Anxiety matters… 2024 style

I write for educational reasons, professional discourse and for therapy, so I am not quite certain where this blog sits… but if you are seeking the most up-to-date information and support, go here now.

Since publishing this blog last week, our SchoolTV has published this really helpful newsletter looking at Exam Jitters, https://clairescourt.uk.schooltv.me/newsletter/exam-jitters, and it really does provide some excellent up to date support for students and parents – if your family is facing exam jitters, these linked articles and videos are worth tuning in to.

Summer Term 2024 started for academic staff on Monday 15 April, so apart from the evidence that my communications’ log suggests, work all day Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoon prior, my start of Summer term did too. I love what I do, and in every respect, so I have been a tad anxious about the arrival of some vegetable pea seedlings too into the greenhouse. The first set I planted out straight away at end of March into the allotment; marked ‘Winter Hardy’, I should have known better of course. The slugs of the Jubilee Allotments in Ray Mill Road West made very short work of them. Pleasingly the asparagus at the home ‘flower bed’ have shown early, and before the hail of Tuesday could smash them to the ground, Mrs W had harvested and we ate a wonderful chicken & asparagus risotto that evening, thank you. It’s Master-chef back on TV week, what were you expecting me to say?

Inviting over 300 staff back to work at close of Easter break always has its moments, and causing half of them to pack into the Senior Boys sports hall, work collaboratively together on issues on ‘safeguarding’ low level concerns, play Policy Bingo and select cards to work out which team to join for an amazing closing session on ‘what group learning really looks like’ levelled my anxieties more than somewhat. At Tuesday morning’s return to school assembly at Senior Boys, celebrating the boys and girls abilities to make ‘History Every Day’ had to be underpinned by the closing message, which is … “It’s our vibrant community that makes us different!” So I did, and you can see the introduction here.

And so the week has moved on, I’ve worked every day well past decency, including writing this postscript at Friday dead of night, and I don’t do this for medals or praise – it’s because I wan’t to start every day well prepped and ready, don’t like a hefty in-tray and above all, always want to be ‘the best I can be’.’ Those of you that know that professional workplace psychometric analysis was all the rage over 20 years ago, and I turned out in my 50s to be an extreme Pioneer, likely to lose my team on the journey if I was not careful but my saving grace was and remains that I can’t bear to let any one else down. This morning we welcomed prospective and existing parents into school for an early Summer term Open Morning visit (the pride that the Year 7 children exude showing our visitors around does make my heart sell with pride), other bits of the day include planning next Friday’s ‘Discovery Day’ for prospective Year 5s to spend a day with us, managing 2 hours of research skills conclusions for GCSE students and rushing over to Juniors at school end to act as emergency taxi driver as our tractor broke down… before a couple more hours of screen time at school and then this…

I am a university psychology graduate so ‘The New York Times’ article 2 years ago came as no surprise to me, stating what the upsides of ‘The Upside of Anxiety are: There are several benefits to having an internal alarm system, experts say’. Please read the article, because it covers this piece really well.

Above all, dear reader, please be assured (as NY Times makes clear), I have always been incredibly kind to myself. After all, I am both born and baptised a Catholic, so know my life commenced with Original Sin, and … perhaps even worse, now categorise myself as ‘lapsed’. The only way to survive such conscious faith-based damnation is to know that other traditions exist: Chelsea, Harlequins and my Golf Handicap in that ascending order of hierarchy. It appears I have many international readers, so for simplicity’s sake, for most of what happens, it’s the journey that’s important – do your best, work hard and be kind – the rest will indeed look after itself. Chelsea, Harlequins and Maidenhead Golf Club will have our victories of course, yet the next day it all starts over.

I’ve worked with so many amazing people over the years (that’s a book or series at least, not a blog post), yet one still local neighbour colleague administrator’s words that saved me 4 decades ago sit at the front of my mind every hour. When reminding of the Protestant Irish saying ‘Life is Hard and Then you Die’, Anita brought me back to ground and helped me understand what being and remaining a school for families is all about. Her son (and I taught him too) lives locally, and he exudes the same mantra too; Success, Wealth, Reputation, perhaps most important of all Integrity are built on working hard and being kind.

Thanks for reading this far. I am definitely one of the survivors of the abusive secondary schooling that was experienced by the vast majority of adolescents in the late sixties and seventies. Corporal punishment was endemic in schools, and discipline was meted out by the year above, and in like exercised onto the year below, At Douai School in 1970, Year 13 refused to carry that baton, and the institution transformed for the better as a consequence. We stopped ‘fagging’ as a privilege as a consequence, and when as a returnee for Upper Sixth for my final term of Oxbridge and Rugby, I saw a school unrecognisable to the one I entered just 4 years previously. Now, 50+ years on, as one of the older grown-ups I know, it’s worth linking to these next paragraphs from SchoolTV – genuinely there are eternal verities that younger adults learning to parent need to learn.

In the SchoolsTV latest publication on Youth Anxiety, Laverne Antrobus writes “Untreated anxiety disorders in children can lead to more serious issues in adulthood. Parents need to educate themselves so they can identify the symptoms early.” Laverne knows stuff, so please sit up and pay attention. My words, not hers, but it’s clear that shorn of faith and societal traditions, the modern parent is seeking to rear their children in a ‘perfect’ world. The last thing I’d ever want to wish on the next generation is what I’ve gone through, and my parents did the same – because they were born and lived through the depression of a decade (the thirties), the second world War and the arrival and use of Nuclear Weapons.

So please take this opportunity to engage with the research and experience of modern, forward thinking professionals who are leading the research-led thinking of our times. And for goodness sake, do have some fun – the cricket season is about to start and whatever the weather, we have some runs to score!

Spring 2024 End of Term Principals’ memo to Claires Court School community

2024’s incessant winter deluge won no friends here, seriously disrupting our various sporting programmes throughout the term. Even so, a huge diverse set of experiences still ran, nicely captured on our website newsreel here. Last week out came the sunshine, smiling on a host of enterprises, as our boys and girls raised funds for their chosen charities. We will publish the totals collected and the charities that will benefit shortly.

RBWM Planning has continued to be incredibly slow in dealing with our planning applications for additional facilities at Senior Boys (original determination deadline, 4 December 2023) and at Juniors (original determination deadline, 11 January 2024). The good news is that at least there appears to be agreement in principle to our proposals.

