Michael Kewley - Bournemouth School

Michael Kewley, one of our respected alumni, left the school over two decades ago. Since then, he has established a successful career as an experienced marketing and communications professional in multiple sectors including FMCG, electrical appliances and education, and has recently co-founded his own boutique marketing agency in Switzerland called Magnetic Communications.

Bournemouth School is a family affair for him; with multiple generations having completed their education here, including his father, uncle, brothers and nephew. During his time at the school, Michael studied Latin, French and English at A Level, General Studies at AS Level, English at S Level and he also completed an AS in Christian Theology alongside his GCSE examinations. Michael felt that his time at the school was a period when he had “the legitimacy to just be a bit geeky”. He also feels that the school “really opened my horizons in terms of what education could be about”. This is evidenced by his continuation to Magdalen College, Oxford, to study languages, an opportunity that he feels was enabled by support from the school and proved to be a “transformative experience”.

Michael attended Bournemouth School between 1987 and 1994 and names a number of teachers as having had an impact on his time as a student. Mr Tony Jordan was one such name, as he generously gave his time after school hours to tutor Michael and another student privately. Sadly, Mr Jordan has since passed away.

Other teachers of note for Michael were Mr David Spencer, a Latin teacher at the time, and Mrs Laura Fisher, his form tutor for years 10 and 11, whom he fondly referred to as his “second mum”. Michael recalls spending break time and occasional lunchtimes sharing toast and tea with her. Michael goes on to mention what he colloquially refers to as “the Holy Trinity” of teachers, which included Mr Spencer, Mr Paul Beardshaw and the late Mr John Hawkins (often affectionally known as “Happy Harry”!). Mr Nick McCabe also deserves a mention as, although he had already retired as a Bournemouth School teacher, he offered to tutor Michael for the Oxford Entrance Exams, despite never having actually taught him.

Whilst a student, Michael played snare drum in the Combined Cadet Force band. He was also a member of a four-piece rock band with the famed British choirmaster and Bournemouth School alumnus Gareth Malone. Michael’s love of music has continued throughout his life and he names listening to music as one of his enjoyable hobbies, along with sampling the infamous French wines near to where he lives, and cooking as a form of relaxation.

After graduating from Oxford University, Michael secured a position at Procter and Gamble (relocating to Switzerland) and remained with them for seventeen years before moving into educational marketing in 2015. From here, starting up his company with his partner came from his own unique experience in education; the feeling that “everything lined up” led to the opportunity to blend the two worlds of academia and marketing.

His company, Magnetic Communications, a marketing and communications organisation for the education sector, focuses mostly on “step-changing” school performance by offering advice and recommendations that can have “a transformational impact. Not just minor incremental changes, but really challenging what people are doing,” with an aim for his clients to be provided with the tools and processes to “set them off on a totally new path which leads them to greater success”.

When asked what attributes he feels are advantageous when working with such a wide scope of business sectors, Michael believes that it comes down to two concepts. “One is applying the principles of marketing. It doesn’t matter if you’re marketing a school or an electric razor or soap powder; there’s a standard framework that’s been proven to work for decades and decades. And if you apply that framework to any business, then you can improve how things work. And the second thing I’d say is curiosity”.

This led onto what Michael felt were the key attributes that contribute to a great team leader, with Michael believing that the most important thing is “listening to other people” and “being able to set a clear direction… sincerely listening to other people’s answers to make sure that you get all of the brain power and the expertise to inform a decision”. This collective thinking stems from a previous manager of Michael’s who used to say “all of us are much smarter than one of us”.

The conversation steered towards the impact of AI in business, with Michael acknowledging that his initial scepticism has evolved slightly. He appreciates the usefulness of AI and recognises the time-saving capabilities, but also the potential to replace jobs, especially in fields such as coding, and shared his concerns that AI has the potential to affect how humans think, stating, “Sadly, a bit like mobile phones, many young people will end up relying entirely on AI and physiologically their brains will simply not develop in the way that they should”. However, Michael feels that there are certain subject areas where human interaction and interpretation will remain desirable, stating that, “If you learn humanities – not just languages, but literature, history and humanities more broadly – you get an understanding of human beings and I think what will differentiate successful people in the future is those who can actually form productive human relationships”.

Michael spent sixteen years as a volunteer fire and rescue officer, explaining that France relies on volunteers, with 90% of the country’s fire service being non-professional. They also act in the capacity of paramedics in the role, too. He feels this has had a huge effect on his language skills as by acting as a first responder, where you are confronted by “somebody who’s desperately ill or had an accident, or whose house is burning down, your language skills improve pretty quickly”. Michael was also involved in his town council for over a decade, highlighting his philanthropic nature and keenness to become part of his community. This was exemplified by him obtaining French nationality so that he could act as First Deputy to the Mayor, for which being a French citizen is a requirement.

This resilience is something he believes is not necessarily channelling down into the younger generations, with young people today “largely driven by screen addiction”, but if he were to offer some strategies for them with stressful periods or times of exams, he thinks that “actually sitting down and revising and reading stuff and doing the work is still the most successful way to get through exams,” believing that “hard work generally pays out”.

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 .

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