Easter? The first thing is to meet their biological needs, feed them and provide them with a quiet shelter in which to work. How about 'sticks and carrots'? Rewards do work in the short term, but not in the long run; experiments have shown that people quickly start to see the task a drudge and find their intrinsic motivation extinguished and their creativity crushed. We should take an interest in our children's revision and encourage them to take charge; we have spent years raising them and, sooner or later, we have to trust them and allow them to thrive on their own.

Mr Don Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

 

Friday 16th March 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Sixth Form
Well, as we approach the rescheduled Sixth Form Ball day (this Saturday), the forecast currently has another front hovering over SVS; this time, however, it would appear to be far more benign and will lead to some much-wanted, gentle rain. This will no doubt please the gardeners, if not those in high heels on Saturday evening.

We have all now had a chance to digest last week’s January module results. In general, we are pleased with the progress of our pupils; several are now sitting on extremely high, ‘banked’ marks; this augurs well for the summer, but of course there is no room for complacency and they should aim to build on these successes. I do not wish to preach to the converted and, if they are now truly independent learners, then our job is done. Bravo! However, as always, there are a few who really do need to ensure that they actively engage with and plan a highly-structured revision programme from now on and that they are communicating intensely with my colleagues concerning the best way to make further progress in specific subject areas. ‘Obstacles’ may also need to be removed outside of school – the number of parties, work, etc.? As we know, A Level results stay on one’s CV for ever and a few more months of really hard work always pays off. Employers are increasingly looking back to A Level grades – even for candidates with excellent degrees.

In terms of university places, I never wish to tempt fate, but we have been delighted with the offer situation for our pupils across a broad range of courses and universities. Of the 63 Upper Sixth Form pupils who applied through UCAS this year, no less than 31 have received at least one offer from a Russell Group university and many have several. Similarly, pupils have been offered places on prestigious courses outside of the Russell Group, but at institutions which have a world-class reputation in their specialist field. The Russell Group has announced that they will be welcoming four new members - Durham, Exeter, Queen Mary - University of London and York.

Mr Adrian Wyles
Assistant Head: Sixth Form

 

Friday 9th March 2012

Congratulations to the Judo team who competed in the Independent School Boys' Judo competition last Saturday.  The team, Adedotun Owolabi, who is a yellow belt won Silver, Joshua Aucamp, an orange belt, won Gold, Praag Dogra and Tom Lucas had a long day an all had to work hard in their groups, but represented the School with pride and aplomb.  Well done.

A big thank you to all those who collected and brought in their pennies for the Penny Race.  The event raised £224.83, which will buy 5 bicycles for the girls at The Nishay School in India.

Kent Schools Athletic Association have selected James Bryant to represent the county in the England Schools Cross Country Championships as a result of his showing in the National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill.  He ran in the U20 category and finished the 10km run in 72nd place out of 200.  Well done!

Friday 24th February 2012

Headmaster's talk to Assembly:

An Explanation of TAGs – Target Agreed Grades

Many of you will have seen that on your reports this half term there were TAG entries.

These have been set as realistic goals as to what you should be able to achieve in each subject, given that you are prepared to put in the effort.  If you are not currently achieving these TAGS, it is not because your teachers have set them too high, it’s because you are under-performing.  However, if you are close to achieving them or have reached them, we will always keep raising the TAGs as you do better to give you ever higher targets to strive towards.  We will work with you to see you exceed these initial TAGs, so we can continue to ‘add value’, so that you can be better than what your initial predictions say.

Of course, grades are not everything when it comes to being well educated; that is why we put such emphasis on our co-curricular programme.

My job is very simple, to give you the best possible chance in life, to assist you to get good grades that get you into the interview chair and to mould you into the type of person who, once in the chair, gets the job.

As I hope you will know, I am very proud of the majority of you, in that the type of person we turn out here is confident not arrogant, individual and unique, socially at ease, polite and looks people in the eye.  The majority of you will stand an excellent chance of getting the job once you make it to the interview.

But how do you get there?  By making your CV the best it can be and better than the competition.

And what does a good CV look like?  The best possible GCSE and A Level grades (ones that show value added success), work experience, courses undertaken, Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, involvement in the School out of the classroom, CCF perhaps or other evidence of leadership and self-motivation.

The famous American philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie once said “the older I get, the less I listen to what people say and the more I look at what they do”.

The recession is biting and it isn’t going away anytime soon.

UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the three months to December.
 
The unemployment rate was 8.4%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the highest for 16 years.  Compare this to the 4.2% unemployment rate we were enjoying in the same month back in 2005, just 7 years ago.

The unemployment total for 16-24 year olds rose 22,000 to 1.04m million in the quarter, taking the unemployment rate in the 16-24 age group to 22.2%.

Fortunately, living in the South East, where the figures are lower, works in our favour:

1.9%     Tunbridge Wells
2.6%     Maidstone

Both a far cry from 6.4% in Birmingham, or 9.2% in West Belfast.

So what do the pundits think?  Britain's economic recovery failed to gain any traction in 2011. The latest figures suggest the economy grew by a paltry 0.9 per cent for the full year (it tailed off at the end of the year when it went into reverse by 0.2%).

The median prediction from analysts is for growth of just 0.4 per cent for 2012, with the gloomiest forecasters predicting the economy will shrink by more than 1 per cent.

To get a feel for how weak this is, the average annual GDP growth from 1990 to 2008 was 2.3 per cent.  And most people - but not us - had been expecting the usual post-recession bounce back, as happened after the Eighties and Nineties recessions.

Even if the economy does manage to grow in 2012, it's highly likely that the year will start with a return to recession.  We may already be in it given the fall in output at the end of 2011.

If the economy shrinks again in the first three months of 2012, it will be the first 'double-dip' recession since 1975.  

In the face of all this, we have to make ourselves the most competitive and employable – and you can all do that if you drive yourself.

In conclusion, I have an old Burmese saying for you to think about:

'The person who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; the person who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.'

Bruce Grindlay
Headmaster

 

Congratulations to Katie Vernon (Fifth Form) for making it through the elimination rounds to the final of the Mid Kent Young Musician of the Year – best of luck to her.  Also, to Megan Gerrard (Upper Sixth), who has gained her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

 

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic

Information technology has transformed the workplace in little over a generation; would I have been able to type this blog, include it in an electronic newsletter and then email it to you as a PDF file when I started at the School? In 1985, there were six BBC Micros in the original ICT room under the Science labs each with 16 kB of user RAM and CPU capable of running at 4 MHz, but they were really little more than curiosities despite costing £400 each at the time.

So how far have we really come, or has this explosion in technology bypassed education? Last May, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs met for the last time before Jobs’ death and among their discussion topics was education. Both men were dropouts from university and both, at various times, had dreamed of transforming schools but now admitted that computers had had surprisingly little impact so far. One problem is that schools cannot really benefit from the productivity gains in the way that businesses can, by reducing costs in other areas; no one wants to see Sir replace by Siri (voice command software on the new iPhone). In my office I have three computers within arm’s reach and a couple more at home; they are all connected and I use whichever is most appropriate at the time. It’s not just one computer per person; it’s two, three, or four. The question is what world are we preparing our pupils for if they don’t have immediate, personal access to the devices that the rest of us now take for granted?

It’s long been a dream of mine that every pupil should carry with them a small, inexpensive computer that can be turned on quickly, have a long battery life and be fully connected to the outside world. I thought that the original Psion series 3 could be the answer, I then lugged around a variety of laptops before trying netbooks; finally the iPad was released and this device really does seem to tick all the boxes. It will soon be possible for a child to carry all their text books in their computer, they will be able to use it in lessons without the hiatus of moving the whole class to an ICT room, it will always be connected wirelessly to our network and be a gateway to our teaching resources.

Buying individuals computers is the easy part, embedding their use seamlessly into the classroom is much harder and will require considerable thought and planning, but I’m convinced that it will happen.

We are actively discussing how we might finally realise the original promise of this technology. As Jobs put it in the mid-1990s in an interview for Wired magazine. It’s not as simple as you think when you’re in your twenties – that technology’s going to change the world. In some ways it will, in some ways it won’t.

Mr Don Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

Friday 10th February 2012

Congratulations to Charlie Gellett (Fourth Form), who won a silver medal at the South East qualifier of the British Youth Fencing Championships at Eltham College last Saturday.

 

Notes from the Assistant Head: Sixth Form

In the end, although it was annoying at the time, I was actually quite pleased as a geographer with my decision to postpone the ball; that deep, anticyclonic system of dense, dry, cold, Siberian air, meeting a classic mid-latitudinal, warm, moist, Atlantic westerly front, directly over Sutton Valence from 8.00pm last Saturday was bound to lead to some intense uplift and rapid condensation causing heavy snow.

