Today I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview my head teacher and find out a bit more about her and the vital role she plays in The Brittons Academy.

Here’s how it went…

What is it like being the [acting] principal of our school?

It is an honour and a privilege to be the acting head at The Brittons Academy, when I first became the acting head I was excited about the opportunity and challenges however I did not realise how busy I would be.

Did you always want to become a principal?

I have been teaching for twenty eight years, eight years into my career I wanted to become the head of my department (science), which I eventually did. One day, in that teaching position, I spoke to a trainee teacher and he told me that his ambition was to become a head. It was after that moment that I realised I too wanted to become a head teacher one day.

What is a typical day in the life of The Brittons Academy's like?

Busy. I usually get into school at around eight and that is when the day starts. I begin with a SLT (Senior Leadership Team) briefing, where we look at the diaries of the day; then I go to stand on the gate where I welcome students into school. After, I try to go to assemblies. 

When lessons begin, I am either on call or I start my meetings for the day, with the CEO or line management.

I then go to my break duty and try to get around to all of the duty points where I check in on staff. Then it's back to meetings, followed by lunch duty where I do duty again (just like at break). Then there are more meetings period five and afterschool meetings or to teacher training. Sometimes, people drop in afterschool- parents, teachers, other members of staff - to discuss any of their concerns. To follow, I make phone calls to parents and make any emails I need to. I usually tend to leave school at around seven thirty pm or sometimes half eight; half past nine if I have a governers meeting.

Does being a principal of an ELAT school affect how you do your job or the decisions you make within/about the school?

On a day to day basis I make all the decisions within the academy, however, more strategic planning and bigger decision for example about the curriculm, I work with the three heads of the other schools within the trust. 

Recently, the news focused on the mental health of students. Do you have any plans to do this?

Along with the senior team, I organised for Kooth to visit our school and they done an assembly for students. [Kooth is an online counselling platform for teenagers and is free to access.]

We also have support and guidance managers within the school who are available to talk to and help students. They can link studens to appropriate agencies who can support their needs.

The new GCSEs have been a major cause of alarm and stress amongst both students and teachers. Do you think you would be able to pass if you was a part of the class of 2018?

Yes I do infact. The new GCSEs are like the old O levels which I am old enough to have taken. Last year I attended all of the saturday maths revision sessions to help students prepare, every week I raced against one girl, who turned out to have gotten a level nine in maths, and she often beat me because of one or two silly mistakes I made. I think that if I was to take the maths exam I would get around a level eight.

You run the knitting club, how do you find the time with your busy agenda?

The key is to prioritise work, you can't always do everything so you must do the things which are the most important. 

I started the knitting club because I wanted to be a role model to students and this year we have really been trying to get students involved in more clubs and widen their extra curricular activities; I wanted to lead by example. 

Thank you Ms Scott for making the time in you ever growing schedule to answer my questions.