Invicta Vlogs
Last week, we were delighted to be sending our ‘new Year 7’ offers to join us as students in September 2017.
Last week, we were delighted to be sending our ‘new Year 7’ offers to join us as students in September 2017. It is lovely to see, that once again, we are oversubscribed. To be leading such a popular school is a truly wonderful responsibility. As part of our preparation for the ‘new Year 7’ we have been talking to our ‘current Year 7’ about their experiences of their first year. It has been really interesting to see how they have developed in such a short time. It is wonderful too, to hear about the different passions and interests our girls now have: what they do beyond the school curriculum; the sports they play; the clubs they are involved in; the books they like to read.
Coincidentally, ‘The Monitor 2017’, recently published report from Childwise, based on online surveys with 2,000 schoolchildren highlighted that there has been a welcome rise in the proportion of girls aged 15 and 16 taking part in sport at school, with three in four now participating, compared with just half in 2015. There were also some interesting statistics about children’s and young people’s use of mobiles: 31% said they had to check their devices every few minutes, rising to 42% of 17-18 year olds, while a quarter of 9-16 year olds admitted to turning off or getting round parental safety controls online.
Young people’s reading habits are also changing. The report found that 9 to 16 year-olds spend half an hour reading printed materials such as books, comics and magazines every day, and half an hour reading online content like blogs, fan fiction and online magazines. However, the way children read changes, as they hit their teenage years: 13-16 year olds spend double the amount of time reading online. Teenagers are also more likely to say they do not read at all – as a third of 15-16 year olds said they never read, compared to 5% of 9-10 year olds.
There is no doubt that there are many changes taking place in the ways young people spend their time outside lessons. At Invicta, we aim to adapt to these changes, to make the best of links between the learning students do in lessons and different learning experiences outside school – our Personal Opportunities and Broadening Horizon’s Programmes are clear examples. But the most important thing of all, in my view, is that every student is enabled to find her passion or interest; something she can enjoy beyond school and into adulthood. I am keen that no one misses the opportunities afforded by our school in terms of developing those interests, whether it be in sport, reading, drama, dance, computing, debating, art, philosophy, ecology or in an area we have not yet developed! I was therefore thrilled to hear of so many Year 7 describing how they have developed new interests over the course of the year. I cannot wait to start talking to our 2017 cohort to find out what they might get involved in. I wish them the very best of luck and hope that they too, will inspire our youngsters to engage in opportunities beyond the school curriculum; after all, they are the true product of Invicta!
