AN EDUCATION THAT GOES
BEYOND TOP GRADES
Birkenhead School is one of the UK’s leading
independent schools located in the heart of
Oxton. The School, founded in 1860, offers
an all-through education for girls and boys
from Nursery to Sixth form.
Clare Barber spoke to the new Headmaster
Paul Vicars about why the School goes way
beyond academic grades and league tables…
Why is Birkenhead School different?
Since I arrived in September, I have been struck by the strength of
community within and around the School. The School, it’s teachers and
support staff are regarded with genuine warmth and affection, which
remains with past pupils and former parents long after they have left. I
have long thought that such a strength of loyalty and appreciation was a
preserve of the traditional boarding school, but the bonds here are equally
strong and evidence of the value of an educational journey that can start
as early as three months in the School’s Nursery and continue through to
the Sixth Form.
How do you achieve that?
The affection for the School comes from a simple premise in which we
believe, and that is to focus on the individual. If this is a value always
kept to the forefront of our minds, then good decisions will follow. In
understanding that one size or type of education does not fit all, staff and
pupils develop a relationship based on mutual respect: a trust that staff
are looking to find and fire the passion for learning that will last with the
pupils long after they leave Birkenhead School.
Our students are entering a globalised economy expectant of five decades
of working life. We therefore have a responsibility to instil in our pupils
a culture of lifelong learning. This is achieved by giving teachers the
freedom to teach and be creative and not afraid to take ‘academic risks’
in the classroom - teaching beyond the curriculum and inspiring pupils
through their own passion for the subject. I am also a firm believer in
pupils achieving their potential when they are happy. There are too many
schools where the focus in recent years has skewed towards grades as a
priority, at the expense of a balanced outlook and deteriorating mental
health. By inspiring pupils inside and outside of the classroom, and
focusing on the individual, teachers get to know what makes each pupil
‘tick’. They can therefore deliver first class pastoral care as they will spot
when a pupil is off his or her game, and look after them accordingly. It is
a combination of all of these approaches that leads to a tight and caring
community, and a special place to work and lead.
You’re joining the school at a successful point
– how will you enable that to continue?
I believe there are several strands to this. We must keep building on
our strengths, invest where we identify opportunities and ensure that
our curriculum continues to be relevant for the world that our pupils
subsequently enter. We are rightly celebrating after the 2016 exam results
place us as one of the leading schools within the country. Students
achieved 100% pass rate at A Level with an impressive 88% awarded at
A* to B and 54% at A*/A (compared to 25% nationally). It is important
to place this in context. 88% is an outstanding result and an achievement
made more remarkable by the fact we are not an ‘academic hothouse’. In
fact, a number of our pupils may not have passed the 11+, but by focusing
and investing time in each individual, we are able to add value at every
stage of the Birkenhead School journey. We all know that children do
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not come out of moulds, each is an individual, and I am wary of pigeonholing pupils at an age when their different rates of development can vary
considerably.
A headline statistic however is no measure of the quality of an education
– the real pride comes from knowing the journeys individual pupils have
taken underneath such a statistic, the hurdles that were overcome and the
skills gained along the way. It is these stories that remind us why we teach
– to play some small part in pupil’s gaining transferrable skills such as
critical thinking, resilience and responsible leadership which will enable
them to succeed once they leave Birkenhead School.
I also wish to continue teaching myself. I believe you can only lead a
school if you know and understand both the pupils and the staff. It
remains uplifting to be in the classroom, whether teaching or listening
to the innovative approaches of others, that is the reason we joined the
profession in the first place.
It’s not all just results though is it?
To me, grades should be a by-product of inspirational teaching, not
the defined target at the outset. The best lessons, delivered by the best
teachers, are those where the pupils forget that they are in the classroom,
but have the mind stretched within the academic field they are studying. It
is this approach that engenders true understanding, not a narrow-minded
quest to learn what is felt that the examiner wants.
At the start of term, I addressed pupils