In praise of school
Updated on 07 December 2007
I had the pleasure of last night attending the 275th anniversary party of the founding of my old school, JFS (The Jews Free School), an event that coincided with the retirement of Dame Ruth Robins after 14 years as Head teacher.
JFS, Britain's oldest Jewish institution, was only my school for two years (while at the sixth form) but I really consider it my true school - where I flourished and gained the confidence that eventually led me to become a correspondent here at Channel 4 News.
Dame Ruth was praised by, among others, the controversial Labour peer and school president Lord Levy. While his fundraising skills for the Labour party came under the spotlight in a police investigation, his fundraising clout for JFS has more or less gone unnoticed.
He was partially responsible for ensuring that JFS was able to fund an ambitious move to the largest purpose built school site in Europe. She was knighted not just for succeeding with the ambitious move but also for her pioneering attitude to teaching and management, skills now emulated at similar comprehensives across the country.
While at the celebration I bumped into my old economics teacher, Nick Calogirou. He was an inspirational teacher who expected only the best. A hard marker, his emphasis on attention to detail meant that I and most of my class mates were easily assured an A grade.
When clearing out some junk the other day, I found an essay on marginal utility littered with red pen markings- setting me straight on the details on how the economy theoretically works.
I told him that I keep his photocopied, hand written notes in my desk to refer to whenever I do a story about economics. But that was a partial lie. I did, but in our move to our temporary newsroom, I've lost them. Hopefully they will turn up soon. However, they are always in my mind when I'm in the studio or outside a branch of Northern Rock talking about the economy.
Although the inner-London comprehensive school building that I attended has long-since been demolished and replaced with luxury flats, the new building exudes the same warm atmosphere, one that turns around challenging pupils and gives shy and retiring types the confidence to develop their own individuality.
I owe a lot to my teachers and my school and I do think it's a shame that teachers don't often get the praise they deserve.
