Before Easter I was fortunate enough to attend online the annual IAPS Heads’ Conference, which had been postponed from September 2020. There were some fantastic speakers and some excellent discussion covering a whole range of topics relevant to our roles as Heads in Prep schools, including opportunities to reflect upon and consider how we had led the development of our pupils’ progress over the last 12 months or so. Useful lessons were shared regarding what we have all learnt as school leaders.
The final keynote address was from Dame Katherine Grainger, the multi Olympic medal winning British rower, and it was an amazing and awe-inspiring treat to hear her speak. Dame Katherine explained to us how critically important her early years at school had been and how, in later years at school, she became fascinated by the life and work of pioneering forensic scientist Edmond Locard, who coined the phrase “Every contact leaves a trace”.
Dame Katherine reasoned that every teacher with whom she had crossed paths left an impression upon her however large or small, and they all ultimately inspired her to aim for “the next big thing”. Looking ahead and aiming high are important dimensions of what we seek to do here. You can support us in this endeavour by encouraging your children to think about and discuss what the next big thing is that they are looking forward to. We will always be glad to hear about that from them – and from you too, of course
