Sikh School to Inspire

by Sarbjit Kaur

"From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow," Aeschylus.

I want to share with you an enterprise that personally excites me, and after reading this, I am sure you will be just as enthused.

I write about this project from an angle of enthusiasm. Any other way would not do it justice. Perhaps you have already heard about The British Sikh School (TBSS) opening in Wolverhampton, England in September 2015. This secondary school is for both boys and girls and is a member of the Khalsa Academy Trust. The school’s Sikh ethos embodies values of egalitarianism at its core and its founded on equality education and excellence.

I had the chance to meet the founding team this past November at one of the school's open days and got to observe one-on-one discussions; it was easy to see that every child, and indeed every family, mattered. As an educator myself and working with different communities for over 10 years now, I know that the right education, teaching, and environment makes a difference to a student's outcome. Most things start off as a tiny seed, whether it is a sketch, a word, or an embryo.

The way in which a seed grows and manifests depends on the richness of the nourishment and the support it receives. A sketch becomes a sculpture, a word a monologue, and an embryo a leader. The idea of this school started with Ajinder Kaur; her vision is that every child will be supported to reach their full potential and gain the confidence to pursue their dreams, regardless of religion, class, or ethnic background. She wants to inspire them to break boundaries. She wants to show them that they can become engineers, lawyers, poets, or astronauts. TBSS's motto is, “Success is for everyone.”

Inspired by the Gurus' personal upbringing, the school offers an astounding array of extra curricular activities as part of their enrichment program such as: horse-riding, archery, martial arts and learning to play tabla and violin. Languages, including Punjabi and Spanish, will be available as a GCSE option. Children can also choose to engage in Sikh Studies. If I have children some day, I would, without hesitation, send them to this school.

The word Sikh can be traced to the Pali word "sikkha" or the Sankrit word "shishya," meaning "learner" or "disciple." According to TBSS, their ethos stems from this seed, and what is budding is a school that envelopes both British and Sikh values to cultivate a “more integrated Britain." The team behind the school itself includes a multicultural attitude and has a mixture of people from various backgrounds. Everyone involved is dedicated to facilitating the blossoming of this incredible educational establishment.

Abraham Maslow (an American psychologist who influenced education) stated that in order for a human being to reach "self-actualization" (one's fullest potential), one's basic needs must first be met. This includes having a stimulating and encouraging educational environment. Meeting and speaking to both Ajinder Kaur (co-founder) and Manoher Singh (co-founder), the school will offer a high standard of teaching, where the staff will be committed to the students' wellbeing as well as their various educational needs. Learners will be supported in developing skills and knowledge so they can pursue self-actualisation, self-realization, self-awareness and become all that they want to become.

The British Sikh School is now open for submission into year 7.