#bkhsbablake

A longer blog this week. As I would do with my classes when I am setting homework, since you had a shorter one last week, I think it only fair, parents, that you catch up this week.

Yesterday saw a rare foray away from school at the HMC Spring Conference. The presentation that has resonated with me the most was on the work done over the past couple of decades by Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore at the University of Cambridge with various worldwide collaborators. Professor Blakemore has been researching the development of the adolescent brain using techniques ranging from MRI scans to social psychology experiments. These are difficult to summarise succinctly, but the conclusions are worthy of reflection at any school. Prepare for a little advanced science, highly condensed, and almost certainly oversimplified.

MRI scanners are now ubiquitous in hospitals and are used increasingly in research. Scans  of thousands of subjects over time show grey matter in several areas of the brain gradually decreasing, while the white matter increases by 1% at around the same time. The ‘whiteness’ of the white matter is caused by an increased amount around the neurons of myelin, a fatty substance which insulates our nerve cells and makes them transmit the electrical nerve impulses more efficiently. At the same time, our brains are pruning excess synapses, retaining the connections that we regularly use at the expense of those which are more rarely called up. The adolescent brain is particularly plastic, meaning it can be permanently changed (and therefore improved) by external stimuli. Our brains retain some plasticity throughout our lives but in those early years, and through into our mid-twenties, we are most receptive to learning, while at the same time more prone to changes of mood and heightened sensitivity.

Given these ongoing changes in brain development, the accepted definition of adolescence in this branch of neuroscience is now much broader than you would expect, ranging from age 10 all the way up to 24. We should not consider our young people to be fully formed adults at the legal age of 18.

Alongside these results from ultra-sensitive scans, experiments in social psychology have shown that 12-15 year olds are hypersensitive to social exclusion compared to the rest of us. They are also, as we know, more prone to certain forms of risk-taking, and even more so in a social situation, as evidence in the real world. A driver under 21 is sadly 4 ½ times as likely to be involved in a fatal traffic incident when there are 3 or more passengers in the car compared to when they are driving alone: this has been attributed to heightened risk-taking in the social context. Even in simulated situations, adolescents take more risks when there are people of their own age watching.

However young people are more risk averse when it comes to social risks. There is a real conundrum for a young person in a social situation when, for example, they are asked for the first time if they want an alcoholic drink – balancing the known risks of alcohol against the risk of social disapproval by their peers. We know how that often turns out. In an extraordinary experimental result, when asked to rate different types of risks – such as crossing a road when the pedestrian signal was red - 12-15 year olds were seen to be more likely to change their minds according to outside advice when that advice supposedly came from someone of their own age, rather than when that advice came from an adult with much greater life experience.

The science backs up many of the hunches that educators and parents have long held: teenagers like to take risks; try to impress their friends; avoid situations where they are seen to go against the flow; and don’t listen to adults as much as to each other. If that’s what the science tells us, then what can you do?

What you can do is, as a school, to try to exploit this reality rather than simply wish it were otherwise. If pupils are more likely to be influenced by their peers we can help those influencers to be informed and positively contributing to the pupils’ welfare. This term there are real opportunities for large numbers of our pupils to earn positions of responsibility which could make a positive difference to the Bablake community.

We are on the verge of appointing our new Sixth Form prefect team, with the L6th due to take over shortly as our U6th depart on study leave. They have a couple of months to make an impact before we embark on the selection process for the new school captains. I will impress upon them the importance of their roles in influencing other pupils in the school. They will be heard and heeded when adults are not. The same is true for next year’s Year 10 peer mentors who will have their selection process and training with Mr Bevis soon.

In another of yesterday’s talks at the conference we heard about research into the impact of the lockdowns on pupils’ mental health and development. We know that our current Year 8s have needed to be treated as new Shells because their first experience of Bablake senior was largely spent at home or bubbled in certain parts of the school. Our children have not had the usual opportunities to learn from older pupils and understand our normal ways of doing things. The prefects and peer mentors have a huge role to play in helping all our pupils to find their way and follow the right path.

Last Saturday took me to Oundle to watch the U14 and U16 netballs squads compete in the England Netball national finals. Netball is currently being run separately within BKHS, and Bablake were the only Midlands schools to qualify both U14 and U16 teams. Both squads had come through regional rounds and looked very promising, but against the best of the best – and teams you have never played before – you never know how you are going to fare.

Oundle, a boarding school near Peterborough, were our hosts: they have eight netball courts, including two indoor “show courts” in their Sports Hall. In the first round of games both teams were indoors and I was able to watch them from the balcony. The U14s, closest to us, opened up a healthy lead which got whittled back in the closing minutes, but they held on for the win. On the far court each time I looked up at the U16s I could see the two Libbys at GA and GS popping in goals for fun. A good start for both squads with their first wins on the board.

