FEATURE
Being independent
has its advantages.
Dr England, Headmaster of Ryde
Independent School explains what
Ryde School has to offer.
The world I lived in some thirty
years ago when I started teaching
bore no resemblance to the world
I experience now. Then I had time
to reflect, to read about my subject
and to write; I had time to discuss
the morning’s teaching with my
colleagues over lunch so as to tease
out some subtle nuance that would
enhance the afternoon lessons. Now
thanks to the government, which
has produced over fifteen hundred
consultation
documents
and
mailings since coming to office in
1997 (averaging about two per week),
I have been swept up in the constant
‘rush culture’ which is associated
with innovation. For the last nine
years, we have been bombarded
with any number of initiatives,
increased regulation, targets, risk
assessments, benchmarks and
standards from all directions. I
cannot deny that regulation is
necessary- we must be called to
account, but there is a danger that
bureaucracy in education is reaching
such a level that we are deflected
from the task of passing knowledge
onto the next generation.
William Davies, the Welsh Poet, in
his poem ‘Leisure’ tells us what we
might miss through haste: What is
life if full of care, We have no time
to stand and stare’
Fortunately, Ryde School, is an
independent school, and the word
‘independent’ means just that: we
do not have to respond to each
38
of the government’s brand new
initiatives, but we do ensure that
our curriculum is up to date and
appropriate for the world of work,
which our pupils will face. Rather
than being dissipated, our energies
are focused on the important areas
of school life: teaching and learning.
I want my teachers to have time
to teach, and my pupils time to
learn. Our results last year, which
indicated that our 16 year olds had
made faster progress than all but
70 of 4000 secondary schools in
the country, underlined the value
of keeping things simple: teachers
teach, pupils learn. The quality of
our work was highlighted only last
week, by an Ofsted report on our
nursery provision, which graded
the quality of teaching and learning
as outstanding. We were helped in
reaching our goal, by our small class
sizes (average 18), good discipline,
supportive parents and dedicated
staff.
However, Ryde School offers much
more than success in the classroom.
We are a school which embraces a
Christian tradition; we aim to ensure
a civilised, caring, healthy and happy
community, which emphasizes high
moral standards, self-discipline,
and emotional and spiritual
development. Our teachers find time
to provide a wide range of enriching
activities beyond the classroom.
As well as a full range of term time
activities, our pupils have recently
enjoyed trips to: South America to
play cricket; a music tour to Italy; a
French exchange to
Avignon; a cultural
trip to the USA; an
art trip to Barcelona;
a geographical and
environmental trip
to Dartmoor; a rugby
tour in Belgium and
Holland, a walking
tour in Norway;
adventure training in
Cornwall, Wales and Scotland.
Freed from the tyranny of
government diktats, Ryde School is
able to concentrate on delivering an
all round, high quality education.
Ryde School offers day and
boarding places: day fees are £4740
pa for 5 year olds rising to £8190 pa
for those aged 11 and over. Contact
Ryde School, Queen’s Road, Ryde,
telephone 01983 562229 website:
www.rydeschool.org.uk
email:
[email protected]
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