T: +44 (0)1865 661129
Mobile/WhatsApp: +44 (0)7712 236963
I drifted into a career in education by chance. Had I looked for professional advice, I probably would be doing something entirely different now. However, I do not regret the wonderful families and students I have met, the places and cultures I have explored either in person or through encounters with students, and the fantastic joys I have experienced through students’ successes. Nothing beats hearing from a former student or their family, learning what they are up to now.
In my final year at university, I became deeply engaged with my subject – French Language and Literature. I had completed a subsidiary in Latin but was still finishing Italian, such a beautiful language. I loved 17th Century French Tragedy. Racine and Corneille thrilled me. To this day I recall the final exam paper giving me; “Le dessin en est pris: je pars, cher Théramène…” and was off! I took such pleasure in writing my essay launched by that one line.
Whilst my friends were busy being offered exciting jobs (ask me about them!), I had my head in my books. I applied to do a Postgraduate Certificate in Education only because it would give me a plan for the next year. When I was told I had been offered a place at Durham University where there were 200 other applicants for the place, I felt obliged to take it.
In my final term at Durham, I was offered a post at Scarborough Sixth Form College, advertised as a Scale 2 post – far beyond what a novice teacher could have anticipated. And it was wonderful! I was teaching A-level from my first day, choosing my own texts and working with what would become my favourite age group. I consider first year undergraduates and 6th form to be my specialist area. There were some O-level retakes too. It was only a few years later that GCSEs became the exam at age 16.
The move to Oxford gave me my first taste of independent education at Headington School. I was struck by the girls’ confidence and just a little envious too of the support and encouragement they were offered. Most of the girls were local but there were international students from Nigeria, Hong Kong and elsewhere. The five years at Headington gave me some invaluable insights into Boarding alongside experience of how hard staff in independent schools work to do their best for pupils. That is not to decry the dedication of staff in state-funded schools but in Boarding the responsibility is 24/7, 7 days a week.
It was hugely flattering to be approached by the School of Languages at what was Oxford Polytechinic, now Oxford Brookes University a few months after my elder son’s birth. I taught mainly French language modules to first- and third-year undergraduates and felt very much that this was where I belonged. I knew where these students were in academic terms and how I could help them onto their next stage. Even now I retain a link with Oxford Brookes as an exams invigilator, mostly working with students who have special access arrangements.
Whilst at Oxford Brookes, because I was about to teach an Applied Linguistics module on a new Masters’ Programme there, I undertook part-time study to attain my own Masters in The Management of Language Learning. This was a unique mixture of Applied Linguistics, Teaching Methodology and Management too. It was aimed at future heads of department but took me in a different direction when I saw a vacancy for a Lecturer with a Computer Training Company.
As a Microsoft Instructor for a training company with offices in London, Birmingham and Oxford I had to learn fast and travel widely to deliver onsite training around the UK. Having started my career before the advent of the Internet, word-processing, electronic databases and spreadsheets were new to me. We had been pioneers of email in the School of Languages at Oxford Brookes, using Pegasus Mail, but training on Outlook taught me so much beyond that.
I learned a great deal from working alongside a team of talented computer geeks. They delivered all manner of hardware and software training around the world, including teaching for Microsoft itself and writing their manuals. The camaraderie was exceptional. I became an Instructor Manager alongside continuing to teach, overseeing Instructors’ training, their teaching allocations, performance reviews and salary negotiations. The Sales team would allow me to accompany them, and I would hear a client’s requirement then help translate this into a deliverable course that would then be presented as a proposal. It is not too difficult to see how this prepared me for leadership in a tutorial college.
Bosworth Independent College in Northampton, now a school and mostly in a new location, was my best Principal position. The college retained many of the values I held dear from the tutorial colleges in Oxford but was large enough to provide a wider range of opportunities for students. The teaching team were hugely invested in supporting individual students and academic outcomes were very good. We were delighted to be in the top 100 schools for A-level results, punching well above our weight. GCSE outcomes were about to be our very best in the year I left, but Covid intervened, alongside new ownership.