After that, the teams were usually on separate outdoor courts and they each had more wins but also a couple of losses in their pool games. By lunchtime, with 6 of their 8 games played, both sides could still progress: the U14s had their fate in their own hands while the U16s needed two more wins and other results to go in their favour. In the end, both ended up in creditable mid-table positions in their pools. Thu U-16s finished 7th out of 9 in their pool, which was the harder part of the draw with both finalists coming from it. The U-14s finished one agonising win short of the semi-finals, but will look to come back even stronger in two years’ time.

This is the first school where I have been able to watch genuine top-quality netball. It was a pleasure to see how well both our teams competed, and moreover, how well the girls represented the school with their conduct on and off court. It was a fine day for girls’ sport at Bablake, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who make all the sport here possible, and the parents who give our teams such excellent support.

Recent events in Ukraine were at the forefront of our thoughts as we returned to school after half term. A fortnight later we are still seeing harrowing images of the impact of the invasion on civilian areas of Kyiv and other cities. As a school we did not want to rush to address this with the pupils, and to be sure that when we did we were factual and balanced, as well as compassionate and empathetic.

Mrs Skilton, our Assistant Head and also a Russian history specialist, gave an outstanding assembly on Ukraine at the start of this week. I do hope your sons and daughters have since spoken with you at home about this. Pupils should now understand a little bit about the historical context the invasion, from the break up of the Soviet Union and the expansion of NATO. They should also recognise that many Russians are openly against the war despite the increasingly restrictive laws against protest emanating from the Kremlin. But most of all I hope they will remember the period of silent reflection at the end of the assembly when we took time to think about the families who have been directly affected by this horrendous war.

Mrs Skilton also touched on the helplessness that many of us are feeling while the Ukrainians fight back alone against the invading forces. While Bablake Prep are collecting goods to send to Ukraine, at the senior school we are planning to raise money to go towards the Disaster Emergency Committee or another suitable charity. Often we default to a non-uniform day to raise money, but it feels as though we should do something different and more substantial to mark our solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

The charity team have organised a sale of blue and yellow lapel ribbons next week, minimum donation £2, which will be sold next week. Over the coming weeks we will run other events and we would welcome your support as and when we announce those. Sadly, it seems as though this crisis will linger for some time. Whether through the impact of sanctions, through family ties with people in the region, or through compassion for our fellow men and women, this is going to affect us all for some time. By contributing to the relief operation we are at least doing something to help.

In assembly this week I spoke about Toussaint Louverture, the revolutionary leader in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, today’s Republic of Haiti. An extraordinary figure, he began his life in slavery on a plantation in the north of the island, and won his freedom thanks to his part in resolving a dispute involving a brutal slave-driver and a large number of slaves who consequently refused to work (the slave-driver was expelled from the plantation and the workers went back to the fields after Toussaint’s intercession). With the French Revolution in 1789 came an opportunity for the slaves of Saint-Domingue to throw off their shackles and embrace freedom. Toussaint’s leadership skills soon saw him leading an army of marrons, as the runaway slaves were known, and with his many military successes he became known as the Black Spartacus.

As every scholar of ancient history (or fan of Kirk Douglas films) knows, the slave revolt led by the original Spartacus in 1st century AD Italy ultimately failed. Toussaint’s did not. An extraordinary figure, he overcame French, Spanish and even British forces who tried to dominate the island at different times over the next decade. He became the commander-in-chief of the armies and governor-for-life of the colony. He was seen not just as the hero of the black population, but also as the trusted protector of the white colonists who saw him as their protector. His immediate entourage he had lieutenants who were black, white and of dual heritage. He spoke to people in their own language – to the white colonists in French, to people of colour in his own first language Haitian Kreyol, and to many of the ex-slaves in the languages they had brought from Africa. He was a humanitarian, preventing his troops from pillaging enemy territory or entering into reprisals against their opponents. When Napoleon sent an invasion force to re-institute slavery and depose Toussaint in 1802 , he successfully repelled them, before being duped into captivity and sent to a French prison where he died in 1803. His lieutenants completed the rout of the French and founded the Republic of Haiti on 1 January 1804, only the second independent republic in the new world and the first in which all forms of slavery were outlawed.

Why talk about Toussaint Louverture to the school? He was a figure completely unknown to me until I read a review of a biography of his last year which made me get the book. In part I wanted to speak about him because his story is extraordinary and inspirational, although one which a ten minute assembly or three paragraph blog cannot do full justice. But it also marks a deliberate effort to make our curriculum more relevant to pupils for whom history can seem like a series of stories in which dead white males are the sole protagonists. In our curriculum generally we need to ensure that all our pupils learn about people like them and have the opportunity to consider matters more broadly than just focusing on our immediate concerns in the Britain.

