More to life than school

I’ve always been very clear that there is more to life than school, and definitely more to life than exam results. This has been a feature of my speeches at Open Evenings for the past 12 years – that exam results are important and that with hard work MHS students will achieve very well – but that there is more to life and to education than just these qualifications. Developing as a person, learning how to co-operate and support other people, having empathy and understanding for others, knowing what is right and wrong…all these things are part of growing up and school has a part to play in it all. That’s why we spend a lot of time encouraging students to take part in extra curricular activities, as well as focussing on good conduct and respect for others around school. It’s the whole package that we are interested in.

But, school is just one small part of growing up and we know that many of our students are doing incredible things in their free time. We have students caring for family members, students taking part in almost every sport you can possibly imagine, incredibly talented artists, musicians and performers. We have students who write stories, create social media content and have started their own businesses. We have students leading in the Scouts and cadets, and students who volunteer in the community and in for charities. We have students coping with illness and injury, going about their school lives with an admirable determination. All these young people, and many more like them, are an absolute credit to their families, the school and the local community, and these are just the ones that we know about!

If your son, daughter or ward is doing something that you are proud of, and that we don’t yet know about, then please get in touch. Email their form tutor or head of year and share the news, and we’ll do our very best to praise them in school and show our appreciation. Teenagers get a bad press based on the actions of a tiny few. Let’s redress that balance and celebrate what is good about the young people of MHS!

Have a great weekend,

Joe Barker

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