News


downsmail.co.uk Head ’s concernat pu pil stress


THE head teacher at The Malling School has spoken publicly of his deep concerns at pressure being exerted on students and the apparent rise in suicides among young people. Carl Roberts, who leaves the


school in October to take up anew role in Dubai, has questioned why non-selective school pupils must take the same GCSEs as counter- parts in grammars. Mr Roberts (pictured), who has been at TMS for adecade, also worries about role


the social


media plays in children’s lives, cuts to welfare sup- port and so- c i e t y ’ s reliance on


the education system. The head, who has championed


the career-based International Bac- calaureate, said: “There is far too much stress on our young people. It reallyworriesme about the dam- age thatwe are doing to them.” The Department for Education


said it trusts “schools not to put undue pressure on young people when administering exams”. But speaking at the end of the


GCSE season, Mr Roberts asked: “Why are we insisting that all pupils, from grammar schools through to special needs pupils, have to sit the same GCSEs? “I act as ascribe to some of the


pupils and it’s so sad to see them beaten before they even enter the room. It’s obvious some of them have quite simply given up. “There is amassive amount of


pressure on social mediaand peo- ple say that you can’t police it, but that is where the parents come in. They can insist their children turn off the computer or take the phone off them.” A former TMS pupil recently took his own life, and the rise of


1 0 7 % in teenage suicides in Lon- don, according to study by the BrentCentre for Young People, has highlighted the issue. Young suicides are often linked


to social deprivation. Mr Roberts added: “I do worry


about the amount of support we give the kids because they become reliant on it. And we are pulling back fromthat abit now.Our guid- ance manager spends so much time liaising with families but


we’re doing themno favours in the long run. “When we see suicides among


young people so regularly, that is clearly of great concern, too. We need to do more about mental health issues among young people. “It frustrates me in the media


when they say that schools should be responsible for doing something about it.”


 Carl Ro berts in terv iew, p age 16 Student praised for inspirational work


A STUDENT at The Malling School has created a 3 D seasonal decora- tion for a multicultural nursery, writes CallumClarke. Y


ear 1 0 student Henry Coxmade


the piece forapuzzle-solvingmodule. Called The Changing Seasons, itwas designed to help improve learning, problem-solvingandobservationskills. Henry said: “It took twomonths to


create this piece but it was worth it. I was only going to do summer but I was encouraged to do all of the sea- sons as a challenge that I reluctantly accepted.” Each section of the picture features


a different country: spring is repre- sented by Japan; summer by Great


Britain; autumn by the USA and win- ter by Sweden. Headof theschool’sTydemanCen-


treSteveDuthiesaid: “Henry’sartwork is proudly displayed inmy office and


has generated very positive com- ments from visitors. We are all so proud of Henry’s achievement and hope it inspires others for years to come.”


Football teams


bale for titles MORE than 1 0 0 teams took part in a popular football tournament, nowin its seventh year. Youngsters aged from U6 to U1 5


played in the event at Snodland Town FC’s Potyns SportsGround. In the U6 final, CFI Allstars beat


Talents shine at school’s first showcase


SNODLAND students put their performing talents under the spot- light in a first-time production in aid of Stand Up To Cancer. Year 7 -1 1 pupils at The Holmes-


dale School presentedaperforming arts showcase under the tutelage of Abbie Shepherd on Thursday, June


2 1 . It included sketches and per- formances of dance andmusic that were enjoyed by family, friends, staff and classmates, and raised £6 5 8 . Performing arts teacher Miss


4 Malling July 2018


Shepherd joined the Malling Road school last September and hopes the acting bug has established a firmfan-base at the school. She said: “As my first showcase


since I joined the school, I wanted to showcase their incredible talents. I hope it will become a regular event,with awhole school produc- tion also in its first stages of plan- ning.” Miss Shepherdadded: “StandUp


To Cancer is acharity very close to my heart, and I knowthat there are


students, parents and teacherswho have all experienced someone in their liveswith cancer. “The students worked so incred-


ibly hard both before and during the performance and I am ex- tremely proud of them. “The standard of music, acting


and dance was beyond what I could have imagined. The show- casewill further build students’ life skills, confidenceand public speak- ing,whether that be on the stage or not.”


VintersFC4 -0 ,whileWellingwere 1 - 0 winners over Medway in the U7 event. Sevenoaks beat MPE 3 -0 to wintheU8 crown,whileMaidstone’s 1 -0 win over New Ash Green saw themclinch theU1 0 title. Welling Youth beat Real 6 0 2 -0 in


the U1 0 showpiece, while penalties wereneededto separate the teams in theU1 1 event,withCrayfordArrows Red winning 4 -2 over County Park aftera0 -0 draw. IntheU1 2 content,WestKentover-


came Kings Hill Colts 2 -0 , Ebbsfleet sawoffGraysAthletic 4 -3 in theU1 3 final and Essex-based Grays were runners up in the U1 5 event, going down 1 -0 to Lordswood.


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