Opinions

Dead languages?

Have you ever dipped into a different sector but found yourself confused by the arcane terms and unfathomable jargon? That may be how your prospective parents feel when they consider your school, writes Dick Davison

After many years in the independent sector, it’s easy to forget how intimidating and exclusive some of its language can be. A new colleague, Peter Blair, has not come directly from the schools sector. He has reminded me of the many minor nuisances – or terrifying obstacles, depending on your perspective – presented by the arcane language used in many schools.

From “exeats” to “long leave” and “short leave” and from “big school” to “shell”, it can sometimes seem that schools go out of their way to build a barrier to strangers.

Occasionally schools can sound like a bad Monty Python sketch:
“Girls may have day exeats any Sunday, subject to school commitments apart from ‘closed weekends’. These are the first and last weekends and the weekend after long leave of each term and girls should not go out unless there are special circumstances which have been agreed with the housemistress... When there is Evensong, girls may take an exeat from 9.15am until 6.30pm... If a girl has a school commitment on a Sunday or there are special considerations, she may be allowed to go out on a Saturday instead, from 11.45am until 8.45pm... School commitments take priority over exeats and it is the girl’s responsibility to ensure that she does not miss any match, rehearsal, etc. which she should be attending.”

This extract from a school’s website is hardly guaranteed to make life clear to the prospective parent; and this is just a short extract from a long page. Of course, these terms have been in use for many years, even centuries, and (let’s be kind) when their use started, they were probably everyday words. But times have changed. At least half the parents now being attracted to the independent sector did not go through the system themselves and cannot act as interpreters for their children.

A closed world?
Peter, whose extensive management experience includes years in the legal world, says: “I do not object to the terminology itself. Many industries invent language to provide superiority and inclusion for those in the know.

Most, however, are taking steps to ensure that outsiders can learn the language. Even the courts in England and Wales moved away from the use of Latin – even if it was much to the dislike of many barristers and judges.”

There will be some terminology that schools want to retain because they form part of the school’s character, such as Radley College having “socials” rather than “houses”. But schools should take steps to explain what they mean, or provide a context such that the meaning becomes clear. Cranleigh School in Surrey uses the terms “exeats”, “long leave” and “short leave” but does so in a calendar and so the meaning is reasonably clear.

Sometimes the explanation itself can seem as confusing as the jargon. This is Winchester College trying (I think) to explain the historic terminology it uses for its year groups:
“Div is the hallmark of a Winchester education. Divisions during a boy’s first three years are conducted in junior part in his first year, middle part in his second and fifth book in his third. Sixth book covers his two final years.“ Got that?

Open lines
Terminology should not be a barrier to prospective parents and children. They should not feel they are being excluded from the life of the school. Explaining the language used is simply the beginning of the inclusion process.

It is too easy to forget how intimidating independent schools can be to those with no prior experience of them. In the present economy, it is more important than ever to ensure that every prospective family feels welcomed by the school they are visiting, whether in person or on their website.

Dick Davison was listening to a rant by Peter Blair, both are from mtmconsulting ltd.

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