"For me, it’s all been about the pupils" – Barney School headteacher to say goodbye this summer

Barnard Castle School is preparing to bid farewell to its headmaster of seven years this summer. Reporter Martin Paul dropped by 


ALAN Stevens, who became Barnard Castle School’s ninth headmaster in 2010, has overseen some incredible growth at the school including the construction of a new sixth form centre.
But that is not what the headmaster is most proud of during his tenure. For him it is all about the pupils.

He says: “The highlights are always personal things. There are individual little successes like boys and girls who are just enthused by something you teach, or who are delighted because they have outperformed their expectations, whether it is in exams or on stage.”
That isn’t to say the new centre, which opened last year, is not something to be proud of – it almost encapsulates a lot of what the school tries to instil in its 700 pupils. At its core is giving students independence and a type of stepping-stone into university.
Mr Stevens explains: “It is fantastic – it is working so well. We wanted to give the sixth form more of a sense of independence and that experience of what it will be like to work in a university environment. So many visitors come in and say exactly that, ‘Oh, this reminds me of my university days’.
“We can use it for so many different things. We’ve had art exhibitions and lectures – it is a very versatile space.”
Sixth form students and their independence, he says, play an important role in the school with pupils chairing groups such as the school’s charity and academic committees.
Mr Stevens talks about peer leadership and how senior children in particular take part in the operation and strategy of their own school environment. It is something the headmaster studied while on sabbatical at Yale, in the US.
He says: “These things influence so many parts of the school.
“They are in addition to what you would expect to find in a school, like a school council and such like. They give students the opportunity to take projects and see them through, from planning to implementation and then review.
“Sometimes they don’t always go well, but that is part of the learning process. These are opportunities that young people can have when the are 17 that often they wouldn’t come across until they have been in their second or third job, in their late 20s.”
What also impressed Mr Stevens while in the US is the level of education funding.
He says: “Compared with Britain, higher education is incredibly well funded. The resources are extraordinary.
“In the library their special collection has text and manuscripts from throughout the world, including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. It is just amazing.
“What has made that possible for them is the philanthropy. Some of them make phenomenally successful careers for themselves and what a lot of them do is give back.
“It is something I think we do have in this school”.
He adds that the school would not be where it is without the support of Old Barnardians.
The new school that he will take the reins of, in Malaysia, is not very different from Barnard Castle School.
Created by former students of Marlborough College, in Wiltshire, Marlborough College Malaysia has about 820 pupils aged between four and 18.
Along with the children of expats, the school has international as well as local Malaysian students on its roll.
Mr Stevens adds: “The tone of the school, the ethos of the school, is incredibly similar to Barnard Castle and that is what attracted us about it.”
As an inspector, Mr Stevens has visited a range of schools and has not always been overly impressed.
He says: “They can be very effective schools in terms of results, but they are not necessarily places I would like to send my child. They lack a certain warmth and humanity, and the relationships, which is something I think is really special about this place, the relationships between the staff and the children, and the lengths that staff go to for the children’s benefit.
“It is just outstanding, and that is what we saw over there as well. The staff and the governors have complete commitment to the provision they have at the school.”
Chairman of the Malaysian school’s governors is Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz, effectively the Prince Charles of Malaysia. Mr Stevens says Mr Muhriz is passionate about education and formed the charity Teach for Malaysia.
The new vision for the country and its education is transforming the economy, which previously relied heavily on palm oil and agriculture.
Of his decision to move, the headmaster said: “It is a new challenge, and it is a new challenge that has come at the right time for us. We had no real intention of going elsewhere, but I was approached over the summer and asked if we would look at this role. They are very keen to have a husband and wife team which is quite unusual.”
Mr Steven’s wife, Heather, is a lawyer by training and will form part of an “outward facing” set up at the school, dealing with the High Commission, diplomats, politicians and industrialists.
Also joining them later for a short while before he goes off to university will be their son Jamie, who finishes his final year at Barnard Castle School this summer.
If there is one highlight that really stands out for the headmaster, then his son is it.
He says: “It has been seeing our own son growing up into a man that we are very proud of. We know we owe a lot of that to his housemaster, his tutors and his teachers. There is a real debt of gratitude to the people that we work with.”
A recruitment process is underway to find a successor for Mr Stevens but he says the school is in a strong position because of its “fantastic senior management team” and he is in no doubt that the school is an attractive option for top applicants.
He concludes: “There is huge capacity in the senior management team here. They are a very, very talented bunch of people – the best I have ever worked with.”