Friday Flyer - 6th March 2026
Dear Michael Hall Community,
Welcome to Spring! I am sure that many had forgotten that the sun existed as our central star reappeared after what feels like months of absence. I hope that the weather stays dry enough to allow our fields to dry out, our flowers to bloom and for our children to have more space to enjoy lunches and breaks alongside their outdoor lessons.
As we dig, prune, cut, mow and paint, please look out for opportunities to join us in working parties. I know that Early Childhood have a community gardening day approaching which will build on the welcome green fingered contributions from Sally Schweizer, Emily Gearing-Grief, and Saskia Harding. There are other parts of the school that need a facelift which I will be recruiting for (canteen hut as a painting priority) – payment will be tea, coffee, biscuits and a mention in the Friday Flyer – money just can’t buy that!
The notion of Spring being a season of renewal, regeneration, growth and development has existed for eons and across societies. In schools the second term very much has that feel to it. The plans, ideas and objectives that were in place for this year are well underway and (hopefully) are reaching points of success. But there is no resting on our laurels as we know that in a heartbeat September will be upon us and we must be prepared.
I have spoken and written before about the need to evolve the curriculum we offer, ensuring that what we offer meets the needs of our pupils going out into today’s society. Families with pupils at the top end of the school will have already noted that we are including Economics as one of our A’ level options, which is a valuable subject that helps pupils to understand the complexities of economic and political models which influence trade, affect demographics, drive population changes and of course impact the financial distribution of wealth across the globe. A small change for our school, but one that opens new doors for our pupils.
Across the school we will be reviewing the main lesson content with a view to making sure that everything we do is relevant to where we (in the global and societal sense) are now, but also looking at where we might be in 3, 5, 10 years’ time. Steiner spoke of not merely reforming education but of also “bringing new life into educational practice” and the “rightful place of educators is to be removers of hinderance”. If a new topic were to be brought to the main lesson programme, it would need to remove an identified obstacle which our pupils experience and as the educators, we would need to be confident that the new life being brought into practice is truly enriching, invigorating and adds value to what we do – whilst holding true to the underpinning philosophy of Waldorf education.
Through discussions with colleagues, parents and our Trustees, there is a theme that emerges where our curriculum is spoken about as if two parts are fighting to become balanced: the GCSE and A’ Level content and the Waldorf curriculum. I think this is an incorrect way of looking at what we offer our pupils here at Michael Hall. I think we offer a beautiful curriculum which blends a creative, holistic, and academically rigorous sequence of lessons and experiences within a child centred philosophy which provides our pupils with a variety of exit routes; one curriculum to be proud of, not two which we have to balance. When reviewing what we offer, it is the whole we will consider. We all want our pupils to have a wonderful educational and developmental experience which prepares them to go out into the world confident, resilient and insightful – ready to make a positive difference in the world.
I hope that as we continue through this academic year, we all get to meet, share thoughts, iron out concerns and speak confidently with one positive voice as the adults surrounding the children seeing them flourish into the best versions of themselves that they can be.
Enjoy the sunshine!
Warm springy wishes,
Stuart
Stuart McWilliams
Principal
Ways to Contribute
%201).jpg)
page-0001.jpg)
