Mrs Kyle’s Real Thoughts on Leading the Girls’ Division
In an exclusive interview, our headmistress gave us an insight into her new life as headteacher. We were delighted that she agreed to answer our questions and help us get to know her a little better. We discovered what life is like at the top and why she hasn’t eaten chocolate for 30 years!
We were initially nervous about the interview, but Mrs Kyle welcomed us into her office and soon put us at ease.
We discovered that Mrs Kyle has worked at Bolton School since 1993 after starting here as a newly qualified teacher. She then went on to become the head of Maths and was promoted to the role of Deputy Head. Finally, this term she continued on her career path and was appointed as our Head Teacher. However, headteacher wasn’t always the dream job.
Mrs Kyle’s passion for Maths is no secret, it is something she has always loved since school, knowing she “always wanted to be a Maths’ teacher since 4 or 5 years old”. The now Headteacher also knew she would enjoy being a part of the pastoral side of school ,as it felt like the right role to have. Being headteacher wasn’t something Mrs Kyle had imagined becoming, but when the opportunity presented itself, having loved the management roles she had held in school, she claims she was “delighted to apply” and “thrilled to bits to get it”, as was the rest of the school.
Although Mrs Kyle no longer teaches, the former Head of Department does hope to return to teaching Maths someday in the future. She even still manages to fit teaching the subject into her busy schedule, by occasionally delivering lunchtime sessions for the GCSE students studying Further Maths. Mrs Kyle’s love of teaching was clear when she claimed “when I find a chance to be able to do it, I love it!” Yet, the new position as Headteacher gives Mrs Kyle a whole range of different things to experience, finding “everyday as different”.
Having done lots of different roles in the school, such as Year Tutor, she imagined there wasn’t much left to learn about the school and was delightfully surprised to learn that her new position has been a “huge learning curve”. She seems very appreciative to still be enjoying new experiences, with each day being a chance to learn something new: “to be in a job where I am continuing to learn is very exciting, you don’t always get opportunities like this- the opportunity to look at your job afresh each day is quite motivating.” This genuine response certainly shows Mrs Kyle as an open minded individual with a definite enthusiasm for her new role.
Unsurprisingly, when asked about a regular day as headteacher, Mrs Kyle responded “far more meetings than you could ever imagine there to be!” Something I’m sure is a big change from teaching Maths. “There isn’t a typical day!” Mrs Kyle went on to explain, especially with nights when she also attends Information Evenings, Perspective Lectures, concerts, and our drama productions. After revealing her favourite movie as being ‘Grease’, I’m sure she appreciated the School production of it a few years ago. It’s good to know she enjoys watching our drama productions too.
She is looking forward to shaping the direction of the school, “in particular, by re-defining roles in the Senior Leadership Team in order to have ways of driving forward change and innovation that will benefit the pupils.” Mrs Kyle was extremely pleased with having “enthusiastic colleagues” stepping up into new roles and responsibilities and is looking forward to working with her dedicated team.
Although the Girls’ Division doesn’t have an official motto, when we asked Mrs Kyle what it ought to be, she thought it should be something that would encourage pupils to simply “appreciate the value of just being kind to one another.” She also thinks that people should always work hard, explaining that it is “a quality in itself to be tenacious and not give up” and that by behaving “with integrity and working hard is the way to generate respect for yourself.” Mrs Kyle states that “somebody who behaves in a goodhearted way, I have huge regard for.” Being a good person is what will stand out. We found these views extremely reassuring and agreed that they are essential values that should be at the heart of the school. We appreciated that, whilst respecting hard work, she saw the value in just simply being a good individual.
One of the more difficult questions Mrs Kyle responded to was when we asked her to describe herself in five words. After careful consideration, she decided on: “compassionate, determined, tenacious, authentic, and not an early morning person!” Even though the last one is a longer than one word, we thought we should still allow it, as shows just how authentic Mrs Kyle really is. Knowing that I’m not a morning person either, made me feel a sense of solidarity with this admission.
In an attempt to gain more of an insight to Mrs Kyle’s personality, we also asked her to name a fact that the pupils of Bolton School might not know about her. We discovered that she can now complete a 5x5x5 Rubik’s Cube, for those that were awaiting an update from her previous assembly, and that she was a member of the ‘Famous Five’ Fan Club. Who knew?
But the answer that we were most shocked by was that Mrs Kyle hasn’t eaten chocolate in 30 years after giving it up for lent in 1990!!! After recovering from this startling revelation, we needed to know more. We learnt that this includes all things chocolate flavoured and, as a result, her favourite desserts consist of sticky toffee pudding and cheesecake.
This then encouraged a very professional conversation about our favourite school lunches, and the best times to go down to lunch. We enjoyed having a fun and candid conversation with her, giving us the opportunity to see the personality traits she identified with for ourselves.
After managing to get our interview back on track, we concluded by asking Mrs Kyle one piece of advice she would like give to the students of Bolton School. She began by saying, “In whatever you choose to do commit to it. Give it your best and then you can’t regret it.” She then went on to add this useful piece of advice, telling us not to worry about things that might happen. If the worst happens, you are more able to deal with it than you think you will be. The worrying that something bad might happen can be more difficult to cope with than having to go through the issue. “We all have it within us to cope with many difficult things.” This message that you will get through the bad things that happen has stayed with us and will be useful as we embark on our new adventures beyond Bolton School.
We were really grateful for the opportunity to be able to get to know Mrs Kyle in this interview and to see a very funny and kind side to her. It makes us feel sad to be leaving. Nevertheless, we are glad that Bolton School Girls’ Division will be left in safe hands.
By Ellen Baines