A leading expert in social media law, Emma Sadleir, addressed the boys on the 22nd of April; here is a summary that I shared with the boys:

Good evening men, some notes from the discussion with Emma Sadleir today:

👉 You are considered to be the author of anything you post, share or like.
👉 Leave any groups where you do not know the members and cannot control the content that is posted.
👉 Asking for intimate pictures (or other content) is solicitation.
👉 Sharing intimate content (your own or someone else') of under 18s is distribution of child pornography; keeping it on your phone is possession.
👉 Beware of any contacts you have not met - video call is the best way to ensure authenticity.
👉 Saying it was a "joke" is not a legal defence for bullying, hate speech or solicitation.
👉 Visit https://www.thedigitallawco.com/ for more information and support.

Please review your groups, chats and gallery (stickers included) immediately to ensure that you're safe. 

I urge you to visit her website and discuss these issues with your son.

We would propose the following course of action, in the event that you are unhappy with your son's performance:

1. Discuss these results with him and be sure to include the following in this discussion: where does he sit in class, with whom does he sit in class (how do their marks look), has he made use of the available resources on Google Classroom, has he attended any of the extra lessons offered by the school and has he made any attempt to ask his teacher for assistance?

2. Ask to see his workbook to get an idea of the amount and quality of work that he has been doing. Many parents want to see their son's assessments and you may ask your son to take pictures of his assessments (his teachers should not have a problem with this) and show these to you, but you will get a better idea of your son's day-to-day activity by reviewing his workbook.

3. If you have any subject-specific questions, then contact his teacher directly (all staff email addresses: https://boyshigh.com/leadership/ ). If you make contact with the teacher, be sure to ask about your son's behaviour, work ethic and attitude towards their subject in their class.

4. Encourage your son to make use of the extra lessons offered by the school - the teachers offering these lessons have experience in how each section is to be taught and, importantly, how it is examined. 

There is a mountain of research supporting the importance of sleep for teenagers. The benefits of enough quality sleep include:

• Better academic achievement - this is a result of boys being able to pay attention in class when they are well-rested and their brains are better able to consolidate new information when they have enough sleep. 

• Better physical development - sleep aids recovery and growth from physical activity and there have been links found between sleep quality and a reduction in weight-related issues. 

• Better emotional health - the above-mentioned benefits combine with well-rested children generally feeling better and contribute to improved mental health.

Most published research agrees that teenagers need between 8 and 10 hours of uninterrupted (quality) sleep per night. Here are some of the most common and simplest methods to improve the quality of your son's sleep:

• Set your son's bedtime based on his daily waking time. For example, if your son needs to wake up at 05:30 every morning then his bedtime should be between 19:30 and 21:30. This bedtime must remain constant to establish a healthy sleeping pattern.

• Your son should sleep in a cool (not warm) and dark room.

• Your son should have no screen-time in the 30 minutes before going to bed.

• Your son should not have a cell phone (or any other device) in his bedroom between bedtime and waking time. The main reason for this is to limit distractions and scrolling that delays or interrupts sleep, but this has the added benefit of restricting unmonitored access to pornography and various other anti-social behaviours.

• Create a schedule: work for 45 minutes, rest for 15 minutes. 

• Study by writing - not just reading or highlighting. 

• Leave your cell phone in another room while you are studying. 

• Do some exercise every day to maintain balance. 

• Ensure that you get 8 hours of sleep the night before an exam.

We aim to produce young men who are capable of looking after themselves and solving their own problems. Independence is a skill that must be practiced and we need to give our boys the opportunity to practice and gain confidence in dealing with matters on their own. 

We encourage our boys to address issues before they become problems 

• Make time to speak to the person with whom the issue lays on a one-to-one basis. Eg. If it is a problem with a teacher or a coach, find them during break or after a lesson and do not raise the issue with them while there are others around.

• If that person is unwilling or unable to assist them, then they should approach someone more senior. For a coach it would be the MIC of that sport, for a teacher it is the HOD and for a tutor it is the Housemaster.

• In all these conversations, try to keep your tone neutral and try to remain as factual as possible.

It is important for our boys to know that we are available to assist them whenever they need it.