Twitter

10/11/24

Do you wish for your child to attend an outstanding school when they start Reception in September? Come and take a look around our exceptional school on Wednesday 27th November. We cannot wait to see you! 🤩🎉 We would be grateful for friends and families to share this post 😃 pic.twitter.com/2tZ66TOM2L— Pyrford C of E Primary School () November 10, 2024

08/11/24

This week, our Head of Year 12, Mark Grimmett, had the special opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Starmer to discuss the current state of British education. pic.twitter.com/5chAPAbExd— Guildford County Sch () November 8, 2024

08/11/24

This week, our Head of Year 13, Mark Grimmett, had the special opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Starmer to discuss the current state of British education. pic.twitter.com/lb5xJjrPzI— Guildford County Sch () November 8, 2024

07/11/24

We were absolutely delighted to welcome our Regional Director, Dame Kate Dethridge and team leader Sara McClure to the trust this week and to demonstrate the exceptional work going on and . Thank you to for the delicious lunch!

06/11/24

Sandfield Primary School, in the heart of Guildford town centre are searching for two community governors. A fantastic way to make a difference. Please click here for further information https://t.co/Idoxtess5r pic.twitter.com/vmmir5sJDQ

26/10/24

Strong teamwork going on at 👏 https://t.co/WoQ5UAqvwT

26/10/24

It's been a busy sporting term with a return of our popular netball club, gym club and a number of football fixtures. Year 7 battled against a strong Woolmer Hill team, Year 8 came back from 2 down to win 3-2 and Year 9 also beat Glebelands 3-1 in difficult conditions. pic.twitter.com/3jEIDt5Dyr— Kings College () October 26, 2024

26/10/24

It was fantastic to welcome Kings alumni and Shahid Azeem back to the school for a trip down memory lane. Shahid was kind enough to talk with our students about his incredible journey since leaving Kings, as well as visit lessons and our sports facilities. pic.twitter.com/Uau1fzrqEB— Kings College () October 26, 2024

25/10/24

It's been a long term, you're doing a brilliant job. Enjoy the break. Careful when kicking through the leaves pic.twitter.com/2Z4DxEB5uy

24/10/24

Thank you to everyone who came to the GA6 Open Eve! Watch our film and find out more over on ! pic.twitter.com/RtSLloX0zD— George Abbot School () October 24, 2024

24/10/24

HUGE congratulations to our brilliant Y7s, our fab MT singers and our wonderful band! A great evening of dance, drama and music in our Mini Musicals! Let's do it again tomorrow!— George Abbot Music () October 22, 2024

24/10/24

And just like thar, another Mini Musicals is over! Well done to all our our amazing Y7 students, MT singers, band, tech team, crew and backstage helpers. A fantastic two nights! We are so proud of you! — George Abbot Music () October 23, 2024

23/10/24

Fancy making your very own Christmas wreath? Follow the details below to get involved with our wreath workshop delivered by our wonderful PTA team 🤩🎉🎅🏽🎄 pic.twitter.com/1HoUfhww56— Pyrford C of E Primary School () October 23, 2024

23/10/24

Surrey Maths School opened its doors at the beginning of September to its first cohort of keen and talented mathematicians and hosted a lovely opening event earlier on this month. Read more about the event and the school here https://t.co/64WIkNs5R5 pic.twitter.com/xFrvQIOzOY

20/10/24

We are looking forward to this week’s reading festival! We have lots of literary activities planned for our children, with the highlights being author visits from & JackMeggittPhillips. We can’t wait! pic.twitter.com/LYzm5MliEq— Loseley Fields () October 20, 2024

18/10/24

A positive school culture is the cornerstone of student and staff success. It fosters a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment where both students and staff can thrive...read more https://t.co/aGT5MZcFEf pic.twitter.com/u6wWvOpI8U

Twitter

The Latest News

Striving for happiness

6th October 2023

When I ask parents and teachers what they want for their children, ‘happiness’ always features in their answer. When our children start out on their educational journey, ‘happiness’ is often linked to building friendships and feeling a sense of belonging. By the time our children are teenagers, our hopes for happiness also include a readiness to take their place in the world as young adults.

But what is ‘happiness’? Each of us might define it slightly differently, but it is certainly not a constant, uninterrupted state of joy. We all experience life’s ‘ups and downs’.

