Rhiannon Jenkins (Class of 2015

One of three sisters who all went to RMS, Rhiannon left the school in 2015 and went on to study Television and Broadcasting at the University of Portsmouth where she achieved a 1st. In September 2020 she started her first job as a primary school teacher and has already been teaching her class of sevenand eight-year-olds how to do Drill.

I joined RMS in Year 7 and from the very start, always wanted to be in Drill. I kept trying out to get into the Drill team and eventually got in when I was in Year 9. In my first year I was 2 West, then I went down to 1 East (I was so happy to be on the front row) and in my last year I was in Row 6. One year, both my sisters and I were in the same Drill team which was really special. In Year 13 I was a Drill prefect and that was amazing. I just love what Drill represents and how focussed and dedicated you have to be.

When I left RMS I went on to do a degree in television and broadcasting. However, I realised soon after graduating that I really wanted to be a teacher. In 2019 I started my SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training). As part of the training we were meant to have three placements: my first was with a Year 1 class, the second with Year 4 and I was meant to go back to my Year 1 placement for the summer term. However, when COVID hit we couldn’t go into school at all during that last term. The university I was training with sent us lots of online CPD and training work to do, to try and better our skills, but it was nothing like being in the classroom.

During that time I also needed to find a job as a teacher for the next academic year. In the end I interviewed for nine jobs. I didn’t have to teach as part of the interview, it was all just virtual interviews which was really intense. One week I had five interviews with two on one day! I started my current job in September 2020. I work in a small school, my class has 15 children and they are a mix of Year 2s and Year 3s. They are a tricky bunch of kids! I had an induction day with my class in the Summer term and on that day I played them a video of Drill; they all wanted to learn it.

I got hold of the music and taught it to them. From September up until October half term we practiced twice a week. We just did the arm exercissd but that was plenty for them to learn. I had five rows with three children in each row and they picked it up really quickly, although we did have to simplify it a little bit. It is such a big tradition at RMS and to be able to do it with my own class as a teacher was wonderful. The children were really good and very keen, and it was lovely to see them as enthusiastic as I am about Drill. Seeing them involved and seeing their excitement for it was really satisfying. I couldn’t help but be proud of them.

They loved the 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, clap-touch-down bit, and they got the end part really well too – 12345, 54321, 12345 and close. I am hoping that when lockdown is over I can bring them to a Drill performance at RMS. I miss Drill so much and hope to be able to come back to school for Charity Drill when it happens again in the future. Perhaps I’ll bring my class with me next time!