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EDUCATION
Season of the new starter Paul Dwyer, the new headteacher at Redmaids’ High School, talks managing energies for a marathon rather than a sprint while navigating a very different sort of school term
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eptember threw far more than the usual sorts of changes and challenges at our city’s schools this year. Guiding Redmaids’ High School through them all has been one of the autumn term’s many new starters, Paul Dwyer, who has just taken the reins from Isabel Tobias as headteacher. With his previous post as deputy head at North London Collegiate, and having completed his undergraduate degree in history and PGCE at Oxford, Mr Dwyer has strong experience in girls’ education and is known for encouraging teachers across the globe to challenge themselves. He regularly speaks at national and international conferences on education, hosts a podcast designed to help teachers reflect on their practice and was president and a founding fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching. But it wasn’t just his impressive CV that bagged him the Bristol job. Groups of students had a chance to talk to the candidates during the process and the nine girls who met Mr Dwyer concluded that he was just the sort of approachable and personable person they’d like to lead the school – respecting tradition while sharing the students’ desire for more sustainable practices within school to address climate change. He acknowledged the importance of supporting lower year groups on their journey towards sixth form, said Tuqa from Year 10, while Phoebe from Year 13 recalled his comments around celebrating the school’s academic success even further. We caught up with Mr Dwyer ourselves to find out a little more about his ethos, and how the first month has been. TBM: So, why Redmaids’ High School? Mr Dwyer: I am a passionate believer in the transformative nature of education for all, and it is clear to see this has been a core aspect of 48 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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OCTOBER 2020
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No 193
Redmaids’ High since the beginning. It’s a privilege for me to a part of this community with its combination of strong respect for our heritage and history and forward-facing perspective of what education can and should be. Not many schools can trace their foundations back to 1634 while considering deeply what knowledge and understanding our students will need in 2034. I’m also passionate about girls’ education, the opportunities that it can provide and the role it has to play. I’ve been fortunate to work in some wonderful girls’ schools during my career, and Redmaids’ High is perhaps the most storied and warmest school environment that I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of. This, combined with their firm commitment to outstanding pastoral care, made it an obvious choice for me to apply for when the opportunity arose and I am incredibly grateful for the chance to lead this tremendous school. Bristol is such a beautiful and lively city that is steeped in history; I have very fond memories of time spent here and look forward to creating more with my family. How has the team coped so far with the new challenges of a very different sort of term? We are indebted to all members of our community for helping to make the start of the new academic year as successful as it has been so far. From our support colleagues who have worked tirelessly to ensure the school site is ‘Covid-ready’ to the teachers and students who have all adapted to bubbles and helped us return safely, everyone has had a role to play in getting this year off to a great start. Teachers have had to make adjustments to their approach to ensure that lessons are taught safely while still demonstrating to students the joy to be had in learning, while students are attentive to the changes we have made. Using technology creatively and thinking about the new pathways it can open for great
