The learning that takes place across the course of a typical school day is not, and never has been,
confined to the content of the lessons in the timetable, nor simply what knowledge the teachers are in a
position to impart. Our programme of Visiting Speakers and Workshops, is just one of the ways that helps
boys at Arnold House appreciate just how much they can learn from people other than their teachers and
their normal lessons.
So far this term, from our Early Years, right up to year 8 boys, we have welcomed 15 external visitors to
the school to share their knowledge and expertise with groups of our boys. We have had many different
experts join us to enthuse and inspire the boys from famous authors, to scientists and musicians, to
parents sharing insights into important religious festivals, as well as doctors experienced in dental
hygiene. The best thing about these talks and workshops is the learning that you see taking place outside
of lesson time. This was something really well demonstrated by Steve Cole, one of the visiting authors,
who managed to ingeniously make each of his sessions a teaching lesson without any of the younger
boys realising they were learning. He did this by crafting each session around making exciting sentences,
starting with something very simple and then adding suggestion after suggestion until elaborate and
hilarious sentences were constructed; and all with him acting out the daftness as it went along. The boys
were in stitches!
The aim when we invite someone into Arnold House to speak is to open our boys' eyes to all the amazing
things that it is possible to learn from the wider community and to enrich the boys' understanding of
interesting and specialised topics outside of what is covered just in the curriculum. We would like the
boys to enjoy more opportunities to foster their enquiring minds and show them that you can learn about
interesting things; not just from your teachers and in your lessons but from anyone on the ground, giving
an insight on their own work, whatever that work may be. For example, according to the drama
department, the Year 6 boys still talk about what they learnt in the workshop they had over a month ago
in their lessons!
We don't always even need to go very far to find interesting speakers either. At Arnold House, we are
lucky enough to have at our disposal a vast network of people in a community who have access to a
diverse and interesting range of careers and specialist subjects. Amongst our parental as well as alumni
community we have world class doctors and geneticists, academics conducting research at the forefront
of sciences, those working in all sorts of fields about which little is known, as well as frontline workers, to
name but a few. It would therefore be a waste of such a resource if we were not encouraging those in our
community to visit the boys in a formal way specially to share their experiences with us here at Arnold
House.
If, therefore, you feel like you have something to offer as a Visiting Speaker, please be in touch with us
and we can try our best to fit you in to our calendar of events.
It may be that you do not see your role or your career as a specialist or niche area per say, but remember,
for us and our boys what’s most important is to hear from a variety of different voices. Something that
may seem commonplace and ordinary to you, as you do it every day, will be interesting to those who
have little or no experience of it and may be enough to inspire one of our boys to follow in such footsteps.
Who knows?
Daisy Watts
Head of French and Y7 Form Tutor
Visiting Speakers Coordinator