Just as all parts of the School share the same fundamental values, so we share the same aims for our pupils. Again, these need to be mediated appropriately for pupils of different ages, but we start from the premise that the right attitudes towards work and school have to be inculcated from an early age.
Education is not just about acquiring certificates and passing examinations. These aspects are necessary in the world in which we live, but it is much more important that pupils leave the School imbued with an approach to work and life which will prepare them for the challenges of living and working in the fast-changing and very challenging world of the twenty-first century.
Thus we aim to build in our pupils the following qualities:
- Intellectual curiosity;
- Courage to pursue their own ideas and interests;
- Investigative skills;
- Experimentation skills;
- Imagination;
- Powers of reasoning;
- Sociability, the ability to communicate with a variety of people in a variety of ways in a variety of circumstances;
- Reflection, the ability to consider one’s own performance critically;
- Resilience, the ability to learn from one’s mistakes;
- Creativity;
- Scepticism, a willingness to question received truths and analyse evidence;
- An ability to think independently.
Pupils should also be equipped with a body of knowledge in relation to the subjects they study specifically and a general knowledge which will allow them to appreciate and consider the world from a wider vantage point than that of the textbook or academic exercise.
These ideas are based on our reflections and experience over many years’ involvement in education. Students of these sorts of things will see that they are very closely related to the ideas of Guy Claxton in his fascinating book, What’s the Point of School? (Oxford, 2008). The IB “Learner Profile” is very similar in its aims.