School revisited

Back in December I blogged about how I had been invited back to my old school to give a talk to some of the students about my time there, my career and what I was up to now. Time marches on and my visit has now been and gone. I wouldn’t say that I was nervous about it, or particularly looking forward to it but I am glad that it is over. I have very mixed views about my time there but can’t deny that I had a decent education. All these feelings came back to me as I made my way up the drive to reception.

The event turned out to be quite different to what I had expected. It started with my talk in the main hall, where we used to gather for assembly but was being used as a sixth form common room due to the extensive work going on at the site. I spoke to about 90 year 9 boys for about 15 minutes. As they trooped out, a couple came up to ask me some questions and so at least they were listening.

After that I was taken to one of the classrooms to meet another group of older students, all studying computing and intending to continue their studies at university. I was unexpectedly given 30 minutes to chat to them about the opportunities from cyber security. They were worried about the rise of AI and the perceived threat to their future employment that it may bring. I gave some counter arguments, in that technology has always threatened jobs yet new jobs, ones we haven’t even heard of are created in their stead. The pace of the change is the only aspect of AI that concerns me. Each of them told me their immediate plans for university, there was no alternative, and again I was able to give some small anecdotes about their potential choices.

Finally, there was a tour of the building, to see the dance studios, the design and technology labs, the art department, none of which existed in my day. Indeed, I noted that these subjects would have been frowned upon rather than taught.

Despite my mixed views of the school, I enjoyed the morning and I hope the students got something from it. It is important that young people have some perspective on how their education fits into their future lives and this is what I was trying to portray.

The school has changed so much in the last fifty years, so much for the better. Much of the old footprint is still visible yet so much has been built upon. The refectory still smelt of cabbage, custard and floor polish however. Some things never change!