Avanti Life had the pleasure of chatting with Charlotte Howick, the Head of Year Seven at Avanti House School. As a member of the Great Britain triathlon team, she knows how it feels to be poised at the starting line. I wanted to find out if starting a new school required similar amounts of determination… and adrenaline.
Interview by Matthew Whitlock
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Hi Charlotte. Having a professional athlete as part of the staff team has definitely been a source of pride for the school. Would you mind telling us something about your background in sport?
I started out in sport at a young age as a swimmer but then quickly moved into triathlons as I didn’t kick my legs properly as a swimmer, so I could never quite reach higher levels. I got pulled towards triathlons at about 15 and started competing firstly in local events where I got picked up by GB Team Development at 15. I took a small break from Triathlon during my studies at University to allow me to focus on my teaching qualification and placements. This however did give me the opportunity to start coaching young gifted athletes.
This year I have fully got back into competing, culminating in representing GB age group in Auckland in October and I have just qualified for the European Championships this June. I also coach at my local team ‘JetStream Tri’ with my main aim being to qualify for the World Championships in London this September.
How does one get picked up?
They have scouts. They attend local competitions and watch for up and coming athletes offering them additional training and resources to support their development into the senior categories. I was selected for this programme by the Southern coach at Brighton Triathlon at the age of 15. This then led to being selected for regional competitions, and the English team’s championships in 2005 where we won gold.[quote float=”left”]I had training before school. I’d be pulled out of lunchtimes for swimming training and straight back to training after school[/quote]
To be selected – was that something you were aiming for, or did the opportunity just present itself to you?
I was very grateful that it came along. As a teenager, and having a lot of energy, I liked putting my time into sports. I think it was very good for me, to channel my energy, and it was an amazing experience. I didn’t expect to be picked for the development team, as it wasn’t something I was particularly aiming for, but I was very lucky to get the invite.
How about friends of yours at the time – any of them have interests that they pursued with a similar focus? Any high achievers among them?
From school, they were focussed on academics as much as I was, perhaps spending time on homework and watching TV. I had training before school. I’d be pulled out of lunchtimes for swimming training and straight back to training after school. Then home for homework and to bed.
You must have been quite serious about reaching certain heights within your sport.
There were definitely things to aim for. I won quite a lot of medals, such as gold as part of a relay team. That was really something – a real highlight as a child. The friendships I made within triathlon were the real drive for me to keep going. It became my social life. We did our homework together, we trained together, and it became a way of life.
It’s quite an alternate lifestyle. I imagine my years growing up were quite ‘ordinary’ in comparison. I wasn’t really aware of the how others my age might be taking something to such a professional level. Something you probably get asked is about the pressures that children undergo for their sport.
Charlotte in October 2012, representing Great Britain at the World Triathlon Grand Final, in Auckland, New Zealand.
I do get asked that, yes! Actually, interestingly enough, we have a child here at Avanti House who is a swimmer that is competing to very high levels. I’m working with her, using my experiences as a child, to help her balance school, her career, swimming training and how to plan for everything. You have to be quite particular to fit it all in, and helping somebody else to do that is really nice. I can support Gifted & Talented pupils in the area of sports, particularly swimming, cycling and running because of the experience I have been offered and the connections I have made.
You’re also Head of Year Seven. What does it mean to be the head of a year?
I love being Head of Year 7 here at Avanti House. As a Head of Year I have the opportunity to look after the child as a whole. I’m inspired by the character development aspect of the school’s ethos and this was one of the reasons why I accepted the role at Avanti House. I like the idea of helping a child find their way in life; directing them towards the best they can possibly be. As Head of Year 7, I have to be someone that pupils can come to about anything, so I let them know my door is always open. And with the help of our fantastic tutors, I feel that we play a key role in every pupil’s journey through education.
Do children see you as someone neutral – not as official and formal as a Headteacher, not a teacher – but someone in-between?
As a Head of Year you still need to be seen as a teacher, (I teach PE and Art in addition to my Head of Year Role), and provide clear structure to the pupils, it is also very important to be approachable and make good connections with the pupils so that they know where to turn to if they need help.
Is your open door policy paying off?
Yeah – I have people sitting here all the time!
Your chairs are probably the comfiest in the school!
Hmm – nice and low as well! The atmosphere is important. It’s a comfortable space, which is important! I get lots of pupils just popping in for a chat.[quote float=”left”]I loved sport from such a young age, but I didn’t shy away from the academics. I wanted to achieve and do well in both.[/quote]
I think it’s quite fortunate to have a member of staff with a background such as yours. Is it something you see the school taking more advantage of?
In terms of links I have with sports organisations, athletics and swimming clubs plus I know the area very well. As our school facility gets better, there will be so much we can do to introduce local community to the school and get everybody involved. And I hope I can use my links to support this.
As a child, my observations while at school, though I risk sounding ignorant by saying this, is that the academically inclined were less inclined towards sports. Is that a phenomena you observe?
