What do Parents Want for Their Children?

Question for Parents!
What do you want for your children? “I just want them to be happy” is the answer every time I ask this question of parents at school. And I add, happy and successful. The truth is happy children will be successful at school and succeed in life. You can’t separate the two. Good schools find these aspects of school life that will allow children to become successful and confident and happy. And believe me, these features of a good school are not confined to academic matters. Some people are clever and do well in exams and they’re happy because they are successful at GCSE and A Level. But a majority of students develop their confidence and find their satisfaction in other ways. If you watch Masterchef: The Professionals, you’ll hear so many of the most talented young chefs saying ‘I wasn’t very good at passing exams, but I loved cooking and knew that was to be my career’. I’m not downplaying the importance of exams – far from it, they are a very important measurement of a kind of success. But they aren’t the full answer by any means. Some of you may have heard that a community theatre – The Holroyd – is being built on land owned by Moreton Hall.

Moreton Hall School, Shropshire

This theatre will be a hub for North Shropshire Schools’ Music – filling a gap that the Local Authorities can’t fill anymore. And children & young people’s music makers from North Powys and other areas in North & Mid Wales will all be able to have professional teaching and a professional venue in which to perform. Face2Face Performance Academy, a drama academy run by Michael Jenkins of Wrexham panto fame regularly attracts 70 young people with stars in their eyes. Do catch their performance of Elf at Theatre Severn on January the 25th and 26th. The Holroyd will be a professional theatre with touring shows, stand-up comedians and music to suit all tastes. The performance of Dyffryn Ceiriog and Penybontfawr Choirs recently at Moreton Hall was a sell out, and a wonderful celebration of Welsh Borders Music. A real theatre, like The Holroyd, would showcase their talent on a regular basis.

Music and Drama are brilliant ways for young people to develop all their skills, musical, theatrical of course but also, practical (theatre set design), commercial (selling merchandise), organisational (selling tickets). These productions are like team sports, but everyone gets picked to play. So, watch this space, follow the development of the theatre build online and in the local press and support a venture that your children will be happy and successful, and so will you too!

The author

Jonathan Forster

Jonathan has been Principal of Moreton Hall for over 25 years. ‘He is always ahead of the game, ensuring the school leads not follows market demands’. – The Good Schools Guide Jonathan is hugely experienced at making parents feel at their ease, he personifies the spirit of Moreton - warm, un-stuffy but forward thinking and entrepreneurial. Jonathan is passionate about education and has had articles published in The Spectator, The Telegraph, Huffington Post and a monthly column in a regional magazine.

https://moretonhall.org/