The Download- Week 7 SUMMER- feat. Oscar Gillett

This week on The Download, school has been buzzing with energy, celebration and community spirit.

We kicked off the week in true tournament style, entering assembly to the sound of the official FIFA World Cup anthem and launching our whole-school World Cup celebrations. Every class has adopted a country and classrooms are becoming vibrant celebrations of culture from around the world — keep an eye out as you walk through school.

We also celebrate a huge number of pupil achievements, with children earning learner attributes including Problem Solving Penguin, Precision Parrot and Collaboration Crab, recognising not just what they achieve but how they learn.

📚 Reading milestones have reached incredible heights too, with 10 new Word Millionaires this week. Special congratulations to Abi for becoming a Double Word Millionaire and Emilia for becoming a Triple Word Millionaire — that’s the equivalent of reading the entire Harry Potter series around three times over!

🏅 Plus:

•  Congratulations to Flo for receiving the Vanessa Award MBE 
•  Year 6 boys’ success at the IAPS National Swimming Finals 
•  Leonora’s incredible martial arts achievement 
•  Claremont Quiz Team finishing 4th at Tormead School 
•  Year 6’s brilliant charity fundraiser featuring games, stalls, glitter and creativity 

🎧 Special Interview:
This week we speak with Oscar Gillett, Claremont alumnus and member of the sports team, as he reflects on his time as both pupil and staff member, shares memorable moments from school life and talks about what comes next.

And as always, we finish with a reminder to be kind, be respectful and remember —

This is what we do here.

🎧 Thanks for listening to The Download.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the download. This week has felt a little different around school because we've had a football atmosphere building from the moment we stepped into assembly. Children entered to the sound of the official FIFA World Cup anthem, helping launch a celebration of countries, culture, and community across the school. Each class has adopted a different nation, and customs have been transformed into celebrations of culture from around the world. So make sure you keep your eyes open as you walk around school. There's a lot to discover. Children have been exploring traditions, landmarks, flags, language, and culture.

SPEAKER_06 1:22

It's really interesting seeing how every classroom looks completely different. You can learn lots just by walking around school, and it shows how many different cultures and traditions there are around the world.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Events like this remind us how exciting it is to learn from one another. There's also been a huge amount of recognition this month. Lots of pupils have achieved their learner attributes, whether it be a problem-solving penguin, precision parrot, or collaboration crab. It's fantastic seeing recognition not only for outcomes but for how they learn.

SPEAKER_06 2:07

It reminds everyone that learning looks different for different people.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Reading success has continued to grow too. This week alone we celebrated 10 new word millionaires. A special mention goes to Abby, who became a double word millionaire, and Amelia, who became a triple word millionaire. An outstanding achievement and a huge amount of reading this year. Now, to put that into perspective, 3 million words is roughly the same reading as the entire Harry Potter series. Three times over. That's hundreds of books, thousands of pages, and hours of dedication to reading. It really shows how reading little and often builds into something incredible over time.

SPEAKER_04 2:51

That's a huge amount of reading.

SPEAKER_06 2:54

It makes you realise how much difference reading every day can make. And every page really does count.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

A few more huge congratulations. Well done to Flo for being awarded the Vanessa Award from the British Academy. Congratulations to the Year 6 boys for displaying fantastic resilience and enthusiasm at the IAPS National Swimming Finals, finishing 9th in their heat and taking over 2 seconds off their personal best. And a massive well done to Leonora, who attended the Hanguk Musu Association Open Tournament, and came first place in her form for her age. And finally, congratulations to the Claremont Quiz team who came fourth place at the recent general knowledge competition at Tormead School.

SPEAKER_06 3:42

There's been success in so many different areas.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

There were hook-a-duck, spinner wheel games, guess a number, face painting, and even hair glitter. The efforts and creativity shown were amazing.

