At King’s, pupils are encouraged to read, ask questions and explore. They all deserve to be challenged, stretched and excited by their studies, and teachers ensure pupils receive this and more.
The debate continues over whether the school day should be longer, but independent schools manage to find more hours in the day, so pupils are not rushing to complete everything by early afternoon. Finding the perfect work-life balance has become a mantra since lockdown, and several educationalists debate the merits of fewer teaching hours but longer days to make certain teachers and pupils are in a better frame of mind for the rigours and challenges of everyday school life. The goal is to keep young brains fresh and give them other things to do.
More Hours in the Day
The welfare and interests of the child is at the heart of King’s and play and recreation is highly valued. This results in many senior day pupils joining their boarding peers for supper, prep and evening activities. Pupils have time to get a lot done at a humane pace, so amongst all the hard work there is time to socialise, play sport, pursue a hobby, relax and catch up on reading. On Saturdays, lessons continue in the morning before sports fixtures in the afternoon, and on Sunday boarders participate in a varied activity programme that includes trips to theme parks and sports events, paintballing, shopping and cinema afternoons.
Time for Development and Exploration
All this additional time helps pupils discover their passions, learn new skills and hone existing talents. Pupils participate in a range of activities such as polo, debating, choral singing, environmental and community work, theatre, maths or photography club, CCF and cooking. It doesn’t matter what it is, what matters is that young people are given the confidence and skills to enrich their adult lives.