This was the great untested ‘sweeten the move South by getting the daughters new pets’ manoeuvre. (We are first-time cat owners.) I have to say that – a week in – we haven’t yet regretted it: the pair of them are decidedly cute and surprisingly entertaining. They are also great cuddlers, though still tiny. In fact, one is perched sleeping on my arm as I write this on Thursday evening.  

The entertainment comes largely from watching the out-workings of their curiosity. (Fortunately – being kittens still and not cats – it has not resulted in any fatalities.) They peer, they prod, they test, they reposition… they spring, they experiment, they explore. And often in conjunction with one another: collaboratively or... ‘less collaboratively’. Switching from the literal to the metaphorical, this is how curiosity should function at the intellectual level. And it is a trait that it is hugely beneficial for us all to nurture and tend in the boys. Yes, to an extent some of it is instinctive; active minds will always question, ‘How does that….?’, or ‘Why does that…?’ But a great deal of it has to be trained to really help the boys understand that there are actually such things as ‘thinking skills’; tactics and methods through which to improve the agility of our questioning and the success of our reasoning in pursuit of discovery and answers. 

I have previously written about some of the angles we cover in Year 5’s General Studies lessons, and this aspect of developing questioning and reasoning skills is another I hugely enjoy working on with these boys. How do we manage a question where there is no formal right or wrong answer, but it comes to how we reason our position convincingly and persuasively? Can we find questions within questions which need answering first before one can address the original question? Are there more questions that can be asked to understand the parameters or discover any missing information that could help? Just as in problem solving as an adult, knowing what type of questions to ask in which situations can be incredibly helpful. Arguably, the whole counselling industry is built upon it! 

Tomorrow, we hold our termly Open Morning for prospective parents, and I’m very much looking forward to discussing the curiosity that brought those parents to find out what is through our green front doors. (I’m delighted to say that the number of attendees is due to be as strong as at Open Mornings last year.) As you would hope, I take great pride and delight in sharing the School’s uniqueness and considerable strengths, and telling the story of its pupils’ journeys, and hope to receive some questions that come with an interesting angle.  

Please do note that Open Morning is preceded at 0830 by our first PPA ‘Breakfast in the Yard’ of the year and all parents are warmly invited to ensure that a handful of staff aren’t left with a pig’s-worth of bacon sandwiches to make our way through! (Vegetarian alternatives are available.) Regrettably, kittens will not be attending as entertainment….

Tim Butcher
Headmaster