SPEAKER_06 4:11

It was really nice seeing older pupils creating activities for everyone. There was something for everybody. It's great raising money while having fun.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Oscar Gillette is part of our school team and is leaving Claremont this year. Oh no. But before returning to work here, Oscar was once a pupil himself, joining Claremont in 2003 and leaving in 2012 before becoming an alumni from the class of 2014. Oscar, thank you so much for joining us today. Thanks very much for having me. Thank you. That is right. I I feel like that time scale isn't quite correct, but 2003, you came here at what what age were you then?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

I would have been seven, almost eight.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Ah, okay, that's why I was working out wrong. I was like, hey, when do you come? Uh okay, wow. Okay. Well, uh, thank you so much for joining us today. It's very nice to have a friendly face in the pod, isn't it, everybody? That we all know so well. We're gonna pass over to some of the digital explorers here who've got some fantastic questions to kind of far it off, really. Awesome. Over to you then, guys.

SPEAKER_06 5:29

Can you start by telling us a little bit about your time at Claremont when you first joined the school?

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Uh yeah, so as Mr. Bates said, I've been here since uh, if you're talking about as a student, uh been here since 2003, uh, September. I joined year three. Um, and I goodness me, I came from a very small school where it was one building to come into Claremont when there's loads and loads and loads of buildings, and it's such a huge site, it was oh gosh, like jumping in the deep in at the pool for the first time. And if you take all my time being at Claremont, I've done the maths. I was gonna say you've done the math you've worked today. It's nearly 22 years total of being a Claremont fan court, um, as both a student and a member of staff. Um, I started as a member of staff as a teaching assistant in year five. Oh gosh, when did I join? Tw that that must be 2016 in January. So that that's probably longer than some of our members in the podcast. Um and it's been one of the most evolving, growing experiences of not only for me, but for the school itself. I feel like this these ten years have been ever so changeful, but have been a great change for the future.

SPEAKER_06 7:05

What originally drew you to teaching sports?

SPEAKER_00 7:09

That's a very good question. Um I've always enjoyed sports. Everything about it, I've always just wanted to try my best. Um, I love playing with my friends. Trying to find an excuse to not be in the classroom sometimes. And what better way to do that than play sport outside rather than being silly and mischievous? I think a lot of it comes from the the teaching side of sport is wanting to see people grow both physically but also mentally. Because when you do sports, it's fantastic to win all the time. But there's a lot that you learn from when you lose. Or when you become or face challenges, and when you overcome those challenges, it feels like you can do anything. And when you're taught those skills, if I'm able to teach you and other children all those skills, I feel like I've done a really, really good job.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

It's funny, isn't it? Because there's certain there's certain subjects that tap into that more than others, I find. Uh particularly things like art. You you you can create something that's wonderful to you, and it kind of gives you that feeling, oh, I've made something amazing. And sports very similar to that. Kind of what you put something into it, oh you let's get in the pool. Swimming at that that length makes you feel like, oh great, I've achieved something myself. Yeah, it doesn't matter if you're not as fast as everyone else, or um uh uh uh with the best technique in the world, you've done it and it's for you, and I think that's uh definitely the highlight of of of sport and the arts. It kind of definitely ticks those boxes, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Such a unique experience. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 8:50

What has been your most memorable moment at Claremont, either in lessons, fixtures, or school events?

SPEAKER_00 8:57

I think I do a lot of the organizing of your fixtures, your events, your sports day, and a lot of my work goes into making sure that those events, those fixtures run wit really well. And not that it's just one moment that's my most memorable. It's the fact that I'm making your moments so memorable. And that makes me feel like I'm doing the best of my ability to allow you to do the best of your ability and have such special experiences.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Nice, good question. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Who's next?