I have spent much of the last few days scrutinising the most recent grades for the Sixth Form, which will be published today. In general I am quite pleased with both the levels of attainment and effort of our Sixth Formers; where improvements need to be made I hope that those individuals have consulted
with their teachers and know clearly what needs to be worked on next.

Several pupils have started to plan open day visits to universities and we have a good number of potential Oxbridge applicants in the Lower Sixth this year. They have already been engaging with subject specialists and are now developing areas of particular interest and reading to begin focusing on
over the coming months. You may be interested to read the Russell Group’s ‘guide to subject choices’ which is a useful summary of their thinking:
http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/media/informed-choices/InformedChoices-latest.pdf.

Work placements are beginning to firm up for some and we have received details once again of the BAE Engineering week in the last week of the summer term; pupils were emailed the details by Mrs Carter and, if any budding Lower Sixth Form engineers are interested in this excellent scheme, they should let us know if they would like to apply, as soon as possible.

Miss Draude and I are currently planning the dates for our UCAS provision for the Lower Sixth in the summer term and there will also be the ever-popular parents’ information evening on Thursday 21st June at 6.15pm.

I do hope that students are able to spend some quality time relaxing with their families over the coming week.

Mr Adrian Wyles
Assistant Head: Sixth Form

Friday 3rd February 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic

I have just been re-reading a fascinating book on education entitled Visible Learning – a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement; it represents the largest ever collection of evidence-based research into what actually works in schools to improve learning. One chapter in particular caught my eye dealing with the effect of the students’ homes on their academic achievement; with grades due out next week this seems like a good time to delve a little deeper.

As might be expected, there is much variance in the influence of parents on the academic success of their children. The research reported negative effects when parents’ involvement was reduced to a surveillance approach or to restrictions for unsatisfactory progress. On the other hand, parents who had high aspirations and expectations and took an active interest in their children’s learning were much more successful. Discussing children’s school work with them, assisting with homework and chatting about their progress all had a beneficial effect. Thus schools need to work in partnership with parents to keep them fully informed to realise, and even surpass, their children’s ambitions. We also need to make sure that we all share the same language of learning as some studies found that parents could easily be distanced from their children’s school.

We have been working hard over the past couple of years to increase the quantity and quality of the information that we send home to our parents on a regular basis. The Sixth Form already have TAGs on their grade cards for each of the subjects that they are studying; we have now extended this to the GCSE years. Our Heads of Department use all the available information about the potential and progress of everyone taking their subject to come up with a Target Agreed Grade (TAG); these should be aspirational, but achievable. Once we have these, we can check our students’ progress against their TAGs at regular intervals. Those who are doing well can be praised and congratulated, whilst those who are falling behind can be encouraged to catch up. TAGs are not fixed in stone; we can change them when we feel this is appropriate. A good example of this is seen in the Sixth Form. We use their GCSE results to set the initial TAGs and then change them in the light of their AS results at the end of the Lower Sixth. We change them again once their university offers start to come in; if they need three A grades to read Zoology at Bristol then this has to be their target.

It is clear that parents can have a major, positive affect in terms of the support and high expectations that they transmit to their children. With this in mind, please discuss your children’s grades with them and offer lots of positive encouragement. If you are at all concerned about their TAGs, or their actual grades, please contact their tutor for further advice and guidance.

Mr Don Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Anna Baker who, after a long selection process, has been selected to play in the U16 England Hockey squad. Anna now travels to Cardiff during half-term to play against Wales. We wish her every success.

Friday 27th January 2012

From the Headmaster

It’s that time of the year again when Government League Tables are released to further confuse and mystify those involved or interested in the education sector.  Maybe it is the current Government’s secret policy to keep changing the goalposts and the assessment criteria when creating these league tables to stop schools manipulating their curriculum to achieve in them, or maybe it is that the speed of change makes it appear so.  When you add further local obfuscation, thanks to the Kent Messenger mislabelling the GCSE and A Level columns in their tables, the whole thing is a mess, leaving us in a maze of misinformation.

I am delighted to say that in the Telegraph Independent School tables today we appear above Haileybury, The King’s School, Canterbury and numerous others.  If you look on the BBC News website you will see that in Kent we have come higher than most of our independent colleagues in the county.  However, you will also see that in some columns the percentages are lower than may be expected.  