With Claires Court Juniors now settled at Ridgeway, we have so much to celebrate in the ongoing academic year. At the recent PTA AGM there, we recognised a range of recent achievements that the association has supported, from the success of the Combined Cadet Force and Sailing Club to our talented gymnasts, dedicated sporting touring groups and of course to the support of our 12 Ukrainian students. Year 12’s Viktoriia Habruk spoke passionately to those present about the incredible difference Claires Court has made to the lives of all of her compatriots. In recognition of her own contribution, courageous engagement and incredible success at GCSE, we have nominated Viktoriia for the Independent Schools Association’s highest honour, the Lord Lexden Prize, 2024. 

We are delighted to announce that following the appointment of Mr Richards as Head of Seniors from September, we have now appointed Mrs Vicky Ruddick as Senior Deputy Head, with specific responsibility for the Senior Girls school. Mrs Ruddick is currently Deputy Head Pastoral at Senior Girls, a well known face already in our school leadership team and will be supported with her pastoral responsibilities with the addition of new Heads of Year for Years 9 and 10. As the school moves forward, we are confident that this new leadership structure will only enhance the senior schools and we congratulate both on their appointments.

Approaching my final term leading Senior Boys, I eagerly anticipate a more balanced role as Academic Principal, working alongside Mrs Kirby, Mr Richards and Mr Hope. This adjustment will better allow me to address the challenges and opportunities ahead, including the existential threat to our sector posed by the Labour Party, which requires our focused attention and strategic planning. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all for your unwavering support, which has been instrumental in our achievements and will continue to be invaluable as we navigate the future together.

Breaking staff news – our congratulations go to Miss Heather Frost, teacher of Food & Nutrition on her selection for the GB Premier Dragon Boat Team for the European Championships in the Czech Republic this July!

Finally, we wish a long and restful retirement to Mrs Lorraine Downing who left us at the end of February after over 28 years’ service in Ridgeway’s kitchen, latterly as its Cook.

With best wishes for the Easter break,

Hugh and James Wilding 

Principals 

When Cognitive Dissonance meets the ChatBot – how on earth or heaven are we going to cope?

Dedicated readers of my blog may have noted a certain slowing down in terms of new post in recent months. I’d like to say that so much is going well in the world that, put simply, I don’t need to worry and write, feed and post for therapy. Lots has gone well in school of course, in recent weeks the rain has eased and ‘Bless the workers’, Cookham Bridge has reopened ahead of time – so what’s not to like.

If you wish to jump to the section on how God, the Devil and all faiths between have been captured by the Bots, jump to the end.

After years of study and multiple surveys, at long last we now know the following (according to a current Daily Telegraph survey):

“The poll of 2,496 parents in England with at least one child aged between four and 18 found that 83 per cent believe that smartphones are harmful to children. About 58 per cent back a smartphone ban for under 16s. Among primary school parents, support for a ban for under 16s was 77 per cent.”

Amongst surveys of teenagers too, who have by now experienced the mixed blessings of an always-connected culture, the majority there would agree to a ban, subject of course to everyone else accepting the ban, and returning to a previous life where the home-phone and/or meet-in-the-street activity was the way to kept contact with your peer group. In short, in the right hands and for the right reasons, the connected mobile is absolutely solving problems in the shortest and simplest of ways. Sadly, in the same hands at another time (and lots of them) the hands are scrolling through from one story to the next, each one emphasising and supporting the value systems, likes and interests of the user.

For those new to the concept of Cognitive dissonance, I asked Google Gemini AI to produce a simplification of this concept: this is what Gemini came up with:

“Imagine you just bought a brand new mobile phone. It’s the latest model, with all the bells and whistles. You love the camera, the super-fast processor, and the sleek design. But there’s one problem: it drains the battery incredibly quickly.

This creates a mental conflict, a kind of cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, you believe you made a great purchase (powerful phone, beautiful design). On the other hand, the constant need to recharge disrupts your life (frustrating limitation).

This is similar to cognitive dissonance in general. It’s a mental discomfort that arises when you hold two conflicting beliefs or engage in behavior that contradicts your values. Here’s how it applies:

• Belief 1: Mobile phones are essential for staying connected and productive.
• Behavior: You spend hours mindlessly scrolling on social media, feeling unproductive and wasting time.

The dissonance creates a tension that you try to resolve. You might:

• Justify your behavior: “Everyone does it” or “It’s a good way to unwind.”
• Downplay the negative aspects: “The battery life isn’t that bad.”
• Change your belief: Maybe phones aren’t so important after all.
• Take action: Set limits on phone use or find more productive ways to use it.

Just like with the phone, cognitive dissonance can motivate you to change your behavior or beliefs to create a more consistent mental state.”

I am teaching Year 7 at present about the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and they very quickly understand that the evidence surfaced by Thomas Cromwell for Henry VIII did not always show that the monks in Monasteries were guilty of immorality and lax religious practices. They understand that it suited his purpose to discredit the Church of Rome, recommend the closure of the Monasteries and thus enabling Henry to acquire huge additional revenues for the Crown, his army and navy and thus strengthen England.

And after the lesson, they go back to being children, playing at break, fueling up in the canteen and clearing their minds of such History. As a peer group, they have studied together, swum in the same ‘school’ and together been able to readily judge and learn. Interesting to note, that set such work on their own, the time taken to read, learn, understand, wrestle and arise at a shared answer probably would have taken 3 or 4 times as long. Working together, thinking in the same set of limited facts and focused attention, no Cognitive Dissonance or worse still Overload. Mental well-being is maintained.

But here’s the difficulty with Social Media; like my class, groups of individuals are steadily gathered by the ‘evidence’ being displayed in the ‘stream’, but far from challenge, the stream keeps adding more of the same ‘echo chamber’ set of thoughts, so the excitement of finding a friendly stream that’s supporting you so well steadily becomes an addiction that can’t be left. AI is not replacing the teacher, ensuring balance, caution, reflection and analysis.

