Published in the Eastern Daily Press – Monday 8th March 2021
You might think there are few similarities between being a soldier under fire in the Iraqi desert and being the new head of an outstanding girls’ school in Norwich. Having been both, I would beg to differ.
In 2003, the year before becoming the first female officer of the Honourable Artillery Company, I was deployed to Iraq on Operation Telic. One of the roles I was assigned to was to act as a sentry, providing cover for the headquarters I was working in. The buildings were surrounded by a sand wall (berm) and my job was to keep watch over the berm, rifle in hand, and take action if we came under attack.
Being a head in a global pandemic can feel a little bit like standing behind that berm again. Rather than looking for the approaching enemy, I sit behind a computer screen waiting for the next piece of Government guidance on reopening, examination alternatives or Covid-19 testing centres within schools. Putting that advice into action as we have, to make sure our school was ready to open safely to all students today, is not unlike a military operation.
I have deployed all the skills I have learned in my varied career in these past few months. Skills such as resilience, adaptability, determination – forged and put to the test in that desert – are the skills I call on now as I deal with the demands of my headship.