I’m currently coming to the end of my seventh year working at Bede’s, but my history with the school goes back much further. Before joining the staff, I spent nine years here as a pupil—four years at the prep school and all five years of the senior school, finally leaving in 2010. Having joined around 2001, I clearly had a fantastic time as a pupil, so much so that it drew me back after a bit of a gap.

After finishing my time here as a pupil, I went off to university and spent some time in the working world. When I eventually made the decision to get into teaching, I specifically had a school like Bede’s in mind. I didn't want to just be a classroom teacher; I wanted the full experience of working in a boarding house and coaching sports alongside my academic subjects.

It just so happened that during my teacher training year, a vacancy came up. I had kept in touch with one of my old teachers, Richard Frame, who told me about the opening. I applied, got the job, and came back in 2019 as a member of staff—just before COVID hit. That first academic year started normally enough, but by the spring term, we went into lockdown. It was a unique, rather strange start to my teaching career. I’d spent my training year building up lesson materials, only to have to put them all aside six months in and re-plan everything for online teaching.

We were quite lucky, though, because we were living in the prep school boarding house at the time. My wife had taken the role of HM so we had the whole place to ourselves and enjoyed dog walks along the seafront. It was a very different lockdown experience than most people had! While I helped run that boarding house for a bit, I never actually taught the younger ones—I honestly don't know how my wife does it. I loved the prep school as a kid, but as a teacher, I prefer teaching and coaching the older pupils.

Eventually, we transitioned away from the prep school when I took on the Deputy Housemaster role at Crossways four years ago, moving our lives up to Upper Dicker. It was a bit of a gradual geographical adjustment, moving from Brighton to Eastbourne, and then finally to the village.

My first three years on staff were spent as a tutor in Bloomsbury (Blooms), so it has actually been girls' houses for my entire tenure here. While I loved my time in Bloom's and had an amazing tutor group, the ultimate goal was always to step into house leadership. The pastoral side of school life is what truly motivates me, even more so than classroom teaching.

When the opportunity arose to get into a boarding house, I leapt at it, and I’ve loved the last four years in Crossways, and it has been nice timing to finish my time there at the same time as my tutor group who are just finishing U6th this term. They’re a fantastic group who I’ll really miss! I'll be continuing in boarding in my next chapter, though it will be a bit of a shift—I'm taking over as Housemaster of a boys' boarding house at my next school.

That deep commitment to pastoral care comes directly from my own days as a pupil. I wasn't actually a boarder myself; I was a local lad, born and raised around Eastbourne. However, my closest friends were typically boarders from all over the world. I stayed late most evenings and saw firsthand what house life was like. The incredible care I received in Deis House from my own tutors (for example Mr Wainwright) and Housemaster (Mr Dickie) was a massive reason why I loved my school days so much. When I returned as a teacher, I wanted to give that same high-quality care back to the next generation.

Coming back as a colleague to people who used to teach me was definitely an adjustment. When I first started, Richard Frame was still here, and he had been my actual A-Level History teacher. He had to remind me multiple times to stop calling him "Mr Frame" and use his first name. The same went for John Tuson and several others who were milestones of my childhood. It took until about my second or third year before calling them by their first names started to feel entirely normal, marking the shift from pupil to peer.

Looking back, I have standout memories from both sides of my time here. As a pupil, my world revolved around sport, particularly cricket. I played for the first team for three years, starting in the upper 5th. Back then, I woke up just wanting to play cricket every single day. The sporting setup here was fantastic, which was the main reason my dad and I chose Bede's over other local schools. The Head teacher at the time, Steve Cole, and Chris Pyemont at the prep school, took such brilliant care of us.

As a member of staff, the highlights are different but equally rewarding. Seeing the girls in my tutor groups in Blooms and Crossways progress through the school is something that will stay with me for a very long time.

Beyond the boarding house, I am incredibly proud of the relationship we’ve built between Bede's and Antigua. It started a few years ago when I met the Antiguan High Commissioner during a school visit. We formed a great connection, which allowed us to launch a cricket tour to Antigua and establish a brilliant scholarship programme. We now have Matthew Miller here representing the school fantastically, both on the pitch and in the classroom. The school is heading back out there for another tour next February, and there are plans for future scholars to join us. I really hope it's in a strong enough place to keep running long after I'm gone.

If I could leave my pupils with one final piece of advice, it would be to actively seize opportunities as they arise. Don't wait around for things to happen; go out and make them happen. This school is uniquely set up to encourage people to try everything, and the people who thrive later in life are the ones who aren't afraid to take a few risks or try something completely different.

As you get older, the only real regrets you have are the things that you didn't do or try, rather than the things you tried that didn't quite work out. So, my parting words are simple: try new things, take some risks, and grab every opportunity with both hands.