On that note, Mrs Skilton, as our resident expert on Soviet history, will be talking in assembly next week about the situation in the Ukraine. We understand that some pupils will have family who are directly affected by the war and they may need additional support in school, or may wish to step out of this assembly. Our thoughts are very much with all those affected. Please let form tutors know if you have particular concerns.

Monday saw the release by the exam boards of materials intended to offset the impact of lockdowns and remote learning last year on our current GCSE and A level candidates.

In most subjects, pupils will be tested on reduced syllabus and have been given guidance about the topics on which they should concentrate. Social media will doubtless pull this information apart and offer their own student guides to the exams – these may not be entirely accurate and subject teachers should be relied upon to interpret the boards' advice more fully.

This initiative has gone down well in the education sector after two years of teacher-assessed grades. At this stage of most courses, only one or two small topics will be taught for the first time and revision will begin in earnest in March. The timing of the exam boards' decision means that we will still have covered the content in each syllabus, but it turns down the heat on pupils who have had a lot to deal with over the past couple of years.

While we now think that exams are very likely to go ahead as planned in the summer, we are still undertaking the parallel process of assessing for potential teacher assessed grades. After half term many subjects will still need to do tests that could be used in this process. We do not want to raise anxiety levels: such tests are a normal part of the usual revision process. Pupils need to take them seriously and revise properly, with the foremost thoughts in their minds that the timed tests are excellent preparation for exam papers in May and June.

The other aspect of the support confirmed this week is a commitment to set grade boundaries so they are more generous than those in the last full set of exams in 2019.  It is so difficult to compare results across the past three years, given the differing ways they were decided – and particularly the complete change of direction in August 2020.

This government has long been wary of grade inflation, so it is no surprise they want to see grades back to 2019 levels by the following year; it seems unlikely there will be similar support for our current Year 10s and Lower Sixth by the time their turn comes in summer 2023. It is important that they, and the years below, confront academic difficulties knowing that they have the time (and the support that will be offered here) to catch up with any lost learning from the lockdowns.

We hope that the measures outlined by the exam boards give our Upper Sixth and Year 11 pupils a good chance to secure the grades they would have achieved had the pandemic not struck. It is difficult to see a fairer approach that could have been taken.

(Bulletin No 17 - 11th February 2022)

Schools unfailingly bring you unanticipated moments of joy when you least expect them. There were a few yesterday I thought I would share.

Sometimes I get unexpected visits from pupils in my office. Before registration yesterday a boy in Shells knocked on my door asked to be appointed as a librarian. He assured me he would be able to keep control of the other pupils when Mrs Needham has to leave her desk. It’s clearly the place in school he loves and wants to contribute to, and how wonderful to pop up to put a proposal to the Head. Off the back of that I have asked Mrs Needham to find a role for him and any other Shells who would like to help out in the library.

In my first couple of weeks a Year 10 pupil asked if he could have the use of the hall at lunchtime to run a badminton club for lower years. I wandered over to the sports hall on Thursday to find him coaching some younger pupils and share his love of the sport. He has done this under the radar all year. Time for a little recognition, Krish.

And in the evening I went along to our Food Tech department where a number of young people in the care of the Local Authority are learning some basic cooking skills before they head out to live independently. This is a project – the first of many we hope – that we have started with the Coventry Virtual School which oversees young people in care in the city.

Just a little snapshot of what we are doing here besides all the teaching, Covid management and traffic control.

One of the most inspiring TED talks on education was given early on by Sir Ken Robinson, who throughout the nineties had been a professor at Warwick University.

The 2006 talk is one of the most viewed TED talks, with around 60 million views. Robinson’s main contention was this: creativity is just as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status. There is no question that literacy - and numeracy - have been pushed as the absolute essentials in the curriculum. Certainly in primary schools, time spent on these subjects has crowded out other facets of education.

The origins of this established hierarchy have come from our collective thoughts about the purpose of education. We perhaps dwell too much on the economic reasons: which qualifications and skills will get me (or my child) the best jobs and careers. We all want security and the means to look after our families, countries more broadly want economic prosperity. These reasons are important and not to be downplayed, and they are certainly at the forefront of ministers’ minds when Government policy is forged.

When Michael Gove introduced the EBacc in 2010 the shortlist of essentials – unchanged since – was:

English language and English literature

Maths

Science (double award or three separate sciences)

Geography or history

A language (modern or ancient)

State schools are measured on the percentage of pupils who get a good pass across all elements of the EBacc. Its stated purpose is “to keep young people’s options open for further study and future careers.” In short, it speaks to the economic motives of education. But what about the cultural aspects of learning, the social aspects of learning – working in teams, creating something, what about the elements of personal growth and flourishing that we should be seeking? There is nothing in the EBacc I would wish away – it is a good starting point, but where are all those creative subjects, the performing arts or practical subjects? Why does the EBacc not demand that schools include something from that sphere of the curriculum? Creativity does not solely reside in art, music and DT: if you are completing an extended piece of writing or solving a complex scientific problem, you will need to be creative. But by omitting this area from the core curriculum, it downplays the importance of these subjects.

