BARNARD Castle School has a reputation as one of the leading independent schools in the country. Peter Barron talks to the man tasked with taking it into a new era

STRONG academic achievements are vital to the success of any school or college but, for new Barnard Castle School headmaster Tony Jackson, there is much more to it than that.

The real value for Mr Jackson lies in the focus Barnard Castle School places on nurturing well-rounded individuals who are ready for the challenges that lie ahead in adulthood.

There have been significant changes since a vision for a leading independent school was first outlined by Victorian educationalists nearly 150 years ago, not least the fact that in those days it was restricted to boys.

But the ethos of educational excellence, combined with the best pastoral care possible in a family environment, has remained consistent throughout the school’s history.

“Academic success opens the door but it’s what we do when we walk through the door that really counts,” says Mr Jackson, who became headmaster in September, having served for a year as deputy headmaster to Alan Stevens.

“There are a lot of people out there with good grades, but it is a competitive world and it’s about how we help our students to differentiate from everyone else – how we help them to stand out.”

Teaching is in Mr Jackson’s blood. Brought up in West Yorkshire, his father was a state secondary school teacher for 40 years, rising to the position of deputy headmaster. His two sisters also teach in public sector secondary schools.

However, while teaching was always in his mind as an eventual career, Mr Jackson initially opted to go into banking after graduating from Durham University. Two years in Australia, a year in Spain, and four years in London gave him a solid grounding in the financial sector before he decided it was time to embark on teacher

training at Oxford.

He ended up teaching at Radley College, a prestigious independent boys’ boarding school in Oxfordshire, serving as a housemaster for five years before moving north to become deputy headmaster at Barnard Castle School in September 2016.

Mr Jackson considers himself lucky to have found a headship at a school perfectly matching his own beliefs about education. He inherited a set of values that are part of the fabric of the place, so didn’t feel there was a need to make fundamental changes.

However, he does want to place more emphasis on articulating those values and explaining how they help prepare young people for adult life.

“The world is very different to the one I knew when I was a teenager,” he reflects. “It is far more global, yet smaller because of the advances in technology. Many young people will have up to ten careers in their lifetimes, including some that haven’t even been invented yet.”

He cites artificial intelligence as an example of that changing world, but is quick to point out that it can never be a substitute for the kind of people skills that are so important to the philosophy at Barnard Castle School.

“Unbelievable advances will be made but artificial intelligence will never be able to show empathy, build trust, make moral judgements or develop relationships,” he says.

That is why so much effort goes into pastoral care as well as the academic side of life at Barnard Castle School. For example, Lower Sixth students are placed on a six-week communication and etiquette course covering such skills as how to make a first impression and break down barriers. The course ends with a dinner where students are expected to engage with adults and put their social skills to the test.

However, education at Barnard Castle School isn’t restricted to the classroom – it transcends the timetable.

“You can’t just flick a switch,” says Mr Jackson.

“Education has to happen in the corridor as well as in the classroom, with an emphasis placed on treating everyone with respect, whether it’s the cleaner or the headmaster.”

The aim of the school is to produce confidence with humility, qualities which were evident when Mr Jackson attended a recent gathering of Old Barnardians.

“It was such a joy to be surrounded by so many downright humble, thoroughly decent human beings who had something about them, but without being arrogant,” he says.

“We want Barnardians to light up a room and to learn how to do that in a safe, happy, environment where it feels like a family.”

Creating a sense of belonging is seen as important and the Barnardian family extends way beyond the confines of schooldays, with an established, influential network of alumni spreading around the world.

David Osborne, managing director of showers manufacturer, Roman, is just one of many former pupils who are happy to extol the benefits of a Barnard Castle School education.

“You don’t realise what you had at the time and it’s only when you think back that you fully appreciate just how good it was,” says the boss of the highly successful County Durham company.

Mr Osborne is a strong advocate of the House system, saying: “You make friends all over the school, but your House is like a family.” Indeed, his old deputy housemaster, John Oates, remains a close friend.

“Academic success is important, but real value is in going the extra mile. It is the personal development that makes such a difference,” he says.

Sport was a passion for Mr Osborne and he is grateful for the coaching he received at Barnard Castle School, where he played for the rugby and cricket teams.

He now coaches the Barnard Castle Rugby Club Under-15s team and is an ardent believer in the life skills that are formed through the sport.

“I look back and think I was blessed to learn in such a brilliant environment, and it has stayed with me for life,” he says.

Mr Osborne, who attended Barnard Castle between 1982 and 1989, has now sent his daughter Jemimah, 16, and son Matthew, 14, to the school, knowing that they are in safe hands.

“Things evolve and improve and the experience they are getting now is miles better than I had – the school is improving all the time and that’s fantastic to see,” he says.

A century-and-a-half on from that first Victorian vision, Barnard Castle School remains true to its traditions, but it is also adapting to an-ever changing world – and making a difference that lasts a lifetime.