Modern schools have always had the purpose of being friendly places in which children learn how to challenge received wisdoms and learn how to think for themselves. I absolutely get that as parents this can feel intimidating, because it’s so much more peaceful if the homework gets done without pain. We can never teach handwriting again successfully as a country because the pain seems to high and the cost of alternative mechanisms by which to be literate are now so much lower. On the plus side, it looks as though we are developing really good dictation skills, so much so that children’s poor spelling doesn’t get caught out because that easy check on read-back allows for quick editing and review.

Back to my central point; we need both social cohesion and cognitive dissonance in the school learning situation. We need to be a safe place to learn as well as offering challenge, argument and resolution for the better. So of course mobile phones need to be off in school all day, and because everyone knows that’s the rule, they’ll both be accepting and relieved. Outside of the school, child and adolescent use needs to be regularly curtailed and more importantly, supervise. Out there in the Wild Internet, where anything and everything goes, there is far too much to lead children astray, a repeating echo chamber of AI generated content and links that is way too smart for us and creating dopamine surplus and addiction amongst us all.

For young people, here are the dangers (thanks Gemini):

Brain Development:

• Teenagers’ brains are still under development, and excessive screen time can impact areas related to learning, memory, and attention span.

Mental Health:

• Social media can be a breeding ground for anxiety, depression, and feelings of inadequacy, especially when teenagers compare themselves to others’ online personas.
• Cyberbullying is another risk, which can have severe emotional consequences.

Sleep:

• The blue light emitted by smartphones can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to fatigue and impacting mood and concentration.

Physical Health:

• Excessive phone use can lead to a more sedentary lifestyle, increasing the risk of obesity and other health problems.
• Text neck, a strain on the neck and shoulders from constantly looking down, is another potential physical issue.

Addiction:

• Smartphones are designed to be engaging, and teenagers are particularly susceptible to developing compulsive behaviors. This can lead to neglecting real-world relationships and responsibilities.

Privacy:

• Teenagers may not be fully aware of the privacy risks associated with social media and oversharing online.

Exposure to Inappropriate Content:

• The internet can be a dangerous place, and teenagers may be exposed to inappropriate content, such as violence or pornography.

Social Skills:

• Constant interaction through texts and social media can hinder the development of strong face-to-face communication and social skills.

Here are the rules:

• Setting screen time limits
• Creating phone-free zones in the house
• Open communication about online safety and privacy
• Encouraging other activities and hobbies
• Being a good role model by showing healthy phone use yourself.

Conclusion.

To summarise – Cognitive Dissonance forms part of the learning process, can cause tensions but is one of the ways our brain manages internal debate to settle uncertainties, helps build learning pathways and informs future actions.

This week’s Scientific American stimulated me to write this blog, in part because of the ludicrous, unthinkable idea that AI engines such as ChatGPT can load up ‘God’ into its large language model and act as the the one supreme being, the creator and ruler of the universe. It’s been done with all the faiths, including the Bible, Islam, Confucian and includes the Delphic Oracle in its works. Of course AI is not just one ‘thing’ but I have been playing with https://bible.ai/ and it’s been really quite a ‘revelation’ – not that the Book of Revelations is actually a favourite story book of mine. To close, I asked Google Gemini what I should think of it:

“The Book of Revelation isn’t necessarily regarded badly, but it is a complex and often misinterpreted text. Here’s a breakdown of why it can be challenging:

Symbolic Language: Revelation is filled with symbolic imagery and apocalyptic visions, which can be difficult to interpret literally. This ambiguity has led to a wide range of interpretations throughout history.

Fear and Violence: The book features vivid descriptions of disasters, war, and punishment, which can be frightening or off-putting to some readers.

Focus on End Times: Some interpretations of Revelation emphasize the end of the world and apocalyptic events, which can cause anxiety or despair.

Historical Context: Understanding the historical context of the book’s writing can be helpful in interpreting its symbolism. It was written during a time of persecution for early Christians, and the imagery reflects their struggles.

Misuse by Extremists: Unfortunately, some extremist groups have used their interpretations of Revelation to justify violence or hatred.

However, there are also many positive ways to view Revelation:

• Hope and Encouragement: Despite the imagery of destruction, Revelation also offers a message of hope and ultimate triumph of good over evil.
• Comfort and Strength: For some believers, Revelation provides comfort and strength in the face of suffering or persecution.
• Symbolism and Metaphor: Viewed symbolically, the book’s message can be about personal transformation, overcoming challenges, and the ultimate victory of God’s will.

Ultimately, the Book of Revelation is a complex and multifaceted text. How someone views it depends on their own religious beliefs, interpretation style, and consideration of the historical context.

Gemini may display inaccurate info, including about people, so double-check its responses. Your privacy & Gemini AppsOpens in a new window

Meeting Regulatory Compliance 2024

Following a recent visit by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, I am delighted to report that we were found to be fully compliant against the Independent Schools Standards Regulations, and can now look forward to a further 3 years of approved activity until our next inspection as required by the Department for Education. The full report can be read on the school website, https://www.clairescourt.com/about-us/reports-and-policies and will soon be visible on the Inspectorate’s own site too.

Very long term watchers of our school will be aware that the school has been inspected by the same Inspectorate regularly since 1990, and we have always been reported on most favourably as a consequence of those visits. Inspections are deeply stressful events, none more than those conducted following the reopening of school reviews by Ofsted and ISI after the Covid-19 pandemic. The sorry saga of that endured by Caversham Primary School in November 2022 is well amplifeied by the BBC headline Ruth Perry: Ofsted inspection ‘contributed’ to head teacher’s death. Claires Court was inspected in that same week, and had to ensure a similar delay; though the findings from the schools were very different indeed, we had made complaint to the Inspectorate about their conduct during their time with us, and had to wait umpteen months in silence whilst they examined our concerns.

Weeks of discussions with our inspectorate followed, as we examined the difficulties the inspection uncovered, not least the lack of written draft report visible until February half-term, literally 12 months ago to the day I write this blog, to then be followed by months of further wrangling with both ISI and DfE. Not withstanding the school’s prior clear commitment to provide appropriate accommodation and provision for the teaching of GCSE Food & Nutrition to boys, as documented in its proposals to DfE/ISI wef September 2023, the Reporting Inspector determined during his visit that we should have done better than this agreed timescale. Our various defences, including agreed policy provision, risk assessment on possible detriment, planning permission for new building not being agreed, or the delays caused by 2 years of pandemic, the tight restrictions on pupils crossing sites as a consequence until March 2022 may well have all been valid, but that did not mean discrimination between genders had not occurred for the few caught up in the period 2021-22.

