Role: Principal
Company: Bangor Grammar School
Track Record:
What does your job entail?
As the new Principal for Bangor Grammar School I am responsible for running the school and overseeing all areas and staff within it, both teaching and non teaching.
It is an exciting time for me, having moved into a new state-of-the-art building a year ago. It is wonderful school to be working in alongside dedicated staff which in itself makes life much easier.
It is my intention to continue to build on the strong foundations laid down by the previous Headmaster, where all pupils will continue to have access to a curriculum that meets their individual needs, where the extra curricular programme continues to grow and where pupils have a wealth of opportunities at their disposal to allow them to fulfil their potential.
My vision for Bangor Grammar School is that it becomes one of the leading, if not the best, all boys grammar schools in Northern Ireland, where each pupil achieves success, alongside developing into a well-rounded, confident and articulate individual, who has the necessary skills and qualities to become a valuable contributor to the economy and society in general.
I am truly humbled to have been afforded the privilege of being the Principal of such a wonderful school, with dedicated and innovative teaching and non teaching staff, supportive parents and most importantly, with enthusiastic and engaged pupils.
I look forward to building on the long history of community links to ensure that Bangor Grammar School and its pupils remain at the very heart of civic, sporting and artistic life in Bangor and North Down.
Is it 9-5?
Not remotely. There is a misconception that ‘teachers’ only work 9 – 3. Even from my earliest days in teaching, 9 – 5 was never a reality.
A typical day starts with my alarm clock ringing before 5.45am, to allow me to get my two boxer dogs walked and fed before I head down the M1 to Bangor. I try to take the opportunity to use the fitness suite two-three times a week.
Each day, I am at my desk working by 8am, if not before. At least two nights a week, I work late either to attend meetings, school events or to catch up, as I get significantly more work done whenever the school building is quiet.
On these evenings, I leave the building around 9pm, otherwise I try to leave before 5pm allowing me to collect my daughter.
How did you get into this line of work?
Honestly – through the insight of a very wise careers adviser when I was a pupil at Wallace High School.
I had been hoping to pursue a career in law but she suggested that I consider teaching too.
Unexpectedly I underperformed in my A levels and not wanting to re-sit, I took up the offer of a place at Stranmillis College, where my main subject was Business Studies, a true area of interest for me.
A couple of days into my first teaching practice placement in East Belfast I was hooked.
Outline your career to date?
I started teaching Business Studies and PE in a one year temporary post in Knockbreda High School in September 1995. This was followed by a permanent post in Campbell College where I stayed for 12 years.
In that time I became the Head of Department for Business Studies and a Housemaster.
In September 2008, I was appointed to Bangor Grammar School as their Pastoral Vice Principal. From the start of January I have been the Principal.
With the exception of the first year, my teaching career has been in all boys schools. Young people, especially boys quite often get bad press. I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoy working with boys.
In the main they are uncomplicated, co-operative, keen to learn and great fun to work with. In my current school I am blessed with mannerly, engaging, well behaved, hard working and dare I say it, charming young men.
Tell us about your qualifications/training.
I trained to be a teacher at Stranmillis College, completing a four year degree course and left with a Bachelor of Education (Honours) Degree in Business Studies and Information Communication Technology.
Whilst teaching, I completed a Master in Social Science Degree part time at Queen’s University and most recently, in 2008 completed my Professional Qualification for Headship (PQHNI) through RTU.
In education, training is ongoing and provided by a number of different agencies.
What qualities are required for your job – personal and professional?
Personal – have a positive outlook on life in general, self motivated, self aware, a good sense of humour is essential alongside on occasions having the ability to laugh at oneself.
Focused, dedicated, resilient, communicate at all levels, strategic thinker, with the ability to think outside the box sometimes to find the right solution. Ability to engage with people at different levels and actively listen.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
The current biggest challenge is convincing the Minister for Education that grammar schools have their place.
Even if they were removed, there would still be an element of selection within schools, as to teach each pupil effectively there would be a need at the upper and lower ends in particular, to tailor the curriculum to allow every pupil to experience success.
This is not cost effective for schools (in a period of reducing financial support), a significant investment would be required to train all teachers to be able to provide good quality teaching at all levels of entry, whether that be Levels 1, 2, GCSE, BTec or A level.
That in itself will increase stress levels and I suspect what we would start to see happening is an increase in long term illness, higher staff turnover and fewer people entering into the profession.
Within school, the biggest challenges are ensuring that all pupils and staff are genuinely happy and that the pupils, in particular have the opportunity to experience success, whether that be curricular or extra curricular and fulfil their potential.
There is a need for a suitable, balanced curriculum, accessible to all and offered within the current financial pressures that schools are operating within.
There are many rewards within this job, from one on one interactions with the pupils in the corridors, the light bulb moment where the A level pupil suddenly ‘gets it’ when teaching a complex topic, where external examination results are particularly good, where pupils participate in competitions and win, when a ‘thank you’ card arrives unexpectedly from a parent in the post. It is the little things that bring the most reward.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
The majority of my spare time is spent with my daughter, which in itself is a joy. It does not matter how busy or stressful a day I have had, coming home to bubbly personality and smiling face allows me to very quickly go into mummy mode.
During the day I may be the Principal of Bangor Grammar School but by night, I can be found, bouncing on the trampoline, reading Paddington Bear stories for the umpteenth time, colouring in or painting or playing fairy princesses, depending on what my daughter decides.
When being a grown up, I am an avid reader, with my particular area of interest being crime thrillers.
There is an ever growing number of animals that seem to find a home with me and my husband. In the past number of years we have acquired two boxer dogs, a cat, a donkey, two goats with ‘the chickens’ arriving in a number of weeks time.
I also enjoy (most of the time) exercising and occasionally manage to steal the odd hour or two away to get pampered at a local spa.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I am an outdoor girl at heart, most comfortable and happy in my Wellington boots tramping over the fields with my dogs. Nothing quite beats nature and fresh air!
Who has inspired you most in your life?
Professionally whilst at Campbell College, I worked closely with a gentleman called Brian Yeats who, at that time was employed by the Belfast Education and Library Board, whose passion for teaching and learning was infectious.
His work inspired me to think outside the box in the classroom and to take calculated risks, which in essence gave pupils the wings that they needed to fly and achieve at the highest level.