Deputy Principal

Routines are the key to success

Often, parents ask me, how do I get my son to do some more work? This is the million-dollar question and something I have been thinking a lot about lately as I have my own son who has just started his final year of school. Answering this question is not easy and I am certainly not the perfect parent. Given my experience was shaped through spending over fifteen years working with young men 24/7 in a boarding school, I can tell you that one of the most important things is making sure your son has a routine.

Routines need to be explicit. They need to be written down on paper or put in a phone calendar. Yes, routines can change given that unexpected events may come up, however, ultimately, we must ensure that our sons have a routine. Often our top scholars are those that are also our top sportspeople or musicians. These young men are extremely busy with training and practice, so they need to organise their time effectively. Routines must have built-in study time. This must be non-negotiable. Preferably, study needs to be in an open environment. If your son must study in his room, and I know that must happen in a lot of households, then you need to try and make that study space free from distractions. Yes, that means while they are studying, their phone should be in another room. That may be a battle, but it is a battle worth having in most cases. 

Young men thrive on routine, yet they will also battle against the routine. The good news is that most of them come out the other end and thank you for giving them routine. I assure you I have many battles in my own household, and they are not easy. However, at the end of the day, as a parent all we want is for our children to be grateful for the opportunities that we are giving them. 

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal