Chronicle Spring 2022

28 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

David Flower: A Profile

What do you do at Teddies and how long have you been here? I took over from Matthew Albrighton as the School’s Deputy Head Academic in September 2021. Alongside my responsibilities for the academic life of the school, I also teach History and Theory of Knowledge, tutor a small group of Fifth Formers in Avenue and umpire hockey matches on Saturday afternoons.

Tell us about your career so far. I didn’t have a gap year before university, so when I saw a new organisation, Teach First, marketing themselves as a two-year adventure I decided to give it a shot. I was placed in South Croydon and had a very happy, if very challenging, time at Selsdon High School. I met so many interesting people, including colleagues who now lead huge multi-academy trusts or act as Special Advisers to top politicians and pupils who

went on to play in the Premier League and internationally. After that I thought I would go into a different career, perhaps as a lawyer, but I had been bitten by the teaching bug, so I went on to teach History and Politics at City of London School and Dulwich College. Before Teddies, my last job was as the Director of Studies at Dulwich. Tell us about your family. I am married to Emma, a solicitor, and we have two children, Sophie, 4, and Anna, 2. I am from a teaching family: my Mum and Dad were both primary school teachers and my little brother teaches at Merchant Taylor’s School in Northwood. August is a good time to be a part of my family! Who or what inspired you to become a teacher? I think I was incredibly fortunate to go to a brilliant school. I went to a grammar school in Ramsgate called Chatham House. A lot has been written about grammar schools as engines of social mobility. I am not sure that a lot of the assumptions are true, but Chatham House was an amazing example of a launchpad for many of us who were lucky enough to go there. One teacher in particular stands out: Julian Waltho, who recently retired as Head of Kent College in Canterbury. I was in a huge A Level History set. There were, perhaps, 25 or 30 of us, but he turbocharged our work and love of the subject. In truth, I have never looked back.

Will Clarke-Williams in an Art class led by Camilla Holder