CHARLES FILLINGHAM

school, I always have.” When asked to describe a pivotal moment that influenced his choice in career, he recalled helping friends during his teenage years at school with their French and German studies and has never looked back from there.

harles Fillingham is the new Headmaster at Solihull School in the town centre, we recently met up and had a chat about the school and linked aspirations.

The school is stunning, I was surprised on the overall sheer scale of the school with expansive sports grounds set in a lush green open space, trees line the cricket grounds, history has it that one tree was planted every time a pupil hit a century in cricket, such a great reflection of strong, deep-rooted tradition. Employing over 370 staff the school is the 10th largest independent school in the country. Success oozes from every perfectly curated corner of the campus, and confident pupils smile and greet us with respect throughout our tour. When questioned about the strengths of Solihull School

Mr Fillingham talked about the additional layers of opportunities linked with the school. “Naturally it has a high success rate in examinations, because there is a selective entry for places, but the sport, music and drama at Solihull add so much more. The alumni network is impressive and, overall, there is a robust sense of belonging; the pupils know that they are fortunate to be educated here.”

Mr Fillingham is an utterly charming man whose life has been immersed in academia. He confessed quite simply, “I like

Mr Fillingham is born to teach and lead by example, he enthuses, “It’s such a privilege to do this job, I know that schools can be a force for good in the world. Being a headteacher is also about tone setting and having time for people. I like to sit with pupils at lunchtime, I invite myself to sit with a different group each day, they don’t always like it, but it allows me to find out more about what they are interested in and how the school is running. It’s also important for me to teach classes, only a few each week these days, because there are other aspects to my job, but it’s still important to be in the moment and not to lose touch.”

I asked what would he change in the world if he could change anything? “Racism, I can’t stand it and it doesn’t make any sense to me, it seems to be the unfairest of unfairnesses. As a headteacher, I can have an impact through my own behaviour and also, I like to think, through those that I come into contact with.”

So, I wondered how such a committed and invested person could relax? “I love cycling, no Lycra just me and my cheap old banger of a bike! I have such happy memories of when I cycled to Paris with my 14-year-old son a few years ago, a real endurance test for the final 10k though!”

As you would expect of an Oxford graduate who freely confesses his love for academia, books play a huge part in his life. He also mentions his wife as being a voracious reader with an average tally of 3 books per week being the norm. I asked what type of book would he write given the time? “It would be set in 1920s and 30s Berlin, I’d be an undercover spy in smoke-filled bars and clearly be the star character in my own book. Maybe I’d even bring down the Nazi regime before it could begin?” No book deal signed yet, but you get the impression if he wanted to steer his future to becoming an author there is no question this would happen, I would buy it.

Mr Fillingham is keen to connect with the town centre business community and move away from the school being the best kept secret, so we can look forward to seeing more of the Solihull School success story filter into the town soon, three cheers for Mr Fillingham, quietly inspiring, once met never forgotten.

Un Barrage contre le Pacifique / Marguerite Duras

By Melanie Palmer