Out There

For a second out there it was like Lord of the Flies as Jack and his tribe chased and kidnapped another littl’un, picked him up and took him back to their stronghold, The Fort.
I was on duty at lunchtime out near the Red Top on a breezy, mid October day as cream coloured clouds moved purposefully across a steel blue sky. But this kidnapping was safe, a game…just.
Lunchtime is there for teenagers to use up pent up energy and to tank up on new energy. Younger teenagers tend to seek physical excitement, to take risks, to look for extremes; that’s why the new adventure playground is a loser some grade 6 boys confided in me. The school’s job is to find a safe environment for this where common sense and firm boundaries meet with supervision.
So what was the game? The G9 boys were kidnapping G6 boys who in their turn were rushing in to snatch a hat and then withdrawing at speed to regather and celebrate their trophy. G9 then moved in with cunning and strength to recapture their lost honour and humiliate the enemy as a warning. Accompanied by an amazing amount of noise and swift lateral movement across Green Island, the Red Top, the Basketball Place and the Rugby Ball Area, this was fine spectator sport. Screams of delight, shouts of warning, yelled instructions merged with bellows of outrage and whoops of victory. When the bell went there was time to assess the damage: one grazed knee and one torn item of underwear (!) – That was all. ‘Typical boys!’ muttered Jemima with disapproval, but she’ll soon change her tune…
Boys need to be boyish and a little collateral damage they take in their stride. But they have no idea about their strength at this age and nor the fine motor coordination skills to moderate it correctly. The littl’uns in their turn have no concept of this danger and how much of their provocation is necessary to release a powerful reaction. The game was a safe way for these two ages to discover these limits.
I expect the same discovery to take place when the first snow arrives, and I expect to be besieged with calls to ban snowballing which I will resist. Yes, it could be dangerous if the snow turns icy or too many children gang up on too few or face rubbing happens. But in the first case we close the Field and in the others, these are banned types of behaviour and the tutors talk to their students carefully about the safety rules. Break the rules and the student is sent inside for the remainder of lunchtime. Break it again and the student meets me, not to be advised. The Duty Team, now four teachers instead of three, will need to be vigilant. And after a fresh fall of snow extra observation will be called for; I certainly will be there and so will Mr Hall whenever he can. Within these careful limits, within this risk assessment, however, we must allow this age group their challenges and their excitement. And I for one am pleased that snow, provided free and unpredictably by nature, at least is not operated electronically.

PS And no, I am not condoning violence nor am I encouraging war games nor am I suggesting girls have little space by right in the playground. I am describing an event I observed where no actual school rules were being broken...