Martin Seligman suggests that happiness has three features: your genetic makeup, your life circumstances, and factors within your control. The first two are often beyond our control, and the third we can influence.

In my work, I am often asked by students, parents, and teachers about the impact of stress and pressure on learning, and I firmly believe that stress and happiness are strangely linked!

We often misuse the word ‘stress’. Stress is what we feel when presented with a situation where we must act. It is our physical and psychological response to challenge. If we believe that we have the tools to cope, this stress is positive (eustress); it helps us to focus, motivates us and boosts our energy so that we can respond. However, if we view the challenge as a threat, then we experience negative stress (distress), and feel anxious, unable to cope and our ‘flight’ response is activated.

For me, happiness is not the absence of stress or pressure; that is not realistic. I believe that happiness includes the security and knowledge that when the inevitable stress of life occurs we have the tools to cope with it, work through it, and emerge from it. We might name this skill ‘resilience’.

One of my aspirations as an educator is to enable children. This does not mean adopting a ‘snow plough’ approach (clearing all obstacles out of the way for them), but exposing them to challenge and difficulties that pose a little discomfort. We can then support, encourage and coach them so that they learn problem solving, trial and error, and dealing with disappointment skills; all invaluable tools for coping with the difficulties of real life.

Professor Robert Bjork calls these ‘desirable difficulties’; experiences encountered by children that present the opportunity for new learning. In our classrooms this may include a teacher not accepting “I don’t know” as an answer and encouraging thinking with “what would be your best guess?”.

We all want children to know love and comfort, and we also want them to be able to cope with the realities of life. If we always make things easy, then our children don’t get to practice resilience, so sometimes we won’t remove difficulty, but intentionally present it, so that they can learn to work through it, and thrive.

And that is a huge part of being happy.

Latest Tweets

  • November 7, 2024 We were absolutely delighted to welcome our Regional Director, Dame Kate Dethridge and team leader Sara McClure to the trust this week and to demonstrate the exceptional work going on and . Thank you to for the delicious lunch!
  • November 6, 2024 Sandfield Primary School, in the heart of Guildford town centre are searching for two community governors. A fantastic way to make a difference. Please click here for further information Read more pic.twitter.com/vmmir5sJDQ
  • October 26, 2024 Strong teamwork going on at 👏 Read more
  • October 25, 2024 It's been a long term, you're doing a brilliant job. Enjoy the break. Careful when kicking through the leaves pic.twitter.com/2Z4DxEB5uy
  • October 23, 2024 Surrey Maths School opened its doors at the beginning of September to its first cohort of keen and talented mathematicians and hosted a lovely opening event earlier on this month. Read more about the event and the school here Read more pic.twitter.com/xFrvQIOzOY
  • October 18, 2024 A positive school culture is the cornerstone of student and staff success. It fosters a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment where both students and staff can thrive...read more Read more pic.twitter.com/u6wWvOpI8U
  • October 17, 2024 On World Values Day, we are given the opportunity to reflect on our values and they impact the young people in our care. Values give us a sense of purpose. Read more here Read more pic.twitter.com/g3WOV0ugsh
  • October 10, 2024 It's World Mental Health Day and our staff bulletin is a special on mental health and self-care. It has some fabulous resources within and is worth sharing - take a look and take care Read more
  • October 9, 2024 It is hard to look after yourself, especially in a profession such as teaching, when your energy is focussed on the young people in your charge. Self care is a skill that needs practice. Here's a really useful link to some tips Read more pic.twitter.com/d7drPBCOMz
  • October 4, 2024 Together we can create the educational landscape that students and teachers in our trust deserve, where your expertise and contributions sit at the heart of all that we do... read more Read more pic.twitter.com/ta2YxmkpPS
  • October 3, 2024 We will be celebrating World Teachers’ Day on October 5, a global annual event recognising the incredible contributions of teachers in shaping our future. This year's theme - "Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a new social contract for education". pic.twitter.com/aWHsuV8Y4Z
  • September 27, 2024 My school joined a trust in September… I am loving the connection, brilliant new colleagues, eclectic mix of schools and sense of belonging. So powerful to feel a part of something rather than waiting for the sea change that will never come.