Headmasters Overview

Headmaster’s Overview

The only time my education was interrupted was while I was at school.
Winston Churchill

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned at school.

Albert Einstein

What’s the point of school?

Professor Guy Claxton, (Professor of the Learning Sciences, University of Winchester)

Did your schooling require you, lesson after lesson, to copy down facts, remember them accurately and reproduce them when prompted? Mine certainly did and I am not sure how well it really equipped me to deal with the complexities of life. Clearly, Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein had similar feelings about their schooling. My years of working with children in different parts of the country have brought home to me the basic truth that the core purpose of education must be to prepare young people for the future. For those of us involved in the education our challenge is to answer Professor Claxton’s question by ensuring that we provide schooling that is relevant and is meeting the needs of all pupils.

As a prep school headmaster, I believe passionately that we must use the opportunity and freedom that we enjoy to ensure that our children are equipped with the necessary tools to face the world of work into which they will emerge in a few short years time. At OBH our clear aim is to give each and every child in our care the opportunity to develop the capacities they will need to thrive: the confidence to talk to people and to discuss ideas, to try things out, to handle tricky situations, to stand up for themselves, to ask for help, to think new thoughts. In short, we aim to help all our pupils become powerful learners.

As I hope these pages will show, OBH is a happy, busy place where children are encouraged to discover and then develop their talents, their passions and their interests. OBH is a school where relationships matter and are cherished; a school whose ethos is built on respect and support for one another; a school where teachers and taught alike can explore the world and our place in it.

I would be delighted if you were able to accept our invitation to come and meet us and talk to the staff and children. We know that that you will enjoy your visit.

John Brett MA

Headmaster