by Carly Barber
Challenge is at the heart of a great education. Not as an add-on for the most able, but as a principle that should shape the experience of every child, every day. It is through challenge that pupils develop curiosity, resilience and the habits of deep thinking that last far beyond school.
Too often, though, the word “challenge” is interpreted narrowly, as something reserved for the confident, fluent or high-attaining. In an international context like ours, where classrooms are rich in linguistic, cultural and cognitive diversity, that interpretation simply doesn’t hold. If we truly believe in the potential of every learner, then challenges must be designed for all – including those with additional needs and those learning English as an additional language.
What we offer in terms of challenge says everything about what we believe children are capable of. Simplifying tasks in the name of support may feel kind, but it quietly lowers expectations. And that has long-term consequences. Challenge is not a reward for finishing early. It is a right. Through sustained challenge, properly scaffolded and carefully planned, pupils grow in both knowledge and self-belief.
In recent conversations with colleagues, it’s been clear how thoughtfully they approach this. We want lessons to feel demanding in the best sense — where learners are thinking hard, occasionally stuck, but always moving forward. That balance is key. For our EAL and SEND pupils especially, it’s easy to underestimate what they can manage. Support often becomes synonymous with making things easier, when in fact what they need is greater cognitive demand, just accessed in different ways.
Real challenge nurtures curiosity. It invites learners to explore big ideas, ask better questions and make sense of complexity. With the right support – whether that’s visual prompts, modelling or structured dialogue – every learner can engage with rich content. In fact, it is through this very process that confidence and curiosity grow together. Challenge encourages learners to remain in the “stretch zone” – that space where learning is effortful, but not overwhelming.
Mary Myatt speaks to this powerfully in her work on High Challenge, Low Threat. She reminds us that pupils learn best when they feel emotionally secure but intellectually stretched. Making learning safe does not mean making it simple. It means removing the fear of failure while keeping expectations high. That combination is where deep learning happens.
For teachers, the work begins with planning. The starting point isn’t “what will they find easy?” but rather “what is worth thinking deeply about?” High challenge means selecting material that is rich, layered and thought-provoking – and then making it accessible through careful scaffolding. Scaffolding should support thinking, not remove it. We must prompt rather than rescue, and model rather than simplify. Our goal is to gradually release responsibility so that learners develop independence, not dependency.
That also means rethinking the idea of differentiation. Too often, this is still interpreted as giving some pupils a diluted version of a task. But true differentiation isn’t about lowering the bar. It’s about opening the door. It’s about making sure every child can get to the same powerful thinking, even if the route they take looks different.
The classroom strategies that help achieve this are not complicated, but they do require intention. Grouping learners to support and challenge each other. Using metacognitive routines to help them reflect on how they learn. Building time into lessons for DIRT – Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time – so that feedback leads to meaningful change. And making sure our feedback focuses not just on corrections, but on thinking and process: “What could you develop further here?” rather than just “What went wrong?”
Questioning is another key area. Are we giving enough wait time after we ask a question? Are we asking open-ended questions that invite reasoning, debate and discussion? Do we vary who we ask, and when, so that the challenge doesn’t only land with the most confident students?
When we create these kinds of classrooms, we also create the conditions where curiosity can flourish. A curious learner doesn’t just want to know the answer — they want to understand the why behind it. Challenge and curiosity go hand in hand. One sparks the other. And for learners who might otherwise feel marginalised, it is through challenge that they are invited into the heart of learning, rather than left orbiting around the edges of it.
Of course, none of this is easy — especially when we’re juggling time constraints, curriculum demands and the individual needs of thirty different children. Which is why it’s so important that we continue developing ourselves as educators. We often encourage our pupils to be the best versions of themselves. But that same invitation belongs to us.
I’m reminded of the phrase John Tomsett uses: deliberate practitioner. It’s the idea that great teaching isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about constantly honing our practice, lesson by lesson, interaction by interaction. Dylan Wiliam goes further: every teacher needs to improve, not because they’re not good enough, but because they can always be better. This mindset matters. It’s not about being self-critical; it’s about being deeply committed to the children in front of us.
Being a deliberate practitioner means taking time to reflect. It means asking ourselves, honestly:
- Am I holding expectations high for every learner?
- Have I built enough stretch into this task?
- Am I creating opportunities for learners to think, rather than just complete?
- Have I designed support that scaffolds rather than simplifies?
- Am I making space for feedback, redrafting and reflection?
- Am I modelling the learning habits I want my pupils to adopt?
We also need to reflect on the culture of challenge in our schools. Is it embedded in every subject, or only certain ones? Is it visible in feedback, in questioning, in the language we use around learning? Are our support staff confident in encouraging independence rather than stepping in too early? Do we talk about challenge as something exciting and empowering, or as something intimidating?
The most powerful classrooms are those where thinking is visible, struggle is welcomed, and every learner feels they are being taken seriously as a thinker. That’s the kind of culture we’re building together – one that celebrates effort, values deep learning and never loses sight of the joyful curiosity that sits at the heart of real challenge.
Carly Barber, Head of College, Brighton College Vietnam
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