insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 07 - September 2015 | Page 96
“Our pupils
leave school
with excellent
exam results,
but they are
not dened
by them”
Head of top independent girls’
school warns of the dangers of
academic hothousing:
A recent study by the Health and Social Care
InformaƟon Centre revealed that BriƟsh girls,
aged 15 to 19, are compeƟng with middleaged men as to who is the most stressed. This
is not how it should be! With exam pressures
topping the list as the main cause for concern,
Antonia Beary, Headmistress of Mayeld
School, a successful independent girls’ school
in East Sussex, is concerned that the quest
for perfecƟon is piling too much pressure on
students. She quesƟons whether educaƟonal
establishments have lost sight of the real
interests – indeed the humanity - of their
students in a baƩle to get to and stay at the
top of the league tables.
“It is my view that a school’s priority should
be to ensure that their students develop into
condent, engaged and curious individuals,
who, as a happy consequence, will full their
academic potenƟal. One of the Mayeld’s nest
aƩributes is that it is not an academic hothouse,
yet our outstanding examinaƟon results ensure
that we are recognised naƟonally as a centre of
academic excellence, year aŌer year, with girls
going to their rst choice - Oxbridge, Russell
Group or American universiƟes. I believe that it
is the direct result of our holisƟc philosophy of
educaƟon. We believe in nurturing the unique
promise of each individual girl, supporƟng
and guiding her to achieve her full potenƟal in
everything that she does.
This support takes many forms. Academic
rigour is very important, and as a strongly
academic school, we pride ourselves on the
quality of our teaching staī and faciliƟes.
It is not, however, all the school does.
Perhaps less celebrated are the myriad of
other opportuniƟes: the many successful
sports teams, the creaƟve clubs and support
networks on oīer, and I believe they are no
less integral to the success of the school.
Teenagers, parƟcularly girls, put themselves
under immense pressure to be ‘perfect’, and
this combined with the fear of failing to live
up expectaƟons placed upon them can prove
detrimental to their mental and emoƟonal
well-being. As an adult, it is easy to dismiss
Antonia Beary, Headmistress
adolescent worries, but as the alarming
increase in uptake of mental health services
amongst teenagers proves, we need to take
their concerns seriously.
Regardless of ability, a lack of condence can
hold pupils back; a fear of failure can prevent
even the brightest pupil from challenging
herself and achieving the grades of which she is
capable. I feel very strongly that one must never
underesƟmate the importance of the school’s
role in developing - or compounding the lack of
- a pupil’s condence and self-belief. At Mayeld
we aim to develop within each of our pupils the
condence to succeed in life. That means being
prepared to cope with failure as well as success.
We encourage girls to challenge themselves in
areas not so easily quanƟed in league tables:
in the orchestra, the ceramics studio, on the
sports eld, or in the debaƟng chamber. Each
girl has parƟcular strengths, an area in which
she can shine; it’s a quesƟon of helping her
discern her giŌs and talents.
Pastoral care is crucial, and this is an area
where single-sex schools like Mayeld shine.
Individual, focused pastoral care allows girls
to develop a posiƟve image of themselves
during those turbulent adolescent years, when
girls are parƟcularly vulnerable to self-doubt.
The right school environment can foster selfbelief, developing each girl’s condence in her
capabiliƟes, her idenƟty and her value as a
human being - not just as a holder of cerƟcates.
and creaƟvity outside the classroom should
perform so well in the league tables. Not so:
Mayeld’s outstanding academic success
comes as a direct consequence of our holisƟc
and supporƟve ethos.
Mayeld girls are encouraged to be creaƟve
in all that they do. Rather than jump through
exam board-led hoops, they are encouraged
to be themselves, and to be the best that they
can be. We encourage Mayeld girls to become
mature, independent, condent and wellinformed individuals; young women of faith and
reason, ready to make their mark on the world,
supported by a network of lifelong friends.
We want each individual to have an academic
experience which challenges and sƟmulates
her, leading to her achieving the best possible
qualicaƟons, as well as learning the value of
cultural, spiritual and physical enrichment. This
learning - both inside and outside the classroom
- takes place within a school community that
is warm and welcoming, and where staī care
about pupils as individuals, not staƟsƟcs. Yes,
our pupils achieve excellent exam results, but
they are certainly not dened by them. There
is so much more to life – and educaƟon for
life - than jumping through hoops. We owe it to
young women to oīer them more. “
A woman in today’s world is expected to
balance many roles, the women of tomorrow
even more so. As such, it is our duty to furnish
them with the tools they will need to succeed
in life aŌer academia: independence, resilience,
condence, leadership, integrity, courage and
ambiƟon - qualiƟes which cannot be learnt
in books, nor measured in examinaƟons, but
which should be nurtured and developed by the
right school environment.
Some might say it is paradoxical that a school
which so willingly embraces every strength,
encourages every extra-curricular pursuit