Deputy Head’s Blog

A series of occasional blog posts from our Deputy Head, Mr Matthew Godfrey.

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One Day You Could be a Teacher!

In his latest blog post, Mr Godfrey (Deputy Head) advocates against the infamous quote, "those who can, do; those who can’t teach."

Discover 07/03/24
Latest News

Resilience Conference with Radley College

This week, our Lower Sixth were delighted to be invited by Radley College to a conference on resilience, as part of our ongoing Respect Project.

Discover 31/01/24
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The Value of our Respect Ambassadors

In his latest Deputy Head's Blog, Matt Godfrey explores the role our Respect Ambassadors play in mentoring our younger pupils.

Discover 04/12/23
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Investing in our Teachers

In his latest blog post, our Deputy Head discusses one of the most rewarding and important aspects of his role - supporting colleagues with their continuing professional development (CPD).

Discover 17/11/23
Deputy Head's Blog

Thought Leadership at Downe House

On Tuesday 13 June, we welcomed nearly 200 school leaders and teachers from across the UK to an Academic Conference about Maximising Pupil Progress, featuring outstanding examples of thought leadership across the schools sector.

Discover 17/06/23
Deputy Head's Blog

UIV Respect Conference

In this blog post, Mr Godfrey explains why he was so pleased and excited with Downe House’s first ever UIV Respect Conference, which took place in the Murray Centre on Friday 19 May.

Discover 21/05/23
Deputy Head's Blog

Building the Culture and Values of a School

In this blog post, Matt Godfrey (Deputy Head) meets the Head of a Birmingham comprehensive whose partnership with an independent school is reaping rewards for both schools. A version of this article has been published in the April edition of The Independent Schools Magazine.

Discover 03/05/23
Deputy Head's Blog

Helping Our Pupils to Find Their Voices

At our Academic Conference in June, 'Maximising Pupil Progress - What are the keys to success?', all our guest speakers will be focusing on different ways in which their schools aim to achieve this goal. Clare Wagner, Head of The Henrietta Barnett School in north London, has chosen the fascinating topic: helping our pupils to find their voices...

Discover 24/03/23
Deputy Head's Blog

Helping Young People to be Outward Looking

In his latest blog post, Deputy Head, Mr Matthew Godfrey, explores one of the key characteristics in Downe House’s DNA - to be Outward Looking and the ways in which the school encourages this.

Discover 18/03/23
Deputy Head's Blog

Top of the subject-popularity charts

In his latest blog post, Deputy Head, Mr Matthew Godfrey, examines the declining popularity of humanities and other subjects at A Level and beyond. Could Adele, global superstar and singer-songwriter, hold the answer to reversing the trend?

Discover 09/02/23
Deputy Head's Blog

AI: a teacher’s friend or foe?

In his latest blog post, Deputy Head, Mr Matthew Godfrey, explores the impact of the sophisticated online 'help' now available to pupils in the form of artificial intelligence systems like ChatGTP.

Discover 20/01/23
Deputy Head's Blog

Maths for all until age 18? No problem, Prime Minister!

In his latest blog post, Deputy Head, Mr Matthew Godfrey, explores how, contrary to the PM’s suggestion, a resurgence of the humanities is likely in the coming years, as the core skills involved in these subjects – not least independence of thought, communication and imagination – become more and more valuable in modern society.

Discover 13/01/23
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