Chronicle Summer 2024

12 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

we’ve been much more focused on the negatives than the positives as we’ve analysed the returns. We’ve done a lot of work on pupil voice, but 30% of pupils don’t feel that they have enough opportunities to express their views and only 43% think that they have enough of a say in the running of their Houses. We’ll be working to move those numbers in the right direction next year. Some pupils also wanted more feedback on their work. That’s good and bad: it’s great that they want to do even better, less good that they don’t all think that they get enough commentary on their work. That’s another point of focus for next year. Too many pupils didn’t think that there was enough consistency on the school rules, so we need to make sure next year that everyone’s on the same page. The survey also told us that pupils want more education on personal finance, and we’ll be adding more units about it to the wellbeing curriculum next year. What has been the biggest challenge of the past three years? The biggest challenge has been to manage so many changes all at the same time, but I’ve been very lucky in having such great people to work with in the management team. We’ve also had to work hard to manage the growth in numbers, from 770 when I started to 820

the best figures were those which told us how pupils feel at Teddies. 73% told us that they felt happy at Teddies all or most of the time. We want that number to be 100%, but school isn’t always easy. It’s also not always easy to be a teenager. That number is also 10 percentage points higher than it was last year. We talk a lot about community, so we were really pleased when 92% of pupils at Teddies told us that they felt a sense of belonging here. We’ve tightened up lots of rules in the last few years, most obviously on mobile phones, so I wasn’t expecting the number of pupils who would recommend Teddies to their friends to go up! But it did – from 59% last year to 88% this year. I was also really pleased to see the increase in the number of pupils who think that there are equal opportunities for girls and for boys. It was 57% last year, and it went up to 72% this year. We’ve done a lot of work in that area, so it was great to see it recognised and appreciated in the survey. What are the main points of action as a result of the survey? That’s a much more important question. It’s right that everyone working at Teddies takes pride in the impact of the changes which we’ve made, but it’s much more important that we keep making improvements – so

in September. We’ve had to make sure that building projects don’t compromise pupils’ experience, and that our facilities keep up with the numbers. There’s more work to be done in those areas – but I’m pleased that we’ve nearly reached 840. That’s both our target and – quite rightly to keep the sense of community – our limit. I’d also point to two more challenges, one external and the other internal. It’s a nice problem to have, but it has been difficult to manage the increase in applications for places. We’re dealing with 120% more applications than we were three years ago, so there have been many more decisions to make about admissions – and it’s hard to get them all right. That’s been a real challenge, but I think we’ve developed good new systems to cope with it. Making all the interviews blind has really helped, because it’s allowed us to avoid making the intake too narrow. That’s been the external challenge. Internally, the biggest issue has been making sure that everyone knows what we’re doing – communicating about changes and the reasons for them is just as important as making them. Luckily there’s a great team in the Communications Department – but they have been busy! And what are the challenges to come? The prospect of VAT on school fees and the loss of business rates relief are obviously the

The Quad in June