My Burford - Rachel Watts Reflects on Life at Burford

Rachel Watts reflects on her time at Burford School, sharing her experiences and memories from her years as both a student and a member of our school community.

I never meant to become a teacher! My mum was Head of Modern Languages at a large secondary school and, having watched her marking and preparing lessons every night until 10 p.m., I thought teaching looked like a very tough job indeed! But somehow, I fell into it and 44 years later, I look back and realise that I wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else.

I started teaching in schools in London. Times were very different then; no mobile phones to deal with, or social media, but still the same issues in very many ways. I’ve been lucky enough to be a head of English and part of senior leadership in previous schools, but at heart, I just love my subject, so teaching English has always been the bedrock of my purpose. If I can encourage a student to start to love poetry, or realise that 19th century novels (especially by Jane Austen) have as much robust power and punch to cut through to our lives in the 21st century, then I’m happy I’ve done my job.

Having worked in London for a long time, coming to Burford was a rural revelation! There were green fields (lots of them, visible from almost every window), trees, huge skies and fresh air. Burford even had a farm then! I still never take this for granted and, as I walk to W Block every early morning, I feel the benefit of our beautiful school site. Over the past 11 years at Burford, I have sometimes threatened to take my classes outside, make them lie down and look at the tops of the trees and the sky, just to remind them of the scale of the world and our small place in it. (I’ve only managed to do this once, but it was worth it!)

Teaching A Level and being involved with Sixth Form has always had a very special place in my heart. At Burford, I have been lucky enough to be both a Sixth Form tutor and a teacher of wonderful A Level groups. We would enjoy talking about our favourite texts, munching on endless supplies of biscuits and chocolates, working hard at those difficult A Level coursework essays, often long into the late afternoons. For many years, I offered an A Level Friday Club (not a popular day for an after-school activity, so no clashes with other subjects). These were a highlight for me, as I was able to work with amazingly talented young people, exploring the world of literature I love. Quite often, we’d be so engrossed, our lovely J Block cleaner would have to kick us all out at 6 p.m.. That’s what I soon realised about Burford students; when you get to know them, they are the most dedicated, talented and generous people. I will very much miss the energy, determination and kindness of our students.

I’ve also worked with the best group of staff in my whole career: Burford English Department (past and present). It really has been a joy and privilege to be part of a team like ours. I have felt cared for, nourished and inspired by my English colleagues; saying goodbye to them will be very hard for me. In fact, Jane Austen says it all: ‘If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.’ Thank you, my dearest friends.

So, will I be reading classic novels and poetry all day when I retire? I doubt it! My husband has plans for building projects and renovations and there’s honestly nothing I like better than working with him, mixing a bit of concrete, painting walls, making a serious mess… I hope we’ll also do some travelling and we are definitely going to get that new puppy (watch out, my two lovely cats!!!) Hopefully we’ll get to more live rugby matches (mostly seeing Leicester Tigers) and, of course, there’ll be more time for dancing, which I love, starting with seeing Coldplay this summer, with our son in London. I can’t wait to be able to spend more time with him too. In some ways, it’s exciting, but I also know the sadness I will feel not to be a part of our school community next year...

I wish all of you, students and staff, a happy and successful future. I tell students to go with their hearts, be open to new ideas and never forget the potential of taking on their true place in the world, whatever and wherever that may be.

To all of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart and good luck to you all.