As this new follow-up report makes clear, and not withstanding the local authority’s ongoing and perplexing delays with granting planning permission, we have both now provided the missing GCSE course for boys and proven beyond doubt that the school’s choice to maintain its Diamond shape, enabling gender separation at secondary level for boys and girls is demonstrably to the benefit of both parties.

Sufficient is now said on this matter; the Inspectorate’s own efforts in visiting the school this term, in covering many of the details of our mutual concerns so well during their visit has concluded their findings in the school’s favour. The many other excellent findings of their visit in November 2022 continue to shine through – we have at our heart the very best interests of our children. our parents and our teachers – and maintaining these endeavours into the future remains the core objective.

This month on Claires Court SchoolTV – Respectful Relationships – one of the great bonuses our PTA provide!

For this first year of provision, the Claires Court Parent Teacher Association have supported the school’s pastoral teams through the provision of this fabulous service for parents, teachers and schools.

Creating great conversations at home is really important, but all too often making sure that parents have the true facts available with which to engage their children is not that easy. This Wednesday’s Times newspaper ran a headline “In school and on medication — the truth about ADHD in children“. ADHD specialist Elizabeth Swann reported to SchoolTV that 60% of all readily available information on the Internet via search engine is completely wrong AND that the term ADHD is the 7th most searched for abbreviation via Google IN THE WORLD!

Finding a trusted news source is really important, indeed a byline of the BBC advertising for their News service itself, but in terms of children’ focussed information, having a central content resource is really important – hence the PTA support for the provision of the SchoolTV service for Claires Court.

I’ve 3 items from our SchoolTV service for your consideration: SchoolTV’s take on NeuroDiversity if that’s of interest to you, leading on from the Times headlines from Wednesday. Neurodiversity in children and adolescents is a concept celebrating the natural variation in how young minds work. It acknowledges that neurological differences, such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and giftedness, are not disabilities but unique aspects of human cognition, and we are so much better treating them as such rather than labels/badges to wear.

With major conflicts taking place in Ukraine and Gaza, it’s no surprise our children want to talk these through, even perhaps want to know what they can do to help and how; children can often encounter distressing images and stories of war and conflict through the 24-hour news cycle and social media. These experiences can provoke anxiety and fear in young minds whose worldviews are still forming. Traumatic events imprint strong emotional memories that can influence a child’s behaviour and perception of danger. SchoolTV have produced an excellent SPECIAL REPORT: Discussing War & Conflict , in which Dr Emma Woodward FRSA, Child Psychologist and TEDx Speaker gives you an insight on how children’s healthy brains react to distressing images and how parents can handle those difficult questions that might arise.

And finally, I point you at This month on SchoolTV – Respectful Relationships

Fostering a nurturing environment of respectful relationships within your family holds the key to not only harmonious living, but also improved academic outcomes for your children. As parents, guardians and caregivers, embracing the art of teaching children about respect at a young age sets the stage for a lifetime of healthy interactions and empathetic understanding. It will help cultivate a positive environment where communication flourishes, conflicts are resolved constructively, and bonds are fortified. Claires Court tries incredibly hard, and has an outstanding long-term reputation for care and consideration, indeed its core values include at their heart, Respect, but we certainly need every ounce of help with this that homes can bring.

Teaching children to respect themselves and others will open up avenues for both personal growth and academic achievement. Fostering an environment where respect is not just a word, but a practiced behaviour, will empower young people with essential life skills. Effective communication, active listening, and the art of compromise, will provide your child with a solid foundation that will transcend family interactions and help them collaborate effectively with peers, teachers and the broader community.

Equipping children with an understanding of healthy versus unhealthy relationships is an important aspect of their development. It will guide them to make informed choices, foster positive connections, and set boundaries that contribute to their emotional wellbeing. Understanding the nuances between healthy and unhealthy relationships provides children with the essential tools to navigate their social world, build self-esteem, and cultivate meaningful relationships.

In this edition of SchoolTV, learn how to empower young people in healthy interactions to embrace differences and forge connections that honour their self-worth. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback. If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month’s edition https://clairescourt.uk.schooltv.me/newsletter/respectful-relationships

Artificial Intelligence – Beyond Merlyn Mind

Discussing the presence of AI in the home, it seems that until recently, I have been one of the oddest people in the world, choosing not have enabled a Smart Assistant at home. Whether you are Apple, Amazon or Google will depend on which voice you get, those of Siri, Alexa or – yes Google. Across most households I have visited over a year or two now, the background digital assistant has been there quietly humming in the background, providing music, weather forecasts, news and indeed genuine assistance to the household, recipe advice and all sorts.

Since Merlyn Mind joined Claires Court 3 years ago as one of only 50 institutions in the world to trial AI in the classroom, we’ve been able to expand its involvement in school life with every junior classroom now equipped to provide that support for teachers. 3 boys from Year 9 (Computer Science {Cs}group who brought the school drone to our firework show) visited last term Year 6 to hear their views on the benefits and otherwise of Merlyn as currently configured for use. It’s amazing how astute our children are, how quickly they can summarise What Works Well, and Even Better If, and so fairly quickly, the #CCScDrone squad were able to report back to Merlyn as consumers.

Friday 26 January is a big day for the #CCScDroneSquad, as they are due to present to a range of industry specialists their work with Drones. They are travelling to BETT24 at the Excel centre in Stratford, London, armed with their presentation seeking sponsor support for 2 more drones, so they can develop their programme for teaching junior children about smart robots, of which of course modern drones are brilliant examples.

Specifically, they are also meeting with the US team from Merlyn, both for feedback but also to receive examples of the next generation of classroom AI, Merlyn Origin. The team are to be based on the Sunborn Hotel, seen above outside Excel, and we will feel a little like entrepreneurs entering the Dragon’s Den! You can see their presentation visible here, and we are really hopeful of learning a lot from our visit to BETT, teaming up with Merlyn and their UK partners, C-Learning, and who knows, coming back with some unexpected booty too.

PART 2 will follow after our return – Saturday 27 January 2024.

