I have always been fascinated by the beauty of Mathematics and I am inspired on a daily basis when I see pupils recognising patterns and exploring the subject for themselves. I have never regretted becoming a teacher for one moment – it is a unique profession which is so rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at school, and my English teacher in particular was incredibly inspirational and passionate about her subject. Pupils can really sense when this is the case and their understanding and enjoyment of those subjects deepens as a result.

I am so proud of the achievements of the pupils at the school, whether these are academic or in any other area. I always feel so privileged when I see an incredible sporting performance or a wonderful Drama production at school. This is often not just solely the quickest runner or the most accomplished performer – I love seeing pupils who are achieving their best and truly enjoying what they are doing. Knowing that I may have played a small part in that is what gives me the most pride as a Head. Of course, the determination and positivity of the pupils, and the commitment of the staff play a far more important role, and seeing the pupils and staff working well together gives me great satisfaction.

I feel as if our school is successful in so many ways, and yet we are always striving to improve every aspect further still. There are so many vitally important pieces that need to be in place for a school to be truly operating at a high standard and therefore deemed to be successful. However, in my opinion, the most important things to look out for are happy children, with great relationships between staff and pupils. I know that this goes hand in hand with high quality teaching and learning, where there is a shared goal between all members of the school community.

I think it is so important that children today have the right combination of resilience, determination and the ability to adapt to new circumstances. So many future careers that children will go into have not yet even been invented, and so much will therefore depend on other skills. I am always impressed by the determination pupils at school show – the effort and grit to improve and move onto the next stage of their development will be a vital skill in their future lives. I think that children also need to learn that not everything will always go their way, and they need to develop ways to deal with such situations and be able to bounce back in a positive way.   

Collaborative – I believe that education should be a collaborative effort between the pupils, parents and teachers.  Due to our small class sizes, our teachers are able to truly get to know each pupil and together with the parents work together to achieve success.   I also maintain an open door policy and enjoy meeting with the parents and pupils to discuss their aspirations and how we can ensure that they are achieved.

Learning – Our incredibly dedicated teachers instil in our pupils from Nursery onwards a love of learning.  They not only teach an incredibly full and varied curriculum but also help our pupils to see for themselves, thereby becoming confident, ambitious and independent learners.

Community – There is an incredibly strong sense of community at Colchester High School which is evidenced by the daily interaction between pupils who work together.  In particular I enjoy watching our pupils collaborate across year groups on class projects, extra-curricular activities or mentoring.  This not only allows the younger children to learn from their peers but also inspires leadership in our senior school pupils.

Character - I believe that education is not just academic but is also about developing a child’s character. We achieve this by educating the children about the world, providing a wide range of extra-curricular activities and promoting the importance of good manners, respect, responsibility and consideration for others.

Flourish - Every day it is a joy to see how our ethos of creating a strong sense of community and a varied, challenging and inspiring curriculum provides an environment where our children are happy and flourish both academically and as individuals.