Use Your Brain Power

Make 2020 the year you learn something new, and you’ll reap the benefits (regardless of your age) says Hilary Wilce New year, new start! Most of us feel like blowing off the cobwebs and turning to something new after an...

Season’s Teachings

Hilary Wilce pays tribute to the life-changing work of our teachers It’s the season of joy and goodwill so let’s give a great big shout-out for our country’s teachers. Every day they get up, go to work and very often...

Learn to Play

Hilary Wilce emphasises the importance of self-directed play to develop growing minds Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time with the under-fives – and they are amazing! Every moment of their lives is an adventure, and they are without...

Forward Thinking

Simon Wong, Chartered Financial Planner at JM Finn, explains how to plan for your child’s private school education . Are there any ways to cut the cost of a private school education? Any aspiring parent wishing to send their children to...

Winter Sports

What’s on offer to keep pupils active during chillier months? WT speaks to Dulwich Prep Cranbrook and The King’s School, Canterbury about the range of sports available. Mrs Jo Wilson, Head of PE and Games at Dulwich Prep Cranbrook What...

Beyond the Classroom

University, college or straight into a career? Reigate Grammar School and ACS International Schools discuss what help is on hand when it comes to making choices for life after secondary education. Matthew Buzzacott, Head of Careers at Reigate Grammar School,...

Heads Down

When it comes to successful exam revision, it’s all in the motivation, as Hilary Wilce explains. For some students, the new school year means retake exams looming ahead. For many others, there will be new tests and exams coming down...

Making Sense of the World

Hilary Wilce looks at how politics is approached in the classroom. As I write this, we have no idea where the country will be heading this autumn, and whatever your political views, you’ll probably agree that this is a time...

Join Our Club

We explore the vast range of after-school activities on offer across schools in the South East. From tug of war to mindfulness colouring, there's no shortage of options.

Word Play

Which languages are students choosing to study? And how are they being applied to life after school? We look into language matters at Buckswood School and Ashford School.

Play & Learn

Our children need to explore and have fun, it’s a key part of their development, as Hilary Wilce explains… For all of us, summer is a time of play. Children play in the long days free from school. Adults play...

The whole person and nothing but the whole person

Dr Adrian Rainbow, Deputy Head (Co-curriculum) of Sevenoaks School, describes how the whole person education philosophy is applied there and the benefits pupils – and society – enjoy from it We live in precarious times: climate change, species extinction, tariff...

Early years – ask the experts

Ashford Prep School – The Pre-Prep Team How can parents best support their child as they start in Reception? Be positive as this is an exciting time. Don’t make school a big deal as this can make children more fearful of...

On their marks…

A lifelong love of exercise can be inspired by the right approach to teaching sport at the earliest stage. Ashford Prep School – Harrison Straw – Head of Pre-Prep PE I believe it is very important for children to take...

Planting the seed

Gardening is good for everyone’s wellbeing – and children who grow their own vegetables are far more likely to eat them. We hear from two schools where pupils grow their own. Dulwich PrepCranbrook Dulwich Prep Cranbrook has a Gardening Club...

Prep School – ask the experts

Invaluable tips from experienced teachers for each stage of education. Here we talk about prep school.

Is your child ready to become a Cyber Attack Agent or an Algorithm Bias Auditor?

Jeremy Lewis, Head of School at ACS Egham International School, looks at ways you can ensure your child is prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century workplace  What will today’s children be when they enter the workplace? With...

Poetry please

The results of our children's poetry competition are in.

School of Rock

Violins and flutes are all very well, but a great way to engage a wider swathe of young people with music is to allow them to play the style they most identify with.

Educating the whole child

Our education writer Hilary Wilce explains the new – and ancient – philosophy which is coming back to the fore in British schools. A radical and exciting revolution is taking place in education and it’s one guaranteed to produce happier...

Going up to big school – ask the experts

The New Beacon – Mike Piercy, Headmaster How involved should the child be in the choice of upper school?  Involved yes, but not the ultimate decision-maker. Often, a child will be influenced by where his/her friends are going, which again should not...

