The Chronicle, Autumn 2018

13 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Charles Davies What do you do at Teddies and how long have you been at the School? I joined Teddies in September, along with my wife, Ann- Laure. I am the HM in Jubilee and a teacher of English, while Ann-Laure has joined the French Department. Where were you before? We were both teaching at Eastbourne College in Sussex, where I was Head of English. Before that I was at Truro School in Cornwall. What are you most looking forward to about your new role? I’m really looking forward to getting to know the girls in Jubilee and to the challenges that running a house inevitably throws up every now and again. So far it has been great fun, so I hope it continues in that vein! What other areas of school life are you involved in? I’ll be teaching English, of course, which I love. I’ll also be coaching rugby and other sports later in the year. Being able to run around outside as part of my job is a really special privilege. What are your ambitions for Jubilee girls? For me, there are some key characteristics that I want them to show in the House – honesty, effort, courage and kindness. Attaining these four virtues will set them up for life. I’d also like them to be curious about the world and about other people. We have a really eclectic mix of people in the House, so they have this extraordinary platform already. Although it’s been brief, what have been the highlights of your Teddies career so far? Watching the Steeplechase back in September was a massive highlight. It was fantastic to be at the finish line, watching the girls come in and seeing the effort they had put into the race. It was also simply a wonderful atmosphere.

What do you see as the benefits of co-education? It kind of goes without saying that co-education reflects real life. It’s also important to be in a mixing pot of different views and perspectives, especially when personalities and beliefs are in their formative stages – in other words, when at school. There are differences, of course, between girls and boys, but we do have to look beyond that and society at large has started to realise this too. What do your girls like about being at a school in Oxford? Probably the fact that it is a city, albeit a small one, with a wide range of opportunities. The restaurants and shops of Summertown are magnified just 10 minutes down the road. It’s a lively, energetic and forward-thinking place. Did you enjoy your schooldays? I did – I loved school, which is why I guess I’m still here! I went to a school with a very similar ethos to Teddies and I boarded in the Sixth Form. I enjoyed most lessons, played lots of sport – rugby and football mainly – and was fully involved in the Drama Society. We didn’t do musicals, fortunately, as my Great question. I remember hearing somewhere that one should ‘travel widely and find a cause’, which I like. The truth is that there is good advice everywhere, you just have to be listening. Which book would you take to a desert island? This is an impossible question for an English teacher! You’re usually given the Complete Works of Shakespeare, which would keep me occupied. I’d also want something meaty like Paradise Lost by John Milton or War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I’ve attempted to get into Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and never got very far. Perhaps that would be the one. singing voice isn’t really up to scratch… Best advice you’ve ever been given?