Head of Junior School
The Best About Our Boys
The Junior School welcomed several hundred prospective parents to our School as part of the impressive turn out for Open Day on Friday 14 March. The day began with a presentation in the Dickinson Centre. I spoke about the mission of the Junior School to provide a high quality academic programme that is concept driven and presents learning through real life issues. I shared about the enriched education we provide through our specialist teaching subjects and our co-curricular programmes. I communicated to our guests how all boys make progress in our caring and nurturing learning environment. I made a special point about of our key goal to develop the boys' basic skills; that as a junior school we need to ensure that they develop their abilities in reading, writing, spelling and mathematics, and that these skills are essential to them accessing the broader curriculum as they move through our College. I spoke about our excellent academic support programme and how it challenges and engages all levels of ability through our commitment to providing the best education for all our boys, and the outstanding teachers who make all of this possible.
However, these are just words. The proof is in the pudding. The first opportunity to make this clear to our visiting families was through Ben Chapman, our Junior School Captain. Ben spoke brilliantly, in front of the 400 plus crowd, about why he has valued his time at Scotch. He spoke about his "amazing journey" and some of the highlights of his experiences both inside and outside the classroom. Ben did a fine job of setting the scene for our visitors as they began their tours.
The rest was left up to the boys and teachers in the classrooms. Parents were impressed with the confidence our boys showed as they talked about both their learning and experiences. They saw our boys engaged and eager to share. They saw passionate, dedicated teachers and education assistants working with the boys in challenging inquiry based learning and saw the boys embrace that challenge. While I talked for a while leading up to the tours, the proof of the outstanding education our boys receive lay with them. They are our greatest ambassadors. Their caring, confidence and communication skills were clear for all to see. They demonstrated, without anyone having to say a word, what qualities and skills the boys who attend our School develop.
John Stewart
Head of Junior School
