Head’s blog
Curiosity is a fine thing. In fact, one could argue that curiosity will take our pupils further than mere qualifications. It is because a curious mind will help us keep moving forward, open new doors; it is what drives a seemingly ordinary person to become great. This week, I have seen just how curious many of our pupils are and I witnessed this in the tutorials I visited.
Tutorials run three times a week and last for 40 minutes at the start of the school day and are packed with activities such as silent reading, monitoring pupils’ academic and pastoral progress, preparing them for the day, discussing world events and listening to pupils’ presentations.
Two pupils’ presentations showed me how their curious minds work, free from the shackles of GCSE syllabus. They were asked to give a presentation on something they find interesting. The first was about how clothing has changed from the first Chinese Dynasty, the Xia dynasty, to modern day. The student articulated her thoughts about how the fascinating history of fashion gives deep insight into her heritage and culture. The second presentation was about cryptocurrency and we all learned about how Bitcoins are mined and how cryptocurrency, a relatively new phenomenon, has the potential to completely change how we do business in the not-too-distant future. I would never have known that these two particular subjects interested our pupils, had I not seen their presentations. How marvellous to see their curiosity on show!
“The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose a holy curiosity.” Albert Einstein.