Featured Teacher
that children somehow get lost in the
middle. If difficult or controversial
decisions have to be made, I have
always tried to ensure that the impact
they will have on children is the primary
consideration.
As head of the Junior School, you
have created a tradition of excellence
among staff and students. What are
two major programmes that you
have spearheaded, that you would
like to see continue long after you
have retired?
At St Christopher’s, I have been
passionate about developing the
teaching of Arabic, both to native and
non-native speakers. I learned to speak
Arabic in Jordan so I know that, whilst
it is an extremely difficult language
to learn, it is also a very useful asset.
In Bahrain, schools do not have to
teach Arabic to non-native speakers;
but several years ago, we decided we
would start with a one hour a week trial
in the Junior school. It was successful
and therefore later extended to two
hours a week and adopted by both the
Infant and the Senior schools. I have
also worked closely with the teachers
of Arabic for native speakers and I
have been able to help and support
them in embedding more interactive
and innovative approaches to their
teaching.
I love our mix of over seventy
nationalities and seeing just how well
all our children get along, playing
and learning together. I often think,
when out at break time, what a
different world it would be if only
world leaders would learn from them!
We introduced Global Citizens Day,
when all the children dress up in their
national costumes, with a parade,
activities that celebrate their diversity
and also involve parents and the
community. This is a really important
event in the school calendar, because
on that day we celebrate our individual
pupil’s country of origin and for some
of our children, born and brought up
outside their home country, it provides
a real focus for them to learn more
about and feel proud of their roots.
I am also proud of introducing termly
“Proud Assemblies” in which junior
children share what makes them feel
proud. A huge variety of things come
up; sporting, musical, artistic, dramatic
and even their own spontaneous
charity initiatives. Hearing from them
in this way, helps us in school to learn
more about how the children spend
their spare time. Being selected by
their year group to contribute, gives a
great boost to their self –confidence,
especially when the assembly comes
round and they hone their presentation
skills and present or perform in front
of six hundred other pupils. Long may
this continue.
What is your proudest achievement
to date and why?
My first Headship was at the
International Community School in
Jordan and although I left there to
take up an exciting new role in an
International school in London; I can still
vividly remember just how hard it was
to close the office door and walk out
of the school for the last time, knowing
you are leaving what effectively
has been your “baby” in someone
else’s hands! After 18 years now at
St Christopher’s and having helped
design and build our Saar campus with
it’s state of the art facilities, I know I
will likely be an emotional wreck when
the end of this school year comes
around. However, I am confident,
that having followed a distributed
style of leadership, together with the
numerous systems and structures, now
in place at St Christopher’s, that the
team of talented, dedicated teachers
we have been fortunate enough to
recruit and retain (we would not be
the school we are if it wasn’t for them),
are more than capable of sustaining
our outstanding record of excellence.
I am proud of the fact that over the
last five years, our annual turnover
of teachers in the Junior school has
been less than 3%. With such stability,
continuity is assured, especially if
everyone continues to remember the
St Christopher’s vision of continuous
improvement; “no matter how good
you are, you can always get better!”
I am also proud of the role I played in
establishing BSME Events for children.
St Christopher’s Junior school hosted
the first ever BSME event the “Under
eleven BSME games” and I also
served for many years on the Events
committee helping to build up and
diversify the number of events that
BSME runs. For me, this is the most
important part of BSME’s work as it
directly impacts on the children in our
schools.
After 18 plus years of service, St
Christopher’s should feel like home.
What activities do you have planned
to help you make the transition to
life after St Christopher? (personal
and professional).
St Christopher’s and Bahrain does
feel like a second home and a huge
extended family and leaving will be
incredibly emotional for me. When I
went through surgery, chemotherapy
and radio therapy for breast cancer
seven years ago, messages of support
and encouragement from the St Chris
community helped keep me going
and I kept on working throughout,
apart from when I had to be at the
hospital for the actual treatments.
When Ed and I married, four and a half
years ago, a staff member and some
parents commented to me that it
made St Christopher’s feel even more
like a family.
Bahrain is a very friendly place and
Bahrainis are warm and welcoming.
I am also fortunate that I have two
wonderful daughters I adore, who are
married and making their lives in the
Middle East, Marion is married to a
Jordanian and Alyaa to a Bahraini, so I
certainly anticipate coming back to the
region regularly!
We are leaving Bahrain and St
Christopher’s to live in a house we
are building in a beautiful spot just
outside Alnmouth, overlooking the
sea. I feel incredibly fortunate, as I had
always hoped one day that I would
live in a house with a view of the sea.
Neither of us, though, is ready to
down tools completely and we hope
to find new and creative ways of
working together or separately with
our “educator hats” on. Between us,
we have a wealth of experience and
knowledge of providing top quality
British education in overseas settings
and a very detailed understanding,
in particular, of how the Middle East
works, so it would be a pity if this can’t
be utilized in some way.
What advice would you give to an
NQT who is feeling overwhelmed
by the challenges of being a new
teacher?
I would say that nothing of consequence
is achieved, without you feeling that
you are going outside of your comfort
zone or as James Nottingham would
say being thrown into the Learning Pit!
Ask for help and support from those
around you; teachers love to give
advice and the best teachers are those
who are constantly learning from each
other and they will be more than happy
to share their classroom with you. To
become an inspiring teacher, you first
need to understand what it takes to
be a good learner and embrace the
fact that your own learning should
never stop. One of these days you will
experience a real buzz of excitement
in your classroom when learning is
tangible and there is no other feeling
like it – you will be hooked!
Class Time
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