Former staff

Wendy Griffiths, Headmistress, pays tribute to four long-standing staff members – Amanda Brauer, John Field, John Jackson and Clare Macro – who we said goodbye to at the end of the 2019 school year.

Amanda Brauer, PE Teacher and IIIs Housemistress (1999–2005), Registrar (2005–2008), PR Parents and Community (2008–2019)

In recent years Amanda Brauer has become well-known among parents for her kindness, care and consideration, as the person who has welcomed them to everything from informal concerts to whole school musicals in her role as Parents and Community Coordinator. This is a position that has been a perfect match for her skill set: organised, efficient and totally charming. Parents regularly referred to ‘wonderful Amanda’ – an opinion shared by all who have worked alongside her over the last twenty years.

This role extended beyond parents’ events to the organisation and coordination of our Outreach Programme which aims to share Tudor facilities and staff expertise with the local community. Amanda liaised with primary and preparatory schools, Heads of Department at Tudor and our support staff in catering and maintenance. Every event was organised meticulously and feedback from pupils and visiting teachers was always hugely positive. Amanda has also been the school Registrar, another role which made good use of her excellent people skills, efficiency and ability to make everyone feel welcome. However, she was not convinced that this was for her and despite my pleading she changed direction.

Amanda trained as a PE teacher and this remained a very important part of her time at Tudor despite her taking on many different roles. She was equally happy teaching Todd netball or inducting senior girls into the fitness room. She simply wanted to pass on her enthusiasm for sport but also her belief in sport for life.

To the girls she will be remembered by the phrase ‘Stuart can do it’ which was introduced into Tudor parlance during her time as Head of House. Amanda led Stuart House for twelve years and coordinated house activities for most of that time. We all became familiar with the sight of Amanda in her Stuart hoodie, clutching the Stuart mascot wearing a matching ensemble at all House events. We also remember how much she wanted them to win!

Her final job for the first half of the autumn term took her back to the beginning of her time at Tudor. She returned to the boarding team and was a temporary Deputy Housemistress in the Sixth Form. Amanda has always focused on the care of the girls, whether as a tutor of Todd and IIs in recent years, or in the boarding team, as Housemistress to the IIIs which is when I first met her. At that time she exuded a quiet confidence which

led to total trust from parents and I realised I had someone I needed to keep.

What has characterised her service to Tudor beyond everything else is loyalty to the School. On many occasions I have asked Amanda to step up and help us when we have had a staffing difficulty and she has never let me down. From returning to Registrar when the post holder left with no notice, to taking on the LVI House for the 2019 autumn term, to standing in to travel to South Africa at short notice, she has only ever said yes. This is unique in my experience. We

are so sorry to lose Amanda but she was determined to do something

different. She goes with our sincere gratitude for all she has done.

John Field, Head of English (2007–2016); Director of Digital Learning (2016–2019)

John Field joined Tudor in September 2007 as Head of English. John already had wide-ranging experience in education when he arrived but what set him apart on first meeting was his extensive knowledge of English Literature, his love of teaching and his sharp suit. The latter accompanied with red braces characterised John’s twelve years at Tudor.

John quickly earned the respect of the girls. His lessons were innovative and interesting. He always had time to give an individual the extra help needed to understand the nuances of a text or to grasp the intricacies of English grammar. He inspired the girls by living out his mantra ‘If you want to write, do it.’ He wrote for himself when he had time and always had something he was working on. He was passionate about poetry and was recognised for this outside education, regularly being invited to attend poetry events such as the TS Eliot Awards and the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival to comment online.

John quickly built an excellent reputation with colleagues. He was a go-to person on teaching and hugely creative in his use of IT in the classroom. It was therefore an obvious next step that he should join the leadership team as Director of Teaching and Learning in 2013, a role which he relished. However, it quickly became clear that he was spending a large proportion of his time focusing on IT in teaching and this, combined with the speed of change in the IT world, meant that his role became Director of Digital Learning in 2016. Within this role he informed the Governors not only on the daily challenges the School was facing but the longer-term issues that had to be addressed. This is an area where he has left a significant legacy. Outside the main remit of his roles John took on many additional responsibilities. His interest in pushing the girls academically and his determination to encourage our students to aim higher led him to coordinate the Nanette Godfrey Memorial Lecture programme, bringing speakers such as Lord Robert Winston and Professor Alice Roberts to challenge the girls’ thinking. He coordinated the Oxbridge programme, ensuring all candidates had the specialist support they needed as well as general preparation required for the interview. He was responsible for the introduction of the Literary Festival which has, over the years, allowed the girls to hear from a prestigious list of speakers, starting with Germaine Greer in 2009 to his finale with Louis de Bernières in 2019. The festival took on many guises from crafting the Tudor Tribune to producing a programme for Radio Tudor. Whatever form the festival took, it was guaranteed to be stimulating, exciting and fun.

