Downe House school in Cold Ash hosts annual education conference with MP Nick Gibb and Katharine Birbalsingh

More than 200 school leaders and teachers across the country came to Cold Ash last week to discuss education.

Independent boarding school for girls Downe House hosted its annual Academic Conference on Maximising Pupil Progress on Tuesday, June 13.

An audience of both state and independent schools – including many West Berkshire-based – heard keynote speeches from two high profile speakers in the world of education.

Minister of state for schools Nick Gibb MP reflected on his long service at the Ministry of Education, while founding headmistress of Michaela Community School in Brent, Katharine Birbalsingh, spoke about the benefits of “traditional approaches to delivering lessons”.

Mr Gibb spoke about the impact the coronavirus lockdown has had on pupil progress and child mental health, highlighting that school life is still far from normal in many parts of the country.

Ms Birbalsingh, dubbed the country’s strictest headteacher by The Guardian, told the audience that they should place greater focus on knowledge acquisition saying that “without knowledge, creativity is impossible and that most schools don’t make knowledge the main goal in the classroom, when they should”.

She told the conference that if they were to visit her school, they would notice that all of the desks are in rows, with a teacher at the front of the classroom.

She said there are few distractions on the walls, with a small selection of books aptly placed on windowsills for fast access.

The headteacher also argued that technology is being overused in classrooms and that devices like iPads in classrooms were being used as a ‘tech tick box’ exercise rather than to support learning.

Ahead of the conference Ms Birbalsingh said: “I’m delighted to be supporting this conference because it’s all about how, as teachers, we should be ambitious and bold with our pupils so that they reach their full potential.

“It’s also wonderful that the event will bring together professionals from both the state and independent sectors.

“Rather than focusing on our differences, this conference will show that by working together and sharing our best ideas, it’s all pupils who will benefit.”

Deputy head at Downe House School Matthew Godfrey, who organised the conference, said: “It was such a pleasure to welcome so many inspiring educational leaders into our community.

“We always aim to be at the forefront of outward looking educational debate and discussion and it was fascinating to share experiences and expertise with like-minded educationalists.

“We are looking forward to planning for next year’s conference”.