“It is the writer who might catch the imagination of young people and plant a seed that will flower and come to fruition.”
Isaac Asimov
As an avid reader and, of course, an English teacher, I have always believed in the power of stories, both the stories we absorb from others and those we share with the world. Nurturing a love of reading is a key priority for me in designing the curriculum for our new school because I believe that reading for pleasure is transformative; a good story can help us to escape or to understand our own worries, a good story enables us to develop vital life skills such as empathy, tolerance and compassion, a good story widens our horizons and makes us better able to communicate our feelings and responses. Just as important as the stories we read though, are the stories that we tell each other, the ones we use to understand ourselves. This blog is about all the stories that are coming together to make the story of Bohunt Horsham thus far.
Throughout February and March, I ran drop-ins for parents who had made an application to Bohunt Horsham. I believe these meetings have been key in helping families make their decisions; I know that our founding families have taken a leap of faith in choosing us and I think it has been important for them to get a chance to get to know me a little better before doing so. What I have most enjoyed about these meetings is hearing the stories of our founding students. I have heard stories about outstanding athletes, coding experts, aspiring STEM professionals, keen mathematicians and prolific readers. Each of these stories has made me more and more excited for the coming year, I can see Bohunt Horsham going out and winning prizes across several fields, even in our first year. I have also heard stories about students who worry, who find school difficult and who will need extra help to make their school experience successful and of course these aren’t two distinct groups of children, sometimes our highest academic achievers are our biggest worriers. Each of these stories highlights that a culture of high expectations is only effective if accompanied by a safety net. Schools must provide a supportive environment for all young people, regardless of their strengths or their struggles, in order that they may achieve their potential. I have talked with our founding families about SEND support, about plans for finding out about successful strategies already in place in meetings with the experts at their primary schools and about personalised plans for social and academic support at Bohunt Horsham and I look forward to making these plans reality.
What has also struck me in these meetings is the stories of the parents and carers who will make up our founding families in September. I feel fortunate to have this team of committed and ambitious families backing our school; I recently heard that our founding families have already begun to form a community on Facebook, in a group called ‘Bohunt Horsham Starters September 2019’ and I couldn’t be more pleased, this is exactly the sort of proactive and positive approach that will make our students ‘game-changers’. Parents and carers are a resource that too many secondary schools overlook whilst our colleagues in primary are often experts at accessing the skills and energy that they can offer. Having met many of our founding families already, I know that the parent reference group we set up after Easter will be oversubscribed and filled with parents who want to support the school in its journey. What this group will also do is hold us to account in terms of ensuring we are providing the best learning and the best opportunities for their children. Who better to do this than parents? They know their children better than anyone and they want the best for them. I am grateful to these families for their time, their efforts and the trust they have put in me.
Throughout the first round of recruitment for Bohunt Horsham I have also loved hearing the stories of prospective members of our founding staff team. The teachers who put themselves forward for this adventure have three things in common: they are talented, ambitious and they have a passion for their job that really shows. Deciding on the right people for each of the five leadership roles was not easy. I talked in my last post about looking for warmth and I saw a wealth of that; the teachers that were selected for each post had a vision for Bohunt Horsham that added to the vision of the Trust and my own vision, they all shared a desire to take the best of the experiences that have had already and make this school the best it can be. I was inspired by their stories and can’t wait to have them join me in June so that together we can make our vision reality.
Bohunt Horsham’s story is only just starting, but already we have the necessary ingredients to make our school an amazing place for the founding students, their families, our team and the wider community, a place I am already very proud of.
On our website, www.bohunthorsham.com we have a ‘register your interest’ button. If you would like to be kept informed of our progress, are interested in our student admissions or staff recruitment please use this button to join our mailing list.
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