Last week I was fortunate enough to attend an international conference in Cape Town, South Africa, where I found myself continually giving thanks for teaching in England, but also wishing we could do more to help students in that country.  Over coming weeks I shall reflect more on this experience, but hearing how the system was categorised- even state schools meant parents paid fees, schools of 1000 had around 30 staff- with average class sizes of 35+, how the country’s National Curriculum found no place for PE, Music or Drama and how ICT was a luxury in many schools made me grateful. 

One of my favourite footballers of all time is Glenn Hoddle and my South Africa experience, aided by a recent conversation, made me reflect on something that he once said when describing how simple he felt football was.  He outlined that, “Whenever you have the ball you have 3 choices of pass, negative [backwards], neutral [sideways] or positive [forwards] and you should try to make every pass positive to get to the goal.”

This philosophy, to me is entirely apt for education and achieving our goals.  Every day, in attending school everyone- students and staff, has the choice of the role they will undertake as they move towards their goal.  Are we content to be negative, a consumer who simply takes from all around them?  Or are we neutral, content to be a passenger, simply carried along by everyone else, hoping that, somehow, this will get us to our destination?  Ultimately, surely, our aim should be to be positive and play an active part in moving towards both our own and our collective targets?

The reason this resonates with my trip to Cape Town, is that the extreme poverty that surrounds so many schoolchildren there and the lack of social welfare to support their families, means that they do not have the luxury of 2^nd chances at life that many of us enjoy, even sometimes deeming to be our right.  For them, to be consumers or passengers are not options, they have to be activists and with an exam system to gain a place at university, where a threshold has to be passed for future chances “clearing” is not an alternative route- the pass mark is meant or else they fall out of the system altogether. 

Therefore, consider what role you play in school every week, every day and every lesson.  I know that too many people at school do not play an active role as often as they should- with frequent passengers in lessons.  A good example of this are those students who could achieve an A* or A grade, but sit contentedly with a B or a C, rather than actively push themselves for better.  To this end, consider yourselves lucky that you can afford this luxury- many children in South Africa cannot, but then again remember that they are making positive steps- many literally and barefoot(over several miles) to achieve their education and may well leave you behind in their wake.

Have a great week and make the right pass and be neither a consumer nor a passenger!

Mark Creasy

Headteacher

Quite where the term has disappeared to I do not know and I feel awful that I have not had as regular communication with you all as I would like, however, feeling inspired with a great new book that I am reading and with the exam season moving inexorably closer I wanted to consider something with you.  What do you think is possible?

Some people will have answered, “Anything!”  Others would be more pessimistic and answered between, “It depends,” and, “Nothing.”  And therein lies the problem.  By placing a ceiling on your aspirations, so you curtail your outcomes and never achieve what you could, just what you allow. 

This is something addressed in my latest read, “The Magic Weaving Business” by Sir John Jones, as true inspiration, who has been a highly successful Head and is an “educational evangelist” and someone I have been fortunate to hear speak on 2 occasions.  In his book he explores the idea of educational success and how to allow everyone to achieve their true potential and uses the metaphor of a flea, something I had heard of before, but was delighted to be reminded of.

As we all know fleas have phenomenal powers to jump and exceed what could be expected for a creature of its size.  However, if a flea was placed in jar and a playing card put at the top of the jar, then the flea would have its limit impeded and only jump to the level of the card, too weak to knock it off.  But, here is the fascinating part.  When the card is removed the flea never again jumps higher than the imposed limit of the card and so never achieves its true potential.

“But I’m not a flea!”  I hear you cry.  True, but how many of you have a card placed on you and allow someone to limit your potential?  Or worse, actually place the card on yourself?  The truth is, in all schools, too many!  For every student who accepts their Minimum Target Grade as the best they could do, you have ceiling your ambition.  For everyone who thinks, “I can’t” before ever trying, you have prevented yourself from ever finding out.

