January 2026 marks the tenth anniversary of my first day at Churchill Academy & Sixth Form. My first post on The Headteacher’s Blog was published on January 12th 2016 – along with a photograph of a much younger looking me!

The past decade has been a rollercoaster ride. I can honestly say that taking on the Headship at Churchill was the best decision I ever made. Here are some of my strongest memories of the past ten years.

Our vision, purpose and values

One of the first things I worked on with the staff, students and governors at the Academy was thinking about the question: “why are we here?” I wanted to think carefully about what our school was for, what we believed in, our purpose and our values. The process took the best part of my first full year as Headteacher, and resulted in the adoption of our current values of kindness, curiosity and determination in July 2017, underpinning the Academy’s vision and purpose which were generated at the same time:

• To inspire and enable young people to make a positive difference
• To set no limits on what we can achieve

This careful, thoughtful work in 2016-17 has steered us well through times of challenge and times of success in the years that have followed, and will continue to guide us into the next decade.

Changes to the Academy Site

The school I inherited was in a state of some disrepair. The buildings were old, inefficient, and not fit for purpose in delivering a modern, effective education. My predecessor had begun the process of bidding for funding to replace existing buildings, and the first five years of my Headship were very much preoccupied with funding bids, architects’ plans, hard hats and building works. Over the past ten years we have:

• Built the Alan Turing Building for computer science, IT, business and economics
• Built the Athene Donald Building for Science and Technology
• Extended the Athene Donald Building with additional Technology rooms
• Demolished the old “Tudor” block
• Gutted the interior of Stuart and Lancaster and rebuilt both blocks from the inside out
• Installed perimeter fencing and automatic gates
• Move reception and school administration to its new location
• Taken over the old Sports Centre and replaced the swimming pool with the new Pool Hall
• Resurfaced the old coach loop

These projects have seen close to £20 million invested in the site. The result is a modern, effective learning environment for our students. Our campus is quite transformed and – whilst we are used to it now – visitors who knew it “as it used to be” are often stunned by the changes!

A fifth house

When Churchill was founded in 1956, it had four houses – Hanover, Stuart, Windsor and Tudor – named after the royal houses of England. In 2019 we planned to introduce a fifth house to enable more tailored pastoral care and guidance to be provided and to assist with the organisation of the Academy. And so, Lancaster House was born, coming into being in September 2020 and going on to win Sports Day and the House Cup in summer of 2023. It’s now hard to imagine the Academy without Lancaster House!

Pandemic days

The COVID-19 pandemic was the most significant challenge our school, our country and our planet has faced this century. I look back now on those hectic days of March 2020 as if they were from another lifetime, as we scrambled to keep everyone safe and maintain education as the country locked down. My most vivid memories of that final day before lockdown are of lowering the Academy flag, and then walking the silent, deserted corridors of the school, uncertain about the future, but confident that we would find a way. Somehow.

And we did. We learned a lot about online learning, about the importance of connection, and about how essential community is to our success. We learned that amazing things can happen when we work together with a clear plan – and that a lack of a clear plan is a recipe for disaster. And we are still learning that the pandemic has left a long tail of challenges in our society, our economy, in education, and in the wellbeing of our young people that we are still wrestling with today.

But my overriding memory of that time is how proud I am of the staff, students, and families in our Academy community, who pulled together and achieved amazing things in the most challenging of circumstances.

Performances

Even before I started as Head at Churchill, I knew the Academy had a reputation for the amazing performing arts. I was determined to ensure that the culture of performance continued to thrive, ensuring that Churchill bucked the national trend of schools where the arts were in decline. Through countless Young Musician of the Year Competitions, Strictly Dance Fevers, Dance Your Socks Off, Christmas, Spring and Autumn Concerts, showcases, and performances of West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Singin’ in the Rain, Little Shop of Horrors, Rock of Ages, High School Musical, Heathers, Mamma Mia!, Bugsy Malone, We Will Rock You…it’s fair to say the performing arts are in rude health still!

Academy Events

There are lots of highlights in the Academy calendar that come round every year, that I always look forward to. I’ve done ten Sports Days, ten Activities Weeks, sponsored walks, Christmas end-of-terms, Celebrations of Success, Presentation Evenings, Open Evenings…I think we do these showpiece events better than anyone! And I always look forward to them, each and every year!

Adding to the school’s history

Each Headteacher is a steward of the school they lead. I inherited the School Log Book, giving details of the opening of the school on this site in 1957, and the archive of photographs and records that document its evolution. From Churchill Secondary Modern School, the school later became Churchill Community School, a comprehensive school, Foundation school, an Academy and, more recently, part of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership multi-academy trust. Each step on the journey has moved our school forward, and I’ve been proud to be part of that story.

Lessons learned

Over the course of the past decade, I have learned so much from the wonderful staff, students and families in our Academy community, and from the experiences of ten years in charge of the Academy. I’ve learned that the vision, values and purpose of our school are strong enough to lean on in the toughest of times, and powerful enough to drive us forward to ever greater success. I’ve learned that storms make oaks take deeper root, and that – together – we can achieve anything we put our minds to.

Here’s to the future!