"Skills, ideas, and determination are more important in the long run than marks"

The above quote, by Bill Gates, is rather pertinent to the blog this week, and speaks loudly about the ethos of Egerton Rothesay School.

It is rare for a student to come here and depart with perfect GCSE scores before they depart us, and it would be important to bear in mind that the journey to these is more important than the destination reached come the exams.

Nonetheless, that is what happened at ERS with Finbar last year.

Finbar scored grade 9s in all of his subjects - English Language, Mathematics, Combined Science, Geography, Spanish, Computer Science and Religious Studies.

It would be easy to take a glance at these results and say something along the lines of ‘well, he was obviously incredibly intelligent, and I’m sure he could have achieved those results anywhere.’

I’d agree with the first part of that sentence - every time I met Finbar, he struck me as thoughtful, considerate and determined to give his best - but I’m not sure I would agree with the latter part of it.

Finbar joined ERS in Year 5 when he was 9 years old, and departed the school at the end of Year 11, aged 16.

He left a very different young man to the highly anxious boy who started and struggled with this anxiety so much.

He often didn't even manage to write the date in lessons at his previous mainstream school before coming to Egerton Rothesay.

At pre-school and nursery, he didn't speak to another child during the entire 2 years he was there, due to his ASD and Selective Mutism.

Finbar’s father Ed was diagnosed with a very rare LipoSarcoma cancer in August 2019, a week before Finbar started in Y5 at ERS. Throughout his entire 7 years at ERS, Finbar watched his dad endure 8 different chemotherapy regimes, multiple radiotherapy courses (100+ fractions) and multiple major surgeries, along with many other treatments.

He remained an incredibly steadfast presence for his family throughout this, determined to do well at school, whilst contributing as much as he could at home.

I took some time to go through Finbar’s reports, from Year 6 up to Year 11 - they illustrate a journey which demonstrates a growth in confidence, and an incredibly consistent, mature approach. It also demonstrates that when a school gets the approach right, it can be a massive difference maker. As his mother stated to me once, ERS was ‘the making of Finbar.’

Here are some highlights from those reports:

Yr 6: “He is very well-liked by everyone and sometimes underestimates how much his peers look up to him. We have seen him grow immensely and wish him all the best for his time in Senior School.”

Yr 7: “Finbar has made an excellent transition into Year 7 and has benefited from the support that has been offered. He has a very positive attitude to his education and school life and I am pleased to read that he is growing in confidence which we will be encouraging. He is a hard-working and conscientious pupil who always does his best. Finbar is also a polite, caring pupil who is liked by others in his year group and I look forward to seeing him develop further in Year 8.”

Yr 8: “Finbar is a polite, well-behaved and hard-working pupil who is a pleasure to teach and I hope that he is pleased with the many positive reports from staff in this report and guided by their constructive comments to build again on such a good year and always ask for support when he needs it. Finbar benefits from the small classes, close pastoral support and specialist support offered at ERS and he works well with staff to overcome areas of difficulty. Finbar is, with encouragement, developing his confidence and participation in lessons and interacts well with others in his form. He is a quiet but sociable and well-liked pupil.”

Yr 9: “It is obvious from these subject reports that Finbar puts 100% effort into everything he does in school, and he can be commended for this. I am sure that with continued good work he will enjoy his option subjects and give himself an excellent foundation for future studies.”

Yr 10: “He has continued to demonstrate that he is a courteous, well-mannered, and exceptionally hard working student at the base. I have been impressed with his mature attitude to his studies and determination to complete his schoolwork to the best of his ability. He now has to work with the suggestions given by his teachers for further improvement. Finbar is well liked and respected by all his peers and teachers. I am confident that if he can keep his good attitude toward his schoolwork, he will excel in Year 11.”

Yr 11: “He is a friendly and popular member of the Form group. He seems relaxed and his personality and sense of humour shine through. He has great qualities, including kindness and a curious mind that likes to think outside the box. Finbar has shown a great attitude towards tackling his GCSE’s showing determination and resilience to gain knowledge and revise. He contributes well to discussions and has made some useful comments during the revision and exam technique sessions the form has had. It has been nice to hear about his musical interests and skills in the guitar and his achievements in Taekwondo. I am pleased to see from his report that he has an excellent work ethic, with attention to detail and produces great results. Comments to be proud of Finbar. Keep up the hard work and being your amazing self Finbar”

These reports show, of course, that Finbar is both an exceptional student, and a tremendous ambassador for the school, but they also show how well we understood him, and the lengths which we go to in order to understand and work in a complementary style with our students: to find their strengths and encourage them; but also to nurture previously unseen talents, until they grow to become promise, and then fulfillment.

Whilst all of this progress was taking place, Finbar witnessed the gruelling side effects on his father, and the time it took his dad away from him. It impacted Finbar’s own life hugely, but he was stoic and never complained.

Finbar still went to school and most years had 100% attendance, or incredibly close to it.

In October last year, he achieved my 1st Degree 1st Dan TAGB taekwondo black belt.

The months leading up to Finbar's GCSE's were incredibly difficult.

His family had to tell Finbar that Ed didn't have long to live at the beginning of December and Ed was hospitalised due to an emergency on Christmas Day (there was no Christmas dinner, or Christmas presents that day). Ed remained in hospital until he died on the 28th of March, when Finbar, his mother and his siblings were all with him.

He then went on to sit his GCSEs 6 weeks later.

One finds it difficult to put into words how difficult this must have been for one young in age, but obviously beyond his years in maturity. He certainly would have had to grow up rather quickly - and ERS was a central part of that development.

I’ve had the pleasure of maintaining contact with him following his departure - to hear how well he is settling, to hear that he passed his driving theory test two days after his 17th birthday, and to hear about the fact that Finbar and his brother Callum (alongside his Taekwondo Instructor and his father’s friend Scott, someone who was very supportive through this difficult period) will be undertaking the Three Peaks Challenge (over 3 days) in memory of his father Ed and fundraising for Sarcoma UK.

He is a truly inspiring young man who we are all incredibly proud of. He himself said to me “Egerton has helped me in more ways than words can express and I'm incredibly grateful. I know for certain it will help many others to come.” He appreciated the help, but certainty didn’t feel entitled to it - and because of that, the progress he has made is his own.

I’m also really happy to be able to nominate him for a national award - the Whitbread Memorial Prize - which is a recognition for a Year 11 student of academic achievement, combined with their contribution to their community.

As a History teacher, I’ve been conditioned to approach such issues with a lack of bias - but I can’t end this blog without saying, lacking any objectivity, that I hope his efforts over this year, and, indeed, his whole school career, are recognised with this national award.