Just think if Obama had thought, “America will never elect a black president.”  Or the Wright brothers had thought, “Men aren’t birds, we shouldn’t fly.”  Or Karren Brady had thought, “Women can’t run football clubs.”  There are far more examples that I could cite, but you get the point.

In truth, everyday, people either allow others to impede their potential, or worse still stop their potential themselves.  The truth is there will always be those who tell you that something can’t be done, or that, “It has always been done this way, why do you want to change it?”  Ignore them; remember anything is possible!  If only you have the power to dream it and the determination to make it happen.  If negative thinkers ruled the world then; Galileo, Columbus, Copernicus, Newton, Einstein, Berners-Lee and so many others would never have achieved their greatness.  Wouldn’t it be great to add yourself to that list?  For those of you thinking, but I’m not like them, you know something, you’re not- but don’t dare get in the way of those who are, those who dream in colour, rather than black and white and see the world as opportunities, not impossibilities!

Have a great week and set your ceiling well into the stratosphere- if not beyond!

Mark Creasy

Headteacher

Our Sixth Form Prospectus can now be downloaded online here.

You can download the Sixth Form Application Form below. The deadline for applications is 12th February! Please hand in your application form to your tutor or at the school’s main reception.

Sixth Form Application Form 2010
PDF Format

As we approach Christmas I felt it appropriate to look at the word “want”, made so popular in the Mariah Carey Christmas song.  It’s interesting to compare and often contrast the difference between our wants and needs and one only has to walk around the local shopping centres or high streets to hear the cries of many children, “I want that for Christmas.”

However, for many of us our wants cannot be wrapped up in boxes and put under a Christmas tree.  Many students I talk to have a focus on their future job prospects and security, with many talking about further and higher education as a way of getting “further up the ladder”.  But I also find it interesting that others talk of this path as an expectation and not something that will be earned through hard work.  Almost exactly like a child’s Christmas wish list for Santa, with similar expectations that it will happen!

Therefore, along with a global message of peace and goodwill I felt it appropriate to reflect on the place our children and students will find them selves in a global job market and economy.  We are enjoying a period where the major powers in Europe have been at peace for over 60 years, but do we ignore other “threats” from other parts of the world, that will harm our life chances- potentially even more damaging than terrorism? A few facts:

• Chinese children have spent double the time in school by the age of 18 than US or UK children.
• For their 900 hours in class, our children spend 1500 hours in front of TV.
• 110 million Chinese students study English (that’s more people than are in England!)
• Britain has a gap in employment routes for Engineering, Maths, Science and Technology, but they are the growth professions in India and China
• An engineer from the US or UK costs, on average $40 000, 6 times the cost of an Indian engineer- for the same job (and speaking English!)
• Over 90% of games designers are from India and China.
• An Indian company has just invented both the cheapest car
• A Chinese company has just invented the most effective electric car in the world- receiving investment from Warren Buffet!
• India has the world’s youngest population- and most want to be entrepreneurs (Britain has an aging population).
• 80% of the Indian and Chinese curricular are compulsory and focus on intellectual rigour and challenge
• China’s GDP has increased by x14 in the last 30 years.
• China has 6 million graduates each year.
• 500 000 students from China and India study abroad each year.

So what does all this mean?  To me it should make our students concerned that their potential jobs will be gone, overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers as well as comparatively cheap labour.  How transferable are their skills if British companies outsource to China or India can our next generation of employees speak the native language to make themselves employable?  Or will we perceive the old notion of “everyone speaks English”? 

Furthermore, what about understanding cultural differences, will this allow us to trade with other countries and secure our futures or stick to outmoded ways of working?  As a school we have promoted Personal Learning and Thinking Skills, but how do students utilise them beyond school?  Do they even realise that such competition exists and that other countries, not only China and India, but also Brazil are creating workforces to overtake us?

