Moorfield in the News
Letter to the Yorkshire Post, 3rd March 2011
The success of public school rock stars, such as James Blunt, Florence and the Machine, Lily Allen, Keane and Radiohead, is a reflection of the high quality of contemporary music teaching in independent schools.
The current debate about snobbishness in the music industry, stimulated by producer P ete Waterman’s attack on the rise of privately-educated rock musicians, misses the point. So, too, does James Blunt’s mother, when she e-mailed the BBC to complain about the inverted snobs who criticise her son for his privileged background.
The point is that it is no coincidence that some of the today’s leading pop and rock musicians have been educated in the private sector, because the standard of musical tuition there is exceptionally high.
At my school we have actively encouraged our children’s interest in contemporary music by asking the excellent Bradford-based Learn to Rock, a music education company, to provide workshops, holiday clubs and weekly lessons. Learn to Rock helps schools set up their own music classes and form bands with tuition in bass and electric guitar, drums, keyboard and pop vocals. They are absolutely superb and have proved enormously popular with our girls.
Music has a positive effect on the interpersonal skills of an individual. Failures that we face in life are often the result of lack of confidence and lack of desire to learn. Students obtaining poor school grades do not necessarily lack intelligence. Their poor academic results are often an outcome of their lack of motivation and their lack of interest.
Music lessons during school can help the students fight their mental block. Music proves helpful in encouraging young children to venture into new fields.
It helps them develop the confidence needed to achieve success in life.
Yorkshire Post Saturday 26 February 2011
This is an exciting age in which to grow up. The explosion of technology has made the world a much smaller place, with our ability to access every corner of the globe via the internet. Children can communicate with each other through a screen, while business conference calls allow meetings from offices all around the world to go ahead without the need for travel. One can hardly imagine what the world will be like for our current seven year olds in 2030. The primary purpose of education is to prepare pupils for the future. At primary school level, that foundation for the future is laid. These are vital years to get it right - or wrong. As a Headmistress, with joint responsibility for laying that foundation with parents, I have spent much time considering what core elements will enable my pupils to thrive in tomorrow’s world.
Adults of the future must be innovative, flexible and embrace change in order to thrive in a fastmoving age where new developments, growing super powers and varying work practices affect the working population. To prepare for that, teachers must instill in their pupils a thirst for knowledge and an ability to think ‘outside the box’. Also, pupils must understand that no talent grows without practice and therefore develop a strong work ethic for themselves. To engender a love of learning is a tremendous gift to a child. When teachers ignite that spark of interest and make a subject worth learning, the rest follows: pupils are engaged, they work hard and they take pleasure in their achievements. The skills needed for the future are first practised in the classroom. Success is closely connected with confidence. If a pupil can shine somewhere at school, that success can affect their sense of well-being in the most positive way. A school that provides a rich and varied curriculum, as well as a wide range of extra-curricular activities, increases the opportunities for a pupil to excel. If a child feels that they have been noticed for being good at something, they will immediately feel more enthusiastic and this will positively affect performance in other areas at school as well. Such confidence builds a ‘can do’ mentality and enables an individual to face the unknown without fear.
Relationships are a key element of life. The ability to get along with people is one of the most important lessons to learn for future happiness and success, whether at home or at work. A school offering a warm and caring environment is where the seeds of harmonious community living are sown. Children need to learn social and moral values and respect for others. In a supportive and caring school, where every child feels valued for who they are, they can learn to be a team player, to apologise when they let others down, to know right from wrong, to show empathy and to feel secure enough to be honest. A school ethos which promotes these values must have a very strongly embedded system of pastoral care, where the personal development of each child is a priority. It takes time and effort from all staff, but the result will be worth it.
The tallest buildings need the strongest foundations. Any pupil moving on to secondary education and beyond with an enthusiasm for learning, an ability to mix easily with others and the confidence to be successful has that essential foundation in place – and their school has served them well.
Attain Magazine January 2011
Photo Courtesy of Newsquest Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Pupils at Moorfield School in Ilkley recently organised a Cakes and Pyjamas Day to raise money for new playground equipment.
The School Council, consisting of two representatives from Years 3 to 6, worked on this special day from start to finish to make it a success by organising an assembly to promote it, making posters to remind everyone about it and baking the cakes for everyone to enjoy.
The girls at Moorfield are encouraged to take as much responsibility as possible and the lively School Council is the perfect vehicle for this. Pupils can initiate change within the school, which gives them a real sense of both ownership and belonging.
The major on-going project to make better use of their substantial school grounds has sparked a desire in the pupils for all sorts of games for playtimes and they raised money themselves for this.
Based on the edge of Ilkley moor, the school caters for girls aged between two-and-a-half and 11. It celebrated its 80th anniversary last year.