An Education of Value - Head's Blog

I have been observing our children over the last 8 days since the beginning of term - I am overwhelmed with how they have embraced the new changes and experiences.

The virtues  which children develop over time are underpinned by the values which are held by the families, the community  and school. This week in assembly the Upper School pupils discussed Aristotle, one of the great teachers and philosophers of Ancient Greece,  who was interested in thinking about how humans can live a good life.

It is by thinking about this question, discussing the question and by the adults surrounding the children modelling virtuous behaviours that our pupils will grow into confident, articulate, creative, caring and resilient young adults.

Last night we welcomed one of our alumni, Josh Valman, to our annual Prizegiving as our Guest of Honour.  Josh attended St. Helen’s from 1999 to 2006 and continued his education at Vyners School. Josh is now a world leader in rapid innovation and manufacturing. He is the founder and CEO of RPD International, a business powering corporate Research and Development  departments around the world. 

Josh’s passion for engineering has driven his success  but he is very aware that it is often very difficult to find the right staff to develop his products - saying that often the most technically brilliant engineers are not the ideal employee for his creative business. Instead Josh looks for attributes such as resilience, good interpersonal skills, empathy, collaboration, co-operation - people who really care about what they are doing, want to make a difference, enjoy their work and feel fulfilled by what they are doing.

As Josh spoke to the children last night I could see the Year 7 pupils who have just started at their new secondary school  sit up and take notice, nodding in agreement with him, who knows...perhaps in a few years time another one of our Old Helenians may be a member of RPD international!  (I hope to have Josh blog as a guest next week!)

Our old Year 6 pupils have certainly made a good impact at their new senior schools - it was heartwarming to speak with several parents last night who were so grateful for the amazing foundations that have been put in place for their children’s future through the ethos, the staff, the curriculum and the community of St. Helen’s College.

We will continue to promote our school values hand in hand with you as parents to enable your children to lead a good life. 

CARING HELPFULNESS COOPERATION KINDNESS PERSEVERANCE COURAGE FAIRNESS FRIENDLINESS
PATIENCE RESPECT COURTESY FORGIVENESS
DETERMINATION SELF-DISCIPLINE GRATITUDE HONESTY

Mrs. Drummond