How Epsom College got Independent School of the year – Jare Salami, Epsom College

Collecting the two prestigious awards, was the newly appointed headmistress of the College, Mrs Patterson, alongside the Assistant head of pupil welfare, Mrs Keevil. Having been a student at Epsom College for just over 3 years, I was honoured to acquire Mrs Keevils input through the interview questions I constructed for her.  I was able to gain an insight regarding her opinions and significant input in Epsom College’s Student wealthfare award as well as her crucial role at the College.

Having frequently encountered Mrs Keevil over the last 3 years, as my u14 hockey coach and a year 9 psd teacher, her bound-to-notice charisma and kind aura was undoubtedly revealed to me. This charisma makes her an individual that students at Epsom College feel they can confide in and easily engage with; it is no surprise that she plays such a big role in student wellbeing at Epsom. I wanted to understand why student welfare was a topic of interest for Mrs Keevil and how she started her job in he first place. When asking her ‘Why does student wellfare interest you’ she responded with ‘I love working out what makes young people tick and then what make them flick, in other words loose their cool’. I interpreted this phrase in a way that showed her genuine curiosity in students and the psychology behind their rational and irrational behaviours and the spectrum of varying emotions in a school day. Emotions of many teenagers has a directly proportional effect on their behaviours and attention throughout the day and Mrs Keevil’s  undoubtable grasp of this was reiterated through another one of her answers to my questions. Mrs Keevil said that ‘I also love the fact that student wellbeing weaves through the entire day of a pupils existence’. 

I also wanted to gain an understanding for how the awarding of ‘Independent School of the year for Student Well-being’ made her feel, considering her influential position and partake in working towards the award. Many governors,

teachers, parents, support staff, prospective pupils and Old Epsomians were involved in the lead up to the award. Regardless of the large amount of effort I imagine was involved, the award been refreshing and rewarding for many people associated with the college. Mrs Keevil said ‘I had great support from above and total commitment from everyone, which has been very gratifying’ which reiterates the lingering benevolence and kindness that radiates from Epsom College’s nature. She also stated that she was ‘Bursting with pride about all we’ve achieved over the last quarter of a century’ and it is clear to me that the amazing pastoral care offered at Epsom College has been acknowledged by the many people overseeing The Independent School of the Year programme as well as judges on the board, staff at the college, old Epsomians, Epsom students and parents and many others. Mrs Keevil clearly has a passion for what she does and when she says ‘I’ve always been aware that for a pupil to flourish in the classroom they need to be safe, happy and calm outside their academic time’ her grasp of the teenage brain is once again highlighted.

I was also keen to hear Mrs Keevils acquired opinions about values in general and at the College that help to accentuate the inclusive community that many students seem to feel a part of. Mrs Keevil replied with a mantra that I very much believe is a core to forming good hearted individuals. She said ‘They need to feel listened to, believed and supported, they need to be adaptable and realise they may need to see things through other people’s perspective….’ These qualities like adaptability and ability to see things through another individuals lense, are qualities that will be beneficial for all people at many stages and inconveniences that could occur in life. I also asked Mrs Keevil what school values sprung to mind when thinking about Epsom College and she replied ‘It boils down to three really simple things, be kind and compassionate, be brave and inclusive and finally be thoughtful and empathetic’. This statement opened me up to another set of crucial values: kindness, compassion,bravery, inclusivity, thoughtfulness and empathy which are all qualities a person could have that would not only result in the elevation of their life but also their surrounding social network.

The Independent School of the Year website described the Well-being award with a statement that followed: ‘This award is for the school which most successfully convinces the judges that the promotion of student well-being sits at the heart of its ethos…..’. The vigorous judging panel saw Epsom College as a leading candidate school which led to us achieving the overall Student wellbeing  award. Well-being is clearly valued at Epsom College as well as other important priorities, like academics and sport, which led to us achieving ‘Independent school of the Year’.

Having been at the school for just over three years, I am truly honoured to have been moving through the school to experience this truly refreshing moment. Mrs Keevil, Mrs Patterson and many other important figures like the Second Master, Mr Williams and the House masters and mistresses who liase with them have all had a part to play in Epsom College’s amazing success.