WEEK 28 - Friday 25 April 2025
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change” - Charles Darwin
Like everyone in any position of responsibility, I have frequently suffered from imposter syndrome. I felt it when I first started teaching in my early thirties, and stood for the first time in front of a class of expectant students. I have since experienced it at various stages in my life as I have taken on responsibility for leading staff meetings, holding assemblies and speaking to parents.
As a Headteacher, I have become more confident in doing the above, but I don’t think I will ever feel fully comfortable when I find myself rubbing shoulders with other more experienced Headteachers and especially with uber-confident CEOs. At a recent conference, I found myself in a group of leaders feeling particularly ill at ease until I realised that I was the only one without a knighthood!
So, I occasionally wonder ‘how the hell did I get here?’. Certainly, a great deal of good fortune. I joined my first school, Waltham Tollbar, just as they were attaining specialist college status in Business & Enterprise. This was perfect for a Business and Economics teacher and so I quickly became Head of Department with numerous courses and responsibilities under my remit. I cringe at some of the clumsy mistakes I made as a new leader and so I soon learned to adapt the ways in which I handled and dealt with staff, parents and other leaders in the school.
When I left to join Hessle, it coincided with the arrival of a new Headteacher, Sarah Young, who rebuilt the school, literally and figuratively. Working with her, and other leaders, came at the perfect time for my career and, when others moved on, I was in the prime position to become the Head. It sometimes feels like very good fortune but I am not too modest to recognise that I must have done something right to put myself in the right place to take advantage of the opportunities that have come my way.
More than anything, on reflection, I feel that my ability to adapt to new settings and challenges has probably been most responsible for opening doors for me.
I am nothing like the individual that started out teaching in 2001; I’ve learned how to conduct myself professionally in different audiences, when to speak, and when not to.
As a leader, I’ve learned to adapt my leadership style so that I take the lead when I need to, but I also know when to support and facilitate the work of others when that is the right thing to do. I used to get that balance wrong lots of times, but I’ve learned and adapted.
School leadership throws up different challenges all the time. Next year will be my twenty-fifth working in schools, and twenty-fourth as a leader of some description. I don’t intend it to be my last, so I know that I need to continue to adapt to the changing nature of students, of parents and of staff in order to do the best job that I can.
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This is the shortest term of the year, at just 23 school days, but it certainly seems to be the busiest. A four-day week can be a blessing but often means that there is just less time in which to do a week’s work!
Nevertheless, it has been a nice and calm week in school. There have been multiple exams taking place in practical subjects and most days extended for Year 11 students who are staying after the normal school day to take advantage of revision being offered by their teachers. During the day, the change to lunchtime has gone well and students in all year groups are taking advantage of the fine weather to enjoy the field and spend more time outside. A number of trips have taken place and the staff meeting yesterday afternoon saw a real buzz and sense of purpose in the hall as I outlined where we are on our school improvement journey.
All told, a positive week but I am looking forward to the weekend.
It starts tonight when we celebrate our son’s birthday, continues into the weekend with some gardening and relaxing, before a night out tomorrow night with some colleagues, and the Hull v Wigan game on Sunday. Throw in some time watching my son refereeing football matches (his latest way of spending 24/7 involved in sport) and a bit of running myself and the weekend is no slower than the weekdays.
However you are choosing to spend your time, I wish you a nice weekend and thank you once again for your support.
Mr Groak
Headteacher
