How to Stand Out from the Crowd by Ed Dickie, Head of Senior Claremont School, England

“How do I stand out from the crowd?” “What will give me the edge when I’m up against other talented young people?”
The answer to these common questions has tended to focus on academic qualifications. Get a string of A grades at GCSE and A Level and you’ll be off to study your first-choice course at a top university. Admittedly, this is often still the case for many of the elite courses; but, if we are honest, these courses are out of reach for the vast majority of young people. Yet there is good news!

The diversification of higher education, with a proliferation of exciting and dynamic qualifications catering for a rapidly changing workplace, has meant that universities are now looking for much more than just those A grades. Increasingly, the importance of academic grades is being matched or even surpassed, by evidence that you can do something with those grades; that you can turn good ideas into reality, think outside the box and demonstrate resilience when faced with challenges. As AI and technology make inroads into every area of our life, it is ‘human’ qualities, which cannot easily be replicated, that are growing in value.

This reality has placed a new responsibility on schools to ensure that developing soft skills, leadership and effective decision making are at the heart of their offering. Academic studies will remain the central plank of education, but providing young people with opportunities to develop their decision making is critical. At Claremont, this is a process that can, and is, promoted both inside and outside the classroom. In lessons, the emphasis is on ensuring that learning is a student rather than teacher-led activity, where students’ brains are working harder than teachers’ and where ‘struggle’ is celebrated as part of the process. Beyond the classroom, it can be sport, the performing arts or a vibrant co-curricular programme that provides fertile ground for young people to learn how to make things happen. Interacting effectively with others, generating ideas and knowing how to develop them are critical skills for the workplace. Student empowerment is, therefore, an essential principle that a modern school needs to foster.

Nowhere can this process find its voice more than in the realm of student leadership. A strong student voice is not new, but there is increasing evidence that involving students in school decision-making leads to an institution where all are fully invested. At Claremont, our student leadership programme goes beyond the traditional ‘school council’ and supervisory roles and gets to the heart of the decision-making processes. Students are involved in significant intiatives concerning wellbeing, diversity, marketing and management policies. Not only does this give students invaluable experience to complement their academic studies but, invariably, the decisions that are made tend to be stronger too.

So, how does one stand out from the crowd?
The answer lies in taking advantage of the opportunities to develop your whole self while at school. I am as proud of our students who go on to study illustration at Falmouth or head into the workplace, as I am of those who study Maths at Harvard, Cambridge or MIT. Whatever their journey, I know their success will be underpinned by skills that will be invaluable regardless of their chosen careers. It is this that may, in the long run, be the key to their prosperity and fulfilment in the workplace and beyond.

Claremont is an independent day and boarding school in East Sussex, England. www.claremontschool.co.uk