Choose happiness, not hot-housing

Children in our society are under pressure like never before. Whether it is expectations to excel at school, in extracurricular activities or in their social lives, young people are increasingly showing signs of depression and anxiety, particularly those from more affluent families.  

As a result, a debate is raging within education. Is ‘hot-housing’ children to release their academic potential better than nurturing them while ensuring their contentment is a priority?  

My belief is children are much more likely to succeed if they feel a sense of self-worth. Driving children to achieve impossibly high results can be counter-productive and lead to major problems with self-esteem. If a child feels they can never live up to expectations, this can lead to a total lack of motivation and constant anxiety, both at home and school.  

It is so important to celebrate individual achievements and reward children’s progress at all levels with genuine recognition and praise. Such encouragement and kindness are central to everything we do at Salisbury Cathedral School and make a big difference to our pupils’ success in all areas of their school life. We do not try to force children into becoming something they are not. We work with them to the best of their ability and aim for rounded individuals with the self-confidence and resilience to take their place in an increasingly difficult world. 

Our results speak for themselves: in recent years, we have out-performed competing schools in the number of scholarships awarded to senior schools and our pupils also do well in 11+ exams to the local grammars. Senior schools often comment on the respectful and courteous behaviour that our pupils display so naturally, as well as their cheerful dispositions.  

To strengthen our emphasis on the individual still further, I have introduced an innovative new programme called ‘motivational mapping’.  This unlocks potential in children by pin-pointing their current academic and holistic needs and tailoring learning to them individually.  By discussing the results with our pupils, their parents and teachers, we encourage greater self-realisation and knowledge, leading to a stronger sense of purpose and self-confidence.

This runs in tandem with our vertical tutoring system, where children from different year groups meet regularly with a nominated member of staff. This encourages children to support and help each other, as well as giving them a sense of belonging to their own SCS ‘family’ throughout their time at the school.  

In summary, I would urge any parent considering a choice of schools to put their child’s happiness first. Choose a school with a warm, loving atmosphere that will genuinely nurture and encourage them. Your child is likely to do much better in the long term and, most importantly, will develop self-confidence, maturity and a genuine love of learning to carry through the rest of their lives. 

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