As we start week 3 of term it is hard not to think of the ‘normal’ Summer term activities that we would all be enjoying...
As we start week 3 of term it is hard not to think of the ‘normal’ Summer term activities that we would all be enjoying, the sound of laughter and play coming from all corners of the school and of ball on bat every afternoon – I even cut the cricket wicket on the Colts’ Lawn on Sunday to have some semblance of normality and ever hopeful it will still be used this term!
However, as we remembered on Thankful Thursday, we have so much for which to be grateful and to be appreciative of. As I drop into Google Meets and Classrooms throughout the week I can see that the special Edge Grove community remains as strong as ever and teachers are working flat out to provide exciting, stimulating, challenging and creative lessons. In turn, our pupils (and parents) have risen to the challenge and shown so much resilience, enthusiasm and effort in everything they do. I couldn’t be more impressed…and thankful.
As you may know, I have never been a fan of rote learning and curriculums designed purely to pass exams, such as Common Entrance. It was for this reason that we designed and implemented the Edge Grove Baccalaureate so that we can develop the skills and attributes in our pupils which will be necessary for successful and accomplished future lives. The current COVID-19 situation across the world has shown this approach to be even more essential and relevant. We need leaders and experts who can think outside the box, can collaborate effectively, communicate clearly and precisely, think critically and adapt to constantly evolving situations. These are the people who will be able to find a way through the crisis and cope in the most challenging of circumstances. At Edge Grove, we will continue to ensure our teaching and learning allows our pupils to do so much more than remember and regurgitate.
On Thursday we are hopeful that the Government will announce plans to allow the reopening of schools in the coming weeks. At this stage, in spite of all the conjecture and hypothesising, we really have no idea what this will look like. However, always keen to ‘Be Prepared’, we have started to model a number of situations so that we will be ready for whatever is decided. Additionally, in order to protect the safety of pupils and staff, we have installed a further 14 hand sanitising stations throughout the school and taken possession of essential PPE. As soon as we have clear advice on how and when to reopen, I will be in touch.
Please remember that Friday is a Bank Holiday and therefore school will be closed and there will be no online teaching. We hope that everyone will be able to join in with the VE Day celebrations that were shared in the Information Letter and my daily videos this week will all have an historical theme, of sorts.
Best wishes Ben Evans