SPEAKER_06 9:40

How much has the school changed since you first arrived?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Since I first stepped into Claremont as a small seven-year-old will be my first way to answer this. It I thought it was big at the time, and somehow Claremont right now is bigger than ever. I have never seen so many students in one place, I have never seen so many students with so many smiles on their faces, I've never seen so many functioning buildings that never that those buildings weren't there when I was seven years old. Those buildings weren't even there when I started as a teacher here. And it's special to see that the school has evolved to take on so many more people, not just students as well, we've taken on so many more members of staff, and when you have more teammates on your team, and you work really hard to give everybody such a good chance at doing well, Claremont becomes such a a special community and is only stronger the more people that come together.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

It wasn't boarding when you were here. I know it used to be boarding school, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

It w m when I started in September, they had just finished the boarding the July before. Ah, okay. So I was the first year or I was that first year of no boarding. So they had opened up the top of stable court to be in classrooms. Okay. So we were the we were the first lot of children in what classroom would have been the bedrooms. Yeah, we we were just called uh the junior school at that point, um Claremont Francourt Junior School, and yeah, all the bedrooms had become these really mini classrooms. Um Miss Ray's class wasn't as big as it was now. It it it was two rooms, maybe even three at the time, trying to think that far back. Uh but yeah, some so that's probably added to something that I didn't say is that not only have there been new buildings added since my first start, there's so many changes within the buildings that are already here. Yeah. And that makes such a difference. So, like the the library, for instance, was tiny, and now it's such a a grand space for so many more books and people to be in there at once. We we almost had to like take it in turns at the door to go and get our books. So um that makes such a difference. Um it's just grown so much it's uh kind of hard to put into words.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

So you had we had stable court, well, you would have had stable court, you had obviously the main house.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Oh you'd yeah, stable court upper juniors, fancourt lower juniors.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Oh, so Fancourt was here.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

Yeah, Fancourt was here, um didn't have uh the year two building. Clearview was um the principal's property.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Ah, of course, yes, because that's where the principal lived. The principal lived till uh at the school. Imagine that, the principal being here lived in the year two lived in where you guys had year two. Yeah, there was a somebody who actually lived in there. Imagine that, the mini bedroom. Um and um you would have all the stable court, but I'm guessing none of this behind us is.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

The Orkshard building didn't exist. Science blocks. Science blocks didn't exist. Um ACC wasn't anywhere as big as it is now. Wow. So the the back bit was all done um as I was coming towards senior school time. Okay. Um so it was just the lunch hall and you had a very bare bones music school where the new dining room isn't for now.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Of course, because music used to have to go. If you had a music lesson uh where we stay in stable court and you guys come down here, you used to have to go across to go where the JVC is nowhere. You go um down to where the scenes have their lunches on that slope. That's where you used to have your music lessons. So it used to be two separate bits there. Um, but that's what changed since I've been here, and I think there's also new developments going on over there for next year. So it's all things are going to change again. So it's an ever-evolving school. Oh my goodness, imagine coming back in 20 years' time. And from was it 22 years ago? Is that another 22 years? I wonder what would be different about it then. Oh my goodness. Right, we're waffling. Uh, we must move on.

SPEAKER_06 14:12

Next question, then please is there a particular pupil, team, or sporting achievement that stands out to you?

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Um, I think this goes back to the um the similar question from Luke, um, where I don't think I have any one um memorable team or specific events or pupil. Because one, I don't think that'd be fair to judge my entire 10 years as as a member of staff, nor would it do justice for um all my time this year as a student. I think um what stands out to me when we're doing sport is is the teams that I particularly take. So I might have one one day I might have the A team, one day I might have the B team, one time I might have the C team, sometimes I might even be with the girls' sports. And in those moments, what I really, really love, and I feel like I've gained such a great relationship with you all, is that whenever we interact with each other, you give me everything that you can. You can do the absolute utmost that you've got, you give every single bit of effort you have. And that's what sticks with me is that you are willing to go above and beyond on the pitch, on the court, even in lessons. And I'm not sure what I've done right to deserve that. But that means a lot to me that you're that you want to do your best for what it is that I've asked you to do. And that that I think is the most memorable thing.

SPEAKER_06 16:01

How have you seen pupils grow or change during their time in your lessons?

