In the hot-seat
Julia Wynd: in the hot seat
“Dedicated, loyal and focused”, Julia stated without hesitation when asked to describe herself in three words. The fact that I actually sat there opposite a woman whose time is so sought after, on the very busy Thursday before the end of term, when in all honesty, having been suffering from a virus for the past couple of weeks, she shouldn’t have been working at all, was testament to her accuracy in those words.
In the hot-seat
Before I stepped into her office, I had intended my interview, “Head to Head with Julia Wynd”, to be a quick-fire, surface-deep sweep of the woman behind the title of Head Teacher, much like the questionnaires we see on myspace. However, as we sat there, door closed to the end of term frenzy, my trivial quizzing seemed unworthy of such a rare moment of peace that we had somehow created. Of course this didn’t stop me from discovering that the three items Julia would take if she were stranded on a desert island would be a hair dryer, mascara and her husband; in that order. “Don’t tell my husband he came last” she laughed as I scribbled it down…oops. Her ideal date with said husband would be a day in London with a meal out, a musical (no doubt her favourite—Les Miserables) then back to her local for evening drinks; it would seem Julia has the work hard, play hard balance pretty sussed. (Though I must just say, despite her love of musicals, Mrs Wynd cannot and therefore does not sing, even in the shower.)
However, these answers were not the ones that stuck in my mind at the end of the interview. Having known she wanted to become a cookery teacher since the age of eleven yet only becoming a Head Teacher five years ago, to then land so sought after a post as the leader of Tring School in such a short amount of time, speaks volumes. This woman can clearly make things happen, with or without her hair dryer and mascara. And yet, does Julia come across as the ruthless career woman her rapid climb up the ladder of success would suggest? No. How can someone who sees the greatest part of her job being the fact she knows she is serving society, making a worthwhile contribution to the lives of others every day, be seen as anything but inspirational? Julia in fact used that very word to describe “the youth of today”—it seems the inspiration works both ways.
What strikes me most about the Head Teacher, is that aside from this title, Julia lets you see she’s human, with real fears about not being good enough, not only in her job, but in every aspect of her life—a fear most of us have, but not all of us are brave enough to admit. And yet her optimistic approach to everything, believing the purpose of her life to be “to contribute positively to the other people we are with”, makes Julia’s claim of being “a people person” more genuine than most, understanding that to connect and really know people below the surface, involves letting them see the same in you. “If you risk nothing, you risk even more” is the motto framed on one of the cabinets in her office, and after spending a year getting to know the new Head of Tring School, I can safely say that the risk has paid off. I have got to know the teacher behind the title, I have seen behind the status and for those of you who are yet to have the pleasure of meeting Mrs Wynd, I can assure you, this woman is not found wanting.
As I stepped back into the bustling hub of reception an hour later, a little disorientated by how fast the time had gone, I paused, breathed. End of an era. The new Head Teacher, nameless and nervous, entering an alien school and being shown the ropes by the Head Boy and Girl in September 2006, was now Julia Wynd, the leader and friend whose passion for people and giving them the best opportunities and experiences she can, spells an exciting future for Tring School. Walking out of the front doors as a student for the last time, I smiled, remembering that this is the first thing Julia notices about someone when she meets them. But the fact is, in the company of such a special person, I don’t see how you could do anything else.
Published in: Features On July 27th, 2007