Academy principal retires after 39 years in teaching

JANE Bowman has spent 12 years at the helm of one of Grimsby's biggest schools and 39 years in the teaching world. Before her departure, she gave education reporter James Dunn a frank interview on everything from her opinions on Government education policy to sport and her favourite Bond.

BORN in Cannock, Staffordshire, Jane Bowman spent the first 18 years of her life in the rural town with her dad, an electrician, her mother, a housewife, and her older brother.

The family lived for sport – particularly Jane.

"It was a fantastic place to grow up. My brother and I took picnics on bike rides and spent our days playing cricket and football. I watched football with my dad and supported Manchester United. George Best was my favourite.

"When it came to sport, I did anything and everything. I rode horses, learnt to sail at an early age, played netball and hockey and swam at county level. I was never beaten at breast stroke."

But sport wasn't the only thing she was good at. Jane passed her 11 plus and went to Cannock Grammar. It was there that she was inspired to become a teacher – a decision she made at just 11.

"I liked all the PE staff but my favourite was Diana Price-Owen. She was friendly and spent her time taking us round the country for various sporting competitions. I had a lot of opportunities through school so being a teacher was always my dream."

At 18, she moved from her quiet rural home to Liverpool. Jane got a place at John Moore University, a specialist physical education teacher training college. She remembers it fondly.

"I had a really good group of friends. We worked really hard with lectures from 8am to 6pm every day – and you didn't miss any. A lot were very physical, but we would have lots of fun. Life there was so different to where I grew up.

"Sport was my life back then and so, living in Liverpool, I switched allegiance. Bill Shankley was Liverpool manager and I remember them parading the European Cup round the streets on a bus when they won it."

There wasn't much down time between university and work for Jane. In the June of 1974 she finished her final exam on a Tuesday and she started her first job – in Hull – two days later. The area appealed to her because she and her family had been on holiday to Yorkshire.

In 1979 she went to Graham School, in Scarborough, where she was the head of PE. In 1982, she went to Bridlington School, where she worked her way up to deputy head. And in 2001, she took her post as head of Wintringham School – which was "a challenge".

"It wasn't in a good place at the time. It had been in 'categories', which was like special measures. Bridlington School had been similar. Both had been very good grammar schools but ran into difficulties when they became comprehensives. There was a change in catchment and teachers struggled, so both schools went downhill. I thought I could really make a difference here.

"I moved here on August 23, 2001. That day I got the Grimsby Telegraph through my door and looked inside. We were expected to get 25 per cent with five A*-C grades. We only got 17 per cent. At that moment I realised the full extent of what I had to do.

"Last year, 84 per cent of students reached that benchmark and 46 per cent of them did so with English and maths. We've come a heck of a long way in 12 years."

In 39 years of teaching, a lot has changed. And educational policy has been a hot topic – particularly in areas such as North East Lincolnshire, where there are now no local authority-maintained secondary schools since the introduction of academies. Wintringham School itself became Oasis Academy and was replaced by a brand new building in 2007. But things are always moving in education.

"The goal posts constantly change because education is controlled by Government. The pace is phenomenal. I look back on the huge number of initiatives that have cost billions and are then scrapped when the next lot come in. You feel as though you're on a tread mill all the time.

"Everyone wants their children to achieve the very best that they can. But I think these initiatives created a situation where some schools concentrated on certain children. The cut-off C grade has had a significant impact. There is much more pressure for teachers now."

But after all those years, the stalwart teacher has now retired. It's the first time since she was five years old that she is not going back to school after the summer. She plans to travel to South America, Canada and New Zealand with husband Neil – a former RAF Officer, who she met in 2003 and married in 2009. The couple will also holiday with Indy, Jane's dog, who has his pet passport ready for a caravan tour around Europe. But not everything is decided.

"I don't know how I'm going to find retirement. I broke my ankle earlier this year and found it really difficult because I'm a very active person. I'll do some travelling, some gardening and maybe some volunteering, which is something that I've always wanted to do and never had time for."

Everyone knows about Jane's background in education, so we asked her three questions about what she likes: what's your favourite film, what's your favourite book, and who is your hero.

"They're hard questions. As a child, I loved Black Beauty because I loved horses. My favourite films were James Bond movies. I remember going to see Goldfinger at the cinema as a child – but I loved the last Bond movie as well. The best Bond has to be Roger Moore – but it's a tough one and I like them all.

"As far as heroes go, probably David Beckham – even though I still support Liverpool. He has done a lot of charity work and been an ambassador for sport in general.

"Sport instills so much in children, from social skills to determination – and Beckham is a great role-model."

On Wednesday, Jane said goodbye to Oasis staff with a special ceremony at the Oaklands Hotel. The school also planted a sapling at the school to mark her retirement and remember her legacy.

Afterwards, she said: "I've enjoyed every school I've taught in but having been a principal, obviously my biggest soft spot is for Wintringham.

"As the head, you obviously buy into what happens there because you have more control over it. I've very fortunate in that people have believed in me and given me opportunities and I have taken them."

Julie Atkins , 59, from Humberston, has been Jane's PA for 12 years. She said: "I will miss having our chats and laughs together because we have grown close working together for so many years. We work in the same way – we are both organised and like things done on time and in a certain way.

"We have so many fond memories together and I will miss her not being there, but we will stay in touch of course so it's not the end. It will be a challenge working with a new principal.

"I have been working at the school for 25 years and it has changed a lot since Jane has been here, such as the new building and becoming an academy. But the staff and children have always pulled together to make things work.

"The students are fantastic and always help each other out."