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Have there been any, let's rephrase that slightly, um, rather than just being within the lessons, have you seen any fads come and go? Any of those trends that you go, go, I'm glad that one's gone. Uh there was a I remember when I was at school, there was a big thing on yo-yos. Everybody wanted yo-yos, and it kind of came in and then went out again. Is there anything that you've seen here at the Claremont that you've gone, hang on a minute, why is everybody wearing crocs? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

I don't know. I don't think it's just to do with Claremont. Okay, I think uh because I'm interacting with so many different ages, you come across dabbing, you come across dapping, yeah, you come across six seven, yeah, you come across all different things that that people have heard, and then somehow you've got children all the way down in reception doing these things, and then you've got children all the way up because sometimes I do sport with the year sevens and eights doing the exact same thing. I'm just like, it's not like they've spoken to each other. How how does that make sense? How do you know what a year seven and eight is doing? How does a year five, unless you've got a brother and sister in these old age groups, who's teaching these very young children how to do these dabs? And I I it sometimes it comes comes and goes, but it I think it's up to me that I need to keep up with what these actions are called so that I'm a bit with it. And sometimes I try to do it be a bit funny. So if somebody says six, seven, I do eight, nine.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Is that that we're gonna do? Is it eight, nine? What's funny is seven is up and down, eight, nine, side to side. Eight, nine, side to side. What I find funny is when the year six do six, seven, and they're like, Oh, yeah, we we don't do that anymore. We don't do that anymore. They definitely still still do it, but then when you go into year one and they're doing it, and you're like, Oh yeah, this is a little bit babyish now, as you guys. Uh if only you knew, yeah, the year ones were doing exactly the same thing. Awesome, nice question. Uh very contagious, very contagious, right? Who's next then?

SPEAKER_06 18:08

Can I is it what's being the most rewarding part of teaching here?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

I think that what's special about sports is that because it's so literally hands-on, very physical, that the most rewarding thing, so giving swimming as an example, is that when we as PE teachers uh give you some instructions, give you some tips on how to improve your swimming stroke, it's almost instant when you see the improvement. Even when you're playing football, the different way that we teach you to kick the ball with your foot, using different sides of your foot, using different techniques, it's instant that you see the improvements. Whereas in your c in the classroom, I I f I I take my hats off to classroom teachers just because as much as they I can see it in your faces the instant improvements because uh you'd like to think that, oh wow, they're really focused or oh wow, they they look really happy or really, really um excited that they've managed to get over a challenge or answer a question correctly. But when a teacher actually sees the physical result of that on the piece of paper, on the computer, in your reading book, it takes a little bit of time to go through that. Whereas I feel like we're very lucky as P teachers that we can see it right in front of us. So if we take an a mental picture that those improvements are happening every second of every minute.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

Yeah, that is nice. When you can instantly see it. Yeah, it's hard to show instant uh learning in certain subjects, particularly in computing, yeah. Because it can be quite confusing and it can take a while to kind of settle in. But yeah, I guess when you're kind of directing somebody on the pitch to uh shoot a shoot a ball into the net uh and they get it, well, there you go. You can see that instant gratification of it changing.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

We're very privileged in that way.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Yeah, that's really nice. Lovely, thank you. Who's next?

SPEAKER_03 20:13

What's the funniest or most unexpected thing that has happened during a lesson or a fixture?

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Oh gosh. What's the funniest and most unexpected thing that's happened in a lesson or a fixture? It could range from a teacher slipping over, it could range from Mr. Gallette standing on the side of a pitch watching one football match, and then there's a girls' football match going on behind him, and the ball gets cleared out into the back of his head. Uh I just was not expecting it because I wasn't looking at their pitch, I was looking at another pitch, and it it's very unlucky. Um but all sorts happens in sports, um, especially when you work with such a a diverse group of students as well as a diverse group of colleagues. So a lot of my P team are quite funny, quite silly. So I think it it's really important to have those funny and silly moments, even when we're teachers. Um but it it's quite funny when a teacher does something silly because they've slipped over or the balls hit them.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Nice. Yeah, I can imagine that would be uh a little bit comical on the pitch. Yeah. Super. Next question, then please.

SPEAKER_05 21:32

If you could introduce one dream sport or activity to Claremont, what would it be?