Two aspects of my own ongoing education, thirty years apart, come to mind. First, the time at the start of Sixth Form where I first put myself forward for my first school production. That led to a low-key, but for me a very enriching experience of drama at university. I wished I had been nudged in that direction sooner, and that drama had been a curriculum option at my school. The second nudge towards creativity came 18 months ago when I picked up a guitar for the first time as my lockdown project and learnt through some online tutorials. I had never learnt an instrument before, always assuming I would be too clumsy or that I would resent the hours of practice at home. I had been completely wrong, and now it’s just my own children who resent my guitar practice.

Learning should not just be about the utility it brings – we should ascribe value to the fulfilment that it provides to the learner.

The Year 9 options evening was this week – and in that Mr Bull explained how our system for GCSEs works – you must do maths, English, at least two sciences, a language, a humanity (look familiar?) with three further free-choice subjects from over a dozen options. As things stand, we don’t insist on a creative subject. Perhaps we should for future year groups.

If the economic motives for education retain their primacy, perhaps, in our changing world of machine learning and artificial intelligence, we could all be missing a trick by not insisting on more creativity in the mix. Already creative industries are massive employers in the UK and globally. And when Alexa and her robot friends take over and perhaps diminish our requirement for more technically trained workers, we will still need humans with other skills. Many of those workers most in demand will be the people who show the greatest creativity.

A vocation I was drawn to from an early age was traffic management. My father had a skip hire firm in Blackpool, and in the school holidays often I rode with him in the cab of the wagon. He had me running round doing various things when we got to jobs: putting the nets on the full skips, attaching the chains and, sometimes, holding the traffic while he did an awkward reverse. Sometimes skips were on the road and I had to stand with my arm out in front of a queue of cars while the skip was being lifted. Drivers would not be very happy that their journeys were delayed. It probably didn’t help that a scrawny 14 year old was the one stopping them going anywhere. On occasion, we would have to use the hydraulics on the wagon to lift a car out of the way if it was illegally parked and blocking a skip he needed to get to. People were happier to stop and watch that.

So this week I have been in my element as we trialled the new one-way system for drop-offs and pick-ups. Since I arrived, the high-stress, ultra-competitive arena of the turning circle at 4.05pm has been a grave concern to me, and one that I wanted to address. I really have been concerned about the safety of the circle, and the effect on Coundon Road and our neighbours as traffic backed up waiting to turn in. I am actually quite pleased that our hand has been forced with the arrival of the new cycleway. But I do understand why previous heads have resisted bringing large volumes of traffic onto the site, given that moving cars and happy, careless children are two things you want to keep far apart.

A few thoughts from me, based on the first few days of the trial:

It went as smoothly as we could have hoped – while the playground filled up at around 3.30pm for prep pick-up, cars were able to queue on the terrace and Coundon Road kept flowing. From 3.50pm the playground was never more than half full so we can accommodate more senior school pickups from there, rather than on Coundon Road (the legal parking bays outside will soon disappear).

Safety remains a concern – we need all parents to have their wits about them when they are driving in: observing the 5mph limit along the terrace, parking sensibly, not chatting behind cars waiting to reverse, not waving to their children while almost running over a marshal in a high-vis jacket (this did almost happen but I mention no names).

Some pupils need to learn how to use a zebra crossing.

Some parents have very big cars that don’t fit very well in our spaces.

Some parents regress to a much younger age when politely asked not to park on the double yellow lines outside school by the Headmaster (again, no names are mentioned). Naughty. There is space in the playground.

One of the major motivations for the cycleway and the proposed changes to the ring road exit is air quality: Holyhead Road has some of the highest NOx levels anywhere in the UK and I don’t want that to become more of an issue on our site. We have our windows open at the moment to let Covid out, not to let exhaust fumes in. Please can we ensure we aren’t leaving engines idling when on site.

Our plan was to run this trial for a week, get some feedback, refine what we do and relaunch it when the roadworks began. But you may have seen the sign which appeared outside school on Monday, saying ”Roadworks begin here 17 Jan 2022. Delays possible.” We have therefore declared the trial a success and the new system will remain in place throughout the period of the roadworks.

All the parents I have spoken to have been very understanding of the new system and very courteous to our marshals, so thanks to all of you for your patience. Here is a very brief survey I invite you to complete so we can consider how we refine things to make them safer and smoother in the weeks ahead.

Drive safely. And don’t park near any skips.