This academic year is the first in which I have delegated the responsibility for conducting prospective parental tours in the Senior School to our upper Sixth. Invariably our guests comment on their maturity, articulacy, independence of mind and the extent to which they are proud of their school. Visitors always comment how struck they are by the maturity of those in our Sixth Form; I must admit, they are hugely impressive.

The youngest in our community – our Pippins – just starting on their 3-18 journey will become the 2034 Upper Sixth and will be just as impressive as our 2020 cohort, I have no doubt. Our Upper Sixth did not develop these qualities all at once in their final year, nor were they developed by chance. Students at the Dixie are drip-fed independence and responsibility from 3 to 18 to ensure they leave fully equipped with the discipline and resilience they need to successfully tackle the challenges ahead.

Education at the Dixie has been carefully designed – we have thought long and hard about our programme and we continue to challenge ourselves to ensure it matches the needs of students. In particular, we believe that allowing young people the space to make mistakes is a crucial ingredient in ensuring they develop these qualities. Consequently we:

1. Don’t have CCTV cameras around school. The Dixie is not a prison and Senior School students are not watched constantly, but we do expect them to act responsibly whether or not a teacher is present. As they progress through the years from Year 1 to the Upper Sixth, we increasingly expect students to look out for and take responsibility for those younger than them.
2. We advise and support parents to not ban children’s use of social media, but rather to control its use. Ultimately, we want students at the Dixie to be able to self-regulate their screen time – not possible if all access is banned.  We have a zero tolerance policy on the recreational use of mobile phones in school, except in the Sixth Form house, by which time we expect students to have mastered the management of their own screen time and their own decisions online.
3. The many weekly academic revision sessions are well-advertised but are not compulsory. We expect Year 10 and 11 students to be able to manage their own learning outside the classroom and to seek help when it is needed.
4. We encourage healthy eating, but we would not manage this effectively through the removal of all less nutritious options.
5. Study time is not supervised in our Sixth Form. We would not equip our students for the academic rigours and freedom of university by removing all freedom; the development of self-regulation during free time is vital in the Sixth Form. That said, our Sixth Form are very closely monitored as the final freedoms associated with the last two years in school are drip-fed to them.

Our Forest School, DOSE, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, co-curricular programme and World Challenge expeditions are central pillars in the development of these so called ‘soft skills’ of discipline, self-control and resilience and many more. At whatever age, the freedoms Dixie students enjoy come with responsibility, which in turn ensures they develop the skills necessary for the next stage in their education.

Senior School Staff at the Dixie recognise that young people and adults alike face significant challenges to their mental health. The pressures resulting from examinations, puberty and the changes associated with secondary education are substantial and are further compounded by the presence of social media. Young people today face particular challenges online – to conform to behaviours, to seek and receive approval for image, lifestyle, choices etc. The national figures concerning mental health in young people are alarming and this understandably is of great concern to parents. Along with concerns about the rise in mental health difficulties among young people are very grave concerns about the difficulties faced by youngsters and the adults that care for them in accessing support services. As well as this, there is rightly a focus among professionals about how to prevent mental health difficulties. We are not believers in one-off programmes, catch-all cures or knee-jerk responses but this does not mean that we do not take the school’s role in preventing and responding to mental health concerns very seriously. Prevention There is lots of research that suggests that we can prepare our young people for the challenges of life by providing a balanced approach to life for them from their earliest steps. Experts tell us that we build resilience in children by allowing them to fail sometimes, by helping them resolve their own difficulties and by standing back on occasions whilst they work out their friendships, relationships with peers and elders. Of course, there are times when as parents it is exactly right that we step in to help our children and certainly knowing which situation is which is one of the real challenges of parenting. We recognise that mental health challenges exist in any and all circumstances – for the student facing a shocking life event such as a parental bereavement, the child with low self-esteem, a youngster experiencing identity challenges or the high achiever putting undo pressure upon themselves. Here at the Dixie the factors that contribute to building resilience include: Generous PE allocation compulsory until Year 11 – exercise is vital to good mental health. DOSE for Year 6 – team-building, outdoors education, problem solving activities. Emphasis on trips and outdoor education – managing the challenges of room allocations on a trip, sorting Duke of Edinburgh groups, being responsible for one’s own passports, staying with a family abroad, these are all mechanisms by which young people can learn and importantly test the skills needed for adult life. Strict rules in school and on school trips regarding the use of personal phones. PSHCE embedded in the curriculum Years 6 – 11. These lessons provide an opportunity to explore topics not covered elsewhere on the curriculum, including drugs and relationships education as well as to respond to difficulties within year groups as they arise. Balanced approach to exams – all year groups complete end of year exams which is good preparation for external exams but for students early on in their school careers there is very little fuss or stress associated with these exams by staff. Low key assessment of the teaching is the message. Increased formality associated with exams in the senior part of the school is appropriate and helps to prepare students for the demands of GCSEs and A Levels. Study Leave for Year 10 students and Year 11 during mocks also helps to prepare them for the ‘real thing’.