GCSEs – ask the experts

This is the most stressful time of the whole school journey – how can parents best support their children? Planning can really help here. During holiday times, in the run-up and half term in the middle of exams, make sure...

Meet the matrons (or house parents as they are now called)

Boarding can be a wonderful experience, producing independent young people, ready to go out into the world – but the prospect can be daunting, so who better to ask for advice about it than matron? (sorry, house parent)

The life scientific

Nick Ellwood of Tonbridge School explains the thinking behind the school’s state-of-the-art new science centre.

Room to Grow

"I don’t remember my first day at senior school, but for my children it was a very big deal indeed,” says Francie Healy, Headmaster of Bethany School in Kent. He has wide experience of supporting pupils – including his own...

Going solo

Team sports don’t suit everyone – some pupils flourish competing alone.  We speak to schools about their solo sports offerings. Hurst College  Rebecca Jutson, Assistant Director of Girls’ Sport With a greater number of students in the school we are...

6th form – ask the experts

Invaluable advice from experienced teachers for every stage of education. Here we talk about Sixth Form, when important decisions have to be made. Frewen College – Hazel Lawrence, Head of Sixth Form  At this stage our kids are young adults –...

The Great Outdoors

Hilary Wilce explores the benefits of forest schools. Not long ago, I was walking with a friend through local woods when we came across a ring of tree stumps and various hazel dens and rope swings. “Oh, it’s probably the...

Travelling hopefully

What children gain from the journey of education is far more important than results says Hilary Wilce. A primary school in Rotherham has turned itself around by putting music at the heart of its curriculum. Not long ago, Inspectors put the...

Reduce Reuse Recycle

How are the South East’s schools developing their pupils’ environmental awareness? We talk to four schools about all things eco-friendly. Reigate St Mary’s, Reigate How do you teach pupils to be more aware of the impact they have on the...

Brain Waves

Hilary Wilce discovers that, in certain situations, we should be working with our mobile phones, not necessarily against them. Mobile phones are a really big headache for schools. Now that nine out of ten teenagers own a smartphone, schools have...

Skills thrills

Hilary Wilce takes a look at the importance of learning skills.

Kids behaving badly

Hilary Wilce considers the tricky subject of challenging bad behaviour. 

Kent College – An Outstanding Independent School

:: SPONSORED CONTENT :: An outstanding independent school for boys and girls aged 0 – 18 Kent College offers care and education for boys and girls aged 0 – 18. Whether you are looking for wrap around care in our nursery or studying the...

Sport outside the box

Not all kids love the classic team and gender-assigned games, so forward-thinking schools are introducing different activities to inspire a lifelong love of exercise.

Claremont School

Address: Claremont School, Bodiam, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5UJ Telephone number: 01424 751555 Admissions email: lily.lam@claremontschool.co.uk School website link: www.claremontschool.co.uk Claremont is a happy, hard working centre of learning where every pupil ‘fits’ and can really be themselves. Set across...

Battle Abbey School

Battle Abbey School, an independent School in East Sussex, is extraordinarily special. A glimpse through its enchanting gatehouse tells you that you are not only in a historically significant place, but also in a school that has an incomparable character.

Chinthurst School

Address:Chinthurst School 52 Tadworth St,Tadworth, SurreyKT20 5QZAdmissions email:admissions@chinthurstschool.co.uk School website:www.chinthurstschool.co.uk For more than 110 years Chinthurst has been educating children and preparing them for the challenges of senior school and beyond. The school has been shortlisted for Independent School of the...

Cranbrook School

Cranbrook School is a mixed state grammar school with 842 pupils aged 11 -"18 years, including 234 boarders. For its first 400 years the school was known as Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School with strong roots in the small town of...

Cranleigh Prep School

Cranleigh Prep School’s aim is to provide a stimulating and challenging academic environment, whilst enabling children aged 7 to 13 to grow in confidence, learning how to celebrate and build upon success as well as being resilient and determined in...

Cranleigh School

Cranleigh School is a co-ed boarding school in the heart of the Surrey Hills offering pupils the opportunity to discover and develop their talents. Their aim is for all pupils to become global citizens with a mission to challenge and...