It’s Easter Sunday and I’m back from a family retreat at my old school, Stonyhurst College. In amongst the helpful musings on Christ’s death and resurrection, the thing I will take away from the weekend more than anything else is actually just one word – ‘recusant’. I love words, the stranger and sillier the better.… Read More Awkward Recusants

For over a year now, the children at All Saints have been working alongside the L’Arche Community in Kensington, the only L’Arche community in Liverpool. Across the world, there are 147 such communities in 35 different countries, especially in France and Canada. L’Arche communities are Christian communities that recognise people with learning disabilities who often… Read More Working with L’Arche

Knowledge alone cannot give rise to value. It is only when knowledge is guided by wisdom that value is created. The font of wisdom is found in the following elements: an overarching sense of purpose, a powerful sense of responsibility and, finally, the compassionate desire to contribute to the welfare of humankind.” Daisaku Ikeda. According… Read More Good Old Teachers

‘Up you get, Derek. Quick,’ urged Mrs O’Keefe. It was 4am, and the ‘Despacito’ ring-tone had just sounded on the alarm clock. Today was Derek’s first day as a volunteer at the local hospital, Charterfields (part of the South-Western Region Development and Regeneration Trust, sponsored by Eddie Stobart Ltd.) He was due in at 6am… Read More The Headmaster’s New House

This is the last blog before I finish my sabbatical and return to school as the substantive headteacher at All Saints. My experience tells me that there will be twists and turns ahead, that the eyes and the mind will be thrown off course from time to time. But I am determined that I will… Read More Freetown/Liverpool 2019

After the training on Tuesday, we spent the rest of our week in our partner school, whilst also visiting other local schools, friends and the British Council in Freetown, who were so helpful. And on Thursday, we were guests of honour at the annual Sports Day, which took place on a dusty plot of land… Read More Sports Day in Sierra Leone.

Half-term in England for many schools, including All Saints, and five of the teachers have joined me in Sierra Leone for a week of teacher training and project planning during their break. We are now into our seventh year of supporting a school in the town of Waterloo, twenty miles from Freetown. This long-term commitment… Read More West African Phonics

I visited the Houses of Parliament for the first time on Monday and felt like a star-struck tourist – what a place is the Palace, despite its current arthritic state. I was lucky enough to have separate meetings with a number of MPs, both Conservative and Labour, as well as meeting up with my brother,… Read More The Palace of Westminster

This is quite a personal and nostalgic entry. Stonyhurst College, in Lancashire, was my school, where I spent 5 years of my life. To misquote a famous saying of the Jesuits, they took the boy from my parents, and handed them back a man. Whether it’s subliminal or not, those long five years have had… Read More Stonyhurst Revisited

I was very fortunate to attend the annual CISC (Catholic Independent Schools Conference) gathering last week, in Liverpool’s Hilton Hotel. It really helped me focus on my New Year’s Resolution – to be unstintingly positive about everything in the world of education, even when things get tough. A key theme of the conference was ‘hope’,… Read More CISC Conference and HOPE

Just what does inclusion mean? The word ‘inclusion’ means many things to many people and is a staple of educational discourse and public policy. Chiefly used in the context of including children of all different abilities, backgrounds and behaviours in school life, it also espouses a desire to bring together cultures, languages and historical traditions… Read More Inclusion…with a bit of help from Eddie Izzard.