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Oh, do I have free reign? I think so. Oh gosh. I think you can have whatever. Uh dream sport you would like. Dream sports. I mean, i if there if there's no boundaries, it would be things like paragliding. Uh uh That would be cool. That would be so cool. Especially with the the size of the sites, I'm sure we'd be able to. Maybe have it work. However, a more realistic one, I think I'd have to pick something like mountain climbing or um tree climbing, because we got such fantastic trees round here, and if we got the the necessary equipment and the resources to get some ropes and some carabinas and all set up in the tree structure around the Belvedere, that would be such an amazing experience. I think we should have esports. I am a some would call a secret geek. Just because I do a lot of sports, some people don't see me as somebody that loves computers, loves quite a few computer games, and I'd be fully on board with that. I think we should push it forward. Esports, I think, would be pretty.

SPEAKER_04 23:01

What are you most looking forward to in your next chapter?

SPEAKER_00 23:04

The thing that I'm most looking forward to in my next chapter is exploring new skills, creating new challenges for myself, overcoming real-world hurdles that I feel I not only need to get through, but I need to learn on the right path to get around them. And doing those things requires either a a a fresh start or some major change. And while I'm sad to be leaving Claremont after such a long time, I'm glad that it's given me the ability to be optimistic and proud of what I've achieved and excited for my future.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Yes, thank you. I think that's uh yeah, that next chapter can feel a bit daunting, and then uh especially for you, even for you year sixes, I'm sure you guys can relate to that feeling of something new around the corner that we're not too sure what's gonna happen, but it's all for uh the best, and it can be really exciting, and we're gonna open up a whole world of different uh uh uh ideas and creativity, which I'm sure uh you guys are gonna explore as well as you, of course, Mr. Bellett. Uh right, two more questions, then please.

SPEAKER_06 24:32

What will you miss most about Claremont?

SPEAKER_00 24:34

What will I miss most about Claremont? Gosh, there's so many things. I think I said earlier about what makes Claremont special and how much it's grown. With with that in mind, when something grows, it requires such strong-minded, well-collected, and supportive people. And that goes for everybody at Claremont's, both the students and the staff. I will miss every single person, every single face, every single smile, every single hello, every single person that says the name Mr. Gallette. Because I don't think I'm going to experience that for quite a while, being called Mr. Gallette. And while I'm taking a break from teaching, it's it's nice to know that I had so many people that support me, both young and old. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

I feel a bit emotional, isn't it? It's kind of like, oh, what are you guys doing? I was all very quiet, and you're going, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh I think we've got one more question.

SPEAKER_06 25:45

Now that your Claremont journey has ended, what's gonna be your next adventure?

SPEAKER_00 25:50

I I think that's it. I think it's gonna be an adventure. I want to plan to go and travel for a little bit. My idea is to go and see and explore sites that most people forget about. Or most people go to the cities, go to the beaches when they go away. But I really want to go and explore the mountains, I really want to go and explore the lakes, I want to explore the walking trails of places that can be hidden. Some things that you only ever see in pictures because they're not as easy to get to. And then once once I've been on those adventures, I want to choose where I feel at home in the world. Because sometimes I feel that the world is so big that maybe you don't have to stay in just one place. So I want to see if there is a home for Mr. Gallette, maybe somewhere else on the planet. So yeah, even travelling in our i in our own nation means I don't necessarily have to go abroad. It it opens up my my vision, my my dreams, it opens up my my it gives more clarity. J just seeing the world, I think it's so beautiful not to see it. If that makes sense. I think I think you if you have the opportunity to explore, go and do it. I think every everybody as a as a human living on planet Earth, we all deserve to know what planet Earth is like all around the world. If you're in a great position to do so, I think hold your arms open and embrace that opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Absolutely. I think everybody in here has been uh touched with your teaching and everything else that you've given over, and I think that's definitely a parting message for everybody. Yeah, adventure starts now. Um so, Oscar, thank you so much for joining us today. Um, everything that you've contributed to Claremont um has been fantastic, and you will be uh greatly missed. Um, can we please give Mr. Let a big round of applause? As we finish this week's episode, one final reminder be kind, be respectful, and look after one another. These aren't just school values, this is what we do. Have a brilliant week. Thanks for listening to the download, and we'll see you next time.