King Henry VIII 3-19 School Headmaster Interview
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00:00 [Music]
00:05 So our vision for our new King Henry VIII 3-19 school is to provide a really excellent
00:09 education for all pupils in this wonderful community in this fabulous town. We want our
00:14 pupils to make rapid progress, achieve academic excellence and to do so in an environment
00:20 of love and care. We want to be a strong family where expectations are high, values are positive
00:26 and children are treasured. And we want our children to have the knowledge, the character
00:30 and the learning power to achieve top grades in their qualifications so that they can leave
00:34 us and go out and have wonderfully successful lives. But it's a bit more than that, we also
00:39 want to utilise the great benefits that having a 3-19 school provides. We're a through school,
00:44 we're an all age school and we fully embrace this for all of our pupils. And to give an
00:48 example the opportunity to support a Year 13 pupil that if you've known since age 3
00:53 has really dramatic effects. It leads to effective inclusion where every child is known, it allows
00:59 for the successful challenge of the primary/secondary divide and it leads to very high levels of
01:03 pupil wellbeing.
01:04 [Music]
01:09 So our school is built with the growth mindset at its heart, it's a big, big foundation stone
01:13 of our school. We believe that anyone can learn anything, anyone can learn anything,
01:19 anyone can achieve anything and we fully embrace this mindset. What that means is that no one
01:23 is allowed to say that you can't do something, it's just that you can't do it yet. And the
01:27 growth mindset underpins everything we do. And our school tagline is 'we believe in the
01:31 limitless capacity for everyone to achieve great things'. The words intelligence and ability,
01:37 they're not actually part of our language and I think that's because they're too often
01:40 misunderstood as meaning fixed intelligence or fixed ability. At our school we believe
01:45 that everyone can become more intelligent and everyone can become more able. Their current
01:50 intelligence is just their current knowledge and understanding, it's their starting points
01:53 to build on. And with the right teaching and the right support and the right effort, anyone
01:58 can learn anything. It's effort that makes a real difference.
02:01 [Music]
02:05 Okay, so we have really high expectations of behaviour to ensure a calm, safe and lovely,
02:10 sparkly learning environment and we support all this with our real belief in the unlimited
02:15 power of warm relationships between all staff and all pupils. And we're relentlessly positive
02:20 and our school is growing and developing to be relentlessly positive. And we really care
02:25 about the children, really care about the children. And because of that we're a values-based
02:29 school and we teach our children explicitly to live by our values, our values that underpin
02:34 and bind our school together, to embrace those values and to hold them deep in their hearts.
02:39 Values are our driving force of our school and our values were co-constructed. Families,
02:44 pupils and staff, they were all involved in designing our values and our values include
02:47 courage, curiosity, determination, positivity, kindness, appreciation and harmony. You can
02:54 see that they're really positive values that join us all together and provide a sense of
02:59 belonging to the school. And we teach the pupils how to be so that they leave us even
03:03 better people and we teach them to hold our positive shared values deep in their hearts.
03:07 We want them to be even better citizens of Abergavenny community, Wales and also the
03:13 kind of wider world. And in effect what we're doing there is teaching children to do the
03:17 right thing, not just because they're fearful of a sanction or not just because they like
03:21 a reward, although it's good and we have lots of rewards, but to do the right thing because
03:25 it's the right thing to do and to learn that in a very positive way. And one of our phrases,
03:30 one of our mottos is work hard, be kind.
03:32 Okay, really good question. We have a great and really well-developing reward system.
03:41 So our pupils gain merits in every year group for their efforts and for the embracing of
03:45 our values and for living the growth mindset and for revelling, making mistakes and to
03:49 be happy when they find things difficult because that's when you learn new things. And when
03:53 they get those merits, they use those merits to work towards their bronze, silver and gold
03:56 awards. And a big fuss is made when they get those awards. They come and see a member of
04:01 the leadership team, their names go on the website. We have big presentations in assemblies.
04:05 We make a real fuss about those awards because, and rightly so, because the children really
04:09 deserve that to happen. And then what we're doing now is we're praising the pupil passion
04:14 and the pupil enthusiasm. And we remember that to learn, you have to embrace challenge.
