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Forty independent schools will take children in care – and this is why

Peter Green, headmaster of Rugby School explains why he is committed to the new partnership bursaries that will be available starting in the new academic year – a scheme whereby local authorities will be encouraged to approach independent boarding schools in their area to see if they might be a more suitable place for vulnerable children than local authority care homes. When a placement is agreed, local authorities will pay 60 per cent of the boarding fees and the school will subsidise the rest.

Research conducted by the Boarding Schools Partnership found that “at risk” children who were given places at boarding schools, rather than being taken into county council care, soon showed a reduced level of risk, and over time, their social and educational outcomes improved.

Green said “I have been dismayed by the suggestion that “disadvantaged” children are not welcomed at independent schools, and are made to feel inferior by the other students. This has not been my experience. Rugby School is in the middle of Rugby town. We don’t have a lake or a tree-lined drive. We are an academic school, a diverse one, and an unpretentious one.

Like all the participating schools, we will select candidates carefully in the belief that we can give those children the best possible second chance.”

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/independent-schools-children-in-care/

A former Gordonstoun pupil recently assisted with the Thai cave rescue of 12 footballers and their coach

Connor Roe (who left in 2008) was called to assist with the final phase of the rescue operation as a cave diver by the British Cave Rescue Council.  Having been granted permission to travel by his employer (the British Army), Connor was operating within the cave network only a couple of hours after arriving.  He was one of eleven cave divers working alongside the Thai Navy SEALs.

Connor shared with the amazing description of his work as part of the rescue team;

"We entered into the more remote parts of the cave, moving through a series of flooded passages where the visibility was often zero. Everything was done by feel and we had to swim through the smaller passages slowly and carefully.  This was made just a touch harder with the extra air bottles we were carrying, sometimes taking as many as 5 each.  I was located roughly halfway to the boys’ location. When they arrived with their primary carer, my teammate and I would complete a series of checks on them such as air levels in their diving cylinder, exchanging them if required. After ensuring they were both ok to carry on, I would guide the children through a long river section which involved some low air spaces and short dives to the next significant diving section. Having ensured the onward movement of the pair, I would return to repeat the process until all the children were out safely."

Connor went on to describe what it felt like when he knew that all the boys and their coach had been rescued; "I felt relief, pride and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.  We had just completed something that had never been attempted on this level ever before.  With the world watching, often second by second, the pressure was on.  We were so pleased to be part of this great team that has, without a doubt, changed these boys’ lives forever."