By Tom Goodenough, Head of School at Didcot Girls' School

An ex-colleague, who is now a headteacher in Cheshire, recently gave a talk in which he proclaimed that comprehensive schools should be ‘in the business of creating A* people’ (‘grade 9 people’ in our new GCSE grading system!).

Always one for a bit of razor-sharp pith, he captured in this soundbite what I believe is at the heart of a modern comprehensive education. At Didcot Girls’ School and in the Ridgeway Education Trust, it is this that drives us on to always look for more and better opportunities for our students.

Of course, with student progress and attainment in the top 25 per cent of schools nationally we recognise the importance of academic achievement and deliver that for our students. However, in a challenging employment landscape and in a society that presents young people with increasingly tough choices about who they want to be, it is incumbent on educators to offer much more than just numbers and letters on a page of exam results.

Indeed, those who teach the widest range of students need also to offer the widest range of opportunities for those students to grow ‘A*’ characteristics. Providing such a breadth of experience to so many students could be a daunting prospect but, thankfully, our schools are full of dedicated professionals who go way above the call of duty to provide such experiences every day.

The concept of ‘character education’ is something most who work with young people find problematic; it is hard to explicitly teach character – faintly ridiculous images of a teacher standing in front of rows of teenagers telling them to just ‘be empathetic’ or to ‘have more integrity’ spring to mind! Instead, most agree character is ‘grown’ through the myriad experiences young people encounter on a daily basis. It is in this way that I think the best schools are able to sow the seeds of ‘A* character’.

Every now and then, we get to pause for breath in schools and, when such moments arrive, I take to the school website and Twitter feeds to vicariously enjoy the character building experiences our students get to enjoy every day and, I must admit, I find myself somewhat envious!

An increasingly striking feature of a Didcot Girls’ School education is the opportunity to listen to outstanding visiting speakers: recent months have seen Baroness Susan Greenfield and Paralympian Menna Fitzpatrick, pictured, visit to share their stories. Despite wildly differing experiences (few obvious parallels between brain science and alpine skiing!), both were equally inspiring with shared messages of hard work and determination that will lodge in the minds of students, ready to emerge when they need to draw on such characteristics.

At the more practical end of the spectrum is the business mentoring sixth form students have had access to in recent weeks. With the help of our Enterprise Advisor, Mike Foster, our students have been able to access coaching on topics such as choosing university courses, performing in interviews, shaping a CV and understanding how to turn entrepreneurial ideas into real businesses. We are incredibly grateful to the many local business people who have given their time willingly to help students develop the practical ‘real world’ skills and knowledge such a programme delivers.

A thriving public speaking, debating, storytelling and poetry reading programme has firmly taken root in our school and it is hard to overstate the power of these activities when it comes to equipping students with skills and qualities that are hard to learn anywhere else. Confidence, bravery, critical thinking and clarity of verbal expression are growing in hundreds of our young people, and it is a joy to behold!

Finally, add in highly successful sports teams, countless examples of community and charity work, a comprehensive range of STEM projects, and a very healthy arts provision – in the form of our annual dance show, drama productions, art exhibitions and music concerts – and you have an education that is comprehensive in every sense. That, we believe, is what makes A* people.