Message from the Principal

‘Manners every nine year old should have’

I would like to thank all our students and parents for their positive response to our uniform changes. The feedback from our community has been overwhelmingly positive, and many have commented on how well our students present. As I have previously communicated to our students and community, our goal was simple: we wanted ‘our dress code to rise to match the quality of our students’.

As we have seen over the past weeks with the release of the Year 13 IB Diploma, BTEC Diploma and the Year 11 I/GCSE results, the quality of our students’ academic performances are some of the best in the world. As a school, our objective is to place the learning needs of our students first in all we do, ensuring that our students continue to achieve remarkable results.

Academic achievement is of primary importance, but as teachers, parents, and a community, we also have a responsibility to ensure our young people grow up to be respectful, polite and positive contributors to our community.

Over the summer break, my wife stumbled onto an Instagram post entitled ‘25 manners every kid needs by age 9’. I immediately reflected on my two children, aged 7 and 9, to see how they were tracking, and what type of job I was doing on the parenting front! Some of the 25 manners included:

• When asking for something, say please and thank you
• Do not interrupt ‘grown-ups’ (or peers) when they are speaking to each other, unless it is an emergency
• If you need to get somebody’s attention right away, say ‘excuse me’
• When you spend time at a friend’s house, thank their parents (and helper) for having you over
• When making a phone call, introduce yourself first, then start the conversation
• Don’t tease someone or comment negatively about someone’s appearance
• Even if a play or performance seems boring, sit through it politely
• If you walk through a door, see if you can hold it open for somebody
• Don’t reach for things on the table, ask for them to be passed
• If you bump into someone, say ‘excuse me’ or ‘sorry’

We have great students who do the right thing nearly all of the time. However, the list made me think about our job as parents and the role of the school in teaching behaviours and values as well as maximising learning.

Our three KGV Lion Values of Honesty (we are truthful, respectful, fair and authentic), Courage (we are brave, bold and do what is right) and Resilience (we are all learners and never give up), provide us with a framework to be explicit about which behaviours we value, acknowledge, redirect towards and celebrate. It is all part of our ‘remarkable’ purpose, where as a community we not only support students to be the best in the world academically, they are also well-rounded, respectful, positive, resilient, honest and kind!

Kind regards

Mark Blackshaw
Principal
King George V