IGM's Page and Diary

Developments for 2024

Diary 14 April 2024

Click here for my Diary

Post-Covid restructuring of Student Progression in 2024

We have restructured the upper-end of 'Student Progression' so that Prefectship is a step to Senior Prefectship which is a possible step to staff.  'Student Progression' is detailed here.  The 'History of Prefectship' is here.

Apprentices in 2024

There may not be any.  The step may be from Prefectship to staff.

UK/EU Reps in 2024

We may have a native UK student and/or a near-native EU student with us.

House Captains

Each House was divided into two sub-Houses in 2015. This will continue in 2024. Each sub-House had a House Captain (= 8 House Captains). More than 8 House Captains may be appointed. The number will be reduced at an assessment meeting after four days at which other House Captains may be appointed.

Mentors

The position of responsibility was introduced in 2015, worked well and will continue in 2024. This offers responsibility for other people to those under 16.

The Ambassador

This was a new concept for 2016 described here which may continue into 2024.

We change a day in the week in 2024 - a Wednesday becomes a Sunday

At VacStuds, we can play with the calendar.  Sunday 21 July will become a weekday and, therefore, a normal teaching day.  Wednesday 17 July will become a non-teaching day, effectively a Sunday, and this will become a trip day.  Quite what the options will be, we are in the process of working out.  If we change the days of the week, we don't lose a teaching day.

Thorpe Park has never been my cup of tea.  I heard that there was an hour's wait for sixty seconds of adrenaline-rush.  This will not be an option in 2024.

Masterclass and 'Digest' 2024

Masterclass for me was the big experiment in 2017. I have always thought that there are young people with us who would benefit from being taught at an undergraduate level. I tried a session or two in 2016 - including John Donne's 'Goe, and catch a falling starre' dating from 1633 - which (so I was told) went well. I included it as a no-cost option for 2017 and had more than 40 names. The intention was to have a Masterclass at 16.30 after sports on most afternoons, but the sports and their aftermath of cheering, wiping off body paint and generally getting ready pushed this back to 17.15 and even then it was an encroachment on sports time. The feedback I had was really positive. Several took the material I prepared back to their own schools and told me what they had learned in just a few sessions was more than in their school year. The after-lunch 'homework' period was intended to be an opportunity for writing up what was achieved orally in the mornings, but it became an extra lesson used for various activities. I have renamed this 'Digest' for 2018 as this is the period for digesting one's lunch and within this period, one or more Masterclass sessions can take place. The concept was so popular with staff that several asked if they could take a Masterclass on subjects of interest to them. Rap lyrics were included as was a session on UK political structures.

I found I needed 45 minues for a Masterclass session so, in 2024, Masterclass sessions will be occasional, will be run by various staff members and will run from 13.45 to 14.30. Digest will run from 14.00 to 14.30.  Sports will start at 15.00.

During our period of enforced Covid inactivity and thereafter, from May 2020 until June 2022, I held online Masterclass sessions every Sunday.  I know that. for a small number of people, they became part of a way of life.  These have now ended, but may be revived occasionally

Continuing the small change for 2024

The Course became 27 days instead of the 28 days it has always been in 2017. Under the law, if a person under 16 is in the UK staying with a non-family member for 28 days or longer, this constitutes 'fostering'. The local Social Services department is then expected to have an involvement in that young person's welfare. Needless to say an involvement with a young person in the controlled environment of a British Council Accredited School was not an intended consequence of this law. The situation is easily avoided by making the Course 27 days rather than 28, so this is what will happen again in 2024.

Trips & excursions

We don't stand still. Every summer (even the summers of 2020 and 2021) is a learning experience and my international contacts give me ideas. Over the last few years, for instance, our excursions have become more 'bespoke'. We have provided a coach to London or wherever and the children have opted for different experiences radiating out from where they arrive. I have now decided that all the trips will be completely optional and am arranging a programme of small group visits which parents will book at the application stage. All these optional trips will be at cost price or as close to it as is reasonably possible. These are add-ons to enhance our visitors' experience of this country.

'Appropriate Register' as part of the teaching programme in 2024

We have noticed that non-native speakers do not necessarily realise how awful swearwords sound in inappropriate contexts.  Joe Wallis, Academic Manager, will incorporate lessons in alternative expressions and adopting an appropriate register into normal speech.

MAD afternoons will no longer be an option in 2024

A huge addition to our social programme in 2015 were our 'MAD afternoons' – a dance and fitness programme developed by Stéphane Lobono's (VacStuds 1983-6) 'Monaco Arts et Danses' studio of which he was the Chef d'Entreprise. As a direct result of Covid restrictions, MAD ceased trading.  Nevertheless, its legacy remains.  I know that, after all these years, Stéphane trusts our judgement to retain the name 'MAD' for the dance and fitness programme he created under the auspices of one of our own sports staff.  In 2022 and 2023, Louise Gogstad took the MAD sessions.  They will continue in 2024 as part of the sports programme rather than a free, chooseable option..

