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Claires Court - a partnership worth backing

The header shows our Junior playing fields set out for Sports Day; as ever, a welcoming place for all sports, summer or winter!This week’s news that the Department for Education is scrapping the £320 million PE and Sport Premium in favour of a new “partnerships network” will, understandably, be met with some anxiety across the profession. No one can ever welcome a cut in funding, and school…

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"Burnham Wood, If He Takes the Chance"

There’s a scene I still enjoy teaching, every time I get the chance: Macbeth, told he’s safe until Birnam Wood marches against him, treats the prophecy as a kind of cosmic permission slip — an impossibility dressed up as a guarantee. Forests don’t walk. And then, of course, they do; not by magic, but because an army cuts down branches and carries them, and what looked fixed and immovable turns…

Track, Field, and Open Water: Reclaiming Childhood in the Spirit of the Three Lions

This week, as thousands of England fans have poured into stadiums across the USA — with reports of up to 15,000 Three Lions supporters turning out in Dallas to watch England beat Croatia 4-2 in their first game in the 2026, a historic line in the sand has been drawn back home. With the government’s landmark announcement legally banning social media for children under the age of 16, the public…

'Nudge Theory' and why schools should model rather than demand compliance to achieve success.

When principals, teachers, parents and children turned up for work at our Junior school on Friday, two deputy heads were on welcome duty at the gate, as you can see. On the left is Mrs Lindsay King, Deputy Head and to the right is Mrs Chantal Hankin, Deputy Head Lower Juniors & Nursery. As you can see from the kit, Mrs Hanking is wearing the current England Hockey kit, ready to play in the 4…

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"Christian schools win right to landmark Supreme Court appeal" dateline Friday 5 June 2026

I have copied below the article published on the Christian Concern website, in which they give the remarkable news that the stoicism of the campaigners supported by the Christian Legal Centre has paid off. In short, the Law Lords have permitted the appeal to the Supreme Court on the matter of the blanket imposition of VAT on private school fees. Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court is…

Podcast Episode: "Heart in the Game" inspired by Will Greenwood*

Pip: There’s a version of civilisation that runs on broadcast rights and wage bills, and another that runs on hay bales, after-match pints, and children learning to fall over without crying. james wilding has been thinking hard about which one actually holds. Mara: This episode sits inside that tension — community infrastructure, the economics of survival, and what it takes to keep the lights on…

"Heart in the Game" inspired by Will Greenwood*

Over the 15 years I’ve been blogging, I’ve covered everything from the small & trivial to the earth-shattering and society-shaping that individuals have caused. When I posted about Will Greenwood’s work last month, https://jameswilding.blog/2026/05/08/the-cracked-pot-the-heart-of-the-game/, I’d become increasingly aware of the fragility of the professional game. The professional rugby model is…

The AI Divide: Why the DfE is Bringing a Butter Knife to a Tech Fight

The following post is written in response to the Governments much stated ambition to rapidly adopt AI and become a world leader in AI. With ChatGPT now at version 5.5 — and entire articles being written wholly by GPT-5 with zero human input — the integration of Artificial Intelligence into the classroom is no longer a dystopian prospect or sci-fi gimmick. It is a reality fundamentally reshaping…

“You'll never walk alone” - a tribute to my school and Headteachers' Association.

When my wife Jenny and I entered teaching in 1975, the choice was both deliberate and happenstance. I was the son of David and Josephine Wilding, who met at Kings College London when undergraduates studying History, who entered teaching as a career in the early fifties. They determined to set up their own Prep School, found a property called Claires Court in Maidenhead and opened for business in…

The Cracked Pot - THE HEART OF THE GAME

The Cracked Pot* is a famous fable about a water bearer with two pots—one perfect, one cracked—who carries water daily. The cracked pot feels ashamed of leaking half its load until the bearer reveals it watered seeds planted along the path, creating beautiful flowers. It teaches that flaws can create beauty, urging acceptance of imperfections. One of the opportunities I have always loved about…

"Even Blunkett Knew: Setting Should Be The Norm".

In the quiet rhythm of a good school, you can often sense when things are working as they should. A teacher adjusts the work to the child in front of them — stretching one pupil who is racing ahead, gently supporting another who needs more time. The lesson flows. Confidence grows. Character is quietly formed through effort and modest success. Yet for decades, this natural rhythm has too often…

The Engine of Character: "Show up on the BAD days

As I write this, the air in the halls of Claires Court has shifted. It is late April 2026, and the “stratosphere” of school life feels particularly charged. For our Year 13s, the countdown has reached its final sequence. Next week, the familiar rhythm of the school bell will be replaced by the quiet, intense focus of study leave. I found myself standing before them this morning—joined by our…

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Reflection: The View from the Stratosphere

“Evening all,” as Dixon of Dock Green used to say. It is a strange and wonderful thing to be an in-service Principal leaning back to watch a younger, more talented generation lead your school toward a bright new future. The Handover Passing the baton to Christine Cunniffe and the team at Claires Court in the early Spring of 2026 has been a strategic necessity. While it successfully shielded a…

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ockets Climbing, Voices Calling: Finding Light in Dark Times

During this Easter break from the routines of school life, I’ve managed at last to catch up on some private reading and reconnect with what’s happening in the wider world.My goodness, what a sobering contrast it presents. With the terrifying war continuing to grind on in Ukraine and the Middle East now in flames following the choice of Trump and Netanyahu to take on Iran and their allies, and our…

Beyond the Digital Wilderness: Finding Our "Rat Park" in the Age of AGI

Here in the United Kingdom in 2026, education centres are rapidly moving from the cold, dank days of winter with what now feels like lightning speed. With spring sunshine abounding, the mood can’t help but be optimistic for the future beyond the Easter break. In school and our wider town, the shorts are out, the sculls on the river, the rollers flattening the cricket squares, there’s a smile on…

Let your light shine so brightly that others can see their way out of the dark." — Katrina Mayer

Reflecting on the milestone year to date of 2026, I find myself looking at the long arc of my journey alongside Claires Court. Earlier this year, I shared thoughts on “Making the Magic Happen”—observing those quiet, vital moments in our classrooms. More recently, in “Fifty Years and Counting,” I looked back at the evolution of leadership and pedagogy, mindful of the foundations laid by those who…

Fifty Years and Counting: Leadership, Management and Teaching Through the Ages — A Précis

The Headteachers’ Association I am a member of, and as a consequence so is the school is The Independent Schools Association. It’s the largest of the Associations, and it produces a quarterly review. Just in time, as you might suggest, they published in the Spring Journal this post. I’m quite proud of the 3 pages that’s been published, but for followers of my blog, please find below a summary of…

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