What makes a successful A Level student (with a little help from Disney and friends)?

Dr John Parsons, Director of Sixth at WHS, looks at the character traits needed to have success at A Level, using famous Disney moments to illustrate his argument.

Anybody who has ever watched a successful A Level student nervously open her results envelope, fingers crossed for A*s, recognises that wonderful moment of realisation when at last she sees what she has achieved. All that hard work, effort and struggle was worth it in the end. But success doesn’t happen by accident. Contrary to Jiminy Cricket’s philosophy, merely wishing on a star just isn’t enough. For those that doubt I have Disney magic (and there are a few), then, some Disney (and other) wisdom to explore what makes a successful A Level student.

Goal setting & going the distance

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs photo above by freepngimp.com

Without a goal, all the hard work counts for nothing. The Seven Dwarfs are happy to put in the hours: We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig in our mine the whole day through. Nobody doubts the Dwarfs’ capacity for hard work, but they themselves freely admit to missing the point entirely: we don’t know what we dig ‘em for, we dig dig digga dig dig. They have no intrinsic motivation. Without a goal in mind, it is hard to stay determined and to develop the self-belief to go the distance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI0x0KYChq4

Whistling while you work

Snow White whistles while she works and Mary Poppins (another great Disney woman we first meet cleaning) tells us that in every job that must be done there is an element of fun; modern-day positive mindsets from both.

For A Levels, the daily plod through tests, homework and revision is always most effective and productive when it is done with a smile. Top students tend to make a game of learning and are creative and varied in how they learn new things before they test themselves on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIwa9sPFT5I

Keep on swimming

Top A Level students don’t fear setbacks and mistakes. Rather, they know that therein lies the deepest sort of learning. Indeed, what we see from the most successful students is a wilful desire to actively seek out challenge and difficulty, embracing potential misunderstanding. We meet Dorothy in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz not wishing on a star but vividly imagining what life will be like somewhere beyond the rainbow, and crucially acknowledging that the journey will likely be a hopeless jumble. Her key (very Wimbledonian) character traits of braininess, compassion and courage (exemplified in the quests of her companions Tinman, Lion and Scarecrow) allow her to negotiate the unexpected deviations from her path. Dorothy decides that her mission is more important than the noise in her head when doubts creep in, instead choosing to walk on through those lions and tigers and bears. At every turn, Dorothy stands up and makes a choice and gets on with it despite the difficult bits – one ruby-slippered foot after the other.

"The Wizard of Oz (1939)" by twm1340 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 — “The Wizard of Oz (1939)” by twm1340 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Finding Nemo’s Dory makes the same point to demotivated Nemo; just keep swimming. In other words, only move forward. It’s the only way to respond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hkn-LSh7es

Don’t just fly. Soar.

And of course, top students remain confidently ambitious in all of this. That advice to Dumbo, an elephant seemingly unlikely ever to fly, eventually becomes his reality – Don’t just fly. Soar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qu3GCQFsA

In summary, successful A Level students always have a goal, they try to stay cheerful whilst putting in the hours, they find the fun in learning new things and embrace mistakes and learn from them, and they keep on going. They leave wishing on stars to Pinocchio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pguMUFyJ3_U

1st October 2019

Being Head Girl at WHS

Jasmine, Year 13, describes what her role as Head Girl entails and gives a brief overview of the initiatives for the year ahead

I’m delighted to be Head Girl for Wimbledon High School this academic year! My role as Head Girl entails a lot of different things, most of it being meetings, talking and organising things so I’ll give you a quick rundown of what goes on behind the scenes and our aims for this year.

Saskia, Jasmine and Ella – the Head Girl Team at WHS for 2019-20

I work with Saskia and Ella, the Deputy Head Girls, to lead the Student Leadership Team, coming up with new ideas for whole-school events such as the annual WHS Pride Week (taking place just before half term to celebrate our recent Stonewall Bronze Award!), the school birthday (taking place after half term) and a range of new initiatives that we feel would make the school a better place for all of us. One of our main initiatives this year is PAWHS, standing for Pause at WHS, where we want to recognise the different ways in which students just relax and wind down, without forcing any specific methods on them because we understand the same exercises and activities don’t work for everyone.

We also run school council and have worked closely with Mr Turner, Assistant Head Pastoral, this year to “re-invent” our school council. It now has Year-reps and specific committees with representatives from each year so younger girls can really be involved in leading the school and getting their ideas heard. We also chair student parliament and feedback all the students’ comments and suggestions to the Senior Management Team.

