Mr Strain has been the head teacher at Stony Dean School for around 8 years. Before that, he was a Work Related Learning Teacher. It’s hard to imagine the journey he had to make in his career to work his way up to his position. He gave up some of his valuable time for an interview to allow us to ask him some important questions that everyone would love to know!

What’s it like being a head teacher?

“It’s a very busy but rewarding job. Day-to-day, I have to make sure our students, their families and the staff are looked after. AKA it’s brill!”

Do you enjoy it? Why?

“Yes! I get to see you guys grow from tiny year 7s to grown up 18 year old adults.”

Hearing this answer from Mr Strain made me shocked as being 18 feels like it is very far away for me and my friends. However, he has seen many year groups go through the school and grow.

What does your job entail?

“Good question! My main job is to keep everyone safe and work with families. But also to make sure everyone has fun things to do. I like to make sure we are a part of the community.”

I think Mr Strain does an amazing job at keeping everyone safe. He has allowed us to gain fantastic experiences through fun events in school and trips, such as going to the London Aquarium.

Is there any difficult parts of your job?

“I think the hardest part of my job is trying to make the money we get into the school to stretch to cover everything I want for our students! I want to create good experiences, get new buildings and resources and hire as many brilliant staff as we can.”

How would you describe your job in three words?

“That’s a very difficult question. I would have to say rewarding, entertaining and wholesome. If I could squeeze in an extra word, I would have to say it is also a privilege!”

After the interview, I felt proud to have someone so passionate running our school. The amount of hours and hard work he puts in to our school community is commendable and I don’t think he gets enough recognition for what he does. From all of the Stony Dean Students and Staff, thank you for being such an amazing head teacher!