I am the founding head of The Laurels School and have just been appointed Head of Oakwood Prep School. I have been in senior management for over 20 years and founded The Laurels 10 years ago – the most intense and rewarding of my professional life. To see an educational vision take shape and be lived out in the staff, pupils and parents, is one of the most satisfying and inspirational experiences imaginable.
I am a Hispanist and until this year have been teaching A-level Spanish. I think it is key for a head to know all of her students and have the opportunity to interact with them in a classroom setting. I am passionate about learning foreign languages and our school is very proud to be able to offer two exchange programmes to excellent schools in Paris and Madrid.
There are so many it is difficult to single out one. We began in the basement of a Prep School with 10 pupils. We are now based on a beautiful site with facilities we could only have dreamt of back then. I am so proud of my staff and their professionalism and resilience through all the challenges of the first 10 foundational years – this year we achieved “excellent in all areas” in our ISI inspection.
The school’s ethos is based on the Catholic vision of what it means to be human: each person is a unique, beloved child of God and, as such, should be nourished, supported, loved and challenged to give of their best for the good of themselves and in the service of others. We believe that parents are the prime educators of their children and, therefore, education is a shared enterprise, based on trust and honesty. Our <em>Arete</em> programme seeks to help each child to reach for excellence through striving to live virtue in their everyday lives.
Mass is offered daily and is optional, except for Holy Days of Obligation. We have regular Benediction and celebrate Corpus Christi, the Crowning of Our Lady. We offer retreats and all of our pupils are given the opportunity to go to Confession as often as they wish. We are blessed to have a chaplain who gives regular talks to our pupils on spiritual matters. Our most popular club is The Bethany Club, which seeks to bring children into a closer relationship with Our Lord. It organises regular prayer in the morning and rosary in the months of May and October.
Each pupil is assigned a personal tutor with whom she meets once a month. The tutor is akin to a personal coach or mentor and helps each pupil to forge their own identity. She is helped not only in academics, but more importantly, in her own personal development, becoming more self-aware. The tutor meets with the pupil’s parents once a term reinforcing the vital parental-school partnership.
There is a selection process which includes a parent interview in which both parents and head discuss the ethos of the school to make sure that the school is a right fit and the unique ethos of the school is understood.
All pupils thrive at the school because of its personalised <em>Arete</em> programme which seeks to ensure that all pupils develop in a holistic, harmonious way.
The pupil who is predicted straight 9s at GCSEs will need to work on different aspects of her character just as much as the pupil who may need support in some subjects. All human beings can be helped to understand what it means to live a life well lived, based on living virtues such as self-mastery, courage, humility and compassion. Part of the problem in today’s educational world is that there has been a dichotomy between pastoral and academic – as if it is impossible to do both well. This is clearly not true and our recent inspection results were a clear reflection of this and a validation of our educational vision.
All pupils are expected to practice “service-leadership”. This takes many forms but it is a way of using their talents and strengths to serve their community. We also have a very strong careers programme which enables all of our pupils to take part in work experience. We draw on many professionals to provide talks, workshops and off-timetable events such as “Wonderful Women’s Day” when they have the opportunity to meet and talk to women who are involved in a myriad of professions ranging from air pilot, master tailor and engineers to CEOs. We also always invite a mother to speak about motherhood. Sixth Formers follow a life skills course which introduces them to areas such as personal finance.
We offer A levels. Over 90 per cent of our pupils go on to Russell Group universities such as York, Exeter, Leeds, Liverpool, UCL, King’s College, London and Cambridge. They have opted to study a huge variety of degrees such as nursing, veterinary science and archeology.
I am the founding head of The Laurels School and have just been appointed Head of Oakwood Prep School. I have been in senior management for over 20 years and founded The Laurels 10 years ago – the most intense and rewarding of my professional life. To see an educational vision take shape and be lived out in the staff, pupils and parents, is one of the most satisfying and inspirational experiences imaginable.
I am a Hispanist and until this year have been teaching A-level Spanish. I think it is key for a head to know all of her students and have the opportunity to interact with them in a classroom setting. I am passionate about learning foreign languages and our school is very proud to be able to offer two exchange programmes to excellent schools in Paris and Madrid.
There are so many it is difficult to single out one. We began in the basement of a Prep School with 10 pupils. We are now based on a beautiful site with facilities we could only have dreamt of back then. I am so proud of my staff and their professionalism and resilience through all the challenges of the first 10 foundational years – this year we achieved “excellent in all areas” in our ISI inspection.
The school’s ethos is based on the Catholic vision of what it means to be human: each person is a unique, beloved child of God and, as such, should be nourished, supported, loved and challenged to give of their best for the good of themselves and in the service of others. We believe that parents are the prime educators of their children and, therefore, education is a shared enterprise, based on trust and honesty. Our <em>Arete</em> programme seeks to help each child to reach for excellence through striving to live virtue in their everyday lives.
Mass is offered daily and is optional, except for Holy Days of Obligation. We have regular Benediction and celebrate Corpus Christi, the Crowning of Our Lady. We offer retreats and all of our pupils are given the opportunity to go to Confession as often as they wish. We are blessed to have a chaplain who gives regular talks to our pupils on spiritual matters. Our most popular club is The Bethany Club, which seeks to bring children into a closer relationship with Our Lord. It organises regular prayer in the morning and rosary in the months of May and October.
Each pupil is assigned a personal tutor with whom she meets once a month. The tutor is akin to a personal coach or mentor and helps each pupil to forge their own identity. She is helped not only in academics, but more importantly, in her own personal development, becoming more self-aware. The tutor meets with the pupil’s parents once a term reinforcing the vital parental-school partnership.
There is a selection process which includes a parent interview in which both parents and head discuss the ethos of the school to make sure that the school is a right fit and the unique ethos of the school is understood.
All pupils thrive at the school because of its personalised <em>Arete</em> programme which seeks to ensure that all pupils develop in a holistic, harmonious way.
The pupil who is predicted straight 9s at GCSEs will need to work on different aspects of her character just as much as the pupil who may need support in some subjects. All human beings can be helped to understand what it means to live a life well lived, based on living virtues such as self-mastery, courage, humility and compassion. Part of the problem in today’s educational world is that there has been a dichotomy between pastoral and academic – as if it is impossible to do both well. This is clearly not true and our recent inspection results were a clear reflection of this and a validation of our educational vision.
All pupils are expected to practice “service-leadership”. This takes many forms but it is a way of using their talents and strengths to serve their community. We also have a very strong careers programme which enables all of our pupils to take part in work experience. We draw on many professionals to provide talks, workshops and off-timetable events such as “Wonderful Women’s Day” when they have the opportunity to meet and talk to women who are involved in a myriad of professions ranging from air pilot, master tailor and engineers to CEOs. We also always invite a mother to speak about motherhood. Sixth Formers follow a life skills course which introduces them to areas such as personal finance.
We offer A levels. Over 90 per cent of our pupils go on to Russell Group universities such as York, Exeter, Leeds, Liverpool, UCL, King’s College, London and Cambridge. They have opted to study a huge variety of degrees such as nursing, veterinary science and archeology.
