Fiona Walker, our newly appointed Head of Pre-Prep calls the role 'her dream job'. Here she describes the unique career path that has taken her from top-flight long jumping to Early Years education
It's probably understating it to say that Fiona Walker is thrilled to be embarking on her new role as Head of Harrodian Pre-Prep this week. ‘The first day I walked into Pre-Prep for my interview two years ago I felt I’d found the special place that I’d been looking for,’ she beams. ‘So to be entrusted with the chance to lead this fantastic team and to nurture these children really means a lot to me.’
Fiona admits her life journey from West Yorkshire roots to her ‘dream job’ in South West London has been a round-about one. The daughter of a professional rugby league player, she grew up in Pontefract, attending a Quaker school in the town where she struggled to make a mark. ‘School was a mixed bag for me: I didn't feel I was good at anything though I tried very hard and occasionally got recognised for effort,’ she says. ‘I certainly didn’t imagine myself becoming a teacher.'
School was a mixed bag for me: I didn't feel I was good at anything, though I tried very hard and occasionally got recognised for effort. I certainly didn’t imagine myself becoming a teacher.
Fiona Walker, Head of Harrodian Pre-Prep
Fiona’s first big break came in her early teens when, out of the blue, she found herself competing in the Yorkshire county athletics championship. ‘It was accidental. All the long jumpers dropped out and the sports teacher reluctantly picked me as a makeweight,’ she laughs. ‘I didn’t even know what long jump was until I called my Dad and asked him!’
The accident proved to be a life-changing one. To the astonishment of everyone, not least herself, in her first ever competition Fiona not only won the girls title, she smashed the County long jump record and outjumped all the boys along the way. ‘The PE teacher – who constantly subbed me for everything – couldn’t believe it,’ she says. ‘She thought they’d just measured it wrong.’
To the astonishment of everyone, not least herself, in her first ever competition, Fiona not only won the girls title, she smashed the County long jump record and outjumped all the boys along the way
Ms Walker’s new-found athletic talent blossomed into a serious athletics career which saw her emerge as Britain’s number one junior long jumper, study at Loughborough – where she met her husband , Toby – and compete internationally for her country alongside sporting legends such as Denise Lewis and Jessica Ennis.
It was only when a leg injury ended her sporting career at 25, that Ms Walker turned to teaching. ‘I was sceptical when my Mum suggested the idea,’ she says. ‘But I got a job as a Teaching Assistant, loved it, and then got a place on Wandsworth’s school-based ‘SCITT’ PGCE course specialising in EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)’ she says. ‘It all clicked. My own school years had shown me what it felt like to be overlooked and misunderstood. I began to see teaching as a way of providing the help and learning every child needs.’
My own school years had shown me what it felt like to be overlooked and misunderstood. I began to see teaching as a way of providing the help and learning every child needs
After 16 years teaching in schools around London, Ms Walker took a career break in her early 30s to start a family, an experience which heightened her own sense both of the joys of EYFS and its huge importance to children. ‘Becoming a mother of three boys has helped me grasp how much children learn in those vital early years,’ she explains. ‘It’s a time when so much magic happens in the classroom every day. You’re surrounded by children making huge discoveries: how to read; how to regulate their emotions; the dynamics of relationships with others, for example.’
Becoming a mother of three boys has helped me grasp how much children learn in those vital early years. It’s a time when so much magic happens in the classroom every day
So how does Ms Walker hope to build on the Pre-Prep Department's many existing strengths? It may be early days but it’s clear that she is bubbling with ideas. ‘I want to work to continue to develop our EYFS provision and to grow closer links with Harrodian Prep so we have a thread of continuity in the curriculum running through all the way from Reception to the 11s and 12s,’ she says. ‘Mental health is also a top priority for me. Well-being for pupils and for staff is at the heart of everything we do.’
I want to work to continue to develop our EYFS provision and to grow curriculum links with Harrodian Prep so we have a thread of continuity running through from reception to the 11s and 12s