Bursar’s Review Autumn 2020 Sample

6 News Autumn 2020 www.theisba.org.uk St Mary’s School in Henley wins anti-bullying award St Mary’s School in Henley has received the All Together Gold award for schools, made by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, in recognition of the work that the school has done in creating a positive environment and developing effective anti-bullying strategies. Kate Bodle, deputy headteacher and head of pastoral care, said: “I am very proud that St Mary’s has been recognised as setting the highest possible standard in anti-bullying for the children in our school. “All the staff have worked hard to understand the issues related to bullying and have put in place practical measures to support any child who may require it. “Our children enjoy coming to school in an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding and parents feel confident that we support every pupil throughout their time here. “We are fully aware that bullying can occur in any school and are confident that we can act swiftly to ensure the best outcomes for our children.” Earlier in the year, the school was awarded a Stonewall School Champion Bronze Award by the campaign group for its work in creating an atmosphere of inclusiveness and respect for all. For more information, visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk First Cranleigh China school opens Cranleigh School opened its first school in China in September in Changsha in Hunan Province and more than 370 pupils attended in the first week. Sharon Qu, from the British Government Department for International Trade, said “We’re very glad to see the fruitful result from the partnership between Cranleigh School and Cogdel Education Group, which was included as one of the key deliverables at the 10th UK China Economic and Financial Dialogue which took place in London in 2019.” Cranleigh’s head for the Changsha School, Mr Andrew Griffiths, has yet to be able to get to China owing to travel restrictions but expects to be there shortly. He said: “I am very excited to be heading up this unique initiative. It will provide a fantastic opportunity for our Chinese pupils to experience a broad education enabling them to be fully prepared for careers in the global economy and have fun at the same time. The successful opening is testament to the incredible dedication, hard work and adaptability of our partners at Cogdel to whom we are very grateful.” Stress, anxiety and poor behaviour likely to rise, thanks to COVID-19 Research from specialist education insurer, Ecclesiastical, has found that teacher and pupil mental wellbeing has been increasingly on the line for some time. This has increased in recent months with nine out of 10 teachers (90 percent) agreeing that schools will see a rise in pupil mental health concerns as everyone adapts to school life after months at home. Some 62 percent feel that pupil stress and anxiety will be the biggest challenge schools will face due to COVID-19 this term. Unsurprisingly, 72 percent of teachers felt anxious about returning to school themselves in September, with the main concerns revolving around the risks of COVID-19. However, half (50 percent) were worried about pupil behaviour, 48 percent said they were concerned about the extra workload and 27 percent simply felt out of practice. 94 percent are concerned about pupil anxiety. Faith Kitchen, Ecclesiastical’s education director, said: “As schools reopen their doors to all pupils, we recognise that it’s an incredibly challenging time for the education sector”. Dr Dominique Thompson, university GP and student mental health expert, said: “Young people’s wellbeing is now one of the greatest concerns, for not just teachers, but for the whole of our society. “It is particularly worrying for parents and teachers, as the poorer the wellbeing of the next generation, the higher the risk to their future achievements”. Choristers join forces to deliver beautiful recordings Ely Cathedral choristers came together – virtually – to record two wonderful lockdown songs. Missing being able to sing, live and learn together on a daily basis due to COVID-19, members of both the cathedral’s girls’ and boys’ choirs, all of whom are pupils at King’s Ely, joined forces remotely to record two songs which meant a lot to them. The girls recorded ‘How Shall I Sing That Majesty’, sung to Ken Naylor’s tune, Coe Fen, and the boys recorded one of their Evensong favourites, the ‘Ely Magnificat’ by Ben Parry. You can listen to the girls here: https://youtu.be/r3dlB6RoxBY and the boys here: https://youtu.be/duBZo9f53Es Glen Dempsey, assistant director of music at Ely Cathedral, said: “Although COVID-19 put a pause on our choristers being able to make music together in the cathedral, singing has by no means stopped for them altogether. We have been finding creative ways to keep singing online in so far as is practicable. These two recordings showcase our boys and girls performing two real Ely favourites; each singer recorded their own voice and then everyone was mixed together digitally”. Ely Cathedral boy choristers

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