Terence Ayres, Head of Saint Nicholas School in Harlow, on the many different facets that goes into teaching pupils how to learn
When people first visit Saint Nicholas, what kind of impression do you hope the school gives?
I would imagine that the majority of adults who have been house hunting would have experienced walking into a property and knowing that this was the one! It isn’t always quantifiable, but there is a warmth, a quickening of breath and a feeling of euphoria, comparable to when the ‘wand chooses the wizard’ in Harry Potter. When prospective parents and their children walk through our doors and tour the school, I want them to leave with that feeling that this school is the very best place in which they can grow-up and learn.
You are dedicated to teaching pupils how to learn – how do you achieve this?
While the academic core skills are at the heart of the school, Saint Nicholas is dedicated to teaching pupils how to learn, instilling key learning skills, such as initiative, resilience, collaboration, teamwork and independent thinking. To achieve this goal, ‘Saint Nicks’, as it is affectionately known, has a talented, committed and dedicated staff who know the pupils well, are passionate about teaching and learning, and who tailor the learning journey of each pupil so they can achieve to their own best; preparing them fully for the next phase of their lives.
How important is a pupil’s wellbeing to how they learn at Saint Nicholas?
Hugely important, when pupils are happy and feel valued they are more prepared to step outside of their ‘comfort zone’ and explore new ideas and ways of thinking, which is fundamental to educational achievement.
At Saint Nicholas, we are fully committed to well-being and run numerous events throughout the year organised by our pastoral team and our mental health and well-being prefects. Recent events have included two well-being days where pupils were taken off timetable to enjoy numerous well-being activities, a colour run and, only last week, as part of our recent Men’s Health Week, hour-long workshops on well-being, run by a life coach.
What facilities do you have and what do these enable you to do?
Set in 15 acres of stunningly beautiful grounds, Saint Nicholas has outstanding facilities that include specialist classrooms, science laboratories, technology areas, ICT rooms, a lower school library, a senior library and study centre, a state of the art theatre and drama studio, extensive playing fields, floodlit tennis courts, indoor arena, heated swimming pool, outdoor Forest School, mud kitchen and ecological exploration area and a magnificent sports hall.
Without these outstanding facilities, we could not deliver the rich, engaging and challenging education that inspires our pupils to raise their sights and expectations, and ‘Strive to Better’.
Is what happens outside the classroom just as important as in, such as with outdoor learning?
As a Head, I am passionate about extra-curricular and outdoor learning and strongly believe that an enriching programme is key in unlocking pupil potential. At Saint Nicholas, pupils enjoy Forest School, from pre-school up to Year 5, and in the seniors, pupils participate in numerous outdoor adventurous activities and residentials, and in DofE bronze and silver awards.
Our extensive extra-curricular programme provides numerous opportunities to develop new skills and passions. Extra-curricular experiences range from ballet to boxing, dance to darts, and construction to cookery; experiences that help develop rounded and confident young people, who are not afraid of ‘having a go’ or trying something for the first time.
How key are sports to the school?
As an avid sportsman myself, I am passionate about the benefits that participating in sport, in whatever capacity and whatever the ability, brings. For me personally, sport is a safe space for dealing with defeat, experiencing failure is both key in the development of good old-fashioned ‘grit’ and resilience. To quote basketball coach Morgan Wootten, ‘You learn more from losing than winning. You learn how to keep going!’
At Saint Nicholas, we deliver a high-quality physical education programme which inspires all pupils with the opportunity to succeed in sport. Sport plays an important role within the personal development of our pupils and we celebrate their outstanding achievements and performances at our annual Sports Award Evening.
What else do you think sets you apart?
The million-dollar question! As Head, I would always encourage parents investing in an independent education to research their options and view any school they were interested in. If, like me, they did not attend an independent school themselves, I would urge them to book and come and see what sets Saint Nicholas apart for themselves. I always take great pride in the feedback we receive from prospective parents when they accept a place at Saint Nicks, they praise the school for its warmth, authenticity, family feel, tailored approach, excellent facilities, and the amazing education and opportunities that we provide.
What are you looking forward to in 2025?
Saint Nicholas School never stops driving forward, developing and changing so all our pupils receive a rich, engaging and challenging education that inspires! In 2025, we are looking forward to, amongst other things, opening the new wing of our incredibly popular and well-established Rocking Horse Nursery, and the installation of three covered padel tennis courts, to extend our existing, floodlit, all weather tennis courts.
