Value Added Teaching

If there’s one word that has remained constant throughout the career of LWC’s Deputy Head (Academic) Angela Watson, it’s value.

 

In fact, it was observing the value that teaching could bring to even the most challenged of young lives that saw Mrs Watson swerve a career in the Army, curtail a life in city recruitment and opt, instead, to work in some of the capital’s more challenging schools.

 

“I remember going to do some work experience at a school in East London,” she reflects. “At the end of my placement, I watched the children take part in a performance and remember thinking how incredible it is that when young people are doing something they love, it takes them away from everything else going on in the world. I walked out of my job in the city, called a teacher training agency and said, ‘I think I want to be a teacher’.

 

“I realised the value you could bring in teaching young people and engaging them in something they enjoy. You can really change lives.”

 

And so, Angela’s life in education began.

 

She arrived in the 1200 in September 2024, following just over five years at Brighton Girls’ School, latterly as Assistant Headteacher (Innovation, AI and Partnerships). It’s clear that her forward-thinking approach to what education needs to provide in the 21^st century heavily influences her view of the value that an LWC education can bring.

 

“All schools should be offering excellent academic outcomes,” Angela states. “But what parents should want to know from us is, what outcomes are you going to get from my child’s own unique starting point? It’s really important to look at each person as an individual, ask what they can achieve and figure out how to make that happen. I want to know that we’ve done everything to get that young person the best that they can achieve. In an independent school, you’re set up for that because of smaller class sizes and in a boarding school, you can foster those relationships because you’re with students for longer each day.”

 

During her tenure at LWC, Angela has brought in the Alps system to measure the value that an education at the College can bring. The national benchmarking tool uses data to track the progress that students make, compared to those who are educated elsewhere in the country. LWC currently ranks in the top 1% of schools and colleges nationally when it comes to value-added at Sixth Form and in the top 10% for progress made at GCSE.

 

“If we’re going to give children something really valuable, what are we planning for their long-term future? How are we delivering on the cultivation of skills that the World Economic Forum is talking about? Things like critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and leadership?”

— Angela Watson

 

“Bringing in the Alps system made sense to teachers at LWC,” Angela continues. “They’re able to look at and monitor data more effectively and understand the impact they’re having on each individual, as well as the wider cohort. We can also talk to parents about what they’re really getting by investing in an education here.”

 

But for the woman who heads up LWC’s academic teams, success is not defined by grades.

 

“I have two boys who are right at the start of their education,” she explains, “and I often feel frustrated with an archaic system that prioritises rote learning and recall. As an independent school, we can do things differently from the state sector and the biggest opportunity for me is asking what can we at LWC do differently? I have the ability to affect change that will have a real, tangible impact on not only my children, but the children at this school.”

 

And this, it seems, is the future-ready value that can be added.

 

“Yes we need to buy into traditional qualifications,” Angela admits (and at this, the College is experienced, with 81% of A-level results ranked A*-B and 47% of GCSE marks graded at the top bands of  9-7). “But education is so much more than that,” she offers. “If we’re going to give children something really valuable, what are we planning for their long-term future? How are we delivering on the cultivation of skills that the World Economic Forum is talking about? Things like critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and leadership? These are qualities we value at LWC and we can deliver them through traditional qualifications like GCSEs and A-levels if we think cleverly about it, rather than simply delivering what we’re mandated to do. By doing that, the impact that we’ll have on the long-term success of that individual is enormous.”

   

Which begs the question of what ‘success’ looks like to LWC’s Deputy Head (Academic)?

 

“Obviously, strong academic outcomes are important,” she confesses. “But success also looks like a group of 1st, 2nd or 3rd Formers standing up and articulating what they’ve learned to an audience, to be able to answer questions and think on their feet. Are they able to articulate their learning journey, receive verbal feedback and not become overwhelmed?

 

“I also want Sternians to come back and tell us that their time at LWC was really memorable, that they’ve had three or four different careers and they were able to do that because of the experiences they had here. Most people don’t come back to a school and say they’ve had a brilliant experience because they got three A*s at A-level. It’s everything else they get that adds the value.”

 

As far as Angela’s own experience in the 1200, what value has that added?

 

“I’d looked at a few other schools before I came here, but this was the one I loved,” she admits. “It was important to me to work somewhere where the people were human, kind and warm. On the day I came for interview, it was pouring with rain and I opened the car door to silence. It was quiet and beautiful and it took away all the stress from the journey straight away. I felt as though there was a strong sense of community with purpose here. I remember when Adam (Williams, Head) called and asked if I wanted to come and live on the farm, I didn’t think twice. It’s a very special place.”

 

Angela admits that the key to her own job satisfaction is still being able to focus on the individual, whether teaching 3rd Form History (as she still does) or ‘being on duty in the lunch queue,’ alongside her responsibilities on the Senior Leadership Team.

 

“Even in the big schools of 1500 that I’ve worked in, I’ve always tried to forge personal relationships,” she continues. “It’s about what that individual can achieve, opening doorways and thinking about what the next pathway is. That’s where I get my energy from.”

 

Focusing on each student adds value to the lives of everyone, it seems.