Therefore, as we approach the Christmas season, truly think about what you want, but more importantly how you can ensure it’s yours and not just a wish list.  My parents used to tell me when I was a child, “Finish your dinner, children India are starving.”  I will be telling our students and my own daughter, “Finish your studying, children in India are starving for your job!”

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, as well as restful holiday!

Mark Creasy

Headteacher

Arrow Vale Community High School has recently held its annual Charity Week. The week was filled with activities and events all organised and managed by Sixth Form students in order to raise money for charity. This year’s charity week raised money for Leukaemia Awareness, County Air Ambulance, Help for Heroes,  Cancer Research UK and Children in Need. Events such as Staff Come Dancing, last department standing, leg waxing and many more took place over the course of the week, with all the money that was raised being split evenly and given to all the charities chosen. Overall £1,212 was raised which is a credit to the hard work that Sixth Form students put into the week.

Arrow Vale Community High School has recently invested in a new state of the art radio room from which AVFM will be broadcast. The radio is one of only a few in the country.  A team of students produce and broadcast shows for the school. On November 26^th the radio will be launched and the opening show will involve Karen Pickering MBE being interviewed by Mr Creasy, Headteacher.

Arrow Vale is moving ever closer to it annual Celebration of Achievement evening. The event is held in recognition of students’ achievements during their time at the school. The guest speaker for the event is Karen Pickering MBE, World Champion Swimmer and she will be handing out awards to all the students selected to receive them.

Something I am always disappointed by is when anyone does not take responsibility for their own actions.  As a school, with our SEAL ethos, we know that we make mistakes but it is how we deal with them that makes the difference, especially when we have an impact on others.

Therefore, I have been interested to watch the fall-out from the France v Republic of Ireland football match.  I can still vividly remember the “goal” scored by Maradonna in 1986, so I’m sure Thierry Henry’s handball will live equally long.  Of course conspiracy theories abound and the calls for technology to be used in future have reached fever pitch, but it has also led to interesting conversations about sportsmanship and the role of the referee.  Of course Thierry Henry apologising now is all well and good, but having played the game as long as he has surely he knew he was cheating?  I also look at the way that cricketers refuse to walk and force umpires to give them out, another change to traditional values.  So what does this teach us about playing to and by the rules and doing what we know is right?

The example I always consider is that of Jimmy White, arguably the best snooker player never to win the World Championship.  I remember when in the final, winning he rose from the table and told the match referee that he had touched a ball as he was playing his shot.  The referee, his opponent and TV commentators had not seen the foul, but he lost 4 points and ultimately the match.  When asked why, his answer was simple, “I wouldn’t have really won, I’d have cheated.  It’s all about integrity.”

Therefore, I look at examples around the school and wonder if integrity and personal responsibility is a lost concept.  Interestingly, “Integrity” is something that is on every person specification for any job I advertise at the school because I expect this of staff.  Should my expectation for students be any less?

The best example recently has been regarding uniform, with students (and in some cases parents) who have “got away” with rule breaking for a while justifying this by saying that either they haven’t been caught before or that their uniform isn’t as wrong as other students’.  However, my favourite justification has to be that of citing other misdemeanours carried out by students as reason why their (child’s) rule breaking should be overlooked.

As a PE teacher and avid sports fan my belief is that if everyone “played to the rules” and so focused on learning and creating the best environment for all life will be easier and Arrow Vale will fly even further than we currently are.  This applies to everything, not just uniform; behaviour, effort, attitude- we all know what is expected, so why not do it?  Then, if we make a mistake, accept it and rectify it, not complain, argue, berate and attempt to justify it. 

They always say the best referees are those who aren’t noticed; to me this is because the players are playing to the rules and spirit of the game, making the referee’s job easier.

Have a good week and search for that integrity so we can continue to develop our highly effective learning climate at the school!

Mark Creasy

Headteacher

“Parents Matter” (a government funded pilot) are running an eight week course at Redditch Football Club starting Monday 1st February. Please call 01905 827473 or freephone 0800 587 5980.