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Meet our new Headmaster

Find out about our new Headmaster and his vision for the school

	25 Apr 2019
	News of OTs

Last summer, Tim Haynes retired after twelve years of exceptional service to Tonbridge, ushering in a new era for the school: the James Priory era. Having provided a decade of outstanding leadership to The Portsmouth Grammar School, James joined us in September 2018, and is already heading the school with dedication and energy. Read on to find out about our new Headmaster and his vision for the school.

Q: Where were you before coming to Tonbridge?

I had taught at Portsmouth Grammar School which I joined initially as Head of English before becoming Head of Sixth Form. From 2008 I was fortunate enough to become Headmaster and so moved down to Portsmouth with my family, having previously lived in Petersfield within the South Downs. We thoroughly enjoyed moving into Southsea and living by the Solent. Before that, I had started my teaching career at Bradford Grammar School. I still love going back to the Yorkshire Dales and places as evocative as Salts Mill and Haworth.

Q: What were your first impressions of Tonbridge as a school?

I first became aware of Tonbridge through books. As a rookie English teacher, I read Jonathan Smith’s superb book, The Learning Game. I loved the interleaving of poems, especially those by Edward Thomas, with Jonathan’s insights into the dynamic of human relationships in the classroom. Knowing he was Head of English here made me curious about Tonbridge. I also love the explorer Tim Severin’s account of his extraordinary recreation of the voyage of St Brendan across the Atlantic in a coracle. Here was someone else whose story intrigued me and who had also come from Tonbridge. Add to that such great literary names as E M Forster, Vikram Seth and, from the Sciences, the wonderful Professor Norman Heatley whom I met at Oxford and only later learned just how significant his involvement had been in the development of penicillin. I’m a big fan of Keane’s song writing too. I had a picture building in my imagination of a school that had the space and time in which to nurture some really creative minds.

My first actual visit to Tonbridge was much more recent. It is clearly a very beautiful school with some impressive facilities. The chapel - resurrected after that devastating fire - is stunning and probably my favourite space because it is where the whole school comes together. But the strongest impression I gained from those first exploratory visits was of a welcoming, friendly school, a community at ease with itself, but with a seriousness of purpose too.

"I had a picture building in my imagination of a school that had the space and time in which to nurture some really creative minds."

Q: What has most surprised you about Tonbridge?

If I’m honest, I thought that I would find the transition from a co-educational setting to a single sex environment quite challenging, at least initially. I had not taught in a boys’ school for many years and I assumed that there would be a much harder edge here than I was used to. The surprise has been just how friendly, supportive, compassionate even the school is. Sport, for example, plays a large part in the life of Tonbridge but the culture of sport here is one of encouragement and enjoyment. There is great accomplishment, but the emphasis is on everyone being involved, including the staff. I think this culture permeates the school as a whole.

Q: What is your vision for the School?

I have listened to a lot of thoughts and views about Tonbridge since joining, whether from pupils, alumni, current and former staff, governors. It is clear that the school generates strong affection and that the experience of being here plays a significant part in people’s lives.

I am keen for this to continue, of course. I’ve always believed that young people should be happy and that success, however this is defined, will come from this feeling of fulfilment rather than the other way around.

I would like Tonbridge to be a school that is recognised for its excellence in understanding each boy as an individual and in providing the environment and the opportunities for them to develop as fantastically creative, curious, confident young people. I would like us to be known as a school which genuinely develops a lifelong love of learning.

I also feel passionately about the importance of widening access both in terms of expanding our engagement with the wider community and in making it possible for boys from all backgrounds to benefit from a Tonbridge education. From the conversations I have had so far, it’s reassuring to know that I am not alone in thinking about Tonbridge in these ways either now or in the future.

Q: What kind of Tonbridge pupil would you have been?

I would have been involved in debating and drama. I’m sure I would have been involved in the Chapel Choir too and made occasional appearances on the trombone in Concert Band. I would have been playing rugby and hockey, though I don’t make any great claims for the sporting honours I would have bestowed on the school! I would have loved being involved in conservation as I have a strong interest in natural history and the outdoors. Without wishing to be too confessional, I would probably have been a source of occasional, mischievous humour, something I thought I would have grown out of by now…

Q: Tell us about your family.

My wife Helen is also an English teacher. We met at school, so have known each other for most of our lives. We have three children: Alice, who is studying Philosophy at St Andrews; Emma, who is at Warwick studying Spanish; and Ben, who has joined the Sixth Form at Tonbridge. We arrived at Rivers House with a white rabbit, a three-legged cat and a cockerpoo puppy, so we are quite a menagerie when we are gathered all together!