Today, parents have high expectations regarding the education their children should be receiving, and at St Anthony’s Preparatory School Headmaster Richard Berlie and his senior team, is leading the challenge to match, and exceed, those parent/pupil expectations.
To find out more, we talked to Mr. Berlie and the senior leadership team at St Anthony’s about their approach to providing the best education, opportunities, and experiences for their students.
Headmaster Richard Berlie, Deputy Head Academic with oversight over Teaching and Learning Chris Kearns, Deputy Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead Catherine Arslan, and Assistant Head (Head of Nursery and Pre-Prep) and St Anthony’s Director of Sport Jonathan Dunne, share their thoughts on what makes St Anthony’s a successful popular, modern school.
“Kindness is the order of the day and is not a bad motto for young people today.”
Academic development
For Deputy Head Chris the most important factor in a child’s academic development is the quality of the teacher in front of them.
“At St. Anthony’s we firmly and resolutely believe that the key to unlocking our pupils’ success lies within this,” said Chris.
“I am often asked by prospective parents about class sizes, ratios and TAs; my answer is always as follows – ‘recruitment of highly qualified teachers with the ability to communicate effectively and inspire children is essential in ensuring children reach their potential’.”
“A brilliant teacher can bring out the best in each child irrespective of the class size being 13 or 30.”
Chris explains that after the quality of the teacher comes academic rigour. “Rigour means stretch, challenge and critically the expectation that all children, irrespective of their starting points, can achieve excellence.”
Pastoral care
Deputy Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead Catherine Arslan, believes a nurturing and safe atmosphere is essential, and promoting the care of each child is fundamental at St Anthony’s.
“Our pastoral care is pro-active rather than reactionary and every child is cared for. We take the responsibility of caring for all our children extremely seriously.
“We work to ensure there is a nurturing atmosphere in which each child feels cared for and important. This is achieved both through both our pastoral system and the positive relationships between the children and adults at the school - class teachers and form teachers work closely with the Deputy Head: Pastoral to ensure children’s wellbeing is monitored.
“Our core values are the ‘Six Bees’: to be caring, enthusiastic, diligent, honest, responsible and kind; they are integral to the culture we promote; a constant thread, not add-on.”
The culture of listening is integral at St Anthony’s, she emphasises, and children are encouraged to speak with a teacher about anything on their minds.
“Ultimately, the happiness of every child is crucial to the success of the pastoral care at St Anthony’s,” said Catherine.
Director of Sport Jonathan Dunn outlines how the concept of ‘sport’ is traditional, broad and imaginatively applied at St Anthony’s.
“This year we have introduced outdoor learning walks to Hampstead Heath, the extra-curricular clubs have expanded, and our creative arts team have worked hard behind the scenes to ensure the children can express themselves on a more regular basis,” Mr Dunn.
A keen sportsman in his own right, Mr Dunn also leads the school’s sports programme.
“At St. Anthony’s we have a sport for all ethos and the children can take part in physical activity every day of the week.
“A normal week would see around 20 of our sports teams compete against other schools, offering the pupils the chance of competitive sport.”
Jonathan continued: “We aim to inspire boys to find a sport that they love and will continue to enjoy into their adult lives.
“Our annual Sports Day is one of the highlights of the year, and we run a bi-annual football tour to Barcelona. The boys have the chance to train at Barcelona’s Academy, take part in the World School Games and watch a La Liga match.”
As headmaster Richard reminds parents, current and prospective, and his staff that their mission as a school is to prepare the children to take their place in the world. St Anthony’s were recently inspected by ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) in January, of which they received and excellent report, as displayed on their website.
“The Good Schools Guide has also just published a very favourable review, which we are excited about,” said Richard.
“Knowledge and understanding remain the foundation of all learning,” he explains. “This involves questioning and expressing curiosity about the world we inhabit.
“At the heart of a St Anthony’s education is the belief that every child is imbued with gifts and talents that are unique to them alone; the culture and curriculum of the school is derived from the Latin term educere, which means to bring forth that which is within.”
Richard recommends prospective parents contact Emma Hollender, St Anthony’s wonderful Head of Admissions, to arrange a school visit.
Tel: 020 7431 1066
Email: pahead@stanthonysprep.co.uk.
For more information on enrolling your child at St Anthony’s, visit: stanthonysprep.org.uk/book-a-tour/.
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