Trinity Preparation

Those entered for the Trinity examination (see what it is here) will have special preparation for this.  All our 2023 entrants were successful. Some of this valuable preparation will be included in the regular teaching programme for everyone whether or not they are taking the Trinity Examination.

Sports 2024

The competitive 'League' matches in a variety of sports with each side dressed in their House colour will continue in 2024 – culminating in Sports Day.

Password-protected page for parents in 2024

There will be one with its own password. I am all in favour of openness, but I prefer to keep students' names private and I am sure parents agree. Also, the trouble with being an innovator is that one's ideas get copied. There is one web site on which I can see my ideas regurgitated within days of my having had them. This is one of several 'organisations' run by former members of staff which present themselves as 'fully accredited' – by an organisation that has set itself up as an accrediting agency, but which is accredited only by itself. So I have a couple of 'secret' pages, visible only to parents and staff.

Summers remembered…  

All these can be found on the Heritage page - here.  My customary piece on the summer just gone is presented as a pdf.  There are many of them and the list goes on – Summer 2015 revisited…,   Summer 2016 revisited..., Summer 2017 revisited..., Summer 2018 revisited..., Summer 2019 revisited... and even Summer 2020 revisited...

What makes Vacational Studies so special?

Christelle Boisson (VacStuds Elstree early '90s) helped me host an event in Monaco in December 2014. Her Facebook event invitation stated that VacStuds is 'pas comes les autres'. How right she is. I think what makes us special is the continuity. Not only are we well into the second generation of students with children from the '70s and '80s keen that their children have the same fantastic experiences they had as youngsters, but there is a huge continuity of staff who love teaching with us and know they are respected and valued. For teaching staff, Vacational Studies is an attractive prospect. We have teacher development sessions during the Course headed by our Director of Studies, Joe Wallis. Sometimes we develop one or two talented staff by funding a DELTA course for them. This is a top TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification. It is expensive (which Vacational Studies covers) and demanding of time and energy (which the member of staff provides.)

Having been in existence for 51 summers, we have many former students sending their own children to us.  They come from respectable families who are investing in their children's futures.  We don't advertise or use agencies.  Everyone comes on recommendation and we exist on our reputation.

Vacational Studies has always been run by me. I started it as 'Educational Holidays' in 1971 which I ran with two others. In 1973, I formed 'Vacational Studies' without partners. The values established over generations are constant, but every year is different and every year is special. For all our students it is a developmental summer and, as I shall say to them many times, 'you are creating at this moment memories that will stay with you for ever.' I have trademarked our strapline 'Days I'll remember all my life™'.

Christelle is also responsible for giving me the idea for our cheeky little 'Keep Calm and Come to VacStuds' mug. This was offered as a prize in a quiz in Monaco.

Places Available  

We aim to create a Course in which English is the language used socially and boys and girls can make friends from many countries. In most areas of life nowadays, this would be simply impossible.

VacStuds 'Lite'  

The Course is structured around a four-week period. The task-based project takes this length of time to complete and I know from experience that it is in Week 2½ that the inhibitions and barriers break down and this is when rapid progress is made. Our students do not find four weeks too long. The tears at the end show this.

But four weeks is a big step for some teenagers – and their parents – and it may be that holiday arrangements make four weeks impossible, so here is a the 'Lite' programme. Any two or three weeks can be chosen. It is 'Lite' because it is shorter, but also because whatever is in the programme during the weeks not chosen will clearly not be available. For uncertain newcomers, I suggest the first two weeks as the last two weeks can be added.

Teaching English the VacStuds way

We try to make the learning part of the Course as different as possible from the student's lessons at his or her own school. No one wants to come to England in the holidays to go straight back to school. When everyone has arrived, we assess their level of English. We do this partly with a written test we have used for some years.

Written English is only one of the skills, though, so we also look at spoken English.

In addition, we try to ensure that the class is made up of those of a similar age, of boys and girls and of different nationalities. When we have class composition right, we look at how everyone works together and may, in the first few days, move people up or down according to their ability. Because the level of ability in the 'first' class varies so much from year to year, a student may be in this class for two or three years even though he or she may have made great progress. It all depends on the relative abilities of the other students and the next highest level.

It is the actual teaching that is so different from everything our students have experienced. Much of the Course is taught through the medium of video-creation. The teacher will present the class with a theme. This theme forms the basis of the most of the work done in class. From this theme, the students will, by working in groups, create a script under the aegis of the teacher. In this process various aspects of grammar and orthography will come up for analysis. When the script has been decided on, the class will choose who are to work on the editing and production side of the video and who are to be the actors. Using digital film cameras, the classes shoot their films. Using Windows MovieMaker or other software, the classes then edit the footage. By this time, each class will be working together in an international group using English as a working language. They will probably no longer be aware that they are using English as a subject. It will have become second-nature. The edited footage is then uploaded to Vimeo so that everyone can see the result. Take a look at previous years' student videos by clicking here.

