What were your aims when you first took on the role of Headmistress?

Firstly, there were certain things I really wanted to preserve, like the ethos of the school. It’s what first appealed to me about the school – the genuine community feel, the fact that everyone turns up to bring their best selves. I’m continually impressed by the quality of the relationships between people here, pupils and staff alike. Walthamstow Hall is very good at enabling every girl to grow into who she is, wherever her strengths lie.

What have you changed since arriving at Walthamstow Hall?

Developing our Academic Scholar Programme has been wonderful to see. The girls now meet and work on super-curricular study, they undertake their own research and really extend their learning. As part of this the Years 7s and 8s are doing IPQs – the Intermediate Project Qualification – so they’re gaining a qualification that demonstrates their individual intellectual curiosity. I’m a big believer in pupil voice. The Senior Leadership Team listen to pupils in a range of ways such as welcoming our Head Girl Team to the first section of our weekly meetings (including tea and biscuits). They bring an important perspective and have seen many of their ideas implemented, such as an alteration to our lunch queueing system. Our ISI inspectors noted that our pupils are confident that they will be listened to.

How do you reward all of the girls’ great achievements?

I believe you should be working hard at school but it’s really important to have some fun.

We’ve started a Summer Celebration – it begins with a prizegiving, with some awards recognising academic achievement and others for living our values. Sevenoaks Bookshop (one of my favourite places!) helped me select suitable books as prizes this year. Then we go outside to celebrate school life together with ice cream, an inflatable obstacle course and House stalls. We also now award Academic Endeavour certificates for ‘working your socks off’, recognising both achievement and effort.

What plans do you have for the future?

We’re moving our Juniors up to our main site, so we’ll all be together. We can now gently get them used to what it’s like being in a senior school. They can do science in a senior school science block, for example. Every girl in Years 3-6 has a guaranteed place in Year 7. It fits well with my philosophy of ‘high challenge, low threat’. This is Mary Myatt’s idea that school is where you should be encouraged to really push yourself and aim high but you shouldn’t be under pressure, you must have freedom to make mistakes.

What are the key challenges in education at the moment?

We know that school fees are a very sizable investment and what parents are looking for is shifting. You can get good grades at lots of places but being understood as an individual is harder to find. I think the challenge coming down the line for all schools is ensuring that education stays inter-personal and about the whole person and not just a transactional process. So I’m very fortunate to be here where it really is about the formation of the whole person.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

People are the most important thing about a school. I’m regularly overwhelmed at how lucky I am to work in a school with such fantastic people. I inherited an excellent senior leadership team with great cognitive diversity – we share a common aim but we’re able to see things from different angles, which really enhances our impact. I also love being in partnership with other people in the local community. It’s been great to get to know local Primary and Prep Heads and engage with other local businesses, such as hosting events for the Sevenoaks Literary Festival. I absolutely love running Medical Ethics Society, it’s a real privilege to see the girls really digging into complex ideas. I also love to roam the classrooms and dip in to all the wonderful learning that goes on throughout the school. It’s fantastic to work in a school that encourages all the girls to have a go at everything, never to rule anything out.

To discover more, find Walthamstow Hall online at walthamstow-hall.co.uk