The Chronicle Autumn Term 2017

15 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Head of Physics Matthew Rigby with Henry Blackburn ( Windlesham House ) and Florence Howard ( Feltonfleet ).

Do you believe the culture is behind the recent success? Yes, without doubt. And it is a big thing to introduce a new culture. Staff have really risen to the challenge, taking the time to develop new ways of engaging with pupils in the classroom. And of course it grows – I know that several of our teachers chose to work here because they liked what they saw when they came for their interview day. The quality of teaching here is outstanding – I’m really proud of it. It’s teaching for the long term goals, not just the results. What do you mean? If our pupils learn how to study well and how to work productively with their peers, they will be exceptionally well prepared for life. That’s a big statement, but if they can hit the ground running at university, having developed all the skills necessary to thrive in the new environment, and if they can walk into their chosen career ready to look people in the eye, discuss, compromise, agree and be effective – then we will have done our job.

We expect them to be curious, to think and to engage. Walk around our classrooms and you will see and hear this happening across the board. Can you define ‘the coaching culture’? At St Edward’s we start from a position that pupils have within them the solutions to most of the challenges they face. Our teachers, whether operating in the classrooms or as tutors or on the sports pitches, start from this premise and draw out answers with well-directed questions – this is what we mean by coaching. We endeavour to limit very specific direction and focus on helping pupils make decisions for themselves. We put great trust in them to work collaboratively with us. The hope is to provide leavers with a toolkit such that they “know what to do when they don’t know what to do.” An element of coaching is that there is no pro-forma for dialogue, merely a St Edward’s style. For example, the specifics of the pupil experience of tutoring will vary significantly depending on what is drawn out from questioning.

Olivia Johnson ( The Dragon ) and Finn Cowan ( Moulsford ) in a History lesson with Liz Boast.