Heads You Win

Antonia Beary - St Leonards-Mayfield

One of the key things I would be looking for is a school that values and respects the students as individuals. One of the founders of our school stated that students should be allowed to ‘Be Yourself' and that is an ethos I would be looking for. I'd want my child to be allowed to find out what that ‘self' was and be offered help to find that out with one-to-one care within the school community. I'd be looking for diversity in the curriculum so that it appreciates independent spirits: an eclectic range of subjects should be offered so, for example, a student would be allowed to study ceramics as well as chemistry.

Complementary to this is a supportive community. I'd want to see that students and teachers appreciate the choices of others. I don't expect a school to force religion on children but I do think that spiritual life is important. The students should be encouraged to respect other beliefs (not all our students are Catholic) and have space to follow their own. I'd be looking for an environment that allows a student to experience faith and would be happier with a school that allows them to question religion rather than one where they are not permitted to have an opinion. I also think that a house system helps create a bond amongst the students, with sixth formers working with junior girls, acting as role models and continuing a successful, traditional heritage.

A good school should have an holistic approach to education. Academic life is important but it is crucial for students to achieve their own potential. Hence, I would be looking for a school that offered a variety of sport, plus music and drama. I don't want to see students studying just for the sake of it. They should be developing a love of learning rather than be jumping through hoops. Of course they should learn to jump through the hoops at the right time but I'd want a school to teach students to have a sense of perspective – to educate them to choose which hoops to go for at the right time and place for them. Then they will leave prepared to face bigger hoops on their own and be positively leaping through them.

St Leonards-Mayfield is a Roman Catholic day and boarding school for girls aged 11-18. www.stlm.e-sussex.sch.uk