It is never an easy thing to change where you work. It is even more difficult if you have never set foot in the workspace that you are expected to inhabit! The pandemic meant that everything prior to September was online. However, no amount of online meetings, trying to find the headmaster on Twitter, or checking out the School on Google Streetview can fully prepare you for your first day in a new teaching job. Suffice to say I was a little nervous on my first day.

 I’m very pleased to say that all of my anxieties were swiftly dispersed by the sheer volume of warmth and support that was provided at The Abbey. The senior leadership team has done a fantastic job of easing us all in, addressing our worries and giving us the confidence we need to start what is a very unusual school year. 

I find myself rushing through my breakfast in the mornings, not in order to beat the Caversham traffic (though that is a bonus), but because I want to be here, I want to do my job, I want to teach. In a world of increasing uncertainty I feel as though, after an admittedly hectic initial two weeks, I have arrived somewhere very special. 

Mr Baker, Head of Computer Science