The conditions necessary for young people to thrive in school have been the subject of a great number of studies. Dixie school life has been carefully constructed to reflect many of these – initially through the sound educational instincts of previous Heads and Governors, now backed up by a wealth of research. The summaries of this over-arching research (meta-studies) point to some of the most powerful influences on pupil success in school as well as those factors which research shows do harm. The most positive indicators for pupils who thrive in school are participation in the arts, collaborative learning, outdoor adventure learning, parental engagement, and sports participation. These are deeply embedded in the Dixie education and we see the positive effects of the creative subjects (including Design and Technology), the value of Forest School and DOSE (Dixie Open Skies Education) in helping our youngest students learn the skills of collaboration in an outdoors setting, the positive impact our parents have in school, and the value of a rich sporting timetable in our thriving, happy students. At the Dixie, emphasis in sports is on participation and forming healthy habits for life, and we are delighted that so many parents add to our rich diet of co-curricular activities. One of the most negative indicators for pupil success is the practice of making students repeat a year. Research shows it puts pupils back on average four months in their development and is not endorsed by either the Government, Local Authority or the Dixie; it stifles achievement long term and only in exceptional circumstances is it in the student’s best interests. Whilst repeating a year is very rare in the UK, evidence suggests that, in the majority of cases, it is harmful to a student’s long term chances of academic success. The Dixie has a very different ethos to other schools in the area and has a holistic and more rounded view of achievement. Not everyone will achieve a full set of 9s at GCSE (but many will) and nor should success be measured purely in that way. At the Dixie provision is made for everyone to reach their full potential. We have a wider range of abilities than in some schools, but we do not ‘weed out’ or remove our worst performing students – or make them repeat a year if we feel their performance might harm our external data. We understand that children learn at different rates, that progression is not linear – some may take two years to learn something that for others takes one year – learning at the Dixie is personalised, not just repeated. If a child doesn’t make progress over a year then the barriers need considering and removing. Simply repeating the same thing will not help; indeed, that shouldn’t take a year to realise! The Dixie prioritises the development of each individual student – we take more care over individuals than we do the school’s external data. Our holistic approach is more than just the development of the individual – we nurture pupils’ understanding of how they connect to the wider world. At the Dixie we understand that active involvement outside the classroom, and the effect this can have on confidence, can transform achievement inside the classroom – just as the wealth of educational research tells us.

Strong parental involvement in school life and a vibrant PTA are undoubtedly signs of a healthy school. The Dixie’s Parent Teacher Association is responsible for organising many fantastic events that have become real fixed favourites in the Dixie calendar. From the Spring Bounce, Christmas fairs, spooky discos to summer balls they help provide memorable events for pupils and parents alike. Crucially, these events also provide opportunities for parents to get together, strengthening the Dixie community and ensuring that those new to school quickly feel part of the ‘Dixie Difference’. They provide opportunities for great fun as well as giving those most senior in the school an invaluable experience of a black tie event in the PTA and Sixth Form Ball. These PTA organised events do often raise funds and it is entirely appropriate that these are used to realise priorities already identified in the ambitious and far reaching school development plan. It is, in my opinion, the opportunity for social engineering that these events provide which is the most important function of the PTA – it is only through exploiting parent power that we are able to offer some of the fantastic wider opportunities to students which have become so central to Dixie school life. In the past year, among other involvements, parents and friends of the Dixie have assisted with clubs and societies, supported the orchestras and choirs, assisted with Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, run first-aid courses, delivered mental health seminars, run medical workshops, assisted with photography, helped plant 1500 trees and assisted in the delivery of our ambitious outdoors programme. PTA events encourage parents, teachers and students to meet and from these occasions such opportunities for involvement are made clear and exploited. Some schools are reticent in allowing external involvement, cautious of allowing parents ‘behind the scenes’ for fear of criticism; the Dixie is an open community in which the talents of all, including parents are utilised to maximise the educational experience for students. I am proud to be the Headmaster of a school with such a vibrant PTA. Richard Lynn

The checks and balances which a wider team provides are vital for every organisation’s health. There are eleven Governors at the Dixie, each with their own specialisms, each with their own particular inputs in school life. Among them are educationalists, accountants, doctors, school inspectors and those with an interest in marketing or who run their own businesses. All are volunteers, dedicated to ensuring the very best for the Dixie: they do not stifle ambition for the future of the school, they encourage it. They do not stand in the way of investment, they look to make it possible and help to ensure that long term aims are well served by expenditure. They are involved in every area of the vibrant Dixie school life, continually helping to ensure that the core aims of the school are translated into daily reality for students at the Dixie. Some read to JS pupils, others are parents, all attend meetings, concerts, school events and take the time to talk to students; crucially, they all have oversight of the multi-faceted school development plan, an ambitious document, myopic in its focus on pupil personal development and achievement. Dixie governors understand their strategic role and its place in delivering excellence. The daily running of the school is delegated to me, but I am in regular contact with the Chair and Vice Chair of Governors in particular and never far from a meeting in which governors offer challenge and support in equal measure. Our meetings are effective and provide an open forum for discussion. For parents of children at the school the Dixie Governors should be a source of comfort – that the buck doesn’t stop with me and that the direction and future of the Dixie is assured. Proprietorial schools, and there are several in the immediate area, do not benefit from these checks and balances and as has unfortunately been seen with schools such as Manor House and Milverton House School, they are by their nature less secure – vulnerable to the whim of the owner. The Dixie’s business model as a Charity, with Governors as trustees, overseen by the Charity Commission is far better suited to the current environment as any surplus only goes back as investment into the school, with no return necessary to any shareholder or owner. I am proud to have the backing – support and challenge – of such a diverse, supportive and talented group as the Dixie Governors.