EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH HEADMISTRESS
Mrs. Louise McCabe-Arnold FROM SURBITON HIGH GIRLS’ PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Mrs. Louise McCabe-Arnold speaks about her new role as headmistress, the ethos, supporting parents, bursaries and entrance procedures and even her school friendly dog. Would you like to tell us a little bit about your career prior to joining Surbiton High Girls’?
I spent the first part of my career in an all-girls prep school in Kent, before I moved to the Middle East. I spent six years there as Head of Maths, in a large co-ed British school in Abu Dhabi. I had a wonderful six years there, then I moved back to the UK and worked as the Deputy Head of a Girls’ Prep in central London before moving back to Kent again as the Deputy Head in another Girls’ Prep school. I have always followed that single-sex route. I have also always had a real passion for teaching Maths and PE. That was one of the things that attracted me to Surbiton: it was that mix of academic rigour and sporting success that is very much a part of me too. In a previous interview you have spoken about loving that ‘light-bulb moment’. Can you tell us a little more about this and the philosophy behind your teaching practice?
I think good teaching initially comes from passion and enjoyment for a subject. So much of Maths teaching, for example, is teaching children that they 20 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S U M M E R 2 02 2
can do it. It’s about making it relevant to real life. Every subject becomes more valuable when children see a connection between the content of it and their own life. I think that when that curiosity turns to interest, children become so much more interested in what they’re learning. I think that a teacher’s excitement for a topic is really contagious. Seeing a child suddenly grasp a concept is very rewarding. What are you hoping to bring to the school to initiate in the academic year ahead?
The Girls’ Prep is already an excellent school, so any changes I make will be small ones. I think the change that the girls have enjoyed the most is the introduction of the new school dog, Cona. Cona is a trained school assistance dog, she has just turned four years old and she has been with me in a school environment since she was eight weeks old. She is already making herself at home, she is getting to know the girls. They have enjoyed lots of cuddles and strokes with her. They are very excited about her being able to come into lessons and having the chance to work with her on a one-to-one basis. I think in the new academic year I will predominantly focus on three areas… Firstly, I’m looking at continuing the high level of academic provision, focusing on increasing that academic rigour across the school. I’m particularly looking at years 5 and 6, but I also don’t wish to
