HILLCREST SECONDARY SCHOOL 01/2017 | Page 6

HEAD TEACHER’S REPORT Inspire, Encourage, Empower. These words are a part of the new vision for Hillcrest, which has always had a unique position in Nairobi, with its cohort of successful alumni, as well as in offering a world class education. As Winston Churchill once said: “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” Pulling together as a community, with the help of dedicated staff, loyal parents and inspiring students, we have worked unstintingly and patiently to build from where we began in September. The year began for our new Year 9s, with their bonding trip to Malewa. The adventure and challenge established friendships in a group drawn from schools in Kenya and abroad. Our new Sixth Formers too had their bonding experience at Hillcrest. It is testament to our ethos that ex-students chose to join them to share their experiences of where a top quality education at Hillcrest can propel you. Within two weeks of the start of term, the chief ISI inspector called for a pre-inspection visit. I am proud of the staff, who worked over and above expectations to score a “good” result in all areas, apart from student welfare, which was rated as “outstanding”. Clear recommendations for improvement were also set out and the decisions we are now making are designed to empower staff to deliver the very best education using internationally established practice. Clearly, we cannot do this without a better-looking and a better equipped site. Vital resources to empower us all in this include the new MIS system which will enable records and information to be more effectively maintained and communicated. Look out for the parent, pupil and teacher apps designed for both IOS and Android systems. Nor can we achieve this without empowering Middle Leaders to generate school improvement. Their ongoing research projects include: stretching our gifted