One of my dearest friends, Amy, is the Headteacher of an inner city school in London (both her children were educated at Dulwich independent schools, went up to Oxbridge and have forged the finest of careers in their chosen fields).
Amy runs a very successful tight ship (OFSTED recently declared her school as 'Outstanding' in every category) and leads her school with vigour, dedication, determination and a passion that leaves the observer quite overwhelmed at her brilliant capacity to put 'great' into 'state'.
As for her school's Open Days....they don't exist as Amy has a pathological dislike of them and has never hosted one throughout her time as Head. Even when the school was persistently placed in the lower eschelons of the league tables, Amy refused to 'put on a show'.
Glossy brochures with staff and pupils trying their best to match. Staged lessons with carefully cultivated outcomes. Primed pupils with model answers to an array of potential questions. French cafes with stale croissants. Sweating Head with fixed grin expression. A million distractions obscuring the truth.
"We're open all hours," says Amy "and we don't disguise our warts!"
Enough said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment