Andrew Hampton, author of Girls on Board and Working with Boys, was brought over by the college to provide some training for staff in its pastoral care team as well as staff from other high schools.
‘He met with college staff and senior students and spoke to them about culture and student voice, and a parent partnership session,’ said vice-principal Dr Vanessa Mitchell.
‘We host a parent partnership session every half-term and this has been our best-attended one.’
Mr Hampton said he was pleased with how the day of training had gone.
‘It’s been lovely, really fantastic,’ he said.
‘Whenever I do this training, it’s just so interesting seeing people, their eyes light up and their minds light up to certain key questions around how we motivate boys.
‘I can see them kind of going “you know what, wow, that is so true, we are doing the wrong thing”, but equally, genuinely, I learn something every single time I do this. Somebody will say something and I think “I haven’t thought about it like that before”, so there’s a genuine sense of collaboration in the room.
‘It’s not coach and coachees, it’s a group of professionals, being led perhaps by someone who’s a bit more experienced.’
He said that this kind of training was important for staff in schools and for the wellbeing and academic performance of students.
‘Some of the more academic schools in the UK push, push, push for academic standards and feel that the way to get there is to put pressure on kids in whatever way that is, and don’t acknowledge the emotional component in learning,’ he said.
‘If your EQ, your emotional quotient, is low, then your IQ can’t be accessed. It’s as simple as that.
‘So a happy child is a learning child, a happy child will succeed. A child that isn’t happy, who feels oppressed, who feels under-acknowledged is not going to thrive and not going to do their best.’