Dan Metcalfe - Bournemouth School

On speaking with Dan, it is immediately apparent is that he is a man with an unyielding passion to succeed and a desire to encourage others to see their own potential, believing that everyone has the potential to “unleash the miracle within.”

His impressive resume boasts successes in both the entertainment and sporting industry; with accolades including starring on stage in Starlight Express, acting in and directing Netflix movies such as “She’s the Man”, “Kicking and Screaming” and “The Ultimate Goal” and coaching the number one youth team in America.

Dan has worked with the likes of Under Armour, Tottenham Hotspur, Andrew Lloyd Webber and AFC Bournemouth and has faced two major medical crises in his lifetime; a broken spine from an incident during a show on stage and suffering partial brain death from a cycling accident. Rather than accepting his fate that he might never gain full mobility again, he found an inner strength and resilience to overcome these challenges, believing that “nothing great comes easily” and that learning “how to adapt was the greatest lesson learnt.”

Dan was a student at Bournemouth School between 1977 – 1985, under the leadership of Peter Harper. One of five children, he had little interest in education, believing his future was framed on a football pitch. However, after successfully passing the 11+ exam, Dan joined a school which he credits with providing him the opportunity to “tap into his potential.” Coming from a humble background, he found the routine and security of Bournemouth School a blessing, believing that it “gave me a foundation; it gave me a home.” Dan is now a strong advocate in the grammar system, believing that his “baseline would have been a lot lower” without the standards imposed upon him from Bournemouth School.

Dan was an eager footballer from a young age with aspirations to play professionally, and it was the positive tutorage of David Stickland, the Head of the P.E. department at the time who gave him the opportunity to reach his potential. Dan went from sitting on the sidelines to becoming captain in only a few short weeks. In fact, Dan felt so strongly about Mr Stickland’s belief and positive ethos, that he has written a film script titled, One Final Shot, with Mr Stickland’s namesake being given to the main character.

Other accolades assigned to Dan during his school years were his consistent role in the school’s Combined Cadet Force and being awarded the prestigious title of prefect in the upper years.

Upon leaving Bournemouth School, Dan felt his career path was destined to be the Royal Marines. In order to build on his flexibility, he began aerobics classes on a short-term basis, but a new love was born and Dan’s teacher, having seen his potential, dared him to audition for Laine Theatre Arts that year. His audition led to him being signed on a three-year contract that began within a matter of weeks.

In 1985, Dan and his father travelled together to watch Starlight Express at the Apollo Theatre in London. In a discussion afterwards, his father commented that he believed that one day, Dan would be in that show as a performer. Dan’s immediate response was “no, I’ll never be good enough.” His dad replied, stating “somebody has to do it, why can’t it be you?” This conversation became pivotal in Dan’s belief system and even now, he credits his father’s conversation to his positive outlook, believing that the subconscious is built from messages sent from the brain. If these messages are negative, it will instil a negative sense of worth. However, if the messages are positive, then the perception of hurdles and challenges experienced can adapt to “I can’t do it now, but if I want it, I will work on it.” Dan feels that this concept can be implemented for our Bournemouth School students, referring to the analogy of a chain and how a chain is only as strong as every link, encouraging students to “bring your most to every performance.”

Dan eventually did play the lead in Starlight Express in the West End, and travelled on tour to Japan, Germany and Las Vegas, which is where an unfortunate accident on stage resulted in his fractured spine. Being told he would be disabled for life, paralyzed, and having temporarily lost sight in one eye, Dan undertook six-months of critical healing and focussed his energies on allowing the body time to heal. Despite his adversity, his outlook was strong; “why be the victim when you can be a hero?”

As part of his recovery, he coached soccer to young adults. He led his team to the semi-finals of the state of Nevada and ultimately, created the number one youth team in America.

His second injury occurred during a bike ride, with a metal gate accidentally being lowered onto his head at 22mph. Injuries included a broken coccyx and partial brain damage. It was at this point that Dan began to study the inner workings of the brain to see if he could encourage not only ways to heal but also to see if other parts of his brain could be trained to take over from the area that may not recover. He returned to his studies, choosing to study Neuroplasticity at Warton Business School to learn a new level of business acumen. This, he believes, showed him the value of “staying curious” and the importance of education, thus linking back to his time at Bournemouth School. His studies led to understanding in intricacies of brain function to the creation of his Total Balance Company which made $13 million in the first year and has helped over 70,000 worldwide including over 1000 Parkinson’s patients, along with the company, Born Superhuman, which encourages everyone to tap into their potential.

