Is this the most insensitive headteacher ever



I did f***ing brilliantly in GCSEs (talking straight A/A* across the board) and A-levels, degree from a good uni... drive a shit car and my career's shit (mainly cos I chose to go into teaching). Fair few I know who have nice cars and flash houses have so because they married money, inherited money (or the house from parents before the prices went through the roof) or either grafted their arse off/financed themselves up to the eyeballs for them and haven't got a GCSE to their name.

That letter's a guy who's shitting himself he's not going to get the school to get the targets they need to get and has decided to offload all of that onto those lower down in the chain to give a good booting to - I bet the staff have had hell from him as well behind the scenes.

Bad workman always blames the tools eh.
 
School apologises after headteacher writes to GCSE students warning results will determine finances | Daily Mail Online

In the exam system some children will get good results, some will get average results and some below average results. This headteacher should know that this is inevitable!!!
So to scare the children in this way is awful.
Also he is a head teacher at TWO CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS!!!!
His materialistic ethos does not fit with the Christian ethos.

This is a contorted way to start a religion thread but good luck.
 
I got rubbish GCSEs but finished up with a PhD so he’s overestimating the importance of the starting point. I do really dislike his focus on material wealth as the main reward for educational effort. Shows poor judgement and moral character for a Head imo.
 
We were constantly fed that when doing exams at school....famous line, must go to uni if you want to earn over £20k a year.. :rolleyes:
:lol::lol: I`ve not a gcse or A level worth wiping me arse on and i don`t turn out of bed for less than 35k a year :lol: nee wonder kids don`t listen if they are being fed bullshit
 
:lol::lol: I`ve not a gcse or A level worth wiping me arse on and i don`t turn out of bed for less than 35k a year :lol: nee wonder kids don`t listen if they are being fed bullshit
A good few years ago that, but we believed to a degree. Know a few who did a degree and have not managed to really use them at all.... Due to application, but also for doing one for the sake of it.
 
Sis in law did a degree.... She's now working in primarni after a glittering career on the tills in Wilkos. And kids are put under pressure for that? I know of kids who's parents basically imprisoned them to make sure they got "the right" grades for "the right" uni course for a career path. Poor kids got nowt as they ended up having breakdowns
 
I have just heard that the Headteacher who wrote this letter is headvof St Wilfrid's in S Shields and also executive head of St Joseph's academy in Hebburn and St Bede's comprehensive in Peterlee.
How can such an insensitive clown get to such an axalted position.
Questions need to be asked:
1. With his experience how could he not see that his letter would be considered inappropriate?
2. Does he not realise that 50 percent of children will ALWAYS be below average and so should they just accept poor holidays, poor cars, poor housing. {That is what his letter indicates.
3. Is the ethos of these 3 Christian schools based only on materialistic gain?
What about caring for each other, and not bullying
He appears to be bullying the children into revising
I know the school because my son went to 6th Form there. Its a great school which actually does have a caring ethos. I know that it was previously a failing school which this bloke has turned round into an outstanding OFSTED rated school. I think the wording in the letter was insensitive but you are incorrect in your assessment of how he runs the school. My youngest is doing his GCSE's at a different school and its seems there is a problem particularly with boys getting them to revise - at his school they had an assembly just for boys to ask them why they think it is uncool to revise. Its a real challenge for schools to get right and I think a general rule of thumb is not to use the Daily Mail as the premise for any arguments.
 
I know the school because my son went to 6th Form there. Its a great school which actually does have a caring ethos. I know that it was previously a failing school which this bloke has turned round into an outstanding OFSTED rated school. I think the wording in the letter was insensitive but you are incorrect in your assessment of how he runs the school. My youngest is doing his GCSE's at a different school and its seems there is a problem particularly with boys getting them to revise - at his school they had an assembly just for boys to ask them why they think it is uncool to revise. Its a real challenge for schools to get right and I think a general rule of thumb is not to use the Daily Mail as the premise for any arguments.

St Wilfrids had just been designated by Ofsted as OUTSTANDING when he took over. The previous head had already turned it round.
The information was in the Daily Mail but was also on BBC Newcastle, Shields Gazette and Chronicle
 
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St Wilfrids had just been designated by Ofsted as OUTSTANDING when he took over. The previous head had already turned it round.
The information was in the Daily Mail but was also on BBC Newcastle, Shields Gazette and Chronicle
Sounds like you have it in for him - my son went there and I can tell you its a great school with a caring ethos.
 
The head is in charge of faith schools so surely god will provide the kids with good jobs any way.
The school concerned is an academy that Ofsted deem as being “outstanding” whilst across the borough at Hebburn St Joseph’s when as a comp was also deemed as outstanding but since turning into an academy it has gone down hill fast and is now verging on being declared inadequate.
 
