Senior Head's Blog: The Boarding Ethos

This week sees all of Year 11 get started with their GCSE written papers, while the IB students are now just over half way through.  A Level students will also be starting soon, if they have not done so already.  Meanwhile, the school has been busy with the Founder's Day Service on Saturday, Year 9 expeditions for CCF and DofE (and well done to the CCF group that survived camping on Friday night with all the rain), the Friends of Felsted Spring Ball, and the Choir singing Evensong at Jesus College Cambridge.  

At the beginning of this week, I attended the Boarding Schools Association (BSA) conference for Heads. The highlight for me was probably an early morning run to Windsor Castle, but we also had plenty of input on the challenges and opportunities that are facing the sector.

The Head from a fellow Round Square School in New Zealand (Wayne Brown from Whanganui Collegiate) spoke about the importance of culture and recognising how important it is to find a sense of belonging.  This really resonated, and as we mark our 460th anniversary as a school this year, the significance of being part of something with a sense of history (although still being forward looking and relevant for the modern world) can be really powerful.  All of us share this connection with Felsted, and it is in all of our interests to make it the best that it can be!

We also heard from Dame Inga Beale, who was the first woman to be CEO of Lloyd's of London.  She also talked about the history of that institution, but in the sense that it was initially difficult for her to drive change and modernisation.  Despite this, she persevered and clearly demonstrated great strength of character and resolve in order to do that.  Other topics covered included school partnerships, and the skills that future employers will be seeking.  We heard from Sir Anthony Seldon (currently Head at Epsom, but previously Head at Brighton and Wellington) and Lucy Pearson (an England cricketer, Head of Cheadle Hume and now the FA's Head of Coach Education). We also tackled the current political climate and the importance of effective forward planning in order to keep boarding relevant in the modern world.

At Felsted, we believe that the boarding ethos enables us to deliver a more rounded holistic education.  This includes providing individual support for students, so that they can be academically aspirational (always focusing on doing their personal best), but also giving time to provide the wider aspects of educational provision, such as Sports, Music, Drama, Global Education and many other co-curricular opportunities.  Equally as important is that we can also deliver social opportunity, to build friendships for life, to develop confidence (and resilience) and to encourage the flourishing of personal skills that are increasingly recognised as being so crucial for the workplace.  Another aspect that the boarding culture helps to foster is wellbeing, with a strong pastoral support network available within the school, but also the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle, with good food, exercise and routines around sleep.  

The more that I reflect on Felsted, the more I recognise that it is not that the school does any one thing that is unique, but everything together that Felsted provides creates a unique community, one that is highly cohesive, and close knit, while also being outward looking and globally minded.

Chris