Valete
EDITORIAL
Leo Winkley Leo, shortly after I was interviewed for my job here, which I reckon was about a month into your time as Head Master, I got chatting with a colleague of mine as together we managed the lunch queue. I always really rated her opinion and wanted to pick her brain. I told her about our phone call and how you’d offered me the job and I then listed to her all of the reasons why I was nervous about accepting it. She had once worked with you and with a reassuring little smile she said to me that I needed to remember that I wouldn’t just be going to work at St Peter’s, I’d be going to work with you, and then she added, “he’s the only person I’d move half way across the country to work with”. I’m glad that I trusted that colleague and today I thought I’d tell you why over the last seven years here I’ve found that, in York ... town is good.
10
The Peterite 2017-2018
First of all, Leo made truly inspired choices about who to offer jobs to! Yes, I would say that wouldn’t I, but actually I think that the point is an important one. In your final briefing to the common room you told us that you have never worked with a better group of colleagues. That may well be true, I certainly hope so, but please don’t underestimate what you have done in shaping the atmosphere here into a place in which we can thrive, where we can feel able to give of our best and to feel proud of the place that we are a part of and what we achieve here. The best leadership isn’t about telling people what to do, it’s simply about being secure enough to allow others to do what they are good at and to shine. It is because of you that we are surrounded by so many shiny happy people. You are welcoming of new ideas, encourage us to take risks, and offer an enormous depth of support to those who wanting to explore just what we can do. And so we have a public lecture programme, a concert programme that takes in venues all across the country and indeed the world, an independent state schools partnership, sports teams that compete credibly on both the local and national stage, drama productions that wouldn’t look out of place in professional theatres, bursary support for a growing number of pupils, five boarding houses and massive a range of trips
