Why did so many of the England World Cup Rugby team go to Independent Schools?

Today England play South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final. Nine of the starting XV were educated at HMC Independent schools (12 out of the 23 man squad). 

HMC schools' disproportionate involvement in the England Rugby Squad is not a story of privilege, but a story of investment. HMC schools believe in school sport. We believe in competition. There are great rivalries between our schools going back over a century in many cases. We devote a significant portion of our school week to sport. We invest in top-quality coaching. Furthermore, we believe in giving talented young people the opportunity to benefit from all of that history and heritage. That is why we award scholarships and bursaries. This is a perfect example of how HMC schools benefit our nation by promoting excellence and widening opportunities.
HMC schools have an amazing track record of fostering sporting talent (See my articles on Independent schools' contributions to the GB Olympic teams in London 2012 and Rio 2016). 

It should be recognised that the school most represented in the team is not an HMC school, rather it is a boarding and day school, St George's, Harpenden with three players (Farrell, Ford and Itoje - who later went on to Harrow). 

Here's where the England Rugby World Cup Squad went to school - congratulations to all those schools and their dedicated coaches who inspired this generation of players:

England team to play South Africa: 

• Elliot Daly; Whitgift School, Croydon (HMC)
• Anthony Watson, St George’s Weybridge (HMC) 
• Manu Tuilagi, John Cleveland College (Maintained) 
• Owen Farrell, St George’s School, Harpenden (Maintained) 
• Jonny May, Hartpury College (Maintained) 
• George Ford, St George’s School, Harpenden (Maintained) 
• Ben Youngs; Gresham's School (HMC) 
• Mako Vunipola, Millfield (HMC) 
• Jamie George, Haileybury College (HMC) 
• Kyle Sinckler, Epsom College (HMC) 
• Maro Itoje, Harrow School (HMC) 
• Courtney Lawes Moulton College (Maintained) 
• Tom Curry, Oundle School (HMC) 
• Sam Underhill, Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Gloucester  (Maintained)
• Billy Vunipola, Harrow School (HMC) 

 Replacements: 

• Luke Cowan-Dickie, Truro College (Maintained) 
• Joe Marler, Heathfield Community College (Maintained) 
• Dan Cole, Robert Smythe Academy (Maintained) 
• George Kruis, St John’s Leatherhead (HMC) 
• Mark Wilson, Kirkbie Kendal School (Maintained) 
• Ben Spencer, Bramhall High School (Maintained) 
• Henry Slade, Plymouth College (HMC)
• Jonathan Joseph Millfield (HMC) 

"Building Character" - the most important thing we do?

As a child, when my mother wanted me to do something that I didn't really want to do, she would describe the experience as "character-building". For her, the term was a catch-all that would cover anything from visiting an elderly relative, to speaking in public, to conquering a peak in the Lake District - usually in the pouring rain. Looking back she was right, those formative experiences made an enormous contribution to the person that I am today.

The word “character” derives from the Greek kharassō (χαράσσω), which means “I engrave”. Character is something that is etched into us by the experiences that we have as we go through life.

"Character building" experiences take us out of our comfort zones and force us to 'dig deep' to find new resources within ourselves. 

The experiences that we have when we are young are particularly influential for they shape the adult that we become. That is why Independent Schools are in the business of "character-building".

Good schools do so much more than focus on attaining a top set of examination passes , they seek to develop the whole person. Indeed, some of the most important parts of a good education take place outside the classroom - for these are the parts of the curriculum that provide the most "character-building" opportunities. It is for this reason that many independent schools have a commitment to an all-round education which aims to give young people a range experiences which will both stretch and challenge them.

In every school there will always be those for whom the stage, the concert hall, the sports field and the expedition centre will be a second home and independent schools have an outstanding track record of providing the facilities and expertise that will allow these pupils to develop their talents to the highest possible level. The number of former independent school pupils who make it to the top in music, theatre and sport is testimony to the sector’s collective success in these areas. However, we must also recognise that for others these arenas provide challenges which take them out of their personal comfort zones: some young people find that performing or speaking in public doesn't come naturally; others dislike physical challenge in any of its forms. This is genuine character-building territory.

Independent Schools invest considerable resources into providing specialist facilities, staffing and time to provide outstanding extra-curricular programmes. They are fortunate enough to have specialist sports pitches and indoor spaces, swimming pools, theatres, music practice rooms, rehearsal spaces. They do so, not just to provide for a sporting, theatrical and musical elite, but also to provide opportunities for all. One of the significant differences between the maintained and independent sectors is the extent to which a school can provide an extra-curricular programme - not just for a few, but for all. At Berkhamsted, every pupil is expected to be involved in a play, to sing on stage in a choir, to represent the school at a sport and to serve the local community. We believe that every pupil should have the opportunity to experience the teamwork and camaraderie that comes from being in a dramatic production, a choir or from being part of a sports team. Above all every pupil should be taken out of their comfort zone – to have to do something that they would rather not do, but something of which they would be very proud to have achieved after the event.

Berkhamsted School
Climbing Trip to the Alps 2013

Outdoor education in all of its forms has an enormous part to play in building character. Young people learn more about themselves and about their peers when they are exposed to challenging situations, be that camping out for the very first time, abseiling down a cliff or completing a high ropes course. Outdoor education provides opportunities for young people to face fears and to manage risk. Sometimes the lessons are learned the hard way: a poorly constructed shelter or the wrong choice of clothing can mean a damp few hours, but the individual is wiser the next time. Few meals are more satisfying than those cooked on a camp-fire outside one’s tent with one’s friends after a day navigating one’s way around the Lake District or Brecon Beacons. Memories, friendships, trust and, of course, character are forged here. It is for these reasons that Berkhamsted has made outdoor education a compulsory part of its wider curriculum so that every pupil has a 'bushcraft' experience and the opportunity to sleep under canvas. Climbing and ski clubs, a vibrant Combined Cadet Force and an extensive Duke of Edinburgh Award programme give further opportunities in these areas.

Schools are under increasing pressure to deliver measurable results, but some of the most significant parts of education don’t lend themselves to metrics – “Building Character” falls into this category. It is arguably the most important thing that we do.

20 Minute 'Lessons' - the key to unlocking the timetable?

How a school chooses to use the limited time that available to it says much about its philosophy. 'Time' is perhaps the most important scarce resource. What a school really stands for is seen most clearly in the decisions it makes about what is compulsory and what is optional; in the relative time allocation to each subject at each Key Stage; and in the balance between the academic, co-curricular and community activities.

Given our freedom from the National Curriculum and the level of competition between our schools, these debates and discussions are particularly important for those of us who work in the Independent Sector.

Here at Berkhamsted, this term marks the launch of our new structure to the week which is the result of a two-year review and rethink of the curriculum and timetable. The great driver for this change is that we wanted to put in place an extensive and structured co-curricular programme that would be delivered within the school day - in addition to our before and after-school programmes. The challenge was how to create space for an extended lunchtime without having a detrimental impact on academic teaching contact time.

Our solution is innovative and, to my knowledge, is original: we have divided the whole week into 20 minute units of time. Every activity between 0900 and 1620, starts and finishes on the hour, 20 past the hour, or 20 to the hour.

Structuring the timetable in this way provides enormous flexibility. Not only can lessons be 40, 60, 80 or even 100 minutes long, but it is possible for KS3 to have 60 minute lessons and KS4 and KS5 to have 80 minute lessons. [We don't actually have any 20 minute lessons.]

One of the greatest challenges that faces anyone developing a Secondary curriculum is the 'bottle neck' of Year 9, when it is desirable that pupils have regular lessons in every subject in the curriculum prior to making their GCSE options. Many subjects need double lessons [Art, Music, Drama, DT, Science - for practicals]. For schools with a rigid 35 or 40 minute lesson structure this means devoting 70-80 minutes to each subject - which simply does not fit. However, with the 20 minutes unit structure, because it is possible to deliver a meaningful 60 minute practical lesson at KS3, you can to fit a greater number of lessons into the school week.

One downside, if indeed it is that, is that morning break and lunchtimes don't always fall at exactly the same time. This may make for a more dislocated school community - especially for the teaching staff who will also not have a shared break-time. However, there are the obvious advantages of a more efficient, staggered access to dining and other facilities.

There are a number of unique features of Berkhamsted that make this approach particularly attractive. The "diamond" structure of the School poses us a number of challenges: our boys 11-16 and girls 11-16 are taught separately on two sites some half a mile apart. The sixth form and the teaching staff have to move between the site. The 20 minute timetable allows for a more efficient transfer between campuses without wasting lesson time - we have achieved this by the sixth form having two 20 minute breaks, rather than one 40 minute break. Furthermore, most staff tend to be based on one or other campus means that that it is not possible for staff to meet daily at break anyway, so the timetable changes will have less of an impact at Berkhamsted than it would perhaps have in other schools.

I would like to pay tribute to Mr Will Gunary and his timetabling team, who took an idea and made it reality.