Wealden Times | WT163 | September 2015 | Education supplement inside

WT Education Supplement Sponsored by
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Top of the Profs
We get the lowdown from Wealden head teachers
about their earliest school memories...
Jeremy Walker, Principal,
King’s Rochester (above)
What’s your earliest memory from
the classroom? Playing Joseph in a
nativity play. I still have a photograph
of me in costume looking very excited
to be meeting Father Christmas.
Which aspects of school life do
you look back upon fondly? The
huge range of opportunities alongside
the classroom such as sport, music
and the CCF. I boarded for ten years
so the friendships and camaraderie
were also very important.
Did you have a favourite teacher?
My A Level RS teachers at Sherborne,
Paul Carling and Chris Huxtable, who
fostered my love of the subject and led
to me going to Oxford. Also Andrew
Yorke, who got me through Maths GCSE,
was wonderful, patient and kind.
What was your favourite lesson?
I loved RS, History and English but
the lesson that stands out was an A
Level Art lesson I attended by mistake.
They were learning about Jackson
Pollock and it sparked an interest
in art which I still have today.
Is there anything you wish you’d
studied at secondary school?
I wish I had taken Art at least to
GCSE. I see the work done by pupils
at King’s and am always so impressed
and interested in what they create.
How has your own experience
of school sculpted you into the
head teacher you are today? It
has had a huge impact. I was fortunate
to go to two amazing schools and my
belief in the balance of the academic
and wider curriculum was shaped by
that – I always say that exam results get
you job interviews but it’s the person
who walks through the door that gets
the job. I’ve also worked with some
outstanding people in my career and
that continues to inspire and influence
my vision of the changing landscape
of education and the modern world.
King’s Rochester is a co-educational
day and boarding school in Kent for
pupils aged three to eighteen. 01634
888590 www.kings-rochester.co.uk.
Bill Jones, Headmaster,
Spring Grove School
What’s your earliest memory
from the classroom? I remember
my first teacher in primary school and
her telling me to sit still. After one term
my parents moved me to our local prep
school. It was quite a transformation. Miss
Jones (no relation) smelt nice and had a
welcoming smile. I loved school thereafter!
Which aspects of school life do
you look back upon fondly?
I could not get enough sport and
music. As a Cathedral choirboy I
was kept busy and came to love the
music we sang and enjoyed the sense
of performance. In South Wales, my
favourite sport was rugby. I also enjoyed
the mischief of being a boarder.
Did you have a favourite teacher?
At prep school, Mr Phillips was my
housemaster. He had a great sense
of humour and clearly understood
young children. We trusted him
knowing that if we were caught for a
misdemeanour then punishment would
be fair. He was also a good teacher.
What was your favourite lesson?
The lessons taught by my favourite
teachers! I loved History when it was
taught by Mr Jones (still no relation!)
who brought the Middle Ages to life
through stories and Maths with the
Headmaster who kept referring to his
schooldays in Victorian times (I still have
no idea whether he was exaggerating).
Is there anything you wish you’d
studied at secondary school? I
dropped History and Latin early on for
other subjects but wish now that I had
carried on with them. Both subjects
I have come to love since then.
How has your own experience
of school sculpted you into the
head teacher you are today? I
never liked the petty rules of school
that seemed to exist just to make life
difficult. C.S. Lewis, referring to the
Narnia chronicles, once said that he
wrote the kind of stories he would
like to have read as a child. Echoing
his sentiment, I now run the kind of
school I would like to have attended.
Spring Grove School is an independent
prep school in Wye for boys and girls
aged two to eleven. 01233 812337
www.springgroveschool.co.uk.
Mark Hammond,
Deputy Head Teacher,
Skippers School (below)
What’s your earliest memory
from the classroom? Our earliest
memories are intricately linked with
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