Head’s Weekly Update

Academic Rigour

The coming weeks are tightening the focus on the academic life of the College. Students in Year 11 are in the middle of the first set of their trial exams and students in Year 13 are about to start. I am hoping that these first set of trials are a bit of a shock to the system and create the energy and focus needed for success this summer. 

Year 10 pupils are also on the path to their first big assessment point. Year 10 assessment week begins on Monday 12 January 2026 and these are an important first cut for us to look at where the Year 10 cohort is and what we need to do to accelerate their progress to the top grades. The Year 10 Parent and Guardian’s meeting on 23 January 2026 will be the opportunity to review this in detail with each parent face to face. 

We also have a bank of BTEC exams as soon as the Lent Term starts and so students should be well on the way to being ready for these by now. There is no student in this school who, with great teaching and a clear work ethic, cannot fly through their exams. There are some very interesting studies that look at the role of expectations on outcomes. In essence, if we believe we are capable of doing well in a subject we tend to do well in it. If we believe we cannot do well, we rarely succeed. There is not one student at Pangbourne who cannot succeed across the board and the best way of increasing expectations is through experiencing success. Neuroscientists call this ‘autocatalytic.’ The aim of new elements of our model, such as Mastery Quizzing, is to drive expectations through frequent experiences of success, such that over time all students see success as the inevitable outcome of their labour. 

I have taken great enjoyment this week in starting the interview season with high calibre external applications to our Sixth Form. The majority of students are predicted to have very strong outcomes by their current school and all participate in a wide array of co-curricular activities. The uplift in our exam outcomes has driven an enhanced interest in our Sixth Form programme and it has been great to be the destination of choice for so many exceptional students from the wider community.

Exploration

I am writing this before the Friday night lights game on Big Side. I am hoping it is another great game (and obviously that we win) but also hoping the final 5 minutes are not as nail-biting as the hockey against LWC! 

Mr Poynter is currently hard at work behind the scenes enhancing our co-curricular and adventure offer to get all students outside and active as much as possible. Watch this space for some exciting events to come and some new adventurous activities once staff have passed the relevant qualifications. 

Community

Those of you who have looked ahead in the Calendar for next term will notice the following: 

1. Pilot Saturday College Parade - Saturday 7 March 2026. Next term, we are piloting a College Parade on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. Whilst for a few of you this may appear unthinkable and you will see this as the beginning of the end, we believe there are many tangible upsides and I will always look for ways to improve and enhance what we do for the students. To be clear, the number of College Parades is not being looked at, just the timing of them. 

• We have carefully analysed our data around student attendance, student illness, student behaviour and student work completion rates. There is a very clear drop in all of these the week following a Sunday parade. We know that the 13 day week that comes from these events is exhausting for many students and has a detrimental effect on life at the College. This pilot will provide a useful data point for us to compare against. 

• This pilot will also provide space for families to worship in their local church on a Sunday and thus continue to play a part in multiple communities. 

• This pilot will also help reduce the drag on staff and help protect one of our key assets - great staff. A core part of my role is to ensure that I recruit and retain the best staff in the business and create the conditions necessary for them to do their best work; every day. 

• This pilot will also allow us to come together as a community before a fixture and really fire the teams up before a home game. It will also hopefully drive greater parent attendance at sports fixtures and be a source of inspiration to the home crowds. I would love an opposition team to arrive at the campus and be faced by 400 students in No.1s, complete with swords and drums. 

• My dream is to have the marching band play our teams onto the pitch and provide some half-time entertainment - and perhaps overawe the opposition a little bit. This all becomes possible with a Saturday parade schedule. 

• After this pilot we will be sending out a brief survey to all families to get feedback before finalising dates for 2026/27. 

  2. Overnight Leave Weekends. During the Lent Term we are piloting the removal of the overnight leave weekend. This is because we do not want to keep doing things for the sake of having always done them and want to ensure that everything we do is carefully thought through, intentional and offers the very best experience for the students. We are piloting this for the following reasons:

• Parental feedback has sought enhanced flexibility around weekends and the opportunity for students to remain onsite. 

• One of our big drivers over the coming years is to offer great value for money and therefore enhanced flexibility and support for boarding parents.

• We want to continue to enhance the boarding community and sense of belonging it creates.

• As we continue to improve sporting outcomes, we are looking for more training and fixture opportunities. Not having an overnight leave weekend increases the available dates for competitive fixtures. 

• You will see in the calendar an overnight leave weekend is scheduled in the Summer term on the Bank Holiday weekend from 16:35 on Friday 1 May until 19:00 on Monday 4 May.

• As with the parades, a final review is planned after this date to lock in the schedule for 2026/27. 

These two pilots are driven by our desire to offer a great experience to students, strong value for money to parents and improved academic and sporting outcomes. 

Leadership

It was fascinating to listen to Sir John Madejski speak last week. I am hopeful that his key messages landed with the students and that they can see the benefit of hearing from leaders within their fields. We are delighted to be welcoming Jess Rowe, Old Pangbournian and internationally celebrated adventurer, who, with her Rowing partner, rowed unsupported across the Pacific, to speak in February 2026. There is a small £5 charge for this event for adults to help cover the costs for Jess and any surplus will go towards our Transforming Futures Bursary Programme. Students can attend for free to benefit from her inspirational story. 

We are also currently finalising a date for Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons to come and talk to the Sixth Form on the criminal justice system. If any parents would like to either volunteer themselves or someone they know as a system leader to join our list of visiting Sixth Form speakers, do please email Ms Kaur. We want to build a regular programme of leadership talks from a diverse range of speakers across multiple sectors. 

Please do enjoy reading the newsletter this week and I am hopeful that as you read this you feel a part of a dynamic and energetic Pangbournian Community. 

Best wishes,

Oliver Knight