‘I love this school’s strength of community’
The new head of Christ College, Brecon has unveiled his vision for the independent school. Gareth Pearson said he will develop the school’s “holistic approach”, while maintaining academic excellence and keeping it accessible to less advantaged.
The new headteacher said the school, in the Brecon Beacons National Park, established in 1451, has a tradition of strong positive relationships between the head, staff and pupils.
Mr Pearson said: “There are many reasons why I was attracted to Christ College, but one of the main factors was its unique nurturing environment. Heads at many of the bigger schools are more chief executives than heads, and this wasn’t what I was looking for.
“I love the strength of community in this school, where everyone knows everyone.
“Positive relationships underpin everything at Christ College, and allow staff to bring out the very best from our pupils. The excellent pastoral care they show for the school and its pupils is truly palpable and authentic.”
The father of two, whose children also joined Christ College this year, has announced some key ambitions for the school which has nearly 400 pupils – more than half of whom are boarders – and 130 members of staff.
He said: “I want Christ College to be the very best in Britain at developing the kind of character traits in its people to enable them to perform at their best, but, more importantly, be kind, decent and generous team players who will be forces for good in any community in which they live.
“I believe a boarding school is best placed to offer this all-round character education, and one of our school’s greatest strengths is that most of our pupils achieve their full academic potential in an environment that is calm, supportive and balanced.
“These are ideal conditions for them to develop tolerance of others, sensitivity to other pupils and adults, high moral standards and a strong sense of citizenship – characteristics that will always be valued, whatever career they wish to pursue, and however much the world changes in the years ahead.”
The former Royal Marines captain said Christ College has consistently achieved top ratings in the independent Advanced Level Information Survey (ALIS) conducted by Durham University annually.
The school has also developed its own parental satisfaction survey, incorporating best practice outlined by the Independent Schools Council.
Last year, the survey revealed outstanding parental satisfaction, with a Parent Advocacy rating of 96%.
Accessibility is an issue the new head hopes to tackle through fund raising.
“My biggest challenge at Christ College is to keep education as affordable as possible,” Mr Pearson said.
“We plan to launch a fundraising campaign in the years ahead to be able to offer places to pupils who would not otherwise be able to afford it.”
Mr Pearson, who graduated as a mechanical engineer, is a former maths teacher, housemaster and deputy head at Millfield School, Wellington College and Lord Wandsworth College.
“I feel very honoured to have been chosen for this position, and incredibly lucky to get to work in such beautiful area with such friendly and humble people.
“The town of Brecon is fabulous, it has the facilities of a city, but the warmth and familiarity of a small town nestled in some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain.
“People could not have been more supportive during my first few weeks at Christ College, and I look forward to seeing the first results of our collective work.”
Next month will see the opening of a refurbished Sixth Form Centre at the school for its 120 Year 12 and 13 pupils.
Mr Pearson succeeds former head Emma Taylor who was appointed in 2006 and became the independent school’s first ever female headteacher in September 2007. I know that the educational benefits of board games have been recognised for some time now.
Many schools have board games clubs and they are actively encouraged as a desired activity in afterschool clubs and societies. The science behind it makes perfect sense.
For younger children, board games help with number and shape recognition, grouping, and counting skills. Later on, they assist with letter recognition and reading and many are great for visual perception and colour recognition as well as hand-eye coordination.
There are many excellent educational board games that allow children to develop their knowledge of history, geography, mental arithmetic and science without them even realising it.
Board games that are not overtly educational still help with general life skills, such as the concept of luck and not giving up and so on. So what could possibly go wrong?
Well, quite a lot actually. I was sent some board games to review and I thought I’d do a little research into the benefits. One website said: “Nothing bolsters self-esteem more! Playing games is an easy and excellent way to spend unhurried, enjoyable time together.” Really? Where did I go wrong? I have had some of my most stressful parenting moments attempting to play board games with my three children. It doesn’t help there is seven years between the eldest and youngest and so they were always at very different stages of understanding and educational ability, not to mention the concept of taking turns and winning and losing.
There have been humdingers of rows and simmering resentments that have lasted long after the game was shoved back in the box.
So, when I mentioned to my now teen children that I had been offered some board games to review I was fully expecting “no thank you” but instead I was met with a positive response.
The board games duly arrived and for the first time in my entire parenting life we actually played them with no arguments. My heart rate and blood pressure remained at safe levels and I got on with the game, instead of becoming some sort of frantic referee.
Why was this? It maybe that they have simply grown up or they had two crucial elements that minimised opportunities for conflict.
The first one allowed us all to work as a team, giving us a common enemy to attack instead of resorting to in-fighting. The second involved us all grabbing at playing cards at the same time and, with such frantic activity, there was no time to fight with anyone else.
I am looking forward to my next batch of board games in the spring. How things have changed.
Dr Sharon Parry is a mother of three and a former public health research fellow. She shares useful tips and her experiences of having three daughters at school and university in Wales on her website www.aftertheplayground.com