Finn Gray-Swann
I like how we are encouraged to take responsibility for our learning at Hagley. It’s more up to you and the teachers let you learn the way you want to learn. What’s important to the teachers is that you do well. That’s what they focus on. They don’t care how you get there, but that you get there.
If I have homework, it’s because I haven’t finished my classwork, not because a teacher’s ‘given’ it to me. My achievement goals are my incentive to work and learn. No-one’s bullying me into learning. I’m learning because I want to, but the teachers are all invested in your learning too. They want you to succeed or reach your goals, and they work with you to get there.
I’m quite dyslexic, so that’s been a bit of a journey. My teachers trust that I can manage it myself, but also help me when I need it. I work outside of the classroom quite a bit because I use speech to text apps, so they have to be flexible.
The teachers at Hagley don’t sweat the small stuff; there’s no detentions and no-one’s telling you to pull your socks up! They talk to you like a normal person, not like an authority figure. They talk to you like a friend.