In Spring 2023, Surbiton High School achieved 'Excellent in all areas' in its ISI inspection. In the Excellence Series, we give you a look behind the scenes at the different departments and processes that make our school one of the most successful Independent schools in the UK. In this episode, we look at what makes an excellent Sixth Form. We talk with Director of Sixth Form, Jon Owen, about the different processes put in place to ensure excellence both inside and outside of the classroom, and ...
May 25, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In Spring 2023, The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) visited Surbiton High School and awarded it 'Excellent in all areas'. In this 'Excellence Series' we take you behind the scenes of one of the most successful schools in the country in order to give you an insight into the hard work that goes into making every day excellent here at Surbiton High School. In this first episode, we start and the top by talking to Principal Rebecca Glover and Senior Vice Principal Matt Close about what makes ...
May 17, 2023•14 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this episode, we sit down with Ade McKeon, the Chair of the Local Governing Body. A career business executive and CEO, Ade has worked across some of the biggest UK brands in the food and drinks industry with extensive experience in P&L Management and a proven track record of improving financial performance with innovative operational processes, systems and structures. Ade talks us through the responsibilities of being a governor, what his role is as the Chair of the Local Governing Body, ...
May 11, 2023•12 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Grab your gaiters! In this episode, we go on a trek across the Surrey Hills with some Y10 students as they take part in a training weekend for DofE. They have to learn how to navigate using a map, use teamwork to get across muddy fields, set up their tents, cook a substantial meal on a camping stove and keep a cool head when things don't go according to plan. We have interviews with staff who've been involved with DofE for several decades, and talk with students about what motivates them and wha...
May 05, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this episode, we talk with Stuart Bird, Head of Outreach, about the next live online episode of Pop Talks. With exam season approaching like a bullet train, POP! Talks is back with Revision SLAM! Whether you, your children or your students are priming up for revision time, whether GCSEs, A Levels, degrees or beyond, this online talk features an expert line up of insightful, stellar speakers with proven, practical, professional tips to re-think our way to success. Don’t work harder, work SMART...
Apr 19, 2023•3 min•Season 1Ep. 27
In this episode we give you a glimpse behind the scenes of the Surbiton Science week. The week sees a range of activities that shine a light on the different fields of science, with a particular focus on the unsung female heroes of science. Each morning, our Sixth Form Science Ambassadors deliver a science-focused assembly to several hundred students at a time, there are Chemistry experiments and explosions in the quad at lunchtime, a house science quiz, and the central feature of the week, the ...
Apr 12, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In last week’s episode we heard from Ms Jackson, Head of Politics, and her Year 12 Politics students on the premiership of Liz Truss. In this week’s episode, Mr Gunning, Acting Head of Politics, and his Year 13 students will be taking us through their dissection of the US midterms and what it means for the 2024 Presidential race.
Mar 27, 2023•17 min•Season 1Ep. 25
In this episode, we sit in on a Politics lesson with Year 12. Recorded in November 2022, the class had been following Liz Truss' premiership closely. They started writing and researching while she was still PM, focusing on her controversial budget, however, they had had to pivot their research into a post mortem after Liz Truss resigned, just 49 days after taking office. In this episode, you'll hear from students who've just been studying Politics A Level for 6 weeks.
Mar 15, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 23
In this week's episode, we bring you interviews with our external Scope Day speakers. Each Scope Day we arrange for experts to come in and talk to our students about looking after theirmental health and emotional well-being, as well as a range of difficult subjects such as sexual assault, drugs & alcohol and staying safe at music festivals. In this episode, you can hear from: Deana Puccio from the RAP Project, about awareness of sexual assault and issues relating to consent; Henry Hudson fro...
Mar 09, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Public speaking is something we all have to do at some point in our lives, whether it’s a wedding speech or a colleague’s farewell, however, it often comes up as a commonly held phobia. At Surbiton High, each year, the Public Speaking Competition sees over 500 students across Years 7-9 compete to win the Public Speaking Cup. In the first round, students must write, research and perform their own work independently on a topic of their choosing. Once they are through to the second and third rounds...
Mar 06, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Surbiton High School opened its doors on 25 January 1884 with 11 girls and the aim of providing access to ‘a superior education for girls along the guiding principles of the Church of England’. In today's episode we take you to Founders' Day. You will hear about the history of our founding church, St Mark’s, and how it and the school have been shaped and changed over the past 139 years. You will also hear a poetic speech from one of our Sixth Formers, about life at Surbiton High School through t...
Feb 22, 2023•9 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Choosing your GCSE option subjects is one of the first moments in your academic journey where you get to shape your future identity. In this episode we spend time with Y9 as they learn about GCSE option subjects from Y10s who are six months into their GCSE courses. Students representing each option subject get to do a one-minute elevator pitch explaining why they chose the subject and what they love about it most. We also talk with Head of Year 9, Holly Christophers, about the extensive work tha...
Feb 06, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In this episode we talk with Polly Rumbold (Head of Development, Alumnae Relations and Whole School Events Coordinator) about our alumnae association, The Green & Silver Club. The club is more than a network to connect together past students, instead it links past and present students and staff to create an intergenerational Surbiton High School community. In the second half of the episode, we hear from 90 year old alumna Beryl Ba (née Birchmore) who attended the school from 1943-1949 and we...
Feb 01, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this episode we take you inside our Main Hall where every day starts with an assembly. At Surbiton we deliver assemblies that are led by our core values of Community, Courage, Creativity, Respect and Inquisitiveness, which every year group attends once a week. Each week a different member of the Senior Leadership Team shares a ten minute reflection on something relevant either for the time of year or on the wider world.
