It was fantastic to visit my old comprehensive secondary
school today as an alumni. Our objectives were to inspire and motivate a group
of year 12’s to achieve in their summer A Level exams.
The idea was initiated by ‘Future First’, a government and
privately funded group who are proactive in setting up alumni networks among
comprehensive schools.
As an ex-student at John Roan (my old state funded secondary
school) I think this is a fantastic idea. Students in comprehensive schools are
at a disadvantage from private and grammar school leavers.
Realistically, these schools can entice a better proportion
of higher quality teachers and enjoy much better learning environments by being
more selective with their pupils.
When I was at school motivation and morale was incredibly
low. There was a lot of negative behaviour at school,
although the atmosphere seems to have drastically improved at John Roan since I
was there. The same fantastic architecture remains.
A lot of pupils from private and selective schools end up in
better positions in better jobs where nepotism is rife.
Thankfully, now it seems that this scheme could help to
level the playing field a bit.
I enjoyed reflecting on my good times at John Roan. For
example the eclectic mix of pupils which was on the whole a big plus for the
school. Remembering some of my inspirational teachers, notably in History and
English, was also nice.
I talked a lot about my experiences in journalism, and how
competitive the industry is. But I hope this doesn’t dissuade any of the pupils
from practicing journalism and broadcasting/writing as these are enriching and
fulfilling creative skills which a person can get a lot out of doing. Seeing my
documentary screened at a film festival in Bristol and managing to get my own
radio packages aired at the BBC were fantastic accomplishments for me.
It’s just important to remember to keep yourself afloat with
other skills, like I’m doing with my teaching assistant work. But to never stop
doing what you like to do.
