Autumn has always been my favourite season.  While others are lamenting the passing of Summer and the drawing in of the nights, as someone who has worked in education for eighteen years, I see September as a time of fresh starts.  For me, September feels like New Year more than January.  When I was a student myself, the dropping of the temperature and the reddening of the leaves signalled a time of new teachers and classmates, new courses and, perhaps most excitingly in my eyes, colourful new stationery.  I can remember turning over the cover of a new exercise book and writing the date neatly in, resolving that this would be the year where I would be the perfect student.

September to me is the ideal time for students of all ages to take stock.  Do all of your current habits help you in your goals?  If, for example, you have a goal to attend a top university when you leave school, are your actions helping to lead you towards this?  Or are some of your actions hindering you?  Do you need to work harder, work smarter, be more organised or be more independent?  Do you need to refine your exam technique by completing past papers, or do you need to ask your teachers for help so you can master a difficult topic?  Your future really does start now, and there is no time to waste.

For some people, September brings a more radical new start.  Some teachers, like me, will be starting in new schools.  Some students will also be starting in a new school after realising perhaps that their current school doesn’t bring out the best in them.  Perhaps they are feeling lost in large classes and are not receiving the help that they need, or perhaps they are uncomfortable in an environment where there may be a culture of low achievement.  At Ealing Independent College, many of our students are new to us, and we welcome them to join us at the conventional enrolment times at the start of Year 10 and Year 12, but we also welcome those who are looking for a fresh start part of the way through their courses and who would like to join us in Year 11 or Year 13.  We can also help those who, for whatever reason, feel that they haven’t done as well in their GCSE’s or A Levels as they would like and who would like to retake by joining an intensive GCSE or A Level pathway.  Therefore, all of our staff are very experienced in welcoming new students and making them feel at home.  

I know that all of the students making changes will be feeling nervous.  I am writing this on my first day of being Vice Principal of the College and I had worries about what today would bring, so I can totally understand these nerves.  I know though that those students who are starting at the College this week will settle very quickly into our warm and calm environment, making new friends very quickly and enjoying their studies.  I wish the same experience to all young people, wherever they are and wherever they are going.  If you need to make a positive change, then now is the time to start.

- Laura Bellerby, Vice Principal