#CCCsDroneSquad arrived at BETT24, ready to meet with the team from Meryln and C-Learning. The team had chosen to hear our feedback on the use of Merlyn Mind with our Juniors in one of the board rooms on the luxury yacht hotel, Sunborn. Below shows our team under clear scrutiny, being commended for the exceptional detail that they had taken to summarise the strengths of the classroom tool, plus hear where the weaknesses lay in terms of technology limitations.

The new Merlyn Origin was shown to the team, and they were invited to interact with Marlyn’s AI directly, learning how to ask prompts both to receive answers to questions but also how to cause Merlyn to generate new content from scratch. In so doing, the boys made History, being the first children in the world to so do! Parents may not know this, but within the educational context, how data on children may be stored, recycled and reused is strictly controlled, and although Merlyn Origin was 2 months ago in the USA, its use with children has not yet been authorised. For the boys part, because they had not logged in as users of Merlyn, but being third party interrogators, the way they ask questions and improve their interactions is the major way in which Merlyn will learn how to work more successfully in the school environment. The #CCCs delegates have been charged with prompting Merlyn for the next 6 weeks over the 3 hours a week we have reserved for this research, and they’ll give further feedback through C-Learning on their findings on the new tool. Of course the researchers can’t be paid for their work, but in return for their efforts, Merlyn have agreed to provide a second DJI mini, so the team now have the agonising decision whether to buy an identical 3 mini Pro, or go for the more automated 4 mini, despite its poorer performance in windy conditions.

After 2 hours with the Merlyn team (which included a fabulous buffet lunch), the team then visited the main BETT24 exhibition, and the photos below capture some of their explorations, from tactile sand, , robotics, robot dogs, sharing their work with the team from Google and eSports.

Overall, the experience was remarkable for the #CCCs team, presentations as they had their research outcomes to an entrepreneurial company currently just completing their 1st $million dollar spend on a new innovation tool for the classroom. The school in due course will receive 20 Merlyn Origins, but receiving the first 6, for trialling in the Junior school and making a welcome return to the senior school’s science labs is really thrilling. Our squad has outstanding invitations to visit 4 junior schools to show them how drones can be used in education as well, so winning the second drone and thus getting 50% of the addition resource needed was a major step forward.

And finally, of course, if there is any reader out there willing to complete stage 2 of the #CCCsDroneSquad’s project – we need a further £700, then please do get in touch!!!

Creating the future by taking the first step – onwards into 2024!

All the experts (and there are many) who offer Careers advice suggest that our working lifetime will be 80,000 hours. Having now completed 48 years at work now, I can conservatively estimate I have completed some 120,000 hours to date, and I’ve good plans to stay at work for 2024, God willing. I returned to work this year on 2 January, a tad premature it must be said, but the weather was dreadful, so resting indoors, I found myself listening to that great old friend, Radio 4, and caught up with a current programme entitled Seven Deadly Psychologies, this broadcast being the last in the series on ‘Sloth‘. I quote from the Wikipedia entry:

“Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholic teachings. It is the most difficult sin to define and credit as sin, since it refers to an assortment of ideas, dating from antiquity and including mental, spiritual, pathological, and conditional states.[1] One definition is a habitual disinclination to exertion, or laziness.[2][better source needed] Views concerning the virtue of work to support society and further God’s plan suggest that through inactivity, one invites sin: “For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.” (“Against Idleness and Mischief” by Isaac Watts).

The half hour I spent listening was very well invested, not least because as I return from a 2 week break from work, I have mixed feelings – reluctant because vacation and the Christmas break have gone really well, yet inspired by the down-time to neverthless get cracking on the plans I have for the year ahead. BBC website summarises today’s content as follows and I commend the programme to anyone with 28 minutes to spare – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001trml.

“Sloth is, unsurprisingly, the final sin of the series. Lethargic, languid, lazy old sloth. Such sluggishness is often caused by a lack of dopamine, the neurochemical that helps drive motivation and movement. And it’s not always a bad thing. Our brains and bodies need rest in order to recharge, perhaps especially in today’s world of hyper-productivity and stimulation. But too much sloth, and you can get stuck in a downward spiral of apathy or depression. How best can we get ourselves out of a slump? And how can we get the balance right between uptime and downtime?“

So, that rather sets the record straight, I have taken suitable rest. recovered from the exertions of 2023 and now move from one of the 7 deadly sins to the one of the 3 major virtues, that being Hope. As it happens, the other 2 great virtues are absolutely vital too, being Faith and Love. Faith covers trust and confidence in others, which I have to have because without that a school simply can’t function. Love is the greatest of the 3, because is is the catalyst that enables Faith and Hope, creating unbreakable relationships, be they in families or friends, and more than that provides incentives for the future for the wider community at large.

But why we need Hope at the start of the ‘New Year’ is because it provides the optimistic mindset that makes the first step into the future possible. As I walked into school on Monday, along with all other pupils and staff at the time, it was distinctly noticeable that our stride lengthened and pace quickened. By the time assembly started 30 minutes later school was not just back in session, but its collective heart was beating and excitement pervaded the atmosphere. As I complete the week, walking to the gate at the close, footballers, rowers, scholars and friends were all leaving with cu han obvious skip in their collective steps – school was back, their purposes galvanised once more and stories to share over the well deserved weekend ahead.

Hope though is not enough, and works best when it is underpinned with meticulous planning and the unwavering nerve to ensure that things get done. I am very conscious of the need to ensure our many plans for school, including new car parking, buildings and opportunities are delivered in a timely manner. I’m conscious, as much in writing these words as notes for bulletins and the like, that sometimes I have to wait for other pieces of the planning jigsaw which are not in my care. Last month we we required to provide surfaced for our planning application for a new multi-user games area (MUGA) for juniors (like the surfaces we have at Senior Boys and Girls) an Ecological Survey to support the application. This is a document that runs to 85 pages and highlights of course the vital importance we need to attach to ensuring the biodiversity of the area is maintained as well as the insufferable complexity of planning in the C21 which slows almost everything we want to do and adds utterly unnecessary costs to such projects. After all, since we are enabling an area than half a football pitch (0.2 acre) to become all weather in an estate of 60 acres in which we have recently planted 5000 trees and surrounded by a further 600 acres of Thicket and natural chalk landscape, this kind of requirement is a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

To conclude, some time in the next few weeks we should receive approval for our various new projects for 2024, including MUGA, new music and food studios at Senior Boys. My intention remains to provide the best and most diverse set of opportunities we can for our children and families of course, whilst keeping the most eagle of eyes on what new threats and challenges might be lying ahead too. I am not impressed at all by the growing threats form the Labour party to tax our tuition fees, and the failure to appreciate our parents have already paid full taxes and dues to provide for a state sector place for their child which they have chosen not to take up! Integral to our plans to mitigate such threats is to continue to be a central part of the local landscape in East Berks and South Bucks, and to ensure our local towns and villages appreciate how important it is that Claires Court is nourished in return. We are the home for so many groups now, rowing, football, cricket and such like, and reliable partners too for sailing, golf, rugby, hockey and netball, creating the future by sharing our good – onwards into 2024!