All of this statistic gathering is a hall of mirrors and is utterly governed by the strange and unsuitable criteria now being used to judge a “good school”.  The reason that so many independent schools appear to score badly with the English Baccalaureate percentages is that many of us have our students sit the IGCSE subjects rather than GCSE because our independence allows us to and we consider them more suited to our pupils and a good preparation for A Level study.  However, many of these IGCSE qualifications have yet to be accredited by Ofqual and therefore are not accepted in creating these league tables.  It is also worth noting that the criteria currently in favour for gauging A Level success is not percentage A*-B grades, but the number of pupils sitting three A Levels and achieving A*-E grades.  So it has become quantity over quality.  Some of our Upper Sixth Form pupils do not sit three A Levels, as a varied diet of more AS subjects and maybe the CCF BTEC is more appropriate and still allows for university study.   

I would like to think that the programme of study we decide on for each of our Sixth Form pupils is tailored to their needs and gives them the best chance of academic success and future career prospects.  Our choices for your children are not in any way governed by trying to maximise our position in these league tables and we will continue to do what is best for the students rather than trying to predict what the latest criteria may well be: percentage of students with auburn hair, those sitting at the back of the class that achieve a B grade in RE having come straight from an exhausting Games session?  Why not?

Bruce Grindlay
Headmaster

 

Notes from the Assistant Head: Sixth Form

We are finally getting close to the end of the current public exam period and hopefully our pupils have done themselves justice and can look forward to enjoying themselves a little on the 4th February at the Winter Ball. Could I please ask you to make sure that any ticket requests are now in by Monday morning at the absolute latest, so that we can finalise catering requirements?

Many Upper Sixth pupils are now beginning the process of deliberating on making their Firm (F) and Insurance (I) choice for university, whilst others have other dilemmas. We have heard, only this week for example, that two courses have had to close because of funding cuts, even though our pupils had received offers from them.

Yesterday evening’s excellent talk on Internet Safety by Karl Hopwood to the Sixth Form was suitably sobering whilst entertaining; it is absolutely vital that pupils lock down their social networking accounts to the maximum extent and continue to update this on a regular basis.

I have had several pupils from the Fifth and Lower Sixth Form come to see me recently about option choices and university guidance and careers and I would encourage you all to keep doing this via the tutor and our Higher Education staff.

Adrian Wyles
Assistant Head: Sixth Form

 

Friday 20th January 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Academic

It’s been a mild winter so far this year and many plants in the School grounds have begun to flower early; the elephant’s ears in front of Main Block are the best I can remember and there is a splendid patch of Iris reticulata behind the Staffroom.

I also have to commence work on a new timetable in the depths of January by trying to gauge demand for the different subjects that we offer. I start by gathering intelligence from the Fifth Form regarding their preferences for AS level subjects. Once I have this, I can construct the option blocks that dictate the shape of the rest of the timetable. I then marry the Upper Sixth blocks to the Lower Sixth to allow students to study courses in both; this allows us to offer a much more bespoke curriculum. To help me with this I will be asking the current Lower Sixth about their A2 subject choices in the weeks leading up to half term by which time spring should be upon us in earnest.

Pupils also have a choice of subjects lower down the School, although much of their curriculum is governed by the need to study the core subjects. I will be conducting a straw poll amongst the Third Form soon to try and get a feel for the popularity of their optional subjects next year. I won’t ask them to commit to their GCSE subjects until after the parents’ evening in May by which time the School grounds will be seen in their full glory. I don’t request this information any earlier as I want them to concentrate on all their subjects until the end of the academic year. The same applies to the Second Form as they will also begin to tailor their curriculum to their interests and strengths by selecting their favourite subjects from three option blocks.

I hope you’ll forgive my gardening metaphor, but having written the timetable to organise the School for many years one does get a sense of the rhythm of the seasons and the pace of the passing year.

Don Clarke
Assistant Head: Academic

Friday 13th January 2012

Notes from the Assistant Head: Sixth Form

UCAS progress and associated activities

S

Sutton Valence School,
Maidstone, Kent ME17 3HL
Tel: 01622 845200
Fax: 01622 844103
enquiries@svs.org.uk

Sutton Valence Preparatory School, Chart Sutton, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3RF
Tel: 01622 842117
Fax: 01622 844201
enquiries@svprep.svs.org.uk