The college had 6 boarding houses, each with a unique identity, whilst some older students aged over 18 chose to live in our semi-independent Senior Houses. The social hub of the college was a former conference centre, which when I was there was open from breakfast until 10pm, 7 days a week, where all students be they day or boarding could socialise and study. The breakfasts served there were second to none, often compared to a 5-star hotel with the range of options. For lunch and dinner too each day there were at least two meat, one fish and one vegetarian options plus a salad bar or soup, sandwich and baked potato choices. No wonder we loved to host events for the ISA (Independent Schools Association), BAISIS (British Association of Independent Schools with International Students), CIFE (Council for Independent Education) and the local community too.
Bosworth Independent College had its own admissions team who took pride in knowing the families from which our students came and retained contact with them, including visiting them if they were travelling to their city. This approach was a genuine expression of the “family-feel” we aimed to offer. It was never a surprise to me to learn from a colleague in Admissions that, for example, a family pet had undergone surgery or how a storm on the other side of the world had affected a student’s garden.
Similarly, the boarding staff knew their students well. Many a time a potential problem was averted because someone from the cleaning team had noticed something unusual and acted upon the information to the benefit of the student.
The college had its own estates team too. They knew the buildings inside out and between them could tackle just about any job, be it carpentry, plumbing, electrics, groundworks. Some of the craftsmanship is still on show, even in the now derelict buildings.
I was honoured to represent Concord College near Shrewsbury when appointed as Executive Principal of SCBS, Shanghai Concord Bilingual School. The Primary, Middle and High Schools are all located in Huangpu, the prestigious central part of Shanghai. My gorgeous 19th floor apartment in Xintiandi had a huge window overlooking the site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party with views far beyond over the city.
The school’s pupils and families were delightful, and I was pleased to oversee all of the High School’s university applications successfully, through UCAS for UK destinations and US applications too. Covid meant that finding and retaining good teachers for the international curriculum was a challenge and it is to their enormous credit that pupils achieved such strong GCSE and A-level results. Pupils were required to study for the Zhongkao whilst in the Middle School, alongside the UK curriculum classes. Fortunately, both the Primary and Middle Schools had experienced Chinese Principals to manage the obligatory Chinese curriculum. Only once in the High School at 15+ were pupils permitted to focus solely on the British curriculum.
Chinese families invest heavily in education and most pupils undertook additional tuition from private tutors at the end of the school day, often working late into the evening. Little wonder there was frequent sleepiness during the day!
Since my return from China, I have been caring for elderly parents and so unable to commit to another demanding full-time post. I have thoroughly enjoyed several part-time positions, including compliance consultancy for an outstanding and prestigious culinary school in London. Imagine my delight when the inspectors from the ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) awarded the school “exceeds expectations” in every category! They are the most fabulous place and my mouth waters just to think of the fresh ingredients I used to see arriving each morning ready for classes.
I have worked in schools with pupils with SEN (Special Educational Needs), learning about EHCPs (Education, Health and Care plans), and becoming better familiar with ADHD, ASD, PDA, SEMH and more.
Parents regularly contact me for advice about many areas of education. They seek my input on school choices; independent or private, day or boarding, curriculum, location, league table ranking and so on.
The area where I feel I am especially helpful is in UK university applications. I love to help young people work out what they want to study at university and then make their very best application. Having done this, I like to stay in touch as the offers arrive and then advise on how to respond. If things go wrong, for example illness during exam season, sadness in exams grades or some other difficulty, then I can often help. I like to consider a student to be “mine” until he or she is happily settled at university.
Having provided the above as a College Principal and then in semi-retirement, it is exciting to offer education consultancy now as my own business. I love to retain contact with young people, albeit mostly online. It remains thrilling to be part of a student’s success. I continue to meet families from around the globe via online meetings and email exchanges.
All in all, at Fiona Pocock Education I do many of the things I have done successfully for decades but with more experience, more useful contacts and more flexibility for myself and for clients too. I can now focus on all the best bits!