“The mistake I am not going to make on day one is to scrap the year 11 prom!” says Aidan Sproat-Clements.
In September, the current cohort at North Bridge House senior school in Rosslyn Hill will become the Hampstead outpost of south London school Alleyn’s.
Mr Sproat-Clements will upgrade from deputy of Alleyn’s School in Dulwich to running a school with 450 pupils aged 2-18.
As founding headteacher, he’s mindful that change will be a challenge for parents, pupils and staff, but insists it’s also exciting.
“There will be differences – a lot of things are really important to us at Alleyn’s, what we think a good, future-looking education is. But a lot of things will be in common.
“I am conscious that I will be running a school full of kids halfway through their educational journey who love lots of things about the school that they have chosen.
“I am absolutely committed to listening to them and taking those pupils along. I want to get to know every child and deliver an education that’s faithful to Alleyn’s wonderful vision and ethos for the kids and families that will be there in September.”
Mr Sproat-Clements loves his job and can’t wait to share Alleyn’s’ education with his north London students while accepting that such a strong community will have a “different background and culture” to his south Londoners.
“I like a challenge and I’m very excited about getting that sense of their identity. It’s a massive opportunity to share the things I know and love about an Alleyn’s education with a new group of children,” he says.
At its core is a forward-thinking curriculum that starts in reception and is embedded in every child’s learning to equip them with the skills and values to navigate a technology driven future.
Critical thinking, creativity, human skills and AI will prepare them for the evolving world while emotional skills are also cultivated – based on positive psychology and grounded in kindness and respect.
“We equip young people with the knowledge and ability to manage themselves through education and adolescence out of education and into later life,” says Mr Sproat-Clements.
“We train them to look after themselves and each other so they can achieve and live purposeful, meaningful lives.”
But he admits new tools such as AI are so powerful they come with a risk “of leaving your children’s heads spinning”.
“The biggest challenge as a headteacher is rapidly evolving technology. The way people interact with technology, with mobile phones, the way it shapes their minds, is a challenge.
“It’s important to understand the negative influence that wasn’t there 15 years ago when the social media landscape didn’t exist.
“Most people didn’t spot the danger that was on the horizon, now we see how quickly things are changing, we have to act promptly, make decisions try to protect kids based on what we know now, what will be the biggest threats? Where do we need to do as the landscape shifts?”
Preparing children to engage with a world where mobile phones will dominate their interactions and relationships is part of it and that includes phones being locked away or placed in a bucket during school time.
Training young people to do their own research and gain the skills to interrogate “the gap between the certainly true and the obviously false” thrown up by an AI summary is also vital, he says.
Mr Sproat-Clements’ plans include organising a TedX conference with speakers from the school and extended community; forging “meaningful partnerships” with state schools; and fostering a creative vibe with participation in music and the arts.
In partnership with with Cognita Schools thee multi-million pound transformation will overhaul the dining spaces, a new sixth form centre, library and renovated classrooms and art room designed for “future facing teaching and learning”.
“Our founder was entrepreneurial, a larger than life character, an actor and philanthropist who was true to his values,” says Mr Sproat-Clements, who is a conductor and trombone player who sometimes steps into orchestra rehearsals.
“There’s something wonderfully magical about bringing in an orchestra with a single flick of the baton, knowing everybody is with you.”
Most of all he wants to bestow the joy of learning.
“I just think learning is one of the greatest joys that is available to us as humans, and the joy of being a kid is there are structures dedicated to help us learn.
“There is academic pressure, it’s a challenge for children to find that joy in everything they do, but as teachers it’s about sharing our own passion.
“Maths is my subject. I have always loved solving problems, it’s important for us as educators to think about how we bring joy to the classroom while realising some find joy from knowing precisely what to do and achieving it, while others need something different to get them to their moment of joy.”
