The Chronicle, Summer Term 2017

18 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

TheTAJ Years Head of Communications Tracy van der Heiden catches up with Tom James as he enters his final few weeks at Teddies after 31 years at the School

Tell us about your career before Teddies? My first position was as a neuroscientist at the School of Pharmacy in London. I held a teaching and research fellowship for six years. My research involved recording the activity of single brain cells in the basal ganglia, which are involved in the control of movement. It was an exciting and productive time – my co- worker and I published 30 original papers. Why did you leave the School of Pharmacy? My fellowship was coming to an end and I managed to secure a sole research-only position at the Institute of Psychiatry. Looking at oscilloscopes for 12 to 16 hours a day can be pretty grim and I was concerned about the lack of teaching. One night I was in a pub in Russell Square writing up my notes when I bumped into my old Biology teacher – and a different idea was born. I started teaching at University College School in my final term at the School of Pharmacy, so I had a wonderfully wide brief: I would teach neuropharmacology to third-year undergraduates and then jump into my little sports car, a glorious, flame-spitting, Frogeye Sprite, and charge over to UCS in Hampstead to teach Biology to Shells. I turned down the research role and moved to UCS full time. What made you apply toTeddies? London day schools are a breed of their own. The schools are highly selective with extremely bright children supported and encouraged by highly motivated, ambitious parents, and in many ways are relatively easy places for an ex-university scientist to teach. After five years at UCS, which was an all boys’ school, I wanted to broaden my experience by finding a very different setting - and I wanted a rowing school. So co- educational Teddies, with its broad intake, strong boarding ethos, outside London, with a beautiful Boat House at Godstow could not have been more different. I applied, got the job – and have been here for 31 years. You must have fitted in a great deal in that time. I started as a Biology Teacher and as Master i/c Shell Rowing. I really enjoyed the rowing. As is still the case, many Shells hadn’t rowed before, and I loved starting from scratch and taking them on to great things. In five years in the role, we won 2 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze at National Schools – not a bad