Questions, Questions, Questions… why feedback is so important.

Any readers of my blog for the last 2 weeks will be very aware that I have strongly promoted the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza’s ‘The Big Ambition’ survey. You can see her last email to me of 7 December at the foot of this blog, and, honestly, it’s quite heartening, as I like reading “Thank you so much for your incredible efforts in sharing ‘The Big Ambition’ survey with the children and parents at Claires Court Schools“. She might of course say that to all the heads; the email makes it quite clear that our school community has participated well to date, and yet could perhaps speak even more fully on behalf of children within RBWM. The deadline for completion has now been extended to 19 January 2024, as a consequence.

A year ago, we welcomed the Independent Schools Inspectorate into the school, and as part of their work, they directly canvassed the parents, pupils and staff in our community (3 different questionnaires), from which the feedback they received permitted the Inspectorate to draw ‘inspection trails’, seek further evidence and arise at judgements on the school’s work. Because these events were dislocated by the pandemic across the country, the last survey/inspection had taken place 5 years ago, when ISI had sampled parents previously. Usually we would have canvassed parental attitudes using the ISI model, though disconnected by the same pandemic we had not, so actually our own survey last October was for a separate organisation, the Independent Schools Council, asking demographic and societal questions mainly for marketing and business development purposes, very different of course.

The Inspectorate made 2 clear recommendations as a consequence of their Educational Quality report, in which they found so much that was excellent:

1. Enable male and female pupils on separate sites to further develop their social understanding by extending the opportunities to collaborate. 

2. Enable all pupils, and especially the more able, to further develop and use instinctively their higher order thinking, and promote greater autonomy in their own learning.

We only received the details of the recommendations in March 2023, because of the delays incurred by ISI, nevertheless much of our planned development since has had to include responding positively to these suggestions. Whilst every school’s inspection gives rise to recommendations like this, we’ve worked really hard, so I are very hopeful that our parent body can genuinely see the changes we have implemented, and not just at Junior or Sixth Form level, where the boys and girls are in such regular engagement every day. Secondary boys and girls are meeting much more frequently, indeed the brilliant show, “Another Day in Paradise” is a great example of how the best in music and drama are coming together to #CCBelong, #CCChallenge and #CCExcel.

Claires Court’s approach to education has always included encouraging an independent approach to learning, very evident in the school once the children are settled into their new classes and teachers come October Half-term, though not necessarily there right from the start of September, for a host of practical and well-being reasons. One of the key elements of ‘schooling’ is just that, establishing good routines for all at the re-start of school after a long break. Recommendation 2 is really important of course, but it’s become rather familiar amongst headteachers because the words seem to resurface in every report when perhaps the Inspectorate are grasping for a target that crosses all age ranges.

It’s really important to remember that the focus on ‘independent working’ was a major feature of the GCSE reforms in the 1980s following the introduction of coursework in addition terminal exams. Sadly we found that the requirements for coursework steadily ceased to actually foster independence and became much more formula driven by the exam board requirements and associated mark scheme. As a consequence, those same exam boards migrated GCSE programs (2008-16) into lots of mini assessments over 2 years, which in their own way of course further destroyed independent working – for most GCSE students they had to sit over 100 assessments in 18 months! During this period, schools developed the concept of ‘predicted’ grades, because of course, students were banking grades along the way, making the end result much more ‘predictable’.

Come the Gove reforms that commenced in 2014, more new GCSE exams started in 2017, only to be blown really of course by the 2020-22 pandemic, and it’s only now when we are beginning to see how those further developments all stack up. We don’t have useful comparative data from year to year, as the disruption to exams has been serious. Currently the English government is on mission to make the exam requirements harder, in direct competition with Wales and Northern Ireland who don’t. Yet the exams cover the same content… sounds daft? I know, it is.

Assessment at 16 has become a minefield and we have to be so careful where we tread. Scotland has gone its own way, choosing a new secondary curriculum and new assessments at 16+ which are much more skills based and less founded on knowledge (as have other English speaking countries). It turns out that the students in Scotland learn less than those in other countries (including England), as a consequence degrading their students’ educational attainment, with the rating of their secondary Education offer plummeting in the latest PISA and University ratings.

The biggest single research-based question that Learning Scientists have explored over recent times has been: ‘Does this method of teaching/learning have a positive impact upon the child’? There is a host of writing out there to suggest that 21st Century learning is different for the current generation, who need to know less but have the tools to explore how to find out what the solutions are more readily. Guess what – the researchers keep coming back to the evidence that students need to learn stuff as well as how to manipulate it – in short, you can’t acquire skills without knowledge. This is now an absolute given – in the new world of generative Artificial Intelligence, where your software interface can provide you with the ideal way to cook an omelette, but unless you have the prior knowledge of what makes up an omelette etc. the software won’t make the food for you. And you do need to know a little more than ingredients to understand why cooking makes food safe as well as palatable to eat.

