Edition No. 85

Day: Monday, 02 June

Theme: Becoming a Comprehensive school

Writer: Rev Alun Glyn-Jones, Headteacher 1976-1987

I came to the school 38 years ago. I t was a very traditional grammar school in

1976 with pupils joining via the eleven plus examination – entry depended on

academic ability not church membership. The Croydon Education Committee

intended to close selective schools so the future of Tenison’s was in doubt. A

comprehensive school needed to be far bigger than the 450 students in the

school then but Shirley Williams, the Minister for Education, agreed that the

school could continue as a small comprehensive working closely with St

Andrew’s School.

Some staff left or retired as the new situation would be very demanding but

those who stayed and the new teachers seemed to thrive on the many

challenges that a small comprehensive threw at them. A criteria for entry had

to be agreed, the curriculum adapted for the new intake but the aim of helping

young people grow into responsible adulthood was the same as in the past and

the placing of the Christian faith at the centre of school life was maintained.

What do I now most remember? The Further Education success of so many, the

high standard of instrumental performance, the amazing art work, the annual

musicals, the success of girls’ netball and boys’ soccer. The special care for

those who found school so difficult, the energetic Parents’ Association and of

course the quiet acceptance that we were all doing God’s work in so many

different ways.

A school is a space in which young people learn and so many look back on their

time at Tenison’s with gratitude and a few smiles. Three hundred years is a long

time but I am sure the school can look forward to the start of the fourth century

with optimism and hope.

Edition No. 86

Day: Tuesday, 03 June

Theme: To Lead and be Led

Writer: Mr Parrish, Headteacher

On Thursday, 22nd May, Mike Carson, author of The Manager, a book which gets "inside the minds of footballs leaders" in the Premiership, visited us for the fourth in our tercentenary series of seminars on what "education is ..." on "to lead and be led". Mike Carson spoke to a mixed audience of pupils, staff, Governors and visitors from other schools. It was a good way to end the half-term. The timing could not have been better. One of Mike's opening anecdotes was about Carlos Ancelotti, only two days away from leading Real Madrid to a tenth European Cup title. Another of his illustrations related to Manchester City, recent Premier League winners. In the audience was Mr Richard Ford, former Headmaster, who supports Arsenal, who had just won the FA Cup under the leadership of Arsene Wenger, also featured in the book. The audience seized their moment, to ask someone who clearly knows his stuff about both management and football for his thoughts, for example, on David Moyes at Manchester United, Richard Scudamore's emails, England football managers past and present and the transferability of what he has learnt from football to other sports. One highlight of a very engaging hour was seeing a leader at work when a pupil was looking at his phone rather than listening to Mike Carson's opening words. "What can I do to get your attention back?, asked our speaker in a suitably robust and yet terribly polite way. "You have it", answered the pupil, quickly brought back to his senses. Jose Mourinho, who takes centre stage on the book's front cover and whom Mike admires for his humility would have been proud of him then. Later, questions flowed from the Year 10 pupils unintimidated by the adults around them and great ambassadors for their school.

Edition No. 87

Day: Wednesday, 04 June

Theme: Football Manager or Teacher?

Writer: Miss Davenport, Acting Head of Mathematics

Following Mike Carson’s talk regarding his book ‘The Manager’, as part of the

‘Education is . . .’ programme for our tercentenary year, I spent some time

reflecting on the relevance of his message for the staff at Archbishop Tenison’s

and one idea kept recurring in my mind; in many ways, being a football manager

is a lot like being a teacher. Many of us have played a little football in our time,

whether at school or for a local team. In contrast, only very few people ever

experience the daily pressures of managing a professional football team.

Although I am sure many of us have claimed to be able to do better than Moyes

at United, in reality, we cannot criticise too harshly until we have tried it for

ourselves.

Likewise, everyone experiences school as a pupil, yet only a small minority will

ever see school life from a teacher’s perspective. Another similarity is how both

the football season and the school year climax in the months of May and June.

The England squad are currently jetting off to Brazil, with Roy Hodgson hoping

he has done everything possible to help his team achieve their potential, and

maybe even a little more, at the World Cup in Rio. A little closer to home,

Tenison’s students are facing the biggest test of their lives with their teachers

hoping that they too are as prepared as possible for the challenge ahead of

them. Whether a trophy is won or lost, in football as in teaching, the end of the

summer holidays brings a new season and the opportunity to perform even

better than during the previous year.

Finally, when considering the comparisons between the teaching profession and

football management, one glaring difference did stand out to me . . . the wages!

Edition No. 88

Day: Thursday, 05 June

Theme: Leadership lessons from sport

Writer: Mr Fisher, Assistant Headteacher: 16-19

The New Zealand rugby team are known as ‘The All Blacks’ from the colour of their

shirts. They are the best rugby team in the world: world champions and a record run

of games unbeaten. We can learn many lessons in leadership from them that are

applicable to everyday life.

Here are three.

Leadership is about heritage.

True leaders are stewards of the future: they take responsibility for adding to what

has gone before. In the words of a Maori saying: ‘Be a good ancestor; plant trees you

will never see. ’The All Blacks put it like this: ‘Leave the jersey in a better place.’ New

players are given a book with the history of the team and all their predecessors; the

last pages are left blank for what that player will add in his time on the team.

Leadership is about honour.

This is doing what you say you will do – honouring your word.

Leadership is about humility.

This is also based on a Maori saying: ‘The sweet potato does not need to say how

sweet he is. ’The All Blacks try to show this in many ways. One way happens after

every game when the senior players get brushes and clean up the changing room –

“sweeping the shed” – so there is no mud or dirt or litter left behind.

This is so no one else will have to do this menial task; because people shouldn’t expect

things to be done for them; because no one is ever too big to do the small things.

Just as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, so true leaders must learn to serve.

St Augustine put it like this: ‘Lay first the foundation of humility .... the bigger your

structure is going to be, the deeper must be its foundation.’

Edition No. 89

Day: Friday, 06 June

Theme: Empathy and Steel

Writer: Mr Walters, Assistant Headteacher 11-16

Mike Carson’s visit to Archbishop Tenison’s was fabulously engaging and a couple

of his insights into football managers stand out as instructive to all of us involved in

education.

Mike Carson identified two key attributes that successful managers need to

embrace if they are to get the best out of their teams – steel and empathy. Steel is

needed at times to deliver a difficult message or to be firm in the face of

opposition. It is the attribute most associated with a manager like Sir Alex

Ferguson. The second attribute needed is empathy. This is the ability to understand

things from another’s point of view; to identify with another person’s feelings. A

manager who embodies this principle is Carlo Ancelotti .

Empathy is essential in working with young people who come to us from a variety

of backgrounds and daily experiences. How many pupils and students have had

their lives turned around by an understanding teacher or have had their view of

education transformed by a teacher who can speak to them in a language that

identifies with them?

However, steel is often needed too. This should perhaps not be associated with a

hectoring or stereotypical sergeant major type of teacher who asserts control

through fear or threats but by a teacher who can let a pupil know without

uncertainty when classroom expectations are not being met or when the work

submitted not does not pass muster.

Surely it is true of our faith too that we are called to empathise with the other’s

standpoint but sometimes we must remain strong to our principles and bear

witness to our faith even if it leads to persecution. Perhaps empathy and steel

together equal something of the character that is required of both football

managers, teachers and Christians in the modern era?