Elgin Academy’s new head teacher relishes new challenges after Buckie High departure
A school is “working hard” to make improvements after the appointment of a new head teacher.
Neil Johnson spent 13 years as head teacher at Buckie Community High School, his first rectorship after serving as depute rector at Keith Grammar School.
However, the new term saw him take over the reins at Elgin Academy from Kyle Scott.
There has been plenty to keep Mr Johnson occupied since he assumed his new role.
He said: “It's been great, the staff have been very welcoming.
“I'm coming here on the back of them having an inspection and from my perspective that's really good because you get a really thorough look at the school that's been done for you.
“I don't have to do as much of that as I would normally do starting a new school because a lot of it has been given to me and it kind of sets the improvement agenda for the next wee while as well.
“The inspectors are coming back and so we need to make sure we make some changes that they're looking for to raise attainment. I certainly think that the school has already started.
“It's not that it's sat waiting, very much not the case. They have been really working hard to make changes and to make improvements and I'll help them do that over the next year.”
So far the school has made a very positive impression on their new boss.
Mr Johnson continued: “The relationships between the staff and the kids are fantastic.
“They are a really nice bunch of young people and like anywhere else there are some young people that come to school with challenges and the staff are really up for trying to meet that and they seem to work together very well to try and do that.
“There are never enough resources and so part of the challenge - this is a bit like a cracked record, I'm afraid - is that staffing is a perennial problem. I did think that moving to Elgin might actually be part of the solution in that sense but it's here, too and we start the term with staffing being an issue in certain departments.
“We've got numerous adverts out now. We didn't get any NQTs this year through the NQT system. It’s the first time in my experience since the system started, however many years ago that is now, 10, 12 more years ago.”
He noted that the shortage was no longer restricted to certain departments such as maths, rather it was “across the board”.
Mr Johnson added: “We don't get a huge drift of people up from the south where most people do their training and it has a massive impact.”
While Elgin Academy is a bigger school than BCHS - by about 150 students or so - he said it was not a massive step change in and of itself.
Another major difference between the schools is that the Academy is very much a city school in an urban setting, while BCHS was based in a smaller fishing town which drew many pupil from surrounding small villages.
Mr Johnson said: “One of the things that immediately springs to mind is talking to some of the young people, how much other stuff they're doing outside school that's easily accessible to them.
“That lack of access to stuff that's apparent in Buckie is less apparent here. We've got far more kids involved in clubs, societies and things outside school, and doing things outside school that are easy for them to access. That access really is a barrier for places like Buckie.
“It's not getting any easier with the impact on people's incomes, prices going up and salaries not necessarily going up as much. Parents find it really hard to fund that kind of thing and it has an impact on families. Here, it's easier to access.”
Looking back on what he was most proud of during his time at Buckie High, he commented: “I think that would be the development of the curriculum.
“A change of emphasis from the National 5/Higher pathway being the only pathway, and university being the only good outcome for being at school. I think that perception has changed and certainly the opportunities have changed around what is available.
“It's not a finished job by any means, but we're well down the pathway of doing that. I think employers are more open to alternative pathways.
“Universities are starting to become more open to it, and other places that young people move on to. We need to keep banging the drum that we shouldn't be making the young people fit into our image of what the right pathway is. We need to make sure we provide pathways that are the right thing for where young people want to go.
“That is hard, it really is hard. Once again, part of it is because of our geography. Part of it is because of the size of our schools. It's less of an issue here than it was at Buckie, because there are more young people in the senior phase. Staying on rate here is higher. The more young people you've got in the senior phase, the more opportunity you can put in front of them. You can do that because you've got class sizes that are viable.
“Co-operation is also easier. We have young people coming here from a number of schools at the moment. We've had that in other places, but the geography means it's easy to get to Elgin from anywhere else.”
Mr Johnson went on to praise the condition of the Elgin Academy building itself, saying that despite being 12 years old it felt “like new”.