04:19 Learning is not easy. Sometimes in the world, there's a mindset that when you find something
04:22 easy, that's good. And when you find something difficult, that's bad. It's actually the other
04:25 way around. You actually want to find things difficult. You want to make mistakes because
04:30 then you're learning new things. And we award all those merits for those behaviours. And
04:34 we're really shifting the mindset for pupils to understand that making mistakes is good
04:37 and finding things difficult is good and stepping out of your comfort zone is good because then
04:41 you're learning new things. And separate to that, they receive regular special mentions
04:45 for their hard work in this area. And for example, our primary phase pupils, every single
04:49 week they have a special mentions assembly where every teacher stands up and they nominate
04:53 pupils for their special mentions that week that really embrace that mindset.
04:57 [Music]
05:01 Our approach to teaching and learning is rooted in the science of how children learn. It's
05:05 based on real educational research. So it's not just plucked out of thin air. So for example,
05:10 we ask lots of questions about what was learned last week, last month, last year, that reduces
05:15 forgetting time. We explain in small steps due to the limitations of working memory.
05:20 Our explanations are concise to overcome competing stimuli. We model extensively so pupils can
05:26 observe expert thinking. We guide first practice so that we eradicate misconceptions at the
05:31 point of teaching and in real time. And we ask our pupils to think hard because memories
05:36 are the residue of thoughts. We want high and deep levels of thinking. So there's a
05:39 huge amount of thought and research behind what we do. And all of this is resulting in
05:44 really quality levels of learning and high rates of progress.
05:47 [Music]
05:51 We have a broad, balanced and diverse curriculum where representation is key. It's important
05:56 that all our pupils can see themselves in the curriculum, that they can see themselves
06:00 in what they're learning about. And we're putting a lot of thought into it and our implementation
06:03 of the curriculum for Wales. In particular, what we're doing is we're mapping out the
06:07 skills and content that the children are learning. And that's really important in a through school
06:11 and is a real benefit of having an all age school because we're working out, well, what
06:15 would be on track in year 13 at the end of, you know, post 16 study and what would be
06:19 on track at the end of year 11, for example, when lots of children do lots of GCSEs. And
06:23 we work backwards and we say, well, if that's on track in year 13, 11, what would that look
06:27 like in year nine? What would that look like in year seven? But also what would that look
06:30 out like then in year five and then year three and year one? So we really think hard about
06:35 the skills and the content that children are learning in each of the, each of the year
06:39 groups so they can, you know, the curriculum we give the children A is inspiring and it's
06:43 relevant and it's motivational, but it's also helping them make great progress with the
06:47 end qualifications in mind as well. And it opens up their options. I want children to
06:51 leave school, not telling them that they should go to university or not telling them they
06:54 should go to an apprenticeship, but having as many options open for the children as possible
06:59 so that they can achieve great things. But also on a day to day basis, our curriculum,
07:03 there's an emphasis on actually doing. So they make in DT and they produce in art and
07:07 they cook and they play instruments in music. It's a really active curriculum. And within
07:11 that as well, we really utilise the benefits of the through school. So we're doing that
07:15 already, even though we're on two sites and we'll do that even more when we come together
07:18 in one site. For example, our primary phase pupils, they have science lessons on our,
07:22 on our secondary site in bespoke science labs. Primary age children are coming to the secondary
07:28 site where they have music lessons, utilising all the music resources. Our French teachers
07:32 and our maths teachers, they go to our primary phase. So you can see there how the seeds
07:36 and the groundwork are all in place as we, as we move everyone together in our new buildings
07:40 and facilities next year.
07:42 Great question. A really important question. So we place a large emphasis on reading due
07:51 to the significant positive impacts it has on all of our lives. We all know all the research
07:56 tells us that children that read the most achieve the most. And the impact of reading
08:00 on educational outcomes is huge. It really is huge. So we embrace that. We turn our year
08:05 groups into giant book clubs. That includes teachers regularly reading to the pupils,
08:10 reading well thought out and well chosen texts. It's lovely to be read to. It's lovely to
08:14 be engaged in a story. I've got two children, two and four. They love being read to and
08:18 children that are 14 also love being read to. They might not tell you as much, but they
08:22 really do. And it's lovely when that happens. It helps build a sense of belonging in the
08:26 school. It helps build a sense of community in the school. And we do everything we can
08:30 to really promote a culture of reading for pleasure. And reading really is everywhere.
