The school where TEN former pupils are now teachers or staff: One of Britain’s best performing secondaries reveals how ‘growing its own’ is the secret to success
- St Edmund’s Catholic School in Portsmouth is in top 2 per cent of schools in UK
- It has hired four former pupils as support staff and six former pupils as teachers
- ‘Grow-your-own’ campaign transformed school from inadequate to outstanding
One of Britain’s best performing schools has revealed how ‘growing its own teachers’ is the secret to its success.
St Edmund’s Catholic School in Portsmouth, Hampshire, has hired four former pupils as support staff and six as teachers- meaning one in 10 of their staff were taught at the school.
The school is a flagship for Portsmouth City Council’s Grow Your Own Campaign – an initiative to raise the profile of teaching in the city and entice more people into the profession.
St Edmund’s has since gone from an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating to ‘outstanding’.
Grow Your Own: From left, students turned teachers: Joe Were, Jason Brown, Jovana Tufnell, Clare Turner, Adam Poxton and Chris Nicol at St Edmund’s Catholic School in Portsmouth
Left, Adam Poxton attended the school from 1999 to 2004, but is now head of PE and has taught at the school since 2009. Right, RE teacher Chris Nicol, who was a pupil at the secondary school between 1969 and 1973
St Edmund’s has since gone from an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating to ‘outstanding’
In 2011 the school risked being put under special measures but has since soared up the rankings to be placed in the top two per cent of schools nationally.
In 2016, Ofsted rated it Outstanding.
The former pupils who now teach at St Edmund’s say they ‘will always have more of an affinity’ with the school than other teachers.
St Edmund’s is now encouraging more pupils to consider returning to work there by displaying posters of the 10 staff, who are aged between 23 and 62, around the school.
Jackie Robinson, Exams and Data Manager
Returning to their place of education are RE teacher Chris Nicol, 62, Engineering and technology teacher Clare Turner, 41, Head of English Joe Were, 35, English teacher Jovana Tufnell, 29, Head of PE Adam Poxton, 31, and Head of year 11 Jason Brown, 30.
And joining them is teacher-in-training Leon Miller, 23, who is currently a teaching assistant at the school, network manager Ian White, 47, exams and data manager Jackie Robinson, 44, and teaching assistant Michelle Leibrick, 51.
Assistant headteacher Moira Howarth taught five of the pupils-turned-teachers when they were children.
She said: ‘We are really proud to welcome these students back as teachers.
‘St Edmund’s is very much a family school and seeing people return is like welcoming back a member of the family.
‘It’s brilliant to see them develop from the children we saw at school into the fantastic teachers they have become.’
Left, Head of year 11, Jason Brown, who left the school 15 years ago and right, Head of English Joe Were, who left the school aged 16 in 2000
Clare Turner, Engineering and Technology Teacher. She said: ‘I did think it was quite funny at the time [of applying here] because it was the school I went to, and I’ve worked at three or four private schools. But I’ve got some really fond memories’
Left, Leon Miller, 23, is currently a teaching assistant at the school and right, Jovana Tufnell, English teacher who working at the school was ‘comfortable’ and like being ‘at home’
Two of the teachers have ended up working alongside former classmates, while others said the school had changed a lot since they learned there as teenagers.
Adam Poxton attended the school from 1999 to 2004, but is now head of PE and has taught at the school since 2009, but working alongside his former teachers took some getting used to.
He said: ‘At first it was a really strange experience coming back here and doing a lunch time duty with a member of staff who was my geography teacher.
Ian White, Network Manager at St Edmund’s Catholic Schoo
‘I called him Sir, and he had to turn around and say ‘look, call me Rob’.
‘They would sometimes remind me of what I was like in lessons. I’m St Edmund’s through and through.’
And head of year 11, Jason Brown, who also left the school 15 years ago, was in the same tutor group as Mr Poxton.
He said: ‘When I first arrived we didn’t recognise each other. What’s strange for me is that some of the teachers who taught me are now part of my tutor team.’
RE teacher Chris Nicol, who was a pupil at the secondary school between 1969 and 1973, mentioned the changes the school has been through since he was taught there.
He said: ‘At the time, you were given the cane for misbehaving and we all used to sit at old style exam desks.
‘Whilst the main building is the same, where the sports hall is now located used to be the playground.’
English teacher Jovanna Tuffnell said working at the school was ‘comfortable’ and like being ‘at home’.
She said: ‘I left teaching for two years. After four years in the profession I’d become disillusioned and was often spending my time dealing with behaviour issues.
‘Returning to St Edmund’s has reignited my passion for the job. The first day I walked in I felt comfortable and at home.
‘Even the smell of the exam hall was the same.’
And Clare Turner, 41, added: ‘I did think it was quite funny at the time [of applying here] because it was the school I went to, and I’ve worked at three or four private schools.
‘But I’ve got some really fond memories.’
Left, Jackie Robinson when she was a pupil at the school and right, Ian White in his class picture. The 47-year-old is now exams and data manager
Head of English Joe Were, who left the school aged 16 in 2000, added: ‘The school is like an extended family.
‘Everyone knows someone who has either been to the school or works here. I’ve been to other schools across the region but there is something special about St Edmund’s.’
Michelle Leibrick, teaching assistant
The most recent pupil to leave the school and return as a member of staff is teaching assistant Leon Miller, who completed his studies in 2012.
He said: ‘I’m the closest to the pupils in age, and so I think this helps me to be able to relate to the kids.
‘Adam, Joe and Chris used to teach me. The school has improved a lot since I was here, particularly the behaviour.’
In 2016, the school, which has 999 pupils, was rated outstanding by Ofsted.
Mr Were added: ‘Having been here as children, St Edmund’s blood runs through us.
‘It’s like football club who like to bring through their own youngsters – they will always have more of an affinity than someone transferring from elsewhere.
‘Everyone has a passion for St Edmund’s which means we’re willing to go the extra mile to ensure the pupils reach their potential.’
Mrs Tuffnell added: ‘Growing up in the same community we’re able to empathise with what children are experiencing here at school.’
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