Talking to Fern Britton when she was opening our fabulous Christmas Fayre got me thinking about my own time at Challoner’s. Many years have passed since I was here at school in the 1980’s and when I returned to take up my new position in July, in that time, so much and yet so little, has changed.
The buildings have been re-shaped, re-modelled, updated and added to and people have come and gone but the feel of the place has really not changed that much at all. As you might expect there is still a palpable sense of purpose and academic endeavour but with that there is a feeling that this, in itself, is not enough. Girls are given many opportuni-ties to develop their leadership and organisational skills by becoming Prefects and taking part in community leader awards for example. From my office I have had the pleasure of listening to countless rehearsals of Drama, Dance and the various orchestras and choirs. I have seen all the effort and time that goes into arranging trips to conferences, lectures, theatres and foreign exchange visits. Every week there is news from the PE Department that our girls are excelling and participating in Regional and National finals. Challoner’s girls do seem to have a much wider educational experience now than I had all those years ago!
Now that I have returned I see things from “behind the scenes” and know that it is not just the fabulous teaching that makes our school. In fact there is an army of support in place to ensure that learning happens, from the fabulous site team, to the finance office staff, the front office team and sixth form support staff to our technicians. Keeping the school running so that it is warm and dry is part of my new job. It should be a fundamental given that resources are available for lessons and that learning can continue uninterrupted but unfortunately this is not necessarily the case any more in the current political climate of austerity and cut backs.
There is much talk at the moment about fairer funding for schools and the Government have indicated that they are keen to introduce a national funding agreement that will see all schools, wherever they are in the country, receive the same level of funding per student. This is perhaps what you might assume happens now but in fact if Challoner’s had received the national average last year we would have been £450,000 better off – imagine what a difference this would make to our girls. I do not wish to spark a political debate but the inequality of the current system is staggering especially when other local schools already benefit from funding rates that are above the national aver-age simply by virtue of the fact that they are in a different education authority, albeit that they are only 3 miles down the road.
There is no doubt that I have returned to Challoner’s as we face challenging times financially as we await the outcome of any changes to the current funding system. Knowing the school as I do I am certain that we will be unflinching in our efforts to ensure that the education-al experience for our girls is all that we would want to ensure that they are prepared, as I was, to meet whatever challenges their lives will bring.
Debbie Grimsdale
Business Manager