In school we are currently ‘playing with AI, using Merlyn at Juniors, seeing Bard and ChatGPT at secondary and the new arrivals of Amazon Q and Gemini are going to speed up the pace of AI acquisition quite a bit more for us all. Exam boards are of course absolutely scared witless – they know the teacher must not write the student’s work for them, but how might the teacher be able to identify that the work is not of the individual’s own making in the first place, when mark schemes include the use of Buzz words and required answers? Below is something that ChatGPT wrote, 100 words in the style of myself, on the value of AI in Education:

“In the dynamic landscape of education, AI emerges as an invaluable ally, transforming traditional classrooms into hubs of innovation. Through personalized learning, AI tailors educational content to individual student needs, fostering a customized and efficient learning experience. Automated grading systems alleviate teachers’ burdens, allowing them to focus on inspiring creativity and critical thinking. AI-powered educational tools engage students through interactive simulations and adaptive exercises, making learning not just informative but also captivating. Moreover, AI facilitates data-driven insights, enabling educators to identify trends and adapt curriculum strategies accordingly. Embracing AI in schools not only enhances efficiency but also cultivates a tech-savvy generation prepared for the challenges of the future.” ChatGPT in the style of www,jameswilding.blog, 07/12/2023. To be honest, please don’t believe such statements, which are largely drivel, I’m ashamed to say.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate and its reporting inspectors hold very dear that the school has actually asked the members of its customer base for feedback on its activities – ISI never want to find out that the parents actually don’t have a voice in the school or lack a respected way of given useful feedback. It’s all very well to suggest that the ‘head’s door is always open’, but we recognise that much of the time that’s not really of value for parents – often time-poor and busy too. Of course I have asked every AI generative tool that exists what might I need to do to improve the school further, but that’s of little value for anyone given the robot is not a real customer and doesn’t have personal experience to draw from. Well I say the robot doesn’t have a helpful answer, but actually it has provided an answer for our consideration – and I post it below for your full edification – “I told you so!”

In conclusion, I do encourage all parents to take part in such school surveys. Whilst some of responses may be unflattering, they do give cause for serious consideration, of that you can be assured.

Below is the email received on 7 November 2023, from Dame Rachel de Souza:

FAO Mr James Wilding,

I hope that you have had a good Autumn term and are all looking forward to the Christmas holidays.

Thank you so much for your incredible efforts in sharing ‘The Big Ambition’ survey with the children and parents at Claires Court Schools.

We have had an amazing response from nursery, primary and secondary schools across England and as a result I’ve decided to extend the closing date to Friday 19^th January 2024 to allow even more children the chance to have their say.

This will give schools, children and young people an extra month over the festive season to take part in ‘The Big Ambition’.

Children and parents can complete the survey here: www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/thebigambition

It only takes 5-10 minutes and can be completed in assemblies, form times, PSHE or in other lessons in the run up to Christmas or when you come back in January. A suggested lesson plan can be found on our webpage. Alternatively, please share this flyer with a link to the survey with parents and children to complete at home.

‘The Big Ambition’ provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell policy makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election.

Let’s make sure that the children and young people of Windsor and Maidenhead are represented in the results.

Thank you again and Merry Christmas!

Very best,

Dame Rachel De Souza

Children’s Commissioner for England

A message from the Children’s Commissioner for England to the children of England!

I received the following message from Dame Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England yesterday, Thursday 17 November 2023.

“I have launched this survey, The Big Ambition, to hear from all children and young people in England aged between 6 and 18 years old. Adults can answer on behalf of a child or young person aged up to 18. You can find a link to that survey at the foot of this letter. I will use this survey to take children and young people’s views to the Government.

I want to ensure that the voices of all children in the Maidenhead area are fairly represented in the findings so that I can share their views with the most senior members of the country.

I must reiterate that it is vital that all children have their voice heard through this survey because, as Children’s Commissioner for England, I have a statutory duty to protect and promote the views and interests of children. The Big Ambition provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell political decision makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election. I will be sharing their responses with Government to ensure that children’s voices are heard.

Please share the survey and resources with teachers in your school and encourage them to use it in their lessons. Children can complete the survey in assemblies, form times, PSHE or in other lessons this term. The survey can also be done as homework and parents can assist children who cannot complete the survey themselves (children under 5 and children with Special Educational Needs). This is a great opportunity to teach children about politics and why it is important for them to use their voice. Be sure to check out the lesson plans on my website if you want to teach your pupils more about politics before they fill in the survey!”

As Principal of the only through school in Maidenhead, I have a huge interest in encouraging Pupil Voice, the emblem for which in our school was designed by the children and of which we are very proud. My family’s Latin Motto, which sits in the school badge we founded and developed says “Ut Omnes Unum Sint” translating as “So that all may be one.”

Having a unifying set of values is not the same has have the same view of everything, indeed as a school and nation we share the wish to have very different choices in terms of identity and ambition. When Halifax FC visited Maidenhead United last Saturday, it was definitely not to play out a 0-0 draw (Maidenhead won by the way). But both sets of spectators have a shared love of the sport of Football, and for many their leisure time becomes the driving force of their lives. For others, it’s the opportunity to gather knowledge and learn, swapping perhaps the Terrace for the Library to further their ambitions. For yet more, it’s about service to others, building the community links that make town and society thrive.

And all of those possibilities arise from enabling in our young children the opportunity to make choices and express their opinions, and of course to endeavour to surface some options so they see we have considered those concerns. So I welcome the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Big Ambition survey’, and by writing this blog, encourage others to do so too!

‘Lest we forget’ – best not confuse Remembrance with Protest.

Given the cataclysmic battles taking place in Ukraine and Gaza, the extraordinary impact those conflicts are having on the innocent citizens caught up therein are causing emotions to run high. Both wars are unfolding catastrophes, amplified by the immediacy of the documentary evidence of suffering, loss and destruction. Last week, to inform and advise my staff returning from half term, I wrote the following commentary to them:

“Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, the Minister for Schools and the Minister for Skills have written to schools and colleges on 17 October 2023 to provide advice on how to respond to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the classroom – you can find that advice here.

Over the half-term break, our own community leaders covering the faith represented in the war, Imam Abid Hashmi, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain and Reverend Sally Lynch all met at Maidenhead Mosque to each read a prayer for peace from their own tradition. I attach the newspaper article covering that appeal, and I quote one element from that which covers our needs so well, that by Imman Hashmi: “[We said] not to let that disturb our peace here in our Maidenhead community. No matter what happens over there, here, Jews, Muslims, Christians, we are all brothers,” he said.

