I N T RODUC T ION
Meet the Head Master Mr Walker joined St Peter’s School as Head Master in January 2019. In this special interview, Mr Walker talks about his career to date and his vision for St Peter’s in conversation with the Heads of School, Ben and Hope. What inspired your choice of career? (Hope)
From the Head Master Welcome to the 2018/9 edition of The Peterite and I am sorry that it has taken so long to produce, being delayed by the need to manoeuvre the school through the challenges of COVID. I have enjoyed looking back on that time, and my first year at St Peter’s, a great deal. Recalling the triumph at Rosslyn Park, the creativity of pupils in art exhibitions such as Imagine 19 and school productions including Beauty and the Beast as well as the outstanding exam results that year served to reinforce all I knew when I moved to York. St Peter’s holds academic achievement, skills, interests and values as equal priorities, giving pupils tremendous amounts of challenge and fun, while preparing them to make a positive impact on their world. I hope you enjoy reminiscing as much as I have. I am indebted to all those who have written contributions for this year’s magazine and the team who have worked so assiduously on its publication.
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The Peterite 2018–2019
I had a number of options before settling on teaching. My father served in the Gurkhas and one of my ambitions was to follow in his footsteps. However, the Gurkhas were being reduced in numbers and at the time there seemed to be fewer opportunities in the military. Farming was a thought, and I was a lambing shepherd for several years in holidays and spent six months as a jackaroo on a sheep farm in the Falkland Islands. I also dabbled with the thought of going into the law and considered the world of business. Ultimately though I had a great time at a similar school to St Peter’s and so I decided to become a teacher and have never regretted that choice. What school have you most enjoyed working at (and why is it St Peter’s)? (Ben) The school I have most enjoyed working at is genuinely St Peter’s. I love the atmosphere of the place and it is the pupils and my colleagues who make it so great, in terms of the buzz and appetite for getting involved. I don’t think any other school matches our setting with 50 acres of beautiful grounds and then you walk out of the gates and five minutes later you’re in what I think is the best city in the entire country in which to live - York. I also enjoy having all the age groups in one school from 2 to 18 and that St Peter’s is a co-ed school. What is your vision for St Peter’s? (Hope) My vision for St Peter’s is to make it the best version of itself it can be. I wanted to come to St Peter’s because it is such a fantastic school. It has the best combination I have seen of strong academics with the most amazingly busy co-curricular programme, which is so important in a good education. A good vision starts with having real clarity about the nature, purpose and identity of the school, and then it’s about furthering that and identifying where development is needed. When I first arrived, I met with all the staff and tutor groups from Fifth to Upper Sixth and asked them what makes St Peter’s great, what