Last year we came up with our overall pastoral theme of Connections, as we felt we wanted our focus to be on how we connect with the wider world, our school and the people in it, and of course how we connect to ourselves. We pitched this to the Senior Management Team and Head of Years and they liked the idea; it is now our pastoral theme for the year. Our aim for this year is to create an environment where students feel connected to each other but also the world around us. Our other aim is to connect to our school, looking at its history, present and future in light of our 140th school birthday, and we are organising a massive school celebration day called “Year-to-Year” to focus on this (linking to the opening line of our school song), which will hopefully be great fun and a memorable day not just for all of us but also for the school in years to come.

Our pastoral theme for 2019-20 – connections. This theme was chosen by our Student Leadership Team.

Being part of the Student Leadership Team is a large responsibility but it is a great opportunity to make even the smallest difference to our amazing school. It is the responsibility of a leader to serve the people around them, to include everyone and their ideas, to set an example and stand up for what is right. I may not have Priyanka’s poise and teacher-like authority, Jessie’s seemingly effortless organisation skills or Ava’s fierce intellect and extensive vocabulary, but I’m learning that’s the beauty of being a Head girl, or any leader, is that you make it your own; for me I think it’s all about being a friendly, approachable face in the corridor, welcoming every girl as she steps in to Wimbledon High.

29th September 2019

Wimbledon High’s Sofia at the Judo Commonwealth Championships

This weekend Sofia went to the Commonwealth Championships, fighting in the weight group under 48kg and the age group under 14. This was a very tough competition, as there were people from many different countries including India, Australia and South Africa, as well countries in the UK. She is now preparing for Nationals, which take place in December and Holland where she will be fighting in both the age group under and over 17.

29th September 2019

Rugby World Cup Jap vs Ire

The game on Saturday evening, where Ireland and Japan were playing each other was a tense and amazing match to watch. Ireland, a strong rugby team who looked like the clear winners before walking onto the pitch got beaten against Japan. Japan played very well with clean ball-handling skills and beautiful interceptions against the strong side.

It shows that despite all expectations that were surrounding the game, Japan trusted in their training and all the hours of their hard work and took the win on home ground in front of the thousands of supporters rooting for them.

Keep an eye on the games to come – this just shows nothing is determined for this world cup!

Have a great week of games everyone! Defy all expectations, whether others or yourself have set them.

28th September 2019

30/09/19 Sports Star

Martha C-B has continued amazing success in fencing this week, coming 2nd for Britain!

We have a such a talented fencer among our students and we are so proud of her achievements – keep it up!

27th September 2019

GROW 2.0: a Review

Mr Ben Turner, Assistant Head Pastoral at WHS, looks at some of the key messages from last week’s Grow 2.0 conference, looking at what it means to be Human in an A.I. World.

Panel — Discussions and debate from our recent GROW 2.0 Conference

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the troubling determinism of social media and the corrosive effect of echo chambers on our beliefs. At GROW 2.0 however, Robert Plomin talked to us of a different kind of determinism. In a mesmerising, if slightly worrying, lecture he enthralled us all with his ground-breaking work into, what he calls, the ‘DNA Revolution’. I say worrying because, according to Plomin, 60% of any child’s GCSE attainment is down to their genetics. The other 40%? Well, there are no systemic factors, that scientists have yet identified, that make a discernible difference in a child’s attainment.

Plomin debunked outdated notions of nature vs. nurture and instead asked us to think about our genetic predispositions. He warned that we must never mistake correlation for causation. If, for example, a parent reads to their five-year-old every night, it is easy for us to believe that that child’s predilection for books and literature later in life is because of their parent’s diligence at that early age. Plomin would argue however that we have missed the point entirely and ignored the correlation of the parent’s love of reading being passed, genetically, to their child.

This is a powerful message to share with teachers and parents. As a school and, in these turbulent times, a sector we offer a huge variety of activities, interests and passions to those we educate. It is all too easy, as a teacher, parent or pupil to put on your GCSE blinkers and ignore the world around you. If 60% of the outcome is determined by our genetics, why not embrace that other 40%? Fill that time and energy with all of the ‘non-systematic’ activities, trips, hobbies and sports that you possibly can. Because, if we are still not sure what actually makes a difference, variety of engagement is surely the best possible choice.

We were lucky enough to also hear from Professor Rose Luckin, a leading thinker in artificial intelligence and its uses in education. It was inspiring to hear the possibilities ahead of us but also reassuring to hear the primacy, from someone truly immersed in the field, of the human spirit. Rose talked about an ‘intelligence infrastructure’ that is made up of seven distinct intelligences. The most important of these for her were the ‘meta-intelligences’, for example, the ‘meta-subjective’ and ‘meta-contextual’. It is our ability to access others’ emotions and our context “as we wander around the world” that Luckin believes separates us from even the most exciting advancements in A.I.

Does VR have a role in education in the future? How can it not have a role given the exciting opportunities it offers?

