ADVERTISING FEATURE Where did you begin your career? I started as a History teacher at St Benedict’s School in Ealing. After two years there I moved to Eton for ten years where I was head of History, coached the 1st XV Rugby Team and was a deputy boarding housemaster. I then moved to Merchant Taylors’ School in London to become the academic deputy head. I was at Taylors’ for five years, coaching rugby and cricket alongside running the academic life of the school. I moved to Prior Park this summer.
BEN HORAN
HEADMASTER, PRIOR PARK COLLEGE 01225 835353; www.priorparkcollege.com Describe your typical day There is no such thing; that’s what makes this a brilliant job. What I can say is that each day will have a mixture of spending time with the young people at Prior Park, meeting with staff and seeing parents. If I’m really lucky, then I will also get to do some History teaching or Sports coaching.
What exciting things are coming up at your school? In my first ever assembly at Prior, inspired by a trip to the musical Hamilton, I spoke to the school about the importance of taking your ‘shot’. I asked them to focus on standing for something bigger than themselves. I’ve been wowed by the response. The pupils have really taken a lead and are becoming ever more engaged. Be it peer mentoring, a commitment to the climate strike movement or their introduction of greater student representation, they’re stepping up. How has schooling changed since you began teaching? Eighteen years isn’t that long a time, but there have been a vast number of changes in education. Those changes all stem from challenges facing young people. I’m a History teacher, so I shan’t be too sweeping in my
statements, but I do think that it is harder to be a teenager now than at any time since the late 1950s. There are no guarantees anymore. In terms of careers, housing, and even the climate, they live in a world of uncertainty. It is our job as a school to help them prepare for an uncertain future. We don’t do this by sitting them in front of banks of computers, learning to code for the ‘jobs that don’t exist yet’ which you’ll hear a lot of schools bang on about. Computers may well be writing most of the code themselves in five years anyway! Instead, at Prior Park we teach creativity and teamwork, kindness and resilience. We know young people need room to explore who they want to be. They need a school like Prior that gives them room to grow. We understand that parents want a school where children become confident young adults who know their own mind. How does your school differ from others? Nowadays, all schools talk about pastoral care, but for Prior it is part of our DNA. This is, without any shadow of a doubt, the most caring and loving community I’ve ever been part of. Schools don’t talk enough about love. Prior Park is a school filled with love. Pupils love learning, playing and performing together. Teachers love sharing their passion for their subject. Parents love the fact that at Prior we care, deeply, about their children’s happiness and success – in that order!