Barnard Castle School has been very fortunate to recently add two significant names to its current staff. Both of whