Wealden Times | WT232 | September 2021 | Winter Interiors supplement inside

Meet the Head
Head of Claremont Senior School, Ed Dickie, chats
career progression, teaching, and the rewards of
overcoming learning challenges with students
What were you doing before you
joined Claremont? Before I joined
Claremont I spent 13 years at Bedes/
St. Bedes School in a variety of
roles – starting as a labourer on
their Facilities Team and ending up
on the Senior Team as Senior Day
Housemaster. In between I was a
History & Politics Teacher, Head
of Sixth Form and Housemaster.
What are you looking forward
to next year? Hopefully spending
less time thinking about Covid
protocols and more time helping
students discover their personal
pathways. I am particularly looking
forward to teaching History at A
Level again, having taught only
Politics over the past few years.
Tell us a little about your school
days... Hmm. Perhaps less said
about that the better! I happened
across the Deputy Head from my
old school a few years back. After
overcoming his surprise at seeing me
he exclaimed that ‘the poacher has
turned gamekeeper!’. It’s fair to say
that I was a reluctant student until
my A Levels when I was inspired by
two fantastic teachers who managed,
somehow, to instill in a rogue 17-year
-old a passion for Shakespeare and
19th Century British Politics. My
own experience at school, both
the good and the bad, has guided me
throughout my career in education.
What was your favourite
subject at school? Despite now
being a History teacher it was
probably English Literature.
How do you hope to inspire the
pupils at Claremont? I hope to inspire
pupils by providing them with endless
evidence of what is possible when you
back yourself, work hard and take the
opportunities that come your way.
Seeing young people discover and
develop their potential is why I teach.
What’s been your proudest
achievement? It is always difficult
to pinpoint one particular moment.
Seeing Claremont develop
academically and pastorally has been
hugely rewarding but, for me, the
proudest moments in my career
have always been seeing individuals
‘come good’ when the odds were
against it. This might manifest in all
sorts of different ways – both inside
and outside the classroom – but
when it happens I know we have
really made a lasting difference.
If you could teach anyone from
history, who would it be? A very good
question! I am not sure that any of the
many people I admire from history
would have gained much from being
taught by me! In terms of someone
who I would have been most interested
to teach when they were child I would
lean towards a political figure such
as Nelson Mandela or Adolf Hitler,
each for very different reasons!
What’s your favourite place to visit in
the Weald? Again, very difficult! Born,
and initially brought up, in Sussex
I feel very much at home across
the Weald. At the moment I am
never happier than walking with my
dogs through the fields and woods
north of Battle, where I now live.
claremontschool.co.uk
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