Leadership Likes: Mrs Wilson

This week Mrs Wilson reveals her feelings about coming back to Croydon High as Interim Head of the Junior School.

I can honestly say I am thoroughly enjoying my time back at Croydon High School in the role as Interim Head of the Junior School. It’s busy, but whenever a free moment looms, I find myself thinking about why this can possibly be the case.

Retirement is definitely something that many people actively count down the days towards and my brief encounter with it reminded me of the pleasure of knowing my time was my own. Time when I could decide what I wanted to do each day, when the day could progress, slowly or quickly, as I meandered through each week. Where a whimsical urge to get on a train to London to visit an exhibition or a gallery was a fairly regular occurrence or to be able to take advantage of a discounted matinee to a musical or a play or the simple joy of a coffee and a stroll with a friend.

When waiting for my alarm to ring at some unthinkable hour, I’m sometimes searching to justify what it actually is that still makes my working life so enjoyable. My thoughts have just highlighted why the career path that I chose and the journey on which it took me, was the correct – the only – one for me. The reasons just seemed to flow. It’s mainly being in the company of our amazing young people. It’s their innocence, their enthusiasm, their willingness to have a go, their enjoyment of simple pleasures, their smiles at the gate in the morning and their appreciation, their acceptance, and their trust. It’s the uncertainty of how the day will progress, and above all, it is being in the company of adults and leaders who gain such pleasure from their working lives, for the very same reasons.

My return to Croydon High School has given me permission to reflect on all of this and to appreciate this school’s unique and rich community which I see demonstrated every single day. It has allowed me to look back at all the many things I have always loved about being part of a GDST school (and perhaps to look forward to a slightly less structured programme once again!).

Mrs Liz Wilson
Interim Head of Junior School