Michael Shew: ‘There’s more to the job than just teaching’

GIVE him the chance to blow his own trumpet and Michael Shew is characteristically modest.
Keen not to offend his predecessors or take all the credit for what he says is a joint staff effort, the headteacher at Acland Burghley is measured in his assessment of his eight years in charge of the secondary school in Burghley Road, Tufnell Park.
Last week he announced on the school’s website his plans to leave the post for a new challenge in July.
In his message to parents, Mr Shew said the decision had been “difficult” and “announced with some sadness”.
He added: “The last eight years have been the most fulfilling and rewarding in my working life and I’ve been very proud to be part of a school that plays such an important role in providing an inclusive education for all pupils in the local community.”
Mr Shew is not retiring, but at his desk on Monday he said that he can’t reveal too much about what his next job is going to be. But he insists his mystery role will be just as challenging and frenetic as running a large secondary school like Acland Burghley.
“The school is in a good position and I’ve always said it’s good to leave on a high, so this seems to be a good time to move on,” said Mr Shew.
He has overseen year-on-year improvements in pupils’ achievement, the school’s development into a respected specialist for all arts – be they on a painter’s canvas or a musician’s keyboard – and the construction of completely new buildings, including a celebrated canteen.
That last one was marked with an official opening by Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister’s wife, who is a former pupil.
“It’s important to say ‘we’ have done all this because we have a very able staff at Acland Burghley,” said Mr Shew.
His recognition of his colleagues is genuine, but in leading Acland Burghley he proved adept in dealing with potentially tricky issues, fighting the school’s corner for instance when a film-maker posed as a supply teacher in a supposed exposé of unruly behaviour at the school in 2005.
Mr Shew was also among opponents who faced down plans to change the admissions code for Camden’s secondaries in 2004 – the so-called “Fortress Camden” model which would have gone some way to damaging the chances of children living on the Islington side of the borough boundary from getting a place.
“The school has always been part of the community – but I think it has become more so since I’ve been here,” he said. “We recognise that is a local facility for people. People who live in Tufnell Park or Kentish Town don’t think of themselves as whether they live in Camden or Islington, they have their own local community and we are the school within that. We are a community school with a great mix of pupils from every social class, from every ethnic group.”
That’s not to say Acland Burghley stands alone as the only option for families in the area. Mr Shew recognises that there is competition with William Ellis and Parliament Hill in Highgate – and in the future maybe with the UCL Academy planned for Swiss Cottage.
“A significant number of our best-performing students stay on to the sixth form,” he said. “There are options for them to go elsewhere but they stay with us. The motto of the school is built around success and making sure that the pupils feel they can achieve and be successful. There is that atmosphere here.”
And there is still a scramble for places at Acland Burghley: more than 700 apply for less than 200 places each year.
“The job has changed enormously since I’ve been here,” said Mr Shew. “It’s still about making sure pupils achieve academically but we are now responsible for so much more as well. Health. Safety. Happiness.
“One of my assistant heads is  on an exchange with a school in France and when she got there the French teachers couldn’t believe it when she said we had to worry about more than just teaching. We have to worry about what they eat, what they get up to halfway up the road on their way home. We have to look out for the possibility of a problem at home.”
The job will be one of three headteacher posts that will be on the market: Camden School for Girls headteacher Anne Canning is leaving in the summer and the UCL Academy will be interviewing candidates for its  first “principal” next month.
Mr Shew said he had announced his decision to move on at an early stage to allow the school as much time as possible to find the best possible replacement.
“The challenges for the school in the future are to keep focused on making sure children are more successful,” he added. “To deal with the disruption that comes with building projects under Building Schools for the Future [government investment programme].
“Temporary accommodation is much better than it used to be but disruption is inevitable.
“Schools everywhere, not just Acland Burghley, will also have to be aware of the economic conditions and an age of financial austerity. The fact is there will be less money for schools and the challenge will be responding to that.”
RICHARD OSLEY