Spring/Summer Edition 2019
belvedere
Belvedere’s New Principal Our guest editor, Emma W, got the exclusive first interview with Belvedere’s new Principal, Julie Taylor. How does it feel to be coming back to Belvedere and how has it changed? It’s wonderful, it’s like coming home. When I first came to look round when the job was advertised back in January, what struck me was that it felt just the same. Obviously, it’s changed a lot. It’s a state school now, there are three times as many pupils, it’s got a whole new build, but the feel of it is exactly the same. The pupils are very similar in terms of their attitudes to learning and enjoying everything that Belvedere offers. Enrichment is as it was, very vibrant and lively so all of that made me think that I wanted to apply for the job, because it reminded me of all the things that I loved about the school when I was working here before. What made you want to become a teacher? Well, I didn’t. That’s what most teachers will say to you. I went to university and did a Masters because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. When I finished that I had to get a job, so I worked in an office and I was really bored, it was the same every day. My parents were both teachers so I always said I’d never be a teacher and funnily enough it was always something that I thought I absolutely could never do because standing in front of a classroom of thirty teenagers was terrifying. Something made me think that because I absolutely didn’t want to do that, I would to do it. I thought I’d put myself in a situation that would challenge me, so I came to Liverpool to train as a teacher. Obviously the first ten years of my career was here at Belvedere, which was fabulous and I really enjoyed it. If you had to choose a different career what would it be? I wanted to be an actor. Although I did my degree in English Literature, when I was at university doing my undergraduate degree, I was part of a Drama Society and belonged to a group that performed in festivals. I did my masters in Theatre at Lancaster University and thought I was going to be an actor. It didn’t happen, I didn’t have enough money and I needed to get a job, so I had a reality check, but in my ideal world I would be in Hollywood. What is the best advice that you’ve ever been given? The head teacher at my previous school always said: stand up straight, shoulders back, face the day. Obviously at the moment I’m in
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a new job in a new school, so every day I think to myself: stand up straight, shoulders back, face the day. That’s really the best advice I’ve ever been given because it just gets you into the right mind-set to take on those things that you think you can’t do. If you had to describe yourself in three words what would they be? Driven, hard-working and annoying – that’s what my kids would say! If you could change one thing about the world what would it be? There are a lot of things I want to change because I’m quite eco-friendly. I think the one thing that I would change would be that all young people could have the education that you have in this school. So many young people in society have gone to school but it hasn’t worked for them, so they end up leaving. If you don’t go to school you can end up going down the wrong path. If everyone could have the quality of education that we have in this school, where people want to learn and where you aregiven opportunities, they would have the chance to get a really good start in life. That’s one thing that I would change, that everyone could have what we have here. Who would you say is your biggest inspiration and why? Someone like the actor, Emma Thompson. I think she’s amazing, she’s very talented and she’s not afraid of saying what she believes in even though it might not help her career. If you could have dinner with any one person, dead or alive, who would it be? Part of me wants to say George Clooney... No, I think somebody like Emmeline Pankhurst, someone massively dedicated to doing an almost impossible task. She would be fascinating to talk to and to hear about the experiences she went through. So either her or George Clooney, one or the other… or perhaps the two together.
Best Friend’s Wedding’ with Julia Roberts, it’s just so funny! Where is the best place that you have ever been on holiday? One place is the Algarve in Portugal, where I’ve been lots of times and we always have a really nice time as a family. My children love going there so whenever we go, they’re always in a really good mood and really happy. But the other place, for me personally, would always be Cornwall because I love it, regardless of the weather. I just think it’s beautiful and I love being outside at the beach. What’s something that you wish you could tell your younger self? Definitely to stop stressing about what you look like all the time. I think that all of us as women, perhaps all of us as human beings, worry too much about how we look. I think I probably spent too much time worrying about that and now when I look back at photographs of myself, I think you look fit and young and happy, so I think to myself why was I ever worried about that. It’s important to feel happy being the person that you are and not to worry about wanting to be like somebody else. What kind of music do you like? I really like a bit of jazz, but I also like things like Ed Sheeran. I have very broad tastes. I listen to Abba when I go for a run in the mornings, it’s really cheesy but it’s good to run to. Name one thing that’s on your bucket list. I’d really like to do something like the Three Peaks Challenge and I’d like to go to Australia. What’s the one thing you can’t live without? Definitely chocolate. I try not to eat it all the time, but I couldn’t live without chocolate.
What’s your favourite book? The Great Gatsby. I love that whole period of American literature and the idea of the American Dream, I find it fascinating.
What’s something that people might find surprising about you? I like creative writing and I did another Masters in writing part-time with Manchester Metropolitan University. As part of your dissertation, you had to write a novel. So I have written a novel and one day I’ll finish redrafting it and perhaps get it published.
What’s your favourite film and why? I like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, the black and white Christmas film. I think that’s a lovely film and I’d always watch that at Christmas. I also really like ‘My
Another thing that I do is get up at half five in the morning and go for a run, people are sometimes surprised about that but I think it’s good for me and for my mind.