Mini heads take over for one day only

March 21, 2017

Abolish homework forever, take more lessons into the great outdoors and allow children to do as they please.

That was the advice of three revolutionary head teachers at Agincourt School & Nursery, Inglefield House and The Grange Monmouth Preparatory School this week.

The temporarily promoted pupils, who became heads for Monday only, each held their own assemblies, led important meetings, taught classes at their respective schools and greeted parents at the gates.

Parents of Leo, 5, Kathryn, 9, and Teddy, 9, won the special opportunity for their children in a charity auction at a ball thrown by Friends of Agincourt.

Their generosity raised a total of £1,200 to be split between T? Hafan, African Children’s Fund and Agincourt.

Leo said: “I really love being the head teacher. I like watching the whole school and teaching them how to do things. I taught everyone how to do maths in my assembly.

“I think a good head teacher is someone who knows how to use a computer well.”

For Teddy, the experience was extra special as it fell on his ninth birthday.

He said: “My assembly was based on the theme ‘Take the Opportunity’. I was really nervous, especially because it’s my birthday.

“I talked about my ancestors – my great-grandfather who flew a Spitfire into German territory in the war, and my other great-grandfather who learned to fly when he was 14 and flew a Tornado.

“My favourite part of being head for the day has been watching my house play football.”

Kathryn used visual props to illustrate her message in assembly.

She said: “I squeezed some toothpaste out and asked one of the girls to put it back in the tube, but she couldn’t.

“It represented a mean person saying horrible things – you can’t take them back once they’ve been said.

“Later, I taught a lesson about friendship as well.

“I think the biggest challenge faced by a head teacher is to make sure everyone is happy all the time.”

The three mini heads united at The Grange for a mid-morning meeting to discuss how the schools could work together more often.

Teddy then gave his counterparts a tour of the school, before inviting them into his office for coffee and biscuits.