John’s commitment to Tudor went way beyond what was expected and he gave outstanding service in all areas with which he became involved; he will be missed. We will miss his sharp mind, his dry sense of humour, his fountain pen with green ink and his guitar playing in the staff band (the removal of his suit jacket being the only concession made in his appearance for this occasion!). He was lured by a new challenge at Norwich School and the opportunity to return to leading an English department. They are very fortunate to have him.

John Jackson, School Chaplain (2004–2019), Houseparent, with his wife Judy (2005–2009)

John was one of the first people I employed when I arrived in 2004. He had responded to an advertisement for a head of RS. On the interview day everyone who met him liked him immediately. He was hugely engaging, and we were all drawn to him. John’s lesson that day was observed by the then Head of RS, who could be quite intimidating. It did not get off to the best start as he was unable to find his reading glasses. The atmosphere in the room became a little frosty, but John was not fazed and just beamed in his characteristic way. At this point one of the students whispered “they’re on your head”. He was not destined to be the Head of RS but I knew he had been led to us for another purpose. The rest as they say is history.

John’s services at Tudor Hall were always characterized by his impassioned preaching; he was brought up a Baptist and it showed. He did not shy away from the tricky issues. His message was always relevant, and the girls listened. We had some exciting services with new initiatives such as the candlelit advent service, which would have been lovely were it not for the fear amongst some staff that the girls (all holding lit candles) were about to set themselves, other girls or indeed the whole school on fire.

However our abiding memory of John will be as the pastoral rock who held the community together at its lowest points. Many of us remember times when the worst had happened and we picked up the phone to say to John ‘I need you now’. His care for, and commitment to, the whole community was evident to all. John supported staff and girls alike. There are girls who will be eternally grateful to him for being there for them sometimes on a daily basis over months and years and for some continuing this support way past their time at school. It is no surprise that he officiated at the weddings of three OTs last year alone. From that first RS lesson the girls have trusted him and consequently shared their deepest concerns and anxieties. They all adored him. He was also held in the highest regard by parents; past and present, they too have leant on him when needed.

This is only a small insight into John’s ministry at Tudor. It has been a privilege, but also – as John would say – ‘a blast’ to work with him.

Clare Macro

Deputy Head (2011–2019)

We were all thrilled when Clare Macro was appointed as Head of Edgbaston School for Girls. However, it was a sad day too as we knew that we were going to be saying goodbye to someone who had become a valued part of the essence of our Tudor community.

I remember meeting Clare at her interview and being impressed by her on many fronts. She presented as a highly qualified professional who showed the steely determination which is needed in senior leadership. She also demonstrated a measured and circumspect approach to problemsolving and decision-making. Indeed, it has been easy to delegate to Clare as I knew she would give every task all the time and consideration needed to achieve the best solution.

Her commitment and belief in singlesex education for girls was evident to all. Her advocacy of our values as a school was communicated powerfully to prospective parents, our existing parent body and our students. She spoke informatively about issues faced by young women in her regular assembly slots and did not shy away from topics which challenged the audience. The pupils’ impersonations of Clare were undoubtedly informed by the signature purple coat and her enthusiasm for running, but she was also their go-to person when they had academic concerns, a mentor for those lacking motivation, someone who offered excellent and candid advice, even when it was not what they wanted to hear, and finally, as an outstanding teacher of RS. She gave endlessly of her time to the girls. Indeed, it was rare for there not to be a student waiting in the corridor outside her office either for a scheduled meeting or for an impromptu chat.

To her colleagues she was a committed, rigorous, knowledgeable educationalist. She led the academic Heads of Department through significant change and two very successful Independent School Inspections, taking it all in her stride. Clare never shirked responsibility and was always on hand when a problem arose and would put in as many hours as were needed to resolve any issue.

Clare was familiar to parents who knew her through her many engaging and informative presentations, but also through meetings where they sought her out on an individual basis for advice and support with all aspects of their daughter’s education. For boarding parents she was always at the end of the phone when they needed reassurance. Such was their respect for Clare that they, like their daughters, accepted her decisions.

Clare had a great sense of humour and did not take herself too seriously. I doubt that she had any idea when I appointed her as Deputy Head that she would be required to perform at the School Birthday or the Vs’ Christmas Party as a Spice Girl, a monkey, a punk or one of Snow White’s dwarfs to name but a few – but she threw herself into it with enthusiasm because the girls loved it.

When Clare left Tudor in July 2019 she had been in post for eight years and in that time had taken on challenges ranging from the support of an individual girl to whole school academic reform. Everything she undertook received her characteristic dedicated, tenacious and loyal approach. She will be missed by us all but we know we were lucky to have held her for as long as we did. R