Not at all! It might have been true many years ago, but now children find a really good balance between the two. We offer many different sports that allow all our pupils the opportunity to get involved.
In that case, maybe it’s a myth that the smart ones shy away from sports. I was in-between I suppose. I did enjoy sports and athletics, but art was my thing.
I loved sport from such a young age, but I didn’t shy away from the academics. I wanted to achieve and do well in both.
Drive and motivation seems to be a recurring theme for you.
I think having an aim – a direction for where you want to go is one of the most important things for any human being. This is again something I am passionate about sharing with our pupils here at Avanti. For example our first school trip to the World Skills Show in Birmingham. The reason this was selected was because we think people need to begin finding their aim in life at an early age. We found afterwards that a lot of pupils had an increased focus and were deciding to aim higher – take their education more seriously. The trip allowed pupils the opportunity to meet different universities and as a result of this we heard a lot of pupils saying they also wanted to pursue higher education.
So it was a successful seed planting exercise?
Yes. Not that they returned saying “I want to be a…” but that they have a sense of “I want to do this because I want to go further in life”.
Was the fact that Avanti House was brand new part of the appeal for you? For some it might turn them off, not wanting to be part of the ‘experiment’. Have you had any reservations about ‘taking part’?
None at all. I like being challenged in different ways, which applies to my attitude towards sport. A challenge is always very exciting for me.
Still, is there anything that might help to make your job easier – apart from an assistant!
We’d like to know more about what kids are doing outside of school, in their own time. The perfect example is our pupil that is a gifted swimmer. We only found out because we stumbled upon it. It would be great if we could know more about all those little things that make up the child. There are often things that parents think of as unimportant because they don’t tie in directly with school work but it’s not the case.
Has the uncertainty around the future location of the school affected kids in any way?
We have a student council and they talk about their worries and concerns. We keep pupils updated, so they’re not anxious about these type of issues. At our parents evening the other night, parents were also worried, but were fully supportive of the school. So despite the transition that lies ahead, the word of mouth is still extremely positive. A call I took this morning was down to one pupil telling a friend how amazing the school is, and now that friend wants to start at Avanti House next year.
So support for the school comes from parents as well as pupils?
Yes – A great example of this was the dinner recently organised by our PTA ‘Friends of Avanti House’, held for parents and staff to get together and you could just feel the sense of community, which was brilliant. Word is really getting around that we are a very good school. I take a lot of calls from parents who want their children to attend the school.
Can you tell me about the school’s Student Council? As year head, are you involved in some way?
It’s a forum for the children to tell me what they like about the school and also what they want from the school. My role in that is as a facilitator. One day I might say, “OK, today we need to talk about this”. For example, we recently revised our marking policy, which was shown to the Student Council, who went right through it, making suggestions on how it could be improved. There are times where we might have no agenda, and children are invited to raise anything they like.
What format do you prefer?
I feel that by using both formats we have the opportunity to address key issues.
They don’t hold back then.
No. they’re very honest, and actually they’re very much on the point. We recently did a Whole School Review (What is a Whole School Review?) where the Student Council reviewed the school and graded it according to OFSTED criteria. The results from this clearly showed that the pupils have a very good understanding of where the school is at and where improvements can be made.
Adults can under estimate the cognition of a child, miscalculate what they are aware of. I think Pupil Voice is a very important channel to encourage, so children don’t feel inhibited. That way the insights can prove very valuable.
As we’ve said from the start, we want to develop the school with the involvement of pupils, parents and staff – not just one person telling us how the school is going to go. We are taking this journey together as a team, which is what makes us really special.
Schools make lots of claims and promises to listen to the child, listen to the families, and it sounds great when you’re looking for new pupils…
…when it’s written on paper, but it never really gets off the page, whereas here it does, and I think the parents proved that the other night by the way they express their feelings towards the school.
For a school to promise academic excellence is perhaps not so unusual, but did you find it unusual to find a school promising character formation and spiritual insight? Was that a little outside of the box?
I think it is outside of the box for most schools today. It reminded me very much of the school that I went to as a child, which was a Catholic school, so we also spoke about developing character and the person as a whole. Also with triathlon we talk about becoming a whole person and having one’s life in balance – not just being a sports person. So as a school’s ethos, it’s different now, but it’s something I’ve always been keen on and is similar to the way I’ve been brought up. Not sure if that answers your question!?
Well, you’ve probably reflected on your own life and looked at what things have worked, and when there’s an opportunity to offer those things to others…
In education it’s something that is really needed, now more than ever.
Have you ever worked in a similar role to this previously?
Yes, I’ve worked as a Head of Year 10 in a school not too far from here!
What differs most from that role to this?
I suppose it is the school ethos and the drive towards character development, and the fact that we have the tools and the powers in place to actually deliver these key principles and put it into action. Many schools that have been open for a very long time might announce “OK – we want to promote character development” but they don’t have the staff on board, they don’t have the parents on board and so it cannot work. But here, having a whole team working with a shared vision, it does work.