Parents and our rules

Vacational Studies is a very structured experience. While a young person is with us, we aim to provide immersion in a new and engaging multicultural English-speaking environment; a life that is utterly different from life at home. We construct a teaching programme that bears no resemblance to traditional English lessons at school, an activity programme that is novel and exciting and English-speaking friends from all over the world. We ask that parents trust us to get on with the job and know that we will contact them if there is something they need to know. In this context, constant contact with the known and familiar detracts from this experience. For this reason, we ask that mobile phones are not brought and, if they are brought, that they are kept in the office for use only on trips.

We have two telephone afternoons so that parents can talk to their children and they can make and receive calls on their mobile phones by arrangement any day after activities end at 21.00.

We have found that a small number of children had second mobile phones hidden in their dorms at the request of parents. In our rules, which parents give signed agreement to, we state our policy on mobile phones. Just as parents have trusted us for 51 years to provide exactly what we describe, we trust parents to abide by the agreement they have signed. It is important for us to know that the children for whom we accept responsibility understand that their parents trust us. If a parent asks a child to act against the rules, we are undermined. We cannot discipline children for the actions of parents who undermine us. By the same token we cannot accept responsibility for children who selectively break our rules at the request of parents. We consider this makes it impossible for us to exercise our duty of care and is thus a breach of contract.

Where are they now?

In the last 51 years, many of our students have achieved international success. I am featuring two of them here.

Vytas Paskunas came to us from Lithuania when in 1992 when his country was just emerging from years under Soviet control. He writes modestly of his achievements. He achieved five 'A' grades at 'A Level' and went on to achieve a First in Maths at Cambridge. He is now a Professor of Mathematics in Bielefeld, Germany.  Here is a letter from him.  In Vytas's case these most certainly are 'Days I'll remember all my life'.

Jesus Silva was with us for several summers in the 1970s as a student and the 1980s as a helper. He was the Spanish Ambassador to Panama, then to Venezuela and is now the Spanish Consul ion Cape Town, South Africa.  Here is a link to a newspaper interview he gave when he was Ambassador to Jamaica. My boys and I were his guests at his residence in Kingston a few years ago.

Articles and information on other VacStuds students gratefully received.

The Vacational Studies Foundation  

The Vacational Studies Foundation was registered as a Charity under English Law in January 2000 to assist talented children.

Alumni of Vacational Studies who wish their children to have the same international experience they had, but cannot send them for financial reasons should contact IGM at vacstuds@vacstuds.com or the Chairman of the Trustees of the Vacational Studies Foundation – Matthew Debney – at matthewjdebney@gmail.com.

Our 'UK/EU Reps' each summer come courtesy of the Vacational Studies Foundation.

The Jörg Weise Association (JWA)

The history of the JWA is that in 1979 one of our first students, Jörg Weise, who was with us in 1971 when Vacational Studies was 'Educational Holidays', died at the age of 21 in a motorcycle accident. This tragic loss of a young life was compounded by the promise he had shown as an actor and his involvement in international work.

His father was on the Board of Directors of Bayer AG in Leverkusen, Germany. In the name of his son, I invited Prof. Dr. Weise to nominate a young person for a place on one of our Courses. He agreed, but went further. He asked that he be permitted to nominate and pay for a place in his son's name in perpetuity. He also agreed to the sculpting of a trophy that would be awarded annually in his son's name to a student or students making an outstanding contribution to the international aims of our Courses. The recipients of the Trophy were invited to a gathering each year and, in time, the group grew to a sizeable number.

Such a collection of talented young people from many different countries needed more of a reason for being than just an annual get-together, I felt, and in 1985 I put to them the idea that they could form themselves into an Association that would work towards giving other, less privileged, young people the opportunity to cross frontiers. The Jörg Weise Association (JWA) was born. The JWA is a now a charitable Foundation registered in Germany, for the advancement of international understanding. It meets annually and has a well-organised social programme. Membership is no longer by means of the award of the Trophy. At my suggestion, the JWA will invite internationally-minded young people to join it – initially with 'Observer Status'. Anyone who is attracted by its international aims is able to apply for membership.

To know more, go to the The Jörg Weise Association (JWA) web site and to its new Facebook page – even if only to see a film of IGM in 1982…

The Jörg Weise Scholarship

We continue to be associated with the Jörg Weise Memorial Scholarship. The Scholarship is a place on any of our Courses, return air ticket from anywhere in the world, pocket money, theatre tickets and tennis lessons. The recipient of the Scholarship will be the sort of student outlined above who will benefit from attending the Course, but who is unable to apply for a place in the normal way for financial reasons. The Scholarship Committee will take steps to verify the financial situation of candidates.

We welcome nominations for the Scholarship in 2023 and 2024 which should be sent to Vacational Studies. I shall forward nominations to the Scholarship Committee of the JWA.

H.T.W. Mucklejohn

My father, who was Company Secretary from the founding of Vacational Studies until his death in 2003, was a great support to me. In his memory, the Jörg Weise Association has donated in perpetuity a full Scholarship which I am able to award when I come across a young person who would benefit from our Courses, but cannot apply for financial reasons. If you know one, tell me.