Adversity is no stranger to Dan and he has taught himself to face difficulties head-on with a positive mindset and a desire to keep challenging himself at every level. This mindset is something that can be incorporated into school life for students about to sit exams. When asked what message Dan would like to give to our students, he said that school should be seen as a safe place where “you can face adversity with the right people willing to back you.” He also wants students to understand the importance of facing challenges head-on as “the ability to face adversity is to unleash the brilliance!”

Meeting	Exceeding
You will be able to describe and explain the increased tension over Berlin between Khrushchev and Kennedy. You will be able to have a good understanding of why there were summit meetings called, 1960 and 1961. You will be able to describe and explain why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. You will be able to explain the impact the building of the wall had on East-West relations and the importance of Kennedy’s visit to Berlin in 1963. You will be able to show a good understanding of the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the importance of the Bay of Pigs failed invasion of 1961 and the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.	You will be able to evaluate the impact on international relations of increased tension over Berlin between Khrushchev and Kennedy. You understanding of the summit meetings is precise and you can evaluate their importance. You will be able to precisely recall details of how why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. You will be able to evaluate the importance of the building of the wall on East-West relations and the importance of Kennedy’s visit to Berlin in 1963. You will be able to show a precise knowledge and understanding of the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the importance of the Bay of Pigs failed invasion of 1961 the events and significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 in the short term and long term.
Assessment Methods
Do-now tasks Retrieval Quiz in class End of Unit Assessment

Meeting	Exceeding
You will demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the origins of the Weimar Republic from its creation in 1918. You will be able to describe and explain why the Republic faced political and economic challenges in the years 1919 – 1923. You will be able to understand some controversy over Germany’s recovery from 1924 – 28. You will be able to describe and explain how society and culture changed during the ‘Golden Years’ of Weimar. You will mostly be able to demonstrate accurate recall of key people, key dates, terminologies and acronyms to describe aspects Weimar Germany, 1918 – 1928.	You will be able to recall, with more precision and accuracy, the origins of the Weimar Republic from 1918. You will accurately explain the early challenges including the Spartacist Uprising, Kapp Putsch and the causes and impact of the German Hyperinflation of 1923. You will be able to recall, with precision and accuracy, how Weimar recovered including Stresemann’s economic and foreign policy successes whilst able to evaluate the limitations of recovery. You will have a secure knowledge of how Weimar society and culture changed. You will be able to convincingly demonstrate accurate and precise recall of key people, key dates, terminologies and acronyms describing aspects of Weimar Germany 1924 – 1929.
Assessment Methods
Do-now tasks Retrieval Quiz in class End of Unit Assessment

Meeting	Exceeding
You show a good knowledge and understanding of key terms associated with the changes happening from 1750 – 1900. You are able to describe and explain some aspects of continuity of society and economy during this period. You demonstrate a good understanding of how agriculture changed, why the factory system developed, how transport improvements impacted the economy with particular reference to the steam train. You are able to explain why living conditions in the new towns and cities changed, the impact on public health and calls for reform. You show secure evaluation of sources for utility, taking into account some aspects of provenance and / or own knowledge.	You are able to show an excellent knowledge and understanding of key terms associated with the changes happening from 1750 – 1900. You are able to precisely describe and explain aspects of continuity of society and economy during this period. You are able to show an excellent and precise understanding of how agriculture changed, why the factory system developed, how transport improvements impacted the economy with particular reference to the steam train. You are able to evaluate how and why living conditions in the new towns and cities changed and the impact these changes had on public health and calls for reform. You show a convincing evaluation of sources for utility, taking into account provenance and precise own knowledge.
Assessment Methods
Do Now Questioning in class Peer assessments (Skills based written response)

Meeting	Exceeding
You will be able to describe and explain the early tension between the members of the Grand Alliance at the three wartime conferences and events in Europe up to 1945. You will be able to have a good understanding of the ideological differences between Capitalism and Communism. You will be able to describe and explain the development of the Cold 1947 – 1949 including the flashpoint of Berlin, 1948 – 49 and the setting up of East and West Germany. You will understand why the Cold War intensified, 1949 – 58 including the arms race and the USSR’s response to the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 and international reaction to this.	You will be able to evaluate the consequences of the wartime alliances for East-West relations. You will understand the attitudes of the wartime leaders and how this further impacted East-West relations. You will select accurate evidence to show the creation of the satellite states to further explain how soviet influence spread, 1945-48. You will be able to demonstrate an excellent understanding of short term and long term reasons why Stalin blockaded Berlin and how this further escalated the Cold War. You will be able to evaluate the significance of the arms race, Khrushchev’s response to the Hungarian Uprising and international reaction.
Assessment Methods
Do Now Retrieval quizzes in class Topic 1 End of Unit Assessment (factual recall)

