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Secondary education

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Original poster

secondary transfer HEADS SPEECH. Useful? Or showboating?

34 replies

SpringHeeledJack · 01/10/2014 15:10

...or worse?

what do you reckon?

OP posts:
Original poster
SpringHeeledJack · 01/10/2014 15:11

oh all RIGHT

head's

jeeez

OP posts:
Dipdababfab · 01/10/2014 15:14

One in particular put my right off - mix of arrogance and being disingenuous.

One managed to move an "outsider" to one of my top three choices - it was the first thing we expereinced at the open evening and set the tone really well.

The others, all a bit "meh" really.

bigTillyMint · 01/10/2014 15:14

OK, I know where you went to visit todayWink

Hope you saw the excellent PE scholars doing the Open Day!

Original poster
SpringHeeledJack · 01/10/2014 15:15

Grin BTM

the one we're thinking of is just

too

damn

loooooooooong

my kids were begging to leave

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Original poster
SpringHeeledJack · 01/10/2014 15:16

Dipdab same here

was utterly convinced by one head- the Outsider- but usually just zone out a bit

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bigTillyMint · 01/10/2014 15:18

PM me if you want my thoughts SHJ, otherwise we risk this thread being pulled!

Original poster
SpringHeeledJack · 01/10/2014 15:30

nooooo BTM

I LOVE the school of which we speak

but have seen/heard some pretty awful head's speeches over the last few weeks (no, not that one)- including making snippy 'jokes' about other schools etc, which I thought Bad Form and just looks a bit desperate

also ofsted ofsted ofsted/results results results- no mention of enjoyment, engagement etc

still, I suppose this must be what people want?

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RaisinBoys · 01/10/2014 15:34

Sounds just like Graveney last year!

ElephantsNeverForgive · 01/10/2014 15:37

Our old HT's speeches were very long and full of management speak.

The hall chairs are too uncomfortable to doze.

Dipdababfab · 01/10/2014 15:47

I've been to eight (EIGHT!) since July. They all say we do our best for each individual pupil, we aim for each pupil to fulfil their maximum potenial, we strive to create a nuturing environment, put the pupil at the centre, support, challenge...

I'm kind of "well that's a given. What else?"

Two of the eight have stood out - one for good reasons, one for bad.

Original poster
SpringHeeledJack · 01/10/2014 15:53

but people really want to hear them!

one school gives out tickets Shock

thing is, they're never going to be honest, are they? Noone will ever stand on stage and say well, we have had an ongoing problem with bullying/low achievement etc etc, and now we're turning it around

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bigTillyMint · 01/10/2014 19:29

SHJ, I think I know which school that is tooWink

Well I have friends with DC all over and there are gripes about all schools. Nowhere is going to be perfect (a fact which my DH finds difficult to accept where his DC are involved!)

Redcoats · 01/10/2014 19:40

Our top school of choice had a great heads speech. She talked through results, clarified the admission procedure (admission criteria has changed this year). For about 5 mins.
Then handed over to head boy, girl and 2 prefects who did 20 mins speech on how much they'd got from the school, best experiences etc. honestly, I had a lump in my throat. That's the sort if stuff I want to hear.

AChickenCalledKorma · 01/10/2014 21:23

We had two options for secondary. In the slightly run-down, less popular school, the Head's speech was good-humoured, inspiring and included presentations from students in year 7 and sixth form, which had a similar impact to Redcoats.

At the highly sought-after school with stellar results, we were completely sold on the school right up to the moment the Head opened his mouth. At which point he bored the pants off us, coming across as arrogant, rather rude and excessively focussed on league tables with little trust in either the students or his own staff.

In both cases, the Head's talk completely changed our view of the school's ethos. We picked the "grotty" school and it's absolutely been the right choice.

There's never any guarantee that the Head will stay, of course, but schools do take on something of their leader's personality, and the way they come across can be very enlightening.

cassgate · 01/10/2014 22:11

Similar experience achicken. Went to the outstanding school and was impressed with facilities and of course the results are outstanding but we were underwhelmed by it really. The heads speech was all about ofsted and results and told us nothing that we did not already know, was truly awful and was completely scripted. By comparison we went to a school which has a bit of a reputation and on paper the results look terrible but we absolutely loved it. It was warm and friendly and the heads speech was inspiring and not scripted at all. I have looked at the results in detail and actually when you look at the figures they are not that bad. They don't get that many a*s but most children make 3-4 levels of progress so that just shows me that the cohorts are weak when they join the school. The school is also massively undersubscribed so the cohorts are also smaller than most. We have an appointment to view during the day on Friday and if it still feels right we will pick it as our first choice.

Original poster
SpringHeeledJack · 02/10/2014 11:40

same here cassgate

we live near a very well thought of school. Ofsted love it (we know, we were told by the head. Several times)

other school- bad rep (people have very looooooong memories down our way), trying really REALLY hard, whole school on board. Head's speech was brief, informative, and then handed over to the kids. Who were brilliant. As was the school.

a few times we've had people tell us, about different schools: "oh, don't be put off by the head, the school's great"

Grin

maybe some heads should force themselves to take a back seat

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ChippyMinton · 02/10/2014 20:45

The heads that talk to the children as future students, as well as to the parents, the ones that hand the floor over to current students, the ones that offer you their philosophy and vision not their Ofsted and exam stats...all good.
The one that handed out haribo, and talk about themselves...not good.
The one that takes herself out to the feeder primaries to meet prospective parents and pupils...splendid!

lecherrs · 02/10/2014 21:14

Just came back from one tonight.

I know the head, so a tad biased but I liked the fact he didn't pretend he had the perfect school. He was honest about the school's strengths and his vision for what he wanted to see improved. I liked it.

I do hate the arrogant heads who think they're the bees knees and would avoid that kind of school like the plague Grin.

Gubbins · 03/10/2014 12:23

I've been surprised by how much of an impact the various Head's speeches have had on me. I thought they’d be very samey, but I think you can get a good idea of the priorities of the school.

The grammar school head was new so I expected enthusiasm and new bright ideas for improvements, not for her to describe her new post as feeling comfy. She skimmed over everything apart from the results, so didn’t seem that bothered about producing rounded adults, just what her stats would look like.

One head described how the school wanted to build in pupils the confidence to know they could achieve whatever they wanted to achieve; another drummed on about resilience and ensuring they could face whatever was thrown at them in an exam. Relisience and confidence are not that different, but if one school is achieving it by building them up and the other by knocking them down then I know which I’d rather my child attended.

DeWee · 03/10/2014 15:26

I think you want to drill down into what they said. For example one we looked round told us what fantastic opportunities their pupils got in th different trips offered. Upon investigation (in a school of 300 pupils a year +) a lot of the trips that sounded so good on paper were taking 2 pupils by invitation only. Chances are that your dc would never get offered any of them. Hmm
A lot of their "look at this brilliant idea" things were like that.

Any school that says "we don't have bullying" is a euphemism (can't spell it!) for "we don't deal with bullying".

One school we went to the chair of governors stood up to rave about how well the school had done for his dd. Apparently she had got "fantastic GCSE results, done amazingly in her A/S and produced truly outstanding final A level results... and was now at University of Central Lancashire doing media studies*. " At this point the man behind me let out a huge chuckle which he hastily tried to disguise as a cough.

Might have been a little unfair to laugh, but he'd raved on and on about how brilliantly she'd done we expected to hear she'd got a scholarship to Harvard or something. If he'd said how brilliantly she'd done for her, how they'd brought out the best in her, got her to full potential then I think he'd have had a round of applause.

*wasn't actually that

teacherwith2kids · 03/10/2014 18:20

DS's - and now DD's - school open day last year. DD ADORED the school. Couldn't get her out of the classrooms where stuff was going ion. DS has also done brilliantly there.

I walked straght pasrt the hall, avoiding the Head's speech, as I have been to enough occasions when he has spoken that I knew it would kill her enthusiasm stone dead.

He s an excellent head - in all other respects. But he is a truly woeful public speaker....

bumasbigasthetv · 03/10/2014 18:27

Have only been to one, which luckily will be dd's school, as the head had been my art teacher (15) years ago i was interested to see how the meek, newly qualified (at that time) teacher i knew presented. She was fab! It wasn't too long, mentioned results and also the school ethos and then left it to the head boy and head girl to do the rest

eatyourveg · 03/10/2014 18:40

I quoted from the HT's speech in our bursary application. Seemed to work - ds got one for the duration of his time at the school and not even subject to annual review!

Mintyy · 03/10/2014 18:43

Grin I've endured the head's speech at that school twice now and refused to put myself through it again for ds this year. Dh took him on his own! I thought your offspring were already at the school Springy?

Mintyy · 03/10/2014 18:44

The speech given by the head at my dd's school pretty much swayed it for me, though, have to admit. I am a little bit in love with that woman Wink.