Mr Richards' Words Week 10

It was Socrates who called education ‘the kindling of a flame, rather than the filling of a vessel’. As educators at Junior Boys, we strive to ignite that flame in our pupils, and create a lifelong love of learning with breadth and depth at its core.

It is also important that we ourselves keep learning and maintain our passion. Mrs Ward and Miss Bharj are two such fantastic practitioners whom one might describe accurately as being at the opposite ends of their teaching journey but both epitomise the culture and ethos of our school and the commitment found throughout our staffroom. Mrs Ward has experience in abundance, 43 years at Junior Boys to be precise, and continually raises the bar; recrafting her schemes, embracing Google Classroom, championing every child and building confidence and relationships. Whilst Miss Bharj, now a student teacher, is demonstrating a wonderful approach to her development. An amazing ‘can do’ attitude, natural warmth and humility mark her out to be a gem in the making. Her university portfolio will be bursting by July but she has already taken a risk and provided us all with a stimulating and personal virtual assembly on Monday this week. Well done to Zak and Artie who helped as well.

We heard the boys’ assembly message but we also listen to our boys' voices and encourage their opinions. Presently there is a voice confidently but politely considering uniform - trousers and shorts within the Prep. More to come no doubt on this issue especially if we get a cold snap.

Another way we hear our boys is through their writing, so rather than describe my walks and observations I decided to let two boys in Year 6 do the talking, or rather, the writing - Ethan and Freddie wrote:

“This term at school has been very different because of coronavirus, but even so, Junior Boys has done exceptionally well at keeping us socially distanced and safe whilst also having fun. I have enjoyed all of our lessons, and we still continue to do sport and other exciting activities. I feel very lucky to be going to an amazingly well-organised school. This year, we have all of our lessons in our classrooms, since we do not want to go into other year group bubbles. It is a fabulous school and I am happy to be a part of the Claires Court Junior Boys community.”

“I joined Claires Court in February this year and settled in straight away, everyone is really friendly and kind. I love that we do sports nearly every day; we play football, rugby and hockey at the moment. Football is my favourite where we are playing matches against the other houses, Dorney, Fawley and Windsor. I'm in Cliveden.

I'm really enjoying the classwork too. There are only 12 boys in my class, compared to 32 in my old school, which makes a real difference. All the teachers make the lessons fun and always check we understand. I like doing the quizzes in Maths. I love everything at Claires Court, including the hot lunches, and feel very lucky to be in Year 6.”

I mentioned earlier that Socrates kindled the flame and ignited the fire of education. We are also aware that this particular camp of developing minds requires the constant filling of their vessels with plenty of healthy nourishment. I was therefore delighted to be able, in our celebration assembly today, to recognise Mrs Downing who is best described as the secret but essential ingredient within the school’s successful recipe for 25 years. Hot, cold, packed lunches, individual plans and requirements and now even takeaways. That is an awful lot of dinners and match tea sausages. Thank you Lorraine for the breadth and depth to our servery and for all that you do for us.