Jan 25, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Surbiton Copes Days – otherwise known as SCOPE Days – are days where the entire school is taken off timetable for half a day to focus on PSHE and RSE, as well as team-building in forms groups, and generally building and reinforcing positive relationships in the school community. Guest speakers are brought in from outside of school to talk about difficult topics like drugs, assault, homeless, social services and many more. The day happens twice a year and has a tremendous impact on student wellbe...
Jan 18, 2023•12 min
Some children are confident, others are shy; some extroverted, others introverted. But what do you do to make sure a quiet child is getting the most out of their educational environment? What do you do as a parent if you are an extrovert and your child isn’t? Or vice versa? In this episode, Louise McCabe Arnold and Tracey Chong (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share their experience of working with children across the whole extrovert-introvert spectrum.
Jan 05, 2023•12 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this episode we give you a look at Christmas celebrations at Surbiton High School: the traditional, the social and the charitable. This episode includes an interview with Principal Rebecca Glover, interviews with Y7s about decorating their form rooms and Sixth Formers running the charity hot chocolate and karaoke event for students in the main hall. Go to 6.30 mins to hear Rebecca’s Christmas message.
Dec 13, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Led by Stuart Bird, Surbiton Outreach is the department in the school that makes sure we are living up to one of our key values: community. Over the years, Stuart has created educational programmes with neighbouring schools, including student mentoring, adult education lectures, arranging talks and lending out science resources to local schools. Each year Stuart arranges ‘Soul in the Community’ which sees hundreds of Surbiton pupils helping out into local senior citizens’ homes, youth clubs and ...
Dec 07, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Known throughout the UK as the foremost programme for introducing young people to the great outdoors, the DofE programme at Surbiton takes hundreds of students on a dozen expeditions each year. In today’s episode, we talk with Graham Johnson, Head of Duke of Edinburgh and Outdoor Education, who tells us that it’s about much, much more than just hiking boots, gaiters and flasks of hot tea.
Nov 30, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 13
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world .” – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Literacy is access to knowledge. Getting your child into reading in an enthusiastic, but non-pushy way is the key to starting their education career. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share their thoughts on reading strategies with young children.
Nov 25, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode we take you behind the scenes at Legally Blonde to show you the hard work and talent that has gone into producing Surbiton High School’s 2022 musical. Listen to the band rehearsing and hear interviews with the musical director, Petina Morris, and a number of students in the cast and crew. Oh my God, you guys! Just one week to go!
Nov 13, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this episode we give you an insight into all the hard work that has gone into making this year’s musical, Legally Blonde, a huge success. Tickets are still available at the following address. https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/surbiton-high-school-presents-legally-blonde-the-musical/new-wimbledon-theatre/
Oct 31, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 10
The years we spend in education in our youth are miniscule when compared to the 30-40 years we spend working and building our careers in adulthood. However, education forms the foundation for all future development. At Surbiton High, the Careers Department work with students from Year 7-13 to ensure that students are exposed to opportunities and supported every step of the way in their career journey. Led by Terry McDermott, Director of Careers and Head of Oxbridge, (winner of the United Learnin...
Oct 27, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Bonjour, bienvenue, willkommen to the Surbiton High School Podcast. In this episode we celebrate the European Week of Languages with a range of international cuisines from our canteen and students singing Euro pop hits in multi-lingual karaoke. Later on in the episode, we shine a light on the incredible work done by our Modern Foreign Languages Department, led by the enormously talented and passionate polyglot, Mme Paul.
Oct 19, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Books are magical things that communicate experiences and bring people together. In a corner of the library, surrounded by hardbacks, paper backs and cups of tea, for 10 years Ms Huntley and Mr Humphreys have been bringing students together for an hour each week to talk about novels, non-fiction, poetry and plays with students from Year 7 to Year 13 – and even some Old Girls who come back every now and then. Lit Soc is a safe space from which students explore the world through the lens of litera...
Oct 10, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 7
According to a tremendous amount of research from a range of education academics such as Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth, grit and resilience are two of the most important virtues that impact educational development. So, how do we build a sense of grit and resilience in our own children. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share their thoughts on grit, how to build it, how to sustain it, and the role it plays in life-long learning...
Oct 05, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 6
From Eric Carle’s ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ to Julia Donaldson’s ‘Room on the Broom’, picture books are one of the most formative and magical experiences in a child’s educational development. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) share their love of picture books and their thoughts on it’s importance as a cornerstone of language and learning.
Sep 28, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 5
An education that is narrow provides limited opportunities. At Surbiton High, we believe that a broad education provides the full spectrum of opportunities. That is why we run over 150 clubs (co-curricular societies) at lunchtimes and after school, with everything from ‘Intro to Archaeology’ and ‘Beginners Italian’ to the full range of sports: hockey, football, netball, etc. In this episode we take you to the Co-Curricular Fair where you can hear for yourself the clamour and drama of several hun...
Sep 28, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Bereavement can be one of the most difficult topics to cover with your child. Following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, your children may be filled with questions about death. In this episode, Louise and Tracey (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively) draw on their combined experience of talking to pupils, parents and colleagues about death, and share their thoughts on the best approach with young children.
Sep 20, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 3
The first episode in our 'Talking Heads' series featuring Tracey Chong & Louise McCabe-Arnold (the Heads of Surbiton Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep, respectively). Starting a new year in primary school is a big thing. Starting a new chapter of your life in Reception is even bigger. In this episode, Louise and Tracey share their thoughts on the best ways to prepare children for their first year of school.
Aug 31, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 2
