Many words in the English language have rich histories, often forgotten or overlooked.
The word salary, for example, is derived from the Latin salarium meaning salt money.
Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt or were given an allowance to buy salt as it was such a highly valued commodity.
Another word of Latin origin is school, derived from schola.
But, in the same that the word church originally referred to a group of people gathered in collective worship rather than to a place of worship, the Latin word schola refers to leisure time given to learning rather than to the buildings where learning takes place.
It is worth reflecting on the idea that to be a scholar requires devoting your free time to learning, whether it be learning an instrument, a sport or more traditional academic disciplines.
At the heart of what it means to be a scholar then is the idea that scholarliness grows from a dedication to something that reveals itself through a willingness, an eagerness even, to devote all the time you can find to pursuing excellence in what you love.
At Hunter Hall, it is our intention to nurture the interests and talents of all our children.
In awarding scholarships, our aim is not to honour attainment, but to recognise those children who are eager to devote themselves to a particular discipline and whose dedication and application are an example to the other children.
We want the children to understand that a scholar does not distinguish themselves by the badge they wear, but by the way they behave, by the resilience they show when they are struggling and the courage that characterises their pursuit of excellence.
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that they key to achieving world-class expertise in any particular discipline is practice, 10,000 hours of practice to be precise.
But there is more to it than that; 10,000 hours of practice alone is not enough. What is also needed are good teachers who can move learning forward through focused feedback that helps learners identify both what to practise and how to practise.
All children need individualised support to enable them to flourish and succeed.
Fundamental to the success of every child at Hunter Hall is the strength of relationships between the children and their teachers.
We know that happy children who feel a genuine sense of belonging will flourish in everything they do.
What is more, we know, and value, every child as an individual, and work with them as individuals to ensure they fulfil their potential.
