Luckley House School

Word From The Head

Mrs Claire Gilding-Brant, MA (Education) Reading - Interim Headmistress

Luckley House School is a thriving Coeducational Independent School, located in Wokingham, Berkshire, offering day and flexible boarding provision for pupils aged 11 to 18 years. The school is set in attractive grounds with excellent facilities, and at just 40 miles from London, is the perfect location for boarders. Our uniqueness lies in the combination of our size, Christian ethos and flexibility to meet the needs of individual pupils and their families. We provide a distinctly academic education that is tailored to the individual needs of each pupil.  This is offered in the context of a broad curriculum which celebrates the arts and sports, as much as academic achievement.

Every single school takes huge pride in the top performers in every cohort of young people. In late August we become preoccupied by how many A and A* grades have been achieved by groups of pupils across the country, at both A level and GCSE level. It is good to applaud the efforts of those young people and to admire their achievements. I am sure we will always look up to those who have achieved high academic results, in much the same way we enjoy seeing elite sports people and enjoy the performances of accomplished actors and musicians. It is also good to encourage young people to aim high and strive for the best. At the same time, we must remember the fact that we are not all top academic performers, just as we are not all elite sports performers or capable of producing astounding works of art. At the risk of coming out with a platitude, we are all different. However, in our measures of success of education, our society seems to be obsessed with defining success as a clutch of the highest grades with perhaps a great sporting record thrown in in the interests of balance. Surely this is too narrow, and even too simplistic a means of measuring success both on a pupil level and a school level. We need to consider the young people as they grow up. While we should recognise the achievements of those with the highest grades, we really must broaden our view of what success means for every individual. We all need to be successful, for ourselves and for the people around us. This is as much about what we do, as why we do it and how we can all thrive and contribute to society in the most positive way.

When a young person leaves Luckley, for whatever pathway they choose, we recognise their success. If they are properly equipped and full of excitement and enthusiasm for the next stage of their life, then they are already successful. For some, this may mean a clutch of the highest grades, but for others it will be a spread of grades in the exams. And these grades will not be the whole story, every young person will have learnt and developed along the way. For every list of grades there is a young person full of potential. As Head at Luckley, I look down the lists of results and rejoice as I know what went into every grade achieved. More than that, I see beyond the statistics to the truly unique young people who have grown up and achieved so much more than just those grades.