Meeting	Exceeding
You will be able to have a good knowledge of Nazi policies towards women and why this was so. You will be able to describe and explain Nazi policies towards young people including education and youth groups with some evaluation. You will be able to understand the ways the Nazis reduced unemployment and how they made changes to peoples’ standard of living. You will be able to describe and explain why persecution of minority groups, especially the Jews, increased after 1933.	You will be able to evaluate Nazi policies towards women and young people. You will be able to confidently evaluate policies designed to reduce unemployment whilst also having an in-depth knowledge of policies impacting the standard of living of German workers. You will be able to evaluate the impact Nazi racial policies had upon groups such as Slavs, Roma, Sinti, homosexuals and those with disabilities. You will be able to evaluate the escalation of persecution towards Jewish people with precise reference to events such as the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht.
Assessment Methods
Do Now Retrieval quizzes in class Key Topic 4: End of Unit assessment (factual recall)

Meeting	Exceeding
You will be able to write a response that includes three causes of the outbreak of The Great War (this is the keystone point: no answer can be graded as ‘meeting’ if it does not contain three causes from: military, alliances, imperialism and nationalism). You will demonstrate the skill of analytical writing by demonstrating the Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link technique (PEEL) on each paragraph. For each cause, you will be including sufficient factual detail/proof to justify judgements rather than unsupported statements. You will be able to show secure explanation on each cause and link to why it was a reason for World War I breaking out.	You will apply precisely selected evidence, giving more weight to the judgements drawn. The quality of your evaluation will be in greater depth (e.g. linking in more depth to the question, considering limitations of each factor as a cause, making a clear judgement for each cause, maybe comparing their importance). You will be able to write a response that can also contain evidence of more independent research gathered from outside of the content studied in class.
Assessment Methods
Do Now tasks Retrieval quiz (factual recall) in class End of Unit 2 assessment (Skill: causation writing)

Meeting	Exceeding
You will be able to produce a written response that includes three distinct causes of the Break with Rome (this is the keystone point: no answer can be graded as ‘meeting’ if it does not contain three factors) Each of your causes contain sufficient factual detail/proof to justify judgments rather than assertions. Each cause is analysed/explained and linked to why it was a cause of the break with Rome	Your selected evidence is precise and detailed giving more weight to the judgments drawn. The quality of your evaluation is in greater depth (e.g. linking in more depth to the question, considering limitations of each factor as a cause, making a clear judgement for each cause, maybe comparing their importance). Your answers may contain evidence of independent research outside of the work covered in class.
Assessment Methods
Do Now Questioning in class End of Unit Assessment: Causation writing (PEEL Paragraphs)

Meeting	Exceeding
Your written response includes three distinct causes. Each cause contains enough ‘accurate’ (factually correct) and ‘relevant’ (fitted to this question and taken from the correct time period) information to justify judgments rather than assertions. You have analysed or explained each cause and linked it to why it was a cause.	The deployment of your evidence (e.g. precise details, dates, statistics) is in greater depth, giving more weight to the judgements drawn. Your supporting evidence is precisely selected to address the question directly, showing skill in selecting the most convincing evidence. The quality of your evaluation links in more depth to the question ‘directed consistently at conceptual focus’, maybe considering limitations of each factor as a cause. You make a clear judgement for each cause, maybe comparing their importance. All of your three points demonstrate a line of reasoning that is coherent, sustained and logically structured. You demonstrate an excellent, precise and accurate knowledge and understanding of the origins of the Weimar Republic and the challenges it faced, 1919 – 1923.
Assessment Methods
Do Now scores Retrieval quizzes in class Skills based end of Unit assessment: writing a causation examination answer

Meeting	Exceeding
You need to demonstrate secure revision strategies through independent home learning. You need to be able to recall plot and characters. You need to understand contextual factors that influenced 19^th century texts.	You need to demonstrate effective and consistent revision strategies through independent home learning. You need to confidently recall key events, plot developments, and character arcs. You need to show a developed understanding of the contextual factors that influenced 19th-century texts.
Assessment Methods
Do Now. Full KO Quiz. End of unit assessment .