08:33 We regularly drop everything and read. That's all our pupils and all our staff. We have
08:38 a robust phonics and the teaching of reading programme for our younger pupils. Reading
08:43 is everywhere. And in our new build, that becomes even more so. Our library, for example,
08:47 is at the heart of our building. It's really in a central location.
08:50 So we place a lot of value and emphasis on the performing arts. It's important to us
09:00 that the sounds of music fill the corridor, for example. We believe that music can change
09:05 the world. It's great for our brains. Research shows us how it can help in all other areas.
09:10 And that's why pupils actually learn musical instruments as part of their music lessons.
09:14 They actually form bands. They actually form choirs. It's always part of our daily music
09:18 curriculum. And again, it contributes, just like reading, it contributes to the sense
09:21 of belonging in the school, the sense of community in the school. And that family, that community,
09:26 that sense of belonging, it's really paramount for a successful school.
09:30 But we place, and we can't underestimate at all, the huge emphasis that we place on the
09:33 performing arts. We have thriving choirs. We have thriving bands. And every year, there's
09:38 an annual production. It's a really big production. It's inclusive for everyone. There's a role
09:42 for everyone. There's an annual through school Christmas concert. We just had one. It was
09:46 brilliant. Performing arts and music is everywhere.
09:54 We have lots and lots of clubs. Pupils must feel that they belong to the school that they
09:59 go to. Schools cannot be successful if children don't feel that sense of belonging to the
10:03 school. And therefore, we do so much beyond the curriculum. There's so many extra curricular
10:07 clubs so that pupils can become interested in new things. So far this year, if I'm to
10:12 list a few clubs we've had already, multi-sports, rugby, chess, volleyball, singing, percussion,
10:19 Spanish, digital drawing, football, orchestra, netball, film club, squash, drama, dance,
10:24 choir, cross-country, badminton. And that's not all of them either. So yes, in answer
10:28 to your question, we have lots of clubs. In addition to that, our pupils can complete
10:32 their Duke of Edinburgh awards at our school to bronze, silver, and gold levels. And that's
10:36 really important for their development. I'll also say here, because it often comes up in
10:40 such a question, what we don't have in school is mobile phones. So we don't have screens
10:44 and mobile phones in school in that way. And that's because the long-term happiness and
10:47 well-being of our pupils is our most important priority. And what happens is that smartphones
10:52 are addictive. They're a bit controlling. Children can come disturbed by them. Adults
10:56 can. So of course, we can't expect children not to be. But instead of that, we provide
11:00 them with wonderful clubs and extra curricular activities for them to go to. But also in
11:04 addition, we also have a hugely successful through-school house system. And our pupils
11:08 and our classes take part in friendly competition in a range of activities there. So inter-house
11:14 competitions include house rugby, football, netball, hockey. But also to emphasise, it's
11:18 not just sport. It's inclusive. There's something for everyone. So this year, for example, we
11:23 have planned house baking competition, Christmas card competition we've just done, house karaoke
11:27 we've just finished, house dance-off. We have a house pumpkin competition at Halloween.
11:32 House chess is coming up, maths challenge, poetry. And there's much more than that, but
11:36 that's just to give you a bit of a flavour.
11:39 I'm really, really excited about the new building and facilities. I cannot underestimate that.
11:46 It's a really exciting time. It's this calendar year now, this November, that we move into
11:50 those new facilities. And it means that the children have even more opportunities to learn
11:55 and grow in a really inspiring environment. I'm particularly excited about all the specialist
12:00 areas. So the specialist areas for art, for music, for drama, for science, for product
12:04 design, textiles, food technology, computer science, you know, that's just to name a few.
12:09 The modern dining areas, all the outdoor spaces, I mean, they're going to be transformational
12:14 and they're really going to enhance the children's lives and the lives of the community. We're
12:17 going to relish the huge opportunities for learning outside the classroom, the courtyards,
12:21 the forest schools. And also, I suppose, what the children are particularly excited about
12:26 is the sporting facilities, the numerous sporting facilities. They're going to benefit our children
12:30 and the community so much. The sports hall, the dance studio, the grass pitches, the 3G
12:36 pitches, and all of this is really inclusive. There's something for everyone. And I suppose
12:40 the final thing to say about that is that we are proud to be the first net zero carbon
12:45 all-age school in Wales. And our pupils and staff are really, really proud of that and
12:49 everything related to that with regards to sustainability.
12:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:55 (upbeat music)