The Kingsley School is proud to be the only member of the international Round Square organisation in the Midlands.
Founded in 1966 at Gordonstoun School, Round Square is a vibrant and connected global network of schools who share an ethos which aims to provide an education that not only promotes academic excellence but also develops confidence, character and community.
Round Square is a not-for-profit charity built on six IDEALS – Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service. Working with other schools around the world supports the sharing of professional expertise, ideas and experiences, and increases opportunities regionally, nationally and internationally – all of which enrich Kingsley’s educational provision for our students.
In our ever-shrinking world it is so important to encourage young people to look outwards, and being a Round Square school enables us to increase our already broad provision with cross-cultural collaboration, such as student exchanges, attendance at conferences (of which Kingsley students have currently attended in Montreal, Belfast and India) and participation in international competitions and service projects.
We have an exciting range of international conferences coming up with Round Square. Find out more.
Round Square Awards and Round Square Diploma
It is with great pleasure that we can introduce The Kingsley School Round Square Awards and the Round Square Diploma for this academic year. Membership of the Round Square provides us with a plethora of opportunities to enhance and enrich the learning experience of all pupils at the school. This can range from flagship events, such as the International Conference that happens every year, to challenges and collaborations between schools across the world every day. We aim to bring our membership of the Round Square to the forefront of life at the school, ensuring that we inspire our students to succeed and to relish the unique opportunities that are presented to us.
As a Round Square school, we share a commitment to character education that is built upon six fundamental Ideals. In improving our understanding of these Ideals, we are achieving our aim of educating the whole person in a unique and inspiring way; we will help our students to become well rounded, knowledgeable citizens of the world, with the skills and ambition to become the change makers of the future.
The six Ideals are as follows:
- Internationalism
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- Round Square schools discover and embrace similarities and differences between different countries and cultures. Students make positive connections between different people across the world, helping to promote transnational understanding and respect.
- Democracy
- Students learn about fairness, equality, justice, self-discipline and responsibility to the wider community and the wider world, for the common good of everyone.
- Environmentalism
- Students learn to appreciate the natural world and the impact that humanity has had on our environment, and how it can be preserved for the future.
- Adventure
- Round Square students learn to push themselves beyond their perceived limits, taking risks in their learning and challenging themselves to achieve more than they originally believed was possible.
- Leadership
- Students learn that good leadership involves understanding, empathy, and kindness. Leaders are driven by a desire to be of service to others and to nurture, guide and help them to improve and succeed.
- Service
- Round Square students are willing to get involved and volunteer to help when needed to support individuals and communities in the local area and across the world, with empathy, understanding and respect.
To encourage a deeper understanding of the six Ideals, The Kingsley School is launching a series of awards that will provide all students the opportunity to engage with a wide range of enriching activities and events. In doing so, students will be inspired to continue their learning journey beyond the classroom and into the wider world, engaging with unique and interesting experiences that will help build the confidence and ambition to make an impact. Each award is targeted at an approximate age group within the school, but pupils can move through the challenges at a pace which suits them. However, there are some key milestones in the journey which takes into account the year groups which engage in external examinations.
Each award will require students to engage with all six of the Round Square Ideals, engaging with a variety of tasks, activities and events to a sufficient standard and time commitment that ensures that the challenge is worthwhile and achievable. Pupils can engage with the Ideals in a variety of ways, including activities that they currently undertake, or new opportunities that arise as a result of The Kingsley School’s membership of the Round Square.
| The Prep Award | Pupils up to Year 5 will engage with the Round Square Ideals in their journey through the school curriculum, using key projects and events to highlight their interaction with each of the key Ideals and learn how they can make an impact on the world around them. |
| The Bronze Award | Pupils in Years 6 and 7 will be encouraged to engage with each Ideal in a variety of ways, culminating in approximately 20 hours of commitment over at least two terms. |
| The Silver Award | Pupils in Years 8 and 9 can work towards the Silver Award, completing approximately 30 hours of commitment over at least four terms. |
| The Gold Award | Pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11 can work towards their Gold Award, which requires approximately 45 hours of commitment over at least four terms. At this stage, pupils will be able to take on an organisational role to work towards their Leadership qualification for the award. |
| The Diploma | Students in Years 11 and the Sixth Form only have the opportunity to work towards the Kingsley School Round Square Diploma. For this, there is no specific time commitment, but each pupil will take on an organisational role in some capacity with events, projects and activities related to each of the six ideals. This will encourage students to take ownership of the challenge, learn through action, understand how to bring projects and events to fruition, and developing leadership and teamworking skills that will contribute effectively to their post-16 education here at the school. |
In addition to the learning and understanding that will result from this, pupils who achieve their awards will be celebrated in the Prize Giving Ceremony at the end of the academic year. Pupils and students who have worked towards their awards will have priority for key Round Square events, such as future international conferences, collaborations and external competitions. We are proud of our identity as a Round Square school and we look forward to inspiring our young people to be proud of being part of this wider community and relishing the opportunities that it presents.
Here are some of the ways that pupils will be able to engage with the Round Square Ideals every day at the Kingsley School. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list because we will welcome all relevant and appropriate activities to be considered as a contribution to the awards.
- The Enrichment Program; most activities now have a Round Square focus, which can contribute to the award
- Reach Higher Homework; some of the tasks that can be chosen will be linked to one or more of the Ideals
- Round Square Talks; we have launched a series of guest speakers who will visit the school to talk about their own experiences and expertise on one, or more, of the Ideals
- Fundraising and Charity events that are undertaken at school or in the community
- Engagement in Round Square organised events, such as Conferences, Postcards and long-term collaborations with other schools across the globe- please see the school website for more details
- Independent learning and other academic competitions that link to one or more of the Ideals.
Harvard recently carried out research into the value of Round Square schools and their impact on developing ‘global competence’. The full report can be viewed here.