Salvete

Mr Andrew Christian

Mr Christian arrived this year to take up the post of Head of Learning Support. He grew up in The Wirral (the peninsula between the rivers Dee and Mersey, not far from Liverpool) and was educated at Ridgeway High School. He read History and Politics (BA (Hons)) at Manchester Metropolitan University before taking a PGCE at the University of Reading and returning to Manchester for a postgraduate qualification in Special Educational Needs Coordination. He is currently studying in Chester for an Assessor’s qualification.

Home for Mr Christian is on the north-western tip of Wales, in Anglesey: he lives there with his partner and a yellow Labrador called Max. The attraction of the post at St Peter’s was that it would enable him to devote himself full-time to Learning Support, rather than splitting his time between that and teaching. Mr Christian knows a former Chaplain, the Reverend Steven Harvey, who gave it a big build up, including the line ‘you won’t regret moving to the right side of the Pennines!’

So far Mr Christian has found the school to be ‘an incredibly supportive and friendly place to work – SLT, teaching staff and of course, the students’. Although school life can be all-encompassing, in his spare time he confesses to being a fan of Star Trek, and to having attended a convention in Los Angeles where he was ‘beamed up’ as Scotty on set!

The Editor

Mrs Charlotte Chisholm

Mrs Chisholm arrived in September 2016 to succeed Mr Darmody as Head of Art. She grew up on a dairy farm in Somerset before moving to Louth in Lincolnshire, where she attended the local comprehensive school, followed by the grammar school. She then read Fine Art at the University of the West of England (the former Bristol Polytechnic). Amongst the more unusual ‘jobs’ she did before coming to York saw Mrs Chisholm busking around Europe twice, funding her journey once by fire-juggling, and then by making sculptures out of found materials.

She has two children: a grown-up daughter who lives and works in London, and a much younger son. She remarried last summer to Will, and now has a ‘two-destination’ marriage, moving between York and Cumbria. Mrs Chisholm was initially attracted to St Peter’s by the magnificent site, the reputation of the amazing Art department, and especially the Whitestone Gallery. The friendliness of the staff and pupils also stood out. The location was a big ‘plus’ for her: as she says, ‘it is easy to get almost anywhere, which is important with a husband in Cumbria, a mother in Lincolnshire and a daughter in London’. Her impression so far is that the school is ‘very down to earth, very caring, with inspirational teachers and great pupils’, and the school is already benefitting from her experience and enjoying her leadership of a vibrant and lively Art department.

The Editor

Mrs Joy Loftus

Mrs Loftus, who has joined the school as Head of Careers, is quite local: she grew up in Knaresborough and was educated in Harrogate attending St John Fisher Catholic High School. She went on to study at the University of York, graduating with a firstclass degree