Clearly we will have members of our school caught up in this conflict, and some I fear directly with the loss of loved ones in Israel and Gaza. In addition, we have in our midst 12 Ukrainian children and young people, for whom war back home remains a lived reality. With such conflicts in mind, the DfE produce additional guidance and support last year, to help teachers and schools navigate issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the legacy of the British Empire or societal responses to racism in accordance with the law. We recognise that teachers must not promote partisan political views and should offer a balanced overview of opposing views when political issues are taught, and it is certainly important we keep well clear of the toxic comments and expressions of hatred visible on social media, consumption of which will herald no victory!“

This Sunday heralds the arrival of Remembrance events across the nation, led by the central National Service of Remembrance to be held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London. Starting at 11am, the service will commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women involved in the two world wars and later conflicts. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport co­ordinates the event, alongside colleagues from across government, the armed forces and veterans’ organisations. Those more recent conflicts, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan have renewed our nation’s focus on the loss to parents, wives and husbands, children and family and there is no doubt that the nature of the services is to focus on that sense of loss in the cause of heroic service by serving military, called to action by their country, our nation, the United Kingdom.

The phase ‘Lest we forget’ predates the First World war by many years, written first by one of our country’s greatest poets, Rudyard Kipling, coming from his poem ‘Recessional’, written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, published 17 July 1897. I’ve posted the full poem at the close of this blog, and Wikipedia’s excellent short commentary describing the poem has this to say:

“Initially, Kipling had not intended to write a poem for the Jubilee. It was written and published only towards the close of the Jubilee celebrations, and represents a comment on them, an afterword. The poem went against the celebratory mood of the time, providing instead a reminder of the transient nature of British Imperial power. The poem expresses both pride in the British Empire, but also an underlying sadness that the Empire might go the way of all previous empires. The title and its allusion to an end rather than a beginning add solemnity and gravitas to Kipling’s message. In the poem, Kipling argues that boasting and jingoism, faults of which he was often accused, were inappropriate and vain in light of the permanence of God.”

From the outbreak of the First World War, Kipling wrote propaganda for the British government and as an expression of his patriotism managed to persuade the military authorities to permit his son John, initially rejected for service because of poor eyesight, to be commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards on 15 August 1914, two days before his seventeenth birthday. Not 6 weeks later, John was reported injured and missing in action during the Battle of Loos, and despite the frantic searches of both parents, John’s body was not found. Rudyard became involved with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and wrote as an epitaph “If any question why we died, / Tell them, because our fathers lied.” It’s perhaps nice that in 1992, the same Commonwealth War Graves Commission discovered a mistake in the paperwork and identified his grave changing an inscription on the gravestone of an unknown soldier to read John Kipling, which lies in the St Mary’s ADS Cemetery in Haisnes.

Kipling used his powerful writing at the time to validate another poet’s words, those of Laurence Binyon. Right from the start of the Great War in 1914, long lists of the dead and other casualties were appearing in newspapers, and looking at across the sea in Cornwall, Binyon composed nded were appearing in British newspapers. With the British Expeditionary Force in retreat from Mons, promises of a speedy end to war were fading fast.

Against this backdrop Binyon, then Assistant Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, sat to compose “For the Fallen”, a poem that Rudyard Kipling would one day praise as “the most beautiful expression of sorrow in the English language”.

Whilst the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month of 1918 was when the fighting stopped with the signing of the armistice by the allies and Germany, the war itself continued into 1919 until the signing of the peace treaty of Versailles on 19 June 1919. There was nothing neat about the close of that war, and the ensuing months and years that followed saw continued suffering and misery across Europe. On On 14 May 1921, the various associations that provide diverse support for the surviving military ex-servicemen chose to come together and the Royal British Legion was formed, who oversee this charitable work to the present day.

The following statement comes from their website today and it makes a defining statement of the purpose for Remembrance:

Remembrance honours those who serve to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life.

We unite across faiths, cultures and backgrounds to remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. We will remember them.

• We remember the sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
• We pay tribute to the special contribution of families and of the emergency services.
• We acknowledge innocent civilians who have lost their lives in conflict and acts of terrorism.

Wearing a poppy is is never compulsory but is greatly appreciated by those who it is intended to support. When and how you choose to wear a poppy is a reflection of your individual experiences and personal memories.

Remembrance unites people of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds but it is also deeply personal.

It could mean wearing a poppy in November, before Remembrance Sunday.  It could mean joining with others in your community on a commemorative anniversary. Or it could mean taking a moment on your own to pause and reflect. Everyone is free to remember in their own way, or to choose not to remember at all.  

To conclude the point I have been illustrating, Remembrance as both a process have been deeply woven into the British and Commonwealth’s psyche for over a century, and unlike most other services covers all faiths and none. As child, the old, injured and invalided ex-servicemen from the legion wore their medals with pride and by engaging with them though the purchase of a poppy we felt we assisted in obeying Kipling’s warning, Lest we forget, obey Binyon’s instruction “We will remember them” and concur with that witness articulated by Kipling that it was his lies that killed his son. So many young men went to war willingly, not knowing the horrors soon to befall them, and the catastrophic effect on all the countries involved must not be forgotten. 25% of entire military population of France was lost, that’s 1.3 million men, exceeded only by Russia with 1.8 million, with Britain & empire not far behind with 913,00 (715,000 UK, 198,00 dominions).

The ghastliness of both conflicts in Ukraine and Israel cannot be underestimated, indeed barely comprehended at present, but whatever views we might have about the various legitimacies of action, we are surely best off keeping those views separate from the genuine and solemn purpose Remembrance has at the heart of our national life in Britain. Kipling’s Recessional below mourns the passing of our Empire 120 years and more ago, but those in Empire did not let us down in the 14-18 war. Year 9 boys and girls in our school last month have been studying in depth the contribution made by the Hindu and Urdu populations of the Indian sub-continent, as well as those from the other dominions too; neither would really have understood the Christian prayer-type structure of the poem, but they truly understood and honoured the loyalty they felt for our King and country, and over 1.3 million gave service during the war across all arenas, from the Western Front, Turkey, Iran (to protect our oil fields), Egypt, its own frontiers with its neighbours, Singapore and China. In teaching this history in school, we bring to the attention of the next generation the knowledge and understanding of the past, by writing an assessment on same, we test their knowledge and help embed the memory in their consciousness that the Great War took place, and left nobody across the world in any doubt of the subsequent devastating effect of war.

Remembrance does not glorify war and its symbol, the red poppy, is a sign of both Remembrance and hope for a peaceful future.