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06
Jun
Harrogate's longest-serving head: 'It's the best job in the world, but it's time to say goodbye'
Andrew Symonds didn’t get off to the best start as headteacher of Richard Taylor Church of England School in Bilton.
“The only fire in the school’s history happened in my first week,” he explains. “It was a very small fire in the boiler room. There was more smoke than fire, but I suppose it was good to get it out of the way early.”
Twenty years on, Mr Symonds is now Harrogate’s longest serving headteacher.
He says:
Corrine Penhale at Rossett Acre retired at Easter. She joined at the same time as me, so I’ve managed to outlast her by a term. Nowadays you won’t find a headteacher staying 20 years. It’s more and more difficult to find headteachers because of the pressures.
We are sitting in Mr Symonds’ office overlooking Bilton Lane on the first day of his final term before he retires after a lifetime in primary education. The first congratulations card has already arrived.
Unlike the boiler room in 2006, Mr Symonds doesn’t feel burned out but says it’s the right time to say goodbye and enjoy life with his teacher wife, who is also retiring:
I wanted to go while I was still loving what I do. I’ve seen too many headteachers where the decision has been taken away from them because of ill health or the pressures of work or inspection. Because they give so much to a school that can be cruel.
I’m nearly 60, we’ve just had our first grandson and felt it was time to put some energy into spending time with family and each other.
With pupils in 2025.
Male primary teachers, and heads, are increasingly rare. Why?
It’s a great shame there aren’t more men in primary school education. I can’t quite get my head around why that is because working with children gives you so much joy. You are able to experience special times in a human’s life again and again. You get to see the joys of Christmas and the first time they can write their name. There’s nothing like it.
What I won’t miss are the constant pressures on finance and from external inspection. Schools are full of human beings working their very best. I was driving to school this morning and I put The Archers on the radio and even The Archers primary school has had a bad inspection!
Change and continuity
Coventry-born My Symonds started his teaching career at Richard Taylor 36 years ago before moving to schools in Lancashire.
When the head’s role at Richard Taylor was advertised in 2006, he successfully applied.
The school has changed a lot since. He says:
“We’ve built a wonderful new library, we’ve had a new roof, new heating system, extension to the playgrounds, we’ve got wildlife gardens and we are renovating the peace gardens as my leaving gift to the school.”
Amid the changes, his leadership has also brought continuity at a time when teachers often come and go at bewildering speed. Many staff have stayed for years and there’s the enduringly popular figure of Bob, the lollipop man, who turns 80 this year.
Mr Symonds says:
Bob adores what he does, it gives him a reason to be up and out every morning. The coffee shop gives him a free coffee in the morning. He comes in for a cup of tea. Every Friday we have an event called ‘tea and cake with Mr Symonds and Bob’ and children are chosen from each class for a chat to talk about what they’ve done this week. Everywhere you go there are stories of people who love working in the school.
Andrew Symonds and Emma Crisell
Staying power
Four years ago, when Mr Symonds reduced to a four-day week, the school adopted a shared headship.
Emma Crisell, who joined Mr Symonds at the helm, will become sole head in September.
Mr Symonds says:
Nowadays most heads last three-to-five years. That’s the usual cycle of improvement then they move to a different school.
Richard Taylor is a very special place. We’ve got people who go back to the very start of the school on this site.
It’s a true gift to have had my professional career here and to leave feeling the school is in a very good place with an excellent headteacher.
Andrew Symonds
Mr Symonds won’t miss the daily commute from Skipton along the A59, especially the dreaded section at Kex Gill, where a realigned new road is being built at a cost of £82.5 million to prevent landslips.
He jokes:
“The cruel irony is the new road is likely to arrive just after I finish and just to twist the knife, they might shut it for the last few weeks before I leave.”
He and Ms Crisell are embarking on a sponsored walk to school this weekend to raise money for the peace gardens.
He says:
“We will set off from Skipton and do 23 miles in two days. We are not walking along the A59, we are going through Ilkley and Addingham then at Swinsty we will pick up the Dales Way link to Harrogate.”
Any parting thoughts on the state of education?
It’s a shame that education isn’t higher up the political agenda. It’s so sad that in real terms we have gone from a period of time when schools were given significant amounts of money to invest in technology. i.e. the Tony Blair years, to a time when that money has all but disappeared. We’ve never been more financially challenged and we are a popular school. We are full and yet it’s never been harder to maintain what we are trying to offer because the money isn’t there.
Don’t get me wrong – being a primary school headteacher is the best job in the world, but you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t love it.
Departing will be difficult but Mr Symonds is adamant the timing is right.
“I absolutely adore working with children and staff and building a community where children can flourish. But it’s the right time to go.”
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