Today I had the opportunity to visit a school in Sussex. It's a primary school with 200 children (they couldn't believe that Kensington has 750 - that's unheard of!) There were roughly 30 children in each classroom.
Two of the students took us around for a tour while my son was a celebrity of sorts on the Year Six room. After visiting the classrooms -including a garden and a pool - I had the opportunity to sit down with the principal. It was remarkable to see that we're fighting the same battles: accountability and testing, lots of paperwork, government working against teachers, and the budget. As a matter of fact, the school teachers in England are going on strike tomorrow due to a plan in the government that raises their retirement age to 66, with fewer benefits.
I did acquire a copy of their tests, so I'm looking forward to comparing these against ours. I'm also looking forward to a continued relationship with this school.
Very cool! Is it a private or public school? Year-round? K - 8? Enjoy the rest of your trip!
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