Andrew Holman

Andrew Holman has fond memories of studying at QEGS - particularly of playing for the school football team. After going to Cambridge to study maths he decided to become a teacher himself and says his alma mater inspires him every day in his current role as a headteacher. 

When did you attend QEGS? 

I started in 1984 in what was then called the first year (now Year 7), after my Dad was posted to RAF Coningsby, and I stayed until I completed my A Levels in 1991.  

What’s your fondest memory from your time at QEGS? 

One of my abiding memories of school was being in Mrs Griffin’s form for four years. The Music Room was our form room and I think it’s fair to say that Mrs Griffin gave us a lot of independence and responsibility, which was usually well-founded, although a certain incident with a piano falling on my foot might suggest that her trust wasn’t always repaid.  

What was your favourite subject at school? 

I was good at Maths and Science and particularly remember doing lots of experiments, especially with Dr Chambers in GCSE Chemistry and Mr Hordley in Physics. At A Level, I did Maths, Physics and Chemistry, until one day in the Lower Sixth Mr Bainbridge suggested I do Further Maths too, at which point he plonked a textbook in front of me and told me to get on with it. 

I wasn’t great at cricket but loved football, playing for the school team throughout my seven years. I still remember my Dad barking advice from the touchline that directly contradicted what Mr Rees had told me to do, and I can also recall a great game in about the Third Year (Year 9) when we thrashed Spilsby 13-3. Higher up the school, there may have been one or two occasions when most of us were the worse for wear on a Saturday morning but somehow managed to pull a performance together. I don’t know how many games I played for the school, but I do know that I didn’t score a single goal. 

What did you after leaving QEGS? 

After leaving school I went to Cambridge to study Maths, before becoming a Maths teacher. I’ve worked in five schools and am now the Headmaster of Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire. I undoubtedly draw on my own experiences from QEGS every day, and it often pays to remind parents and staff what it was like being at school and how tough it can be. I would certainly not swap my own school days with the world in which teenagers are growing up today – the pressures are so much greater now. 

What advice would you give to current students? 

If I could give some advice to current QEGS students, it would be to believe in their staff, to appreciate the wealth of expertise and experience those staff have, and to remember that everything they do every day is centred on enabling students to become better people.