Excellent IB results, a trailblazing music programme and the best school golfers

Brentwood School Headmaster Michael Bond, addressing Old Brentwoods on September 7th, delivered a positive and upbeat assessment of a successful year within and beyond the classroom.

Regarding academic achievement, he highlighted “an excellent set of IB results in the summer,” with the outgoing Upper Sixth averaging 38.2 points, the best results the school has had outside the Covid years. This put Brentwood around seventh in the UK for IB and possibly fourth for boarding schools. BTEC programmes in business and sport continued to thrive, with outstanding results. In BTEC’s four years, every student has achieved at least the equivalent of three As at A-level, with most getting even better results.

Combined across IB, BTEC and A-level, around 55 per cent of grades were the equivalent of A* or A ; and over 80% the equivalent of  A* --B.  More than four in five  of last year’s leavers  secured their first choice destination: university courses, apprenticeships or employment.

The Performing Arts calendar was the envy of most schools, maintained Mr Bond. In particular, West Side Story in December was outstanding, both for the performances on stage and the musical accompaniment. A Specialist Music Programme had just started. Led by Grig Cuicic as Artistic Director of Specialist Music, the lofty ambition is to offer students similar facilities and teaching to that of specialist music schools combined with Brentwood’s holistic education. “We believe this programme will be a trailblazer in musical education in the UK. It is an example of continued investment in our pupils.” 

Brentwood had competed on the national stage in athletics, hockey, netball, fencing, cross-country, swimming and squash; and had won the Independent Schools Golf Association competition for the first time. In the main team sports, such as football and cricket, the School was a regional powerhouse. Over 1,000 pupils had participated in school sports teams over the past 12 months. This reflected the continued investment in facilities and personnel, encompassing ex-professional sportsmen and women across the PE Department.

Healthy competition and camaraderie across the ten Houses saw Merrymeade after 46 competitions. The music event celebrated its 70th anniversary. The new reading competition involved hundreds of book reviews from students, staff and parents.

The track and field event saw 14 school records broken: for the boys in the high jump, long jump and 100 metres; and for the girls, the shot putt and Year Nine 100 metres. The CCF, Voluntary Service, Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations, Sir Anthony Browne Society, and a plethora of clubs and societies  were flourishing, while school trips totalled 381.

Brentwood was shortlisted as one of only eight schools in the category of Independent School of the Year; and shortlisted also shortlisted by the Independent Schools Awards for its transformative bursaries.

Mr Bond reminded Old Brentwoods that the School had one overarching purpose: ‘To help our pupils become the best version of themselves by developing Virtue, Learning and Manners.’  Our deep roots allow us to meet the challenges we face with confidence that we can turn threats into opportunities and ensure we hand your school onto our successors in an even better place than we found it.”

£27,000 raised in the wind and the rain

Mr Bond and some colleagues were in north Wales over August Bank Holiday for the School’s second annual Hike and Bike Challenge. They climbed and cycled against sheet rain and 80 mph winds, the ascent of Mount Snowdon being a definite challenge. Boosted by the generous donations of OBs, around £27,000 was raised, enough to fund a full bursary for a whole school year. 

A punitive tax which ignores the welfare of children - and won’t even provide a sticking plaster for maintained sector problems

Mr Bond commented on the Government’s decision to impose VAT on school fees. “It is a punitive tax on aspiration and hard-working families who already contribute to state school finances without using their services; and above all, ignores the welfare of those who should be central to the thinking of any government, that is our children.”

The context for this arbitrary move stemmed from the “serious issues with recruitment and retention of teachers in the maintained sector accentuated by persistent government failure to meet its targets as well as chronic infrastructure problems. 

“The Government’s solution - or at least their opening salvo - is to attack independent schools by imposing VAT on fees. In doing so, Britain will become the first - if not the only - developed nation to impose a consumption tax on education.

“It’s a regressive policy in a progressive wrapping that will raise much less money than expected - if any - and therefore fail to provide even a sticking plaster for the maintained sector.” 

Mr Bond said that the School’s financial foundations were sound and that Brentwood was well placed “to weather the storm.” However, “no school was immune from the scale of the taxes the government intends to impose on the independent sector.”

Last year, independent schools spent £1.4 billion on means-tested awards that provided thousands of fully funded places for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, many would have no choice but to cut spending on bursaries.

Brentwood spent £2.3 million in the last academic year supporting over 100 students, almost 70 of whom paid no fees. The School had joined the Royal National Springboard Children’s Foundation which helps some of the most disadvantaged children to gain places at top schools. Brentwood had welcomed its first fully-funded Springboarder.

“Our Governors are committed to maintaining our bursaries in the face of government taxes, but to do so will require the help of our Foundation, the sole purpose of which is to raise funds for these transformative awards. Sam Mason has made excellent progress in raising awareness of this work and we are grateful to our increasing number of supporters.”