Written by David Smith – Headmaster
The start of term is all about consistent messaging. Messaging to boys, to staff and to parents; banging the drum on who we are and what we stand for. This week, it has been about our ethos and understanding what makes us FBS. You see, success is not random, and if we want to get it right we must continually fight for what we want The Fulham Boys School to be.
So what does everyone need to know?
- That we need to understand where we have come from. That our ten Founders dreamt of something truly unique, a tailor-made school to bring about the best in boys. But the realisation of this dream has been hard; disappointments, struggles over school site, policy reform and finances to name a few. The fact that we are here and thriving is remarkable in itself.
- That our foundational pillars remain. We continue to build this school on our belief in the Christian Faith which impacts every aspect of school life, on our championing of Boys with the insistence of the highest standards in all that we do, and Enterprise with a resolute ‘can-do attitude’ that shapes our character.
- That we are doing well. Our GCSE and A Level results are far beyond national averages with 96% of our young men gaining places into a university of their choice. We are a school of first choice where almost 600 applied for 130 Year 7 places, and a growing number of external students wanting to join our sixth form.
- That we are not an exams factory; that academic grades matter but do not define you. We will continue to fight for the education of the whole boy where their character is nurtured through enterprise, sport, co-curricular and pastoral care.
- That what we have achieved does not come cheap and needs all our buy-in. It takes all of our energy, all of our time and all of our commitment. For many of our parents this also involves their financial support; we just would not be able to do it without you.
I explain to boys and staff the importance of habituation. If we want to achieve, we must not get comfortable. We cannot think we have ‘made it’, or that what we now know is the norm and will forever be. What we have built will be lost if we do not continually remind ourselves of where we have come from, what we have set out to do and how we have done it. Each day starts in the same place: standing on the pillars that this school was built on.
I urge all parents to read The Fulham Boys School’s Mission and Pillars which our ten Founders have written. If we stick to the script we will not fail.
