IAN TEMPLE Shirt and sweater TOMMY HILFIGER TM | JANUARY/FEBRUARY <strong>2018</strong> 18
IAN TEMPLE It was interesting to note that at every instruction given by the photographer to Ian Temple, Ian would act upon it accurately and professionally. It gave rise to some suspicion before Ian was egged on to admit, “Yes, I did some modelling in my younger days!” Ian had modelled for about four to five years from the age of 17. His fit physique, attributed to hours of squash, primed him for the modelling industry. It was no wonder that the photography shoot wrapped up quickly as Ian made it all the more easier with every pose and shot. He eventually ventured into television commercials. “It was for Black and Decker,” he divulges. “It was for a new lawn mower and the commercial was shot in a garden that had just won a national gardening competition, and it was an absolutely beautiful garden. It was a good stint and it didn’t get in the way of my studies. If at all, it gave me extra pocket money and I was able to afford little luxuries like holidays and buy nice things.” So, did modelling influence a sense of style in Ian? “<strong>The</strong> only thing modelling taught me was to never go into the entertainment industry. A few people I modelled with did go on to become well known personalities but somehow a career in this field was not appealing to me.” Ian is far from home – Sunderland, Northern England to be exact. “We have a bad football team but a very good cricket team, which is the Durham County Cricket Club. If there’s anything I miss about home, it would be cricket.” Into his eighth year away, Ian has somewhat acclimatised to life in Malaysia and Dubai six years prior. His passion for teaching has somewhat numbed any feeling of homesickness and has him forging ahead with purpose. Born to educationist parents, it never crossed his mind that one day he too would follow suit. With an older brother who studied accounts management and who has since moved into the software management industry, Ian was a little uncertain of his future undertakings. “I won’t say I got into this line by mistake,” says the 47-yearold. “I just decided to give it a shot and literally from day one there was no looking back!” “<strong>The</strong> education system in the UK wasn’t great in the 70s and “If anyone told me in 1993 when I started teaching, that I would be a head teacher, I would have laughed it off. It just hadn’t crossed my mind.” 80s. You sat in the classroom for one hour periods, six hours a day. <strong>The</strong>y gave you information and at the end of your five years, you sat for an exam and that’s when you discovered if you were really good or not. I found it to be a negative experience because that’s not the way I want to learn; I’m a doer. I like to get out there and do things, and what I learn sticks with me.” “I went through my education and as I got older, I started to appreciate it more, especially when I was doing my degree. After a four to five year wait, I did my Masters in Education in Sunderland University followed by the National Professional Qualification for Headship a few years later.” Ian was in his first Deputy Headship in a school in Newcastle when he really started to look at how he could make a difference. “My work was concentrated in the classroom, but when you can do what you do in a classroom across a whole school, it got me thinking. People will listen to me, and if they do these things that I say, things could get better for them. One of the first things I learnt in management was that if I make people’s lives better, then we can make the whole place better.” “It’s actually my job to feed information down to them to make it better and not the other way around,” he explains further. Today, Ian continues to teach despite being the Principal of Tenby Schools. <strong>The</strong>re’s just no keeping him away from the classroom no matter how high up the career ladder he climbs. A Business Studies teacher for the Cambridge IGCSE syllabus, he takes students right through to their exam year. You would think running the school would already take a huge chunk of time but Ian is adamant about getting his time in the classroom. “Teaching evolves and it is essential to be at the ground level to keep abreast of new techniques and developments in teaching,” he says. “No teacher wants to let their students down. So, I put pressure on myself to keep up to date. I feel good doing that, as it is crucial to practise what you preach otherwise you could lose your staff rather quickly.” Is Ian a fun teacher? “I used to be!” he laughs. “I didn’t have a problem when I taught in the Middle East but Malaysian children are not getting my jokes. I did manage to get a few 19 JANUARY/FEBRUARY <strong>2018</strong> | TM
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