The head is in charge of faith schools so surely god will provide the kids with good jobs any way.
The school concerned is an academy that Ofsted deem as being “outstanding” whilst across the borough at Hebburn St Joseph’s when as a comp was also deemed as outstanding but since turning into an academy it has gone down hill fast and is now verging on being declared inadequate.
While South Shields Community School, which is LEA run, is closing despite having the beautiful new building been built a few years ago for £11M. From what I can see the success of a school is in a large part down the quality of the leadership rather than whether it is an academy or LEA funded.
 
Sounds like you have it in for him - my son went there and I can tell you its a great school with a caring ethos.

I am not saying it isn't a good school in fact I know it is a very good school.

I think it is good to encourage the children to work hard

I think it is good to encourage the children to revise

It is not good in fact it is bad to say that Exam Success will determine your materialistic gain.

He is not getting criticised for not having a good school, he is getting criticised for writing a very unpleasant letter
 
Everyone's different but for me the lesson from school was that they should be instilling in kids the need to put in the requisite amount of focus and effort. I probably learned more from kicking and scraping to get a C in maths GCSE because through an anomaly in class setup I was put in to take it a year early, than I did from getting As in other subjects that I found easier and got the full 2 years to do. Every kid should be targeting some sort of decent grade depending on their own potential, and paying attention and studying and working. If you work out how to do that and achieve a reasonable target, there's a place in the job market for you somewhere.
 
While South Shields Community School, which is LEA run, is closing despite having the beautiful new building been built a few years ago for £11M. From what I can see the success of a school is in a large part down the quality of the leadership rather than whether it is an academy or LEA funded.
As soon as it was declared inadequate stents started to vote with their feet and began to take their kids out of that school. 550 kids in a comp ain’t very good considering there are schools such as Mortimer, Harton and Westoe Crown Primaries with more kids than that.
 
I am not saying it isn't a good school in fact I know it is a very good school.

I think it is good to encourage the children to work hard

I think it is good to encourage the children to revise

It is not good in fact it is bad to say that Exam Success will determine your materialistic gain.

He is not getting criticised for not having a good school, he is getting criticised for writing a very unpleasant letter
I think boys can be very difficult to motivate, not all but there is a discrepancy between the results in GCSE's between boys and girls. One way to motivate them is to let them know that hard work equates to what they may deem as success in life. I have said in the past to my kids that if they want to live in a nice place (such as Cleadon) they will need to work hard and that starts at school - nothing wrong in that as its true. I also stress to them that success in life is not the same as material success - happiness comes from many sources like family but being comfortable is part of it.

Exam success doesn't determine your material gain but there is an undeniable correlation. The reason the state justifies charging graduates for their degrees is because on average graduates earn substantially more than non-graduates. Of course there are countless examples of non-graduate millionaires or billionaires but on average you will earn more in life if you get a degree.

My son is doing his GCSE's as we speak and I think there is too much pressure on him. However, all 3 of my kids have gone to state schools and have had an absolutely fantastic education, up there with any private school.

As a final point having read it I would suggest the letter was not 'very unpleasant'. It may have misjudged the mood but it was not 'very unpleasant'.
 
I think boys can be very difficult to motivate, not all but there is a discrepancy between the results in GCSE's between boys and girls. One way to motivate them is to let them know that hard work equates to what they may deem as success in life. I have said in the past to my kids that if they want to live in a nice place (such as Cleadon) they will need to work hard and that starts at school - nothing wrong in that as its true. I also stress to them that success in life is not the same as material success - happiness comes from many sources like family but being comfortable is part of it.

Exam success doesn't determine your material gain but there is an undeniable correlation. The reason the state justifies charging graduates for their degrees is because on average graduates earn substantially more than non-graduates. Of course there are countless examples of non-graduate millionaires or billionaires but on average you will earn more in life if you get a degree.

My son is doing his GCSE's as we speak and I think there is too much pressure on him. However, all 3 of my kids have gone to state schools and have had an absolutely fantastic education, up there with any private school.

As a final point having read it I would suggest the letter was not 'very unpleasant'. It may have misjudged the mood but it was not 'very unpleasant'.
 
I accept it wasn't meant to be very unpleasant.
However to say that "success in your exams" will determine your quality of life makes very unpleasant reading for those less academic children who will not get exam success even with hard work.
 
I accept it wasn't meant to be very unpleasant.
However to say that "success in your exams" will determine your quality of life makes very unpleasant reading for those less academic children who will not get exam success even with hard work.
Yes, I think you are correct but I understand what he is trying to do - even if it was a bit heavy handed. I'm damned sure he isnt the most insensitive Head ever. when I was at school teachers did not care what you got - I think everyone I knew underperformed. Now they do care and try to get every pupil either at the top or the bottom do do the best they can - this may because their performance is scrutinised and reported on but they do try to get everyone to do their best. It may be a bit too pressurised but it is simply light years ahead of the education I received and I would much prefer to praise schools than look for reasons to slag them off. I know people who have spent over £100K getting their kids through an education that is no better than the one my kids got in state school - this is something to be celebrated.
 

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