ABSTRACT
The very business of confronting and learning from difficulties, the development of grit and resilience and the adoption of effective coping strategies when challenges arise, are an increasingly critical part of schools’ pastoral programmes. The pastoral challenges of the future will continue to evolve, and, although it is a truism to say that every child matters, it is no less true to say that every adult does as well. The pace at which many independent schools operate matches that of corporate business. Independent schools with packed timetables, homework, testing and exams from an early age face numerous challenges. Government short-termism and the self-interest of leading schools and universities suggest that leaders will be tempted to continue to tinker rather than change, hoping that the knock on their door will never come. Independent education offers a beacon of light and civilisation to the world.
