In Exceptional Times, the First Day of Term Was a Huge Success

In exceptional times, the King’s community has risen to the challenge and the first day of term was a huge success!

Over 180 timetabled lessons took place ‘remotely’ alongside house assemblies, tutor periods, extra specialist lessons and support in order to ensure all pupils can continue to access a great education. It was a credit to all King’s staff, parents and pupils that the first day was a success and that pupils around the world successfully ‘logged in’ for their first lesson.

I want to express my sincere thanks to all the King’s teachers who have shown great creativity, innovation and commitment in order to ensure all lessons were prepared and engaging, and for all they have done, and continue to do to support all pupils throughout this period of ‘remote learning’.

Pupils have been fantastic in adapting to the new approach and it was brilliant to speak to many throughout the day and engage with them through various lessons. It is testament to all the hard work and commitment of the King’s IT team that 320 pupils from around the world were able to access their lessons, resources and for those in different time zones, access recordings of the lessons. I am hugely grateful for all that they have done to help ensure everyone has the systems in place to deliver teaching remotely.

Whilst it is still early days and I am sure there will be a few ‘teething’ issues ahead, I am very grateful for all that everyone in the King’s Community has done to start the term so positively during these ‘turbulent’ times.’

Dan Cupit - Deputy Head, Academic

Staff teaching remotely

The first day of the new term was a very strange day to be Headmaster of King’s Bruton. The sun shone in a cloudless sky, the campus looked stunning and the School Flag fluttered in the breeze above Old House. All that was missing was pupils and staff.

No pupils and very few staff. Everyone was taking on the new challenge of remote learning. It became very obvious, very quickly that a school is a community of people rather than a collection of buildings. Take away the people, especially the teenagers who give so much life and energy, and you take away the School. But the School did continue thanks to the incredible efforts of the teaching staff to prepare and deliver remote lessons.

Remote teaching is hard, hard work and pretty soul-destroying as there is little meaningful contact with pupils. As I walked around our empty school and looked in on the few teachers teaching from their classrooms rather than from their homes, I saw colleagues taking great care to deliver the best for their pupils.

I am so proud of what we are trying to achieve but sad that we were having to teach this way. I missed the chatter, smiles, movement and general bustle of our wonderful teenagers. A school is pupils and staff, not buildings. I know that we will all make the very best of what we are facing but I look forward to the school being full of people again. Deo Juvante.

Ian Wilmshurst - Headmaster

Pupils learning remotely