“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”
Confucius

One of the greatest joys of working with young people is the sheer diversity of their individuality. Each precious human being, created from a unique set of chromosomes with a character that is theirs and theirs alone. Sadly, we are all under increasing pressure to measure ourselves against a false perfection promoted and perpetuated by social media and ‘reality’ TV, amongst others. Flawless diamonds are beyond rare: let’s embrace our flaws; polish our rough edges and shine.

My unwavering commitment as Headteacher at Teignmouth Community School is to challenge and support every young person in our community to be the best version of themselves.

As a school leader, if I could give one gift to the young people in my care, it would be the resilience to overcome life’s challenges so that they find their diamond rather than settling for being a pebble. None of us are perfect, life is never easy but there is a diamond within every one of us.

This centrally held belief – that we are all always capable of being a slightly better version of ourselves tomorrow than we are today – celebrates who we are as an individual whilst also acknowledging that we can keep on polishing.

Everything that we do here at Teignmouth Community School is driven by this belief and underpinned by the values that, we believe, will ensure that we are all always working to be the best version of ourselves.

By working hard and never giving up we remain open to limitless opportunities for progress. I firmly believe that you have not failed until you stop trying.

As a community we have a responsibility to be kind and care for each other. We don’t need to agree with everyone, we don’t even need to understand everyone but there is absolutely nothing, other than our own fear and weakness, that stops us from accepting everyone.

And only by joining in can we develop and grow. Our characters are like muscles: if we don’t exercise them, if we never push ourselves beyond that which is comfortable then we will never grow.

It may be easier to be a pebble but that is not what we do here at TCS. We unapologetically mine for diamonds. Because, quite simply, why wouldn’t you?

Rachel Wickham, Headteacher