b'of Edinburgh Award programme. By thisresponsible for admissions, reporting,young people on a daily basis.time, I had a TA army officer commissionassessment, marketing, external relations and so I had the best of both worlds. Iand publications. From there I movedKofi Annan said: Knowledge is power. was not office bound, kept my hand inback to Birmingham to King Edward VIInformation is liberating. Education is the coaching and playing sport, did someHandsworth Grammar School and my firstpremise of progress, in every society, in part-time soldiering and had a rewardingheadship. every family.job where I used my degree on a daily basis. I dont know if my route to headship isI leave the last word to Oscar Wilde: typical, but I look back fondly on theBe yourself; everyoneFollowing a stint in Kent I moved tovarious strands of my career. Each part Gloucestershire and held the posts ofhas helped shape me in my future career:else is taken.deputy head of sixth form and careers,sometimes from the insights I have gained head of department and housemasterfrom working with some exceptional at various points over a period of someleaders and colleagues, and at other times eight years. Again I coached rugby,by observing how things have been done hockey and cricket, as well as continuingand determining that I would not repeat with the CCF. From there I took up mythat process if I ever found myself in the first SLT position as a director of studiessame position. I do know that I loved my in Solihull where I wrote the timetable,time at HGS and I am very much enjoying managed GCSE and A level options,the challenges of my new headship. and was responsible for all things curriculum. This gave me experienceFrom being set on a career as an army of whole-school responsibilities andofficer to becoming a teacher and provided the opportunity to really obtainultimately a headmaster is quite a radical an overview of how a school operates. Itshiftjust ask my old school friends who was an invaluable experience, but I foundknew the 18-year-old Simon! I do firmly elements of it such as timetabling ratherbelieve in lifelong learning which is why I dry! have studied for a masters degree and a doctorate over the years as well as My first stint at King Edward VI Five Waysstill loving my subjecthistory. Enjoying followed and saw me in an assistanta career in education is a real privilege headteacher position, where I wasand each day is different from the one responsible for our Specialist Statusbefore and certainly not monotonous! We work. This led to deputy headship inhave the opportunity to make a positive Coventry for five years, where I wasdifference and to work with some fantastic 5'