It has been a landmark term at the College, with High Performance Learning (HPL) firmly established at the heart of our educational philosophy. From the classroom to the common room, our community is embracing a culture where “outstanding” is the standard for every pupil.
We have had a busy and productive term with High Performance Learning at the Centre of our educational philosophy and pedagogy. We should be finding out at the end of term whether we have been successful in our application to become an HPL International Research School. Research is always a fundamental part of teachers reading, reflection and actioning of improvement in their practice. With our proactive HPL Research Hub made up of 18 teachers leading the way, we will see even more engagement in what makes for an outstanding whole education, for all Prep and College pupils.
Professional development programme for our teachers.
Eleven of our teachers are currently signed up to the HPL Certification programme which cover Teacher level, Expert level and Leader levels. Teachers reflect on their pedagogy, practice and language and engage in leading others in professional development and enquiry.
Lifting the lid and aiming high!
Congratulations to around 180 pupils from Elements through to Syntax who received HPL Badges for achievements in specific areas of HPL.
A number of Poetry and Rhetoric pupils were awarded the new High Performance Learning Academic Leadership badges at the end of this term. We were delighted to award 17 of our Poets Academic Leadership badges for progress and attainment made this year. 31 of our Rhetoricians received Academic Leadership badges, for their work in leading and supporting younger students in academic masterclasses and our academic mentoring programme. 5 of those were at Gold level.
Teacher Leaders
We are proud of the strong core of teacher leaders at the College, who complete action research in their professional work and share this with other teachers and teaching assistants. Our Director of Sport, Mr Dixon, led a session on Deliberate Practice, something that sits at the core of HPL, rooted in Sports and Music research. He has been asked to present his work at the HPL Annual Conference in March 2026. Our Head of SEN department updated our teachers on working with pupils with ADHD and our Head of History Mr Berkley, presented to our HPL Research Hub members on developing Agile and Curious learners through Oracy.
One of our key practices at the College is in ensuring pupils understand what hard work is in practice; what it looks and feels like. We focus on PPR – Practice, Perseverance and Resilience – teachers know that if the work hasn’t involved any of these, feedback cannot include reference to hard work.
At home, parents can help reinforce this language, building optimism, confidence and resilience.
- Persist in effort, never give up, work diligently
- Remain confident, focused, and optimistic
- Help others move forward in the face of adversity
Explore our High performance learning page to find out more.