In March 2025, the College was honoured with the prestigious Graydin Tree Award, recognising our commitment to embedding a coaching culture across our community.

Since then, coaching has continued to flourish at St George's, supporting students, staff and parents through meaningful conversations that build confidence, resilience and self-awareness. The latest example has been a series of coaching workshops for Fourth Year parents, led by Head of Coaching, Mr Matt Barham.

The workshops introduced practical coaching techniques designed to help parents develop more effective conversations with their children, encouraging independence, reflection and problem-solving. Rather than providing answers, coaching focuses on listening deeply, asking thoughtful questions and empowering individuals to find solutions for themselves.

Feedback from parents highlighted both the quality of the sessions and their immediate impact:

“This was a great course and I think Matt’s skills and his engagement and commitment to coaching will be a fantastic asset at St George’s.”

“Excellent session. Very helpful and supportive. I have already recommended this to other parents.”

“I really benefitted from the experiential learning and from watching the course leader conduct a live coaching session.”

“The course was very useful in helping parents consider a different way to engage with their children.”

“It was a really interesting session. Some new information and some reminders. For me personally, the interactive sessions with fellow parents were highly effective and memorable.”

The workshops form part of a wider vision for coaching at St George’s. Alongside parent programmes, coaching supports student development and staff professional growth, helping to create a culture in which individuals are empowered to think independently, communicate effectively and realise their potential.

The Graydin Tree Award recognised this distinctive whole-community approach, and the success of the recent parent workshops demonstrates how coaching continues to enrich life at St George’s for students, staff and families alike.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how coaching at St George’s could help you then please contact Mr Barham on mbarham@StGeorgesWeybridge.com.