As an educator, where I think I gained the most excitement from Rose’s talk were the possibilities for bespoke and tailored learning for every child. The use of data to help us with the educational needs of learners has some amazing possibilities. One could imagine every child having an early years assessment to understand the penchants and possibilities that lie ahead. This could lead to a bespoke path of access arrangements and curriculum for each child. A possibility that, as Rose said, is truly exciting as we will finally be able to “educate the world”.

More photos of the event on Flickr.

25th September 2019

The life of a WHS Sports Captain

Emily (Y13) elaborates on her responsibilities as Sports Captain and discusses upcoming sports events

What is my role within the school?

As Sports Captain, I aspire to be a role model that girls can look up to. I myself have looked up to many previous Sports Captains and finally having the chance to represent my school is such an amazing opportunity. I think a Sports Captain should be able to connect with the younger years, work well with the PE department, and spread enthusiasm and a passion to all.

Sports is a huge part of my life and I want to show people that with hard work and determination results will follow. Sport is an amazing thing to be a part of; it teaches you so many life lessons that cannot be readily taught in classrooms. After doing my Extended Project Qualification researching about the impact of sport on teenagers, it has made me even more aware of the importance of being involved and “getting stuck in”.

In such a highly achieving academic school it is sometimes hard to step away from work. I have found, along with many other students here at WHS, that sport is an amazing way to have fun away from screens and books. It is hard to balance work, sport, music, drama and still manage to have a life, but I think that if I can set an example to younger years, it will enable them to see that being an all-rounder is possible.

What do I want to achieve in this role?

I have 4 aims whilst in my role that I hope to achieve:

Launch the sports blog
Work with the PE Department to find a strong Sports Leadership Team that will be able to lead with enthusiasm for all years across the school
Improve the high-performance sports programme with the Head of Sport. It is hard to balance high level sports and academics because much of your free time is spent at trainings and matches. I aim to produce a space where our girls can go for help. In addition to this, I want the programme to give interesting and relevance talks which inspire and inform our high-performance students.
Improve the cricket involvement. Cricket was introduced 2 years ago, and as we go into our 3^rd year, the PE Department and I aim to improve the standard of training and frequency throughout the year which will allow us to fulfil our potential.

The future is exciting!

There are so many exciting events coming up which are still in the process of being organised, such as Staff vs Sixth Form netball and basketball. For those not familiar to this, they are charity events where enthusiastic teachers play against our Sixth Form’s first team and ‘battle it out’ to see who wins. Stay tuned for further information regarding this! Until then training and matches will be commencing and all I can say is get stuck in and try new things, you never know where it could take you.

A few words from me

I am hugely honoured to be Sports Captain for 2019-2020 and I hope that with hard work from me and our PE Department we can achieve higher and have even more fun than before. Good luck for the season, work hard and the wins will follow.

22nd September 2019

Amy – Rowing Rep

I am in year 12 and have been at WHS for five years, since year 7. I joined rowing officially in the summer term of year 8 so I guess I have been doing it for a long time now! I remember signing up to the club on SOCS not knowing what to expect at all. I am so glad that I made that one decision because of the friends I have made and the experiences I have been through with them.

As the coaches always tell us, rowing is one of the most demanding sports physically and mentally but also the most rewarding! As a boat club we have our H.E.A.R.T. values (hard work, excellence, aspiration, respect and teamwork) which really help us come together as a community. The coaching team is brilliant and so supportive while helping you to row the best that you can. All the early mornings and tiring moments are 100% worth it when you win the medals and see your hard work pay off – so I most definitely urge you to get involved with this incredible sport!

22nd September 2019

Robin – Gymnastics Rep

Hi I’m Robin and I’m in year 12! I’m the gymnastics rep for this year, and I can’t wait to get to know everyone. I have been doing gymnastics since I was 7 years old and have been part of Wimbledon high gym squad since year 2! I love the environment of the competition and bettering your own skill set as well as the comradery of being in a team and cheering your team mates on, both in training and in a competitive environment. Gymnastics is a fantastic sport to build core skills and develop new skills which will be able to help you with your other activities.

22nd September 2019

Izabella – Swimming Rep

I am currently in Year 12 and am really excited to be your Swimming Rep.

Swimming has always played a very important part in my life. I absolutely love being in water, I joined a swimming club at the age of seven and started to compete at licensed meets at aged 9. Since then, I have won medals in many events at County and Regional Championships. My favourite events are the 200m Butterfly and the 400m Individual Medley. Since Year 3, I have represented WHS at various Swimming competitions, Biathlon and Cross Country events.

Swimming is a brilliant sport, you can train at the school, join a club, or practise on your own in your free time. It’s a lifelong skill, which can also become your hobby. It doesn’t matter where you swim, there is one thing for certain, through swimming you are likely to make new friends.

As your Swimming Rep, I am here and always happy to help. If you have any swimming related questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Remember, always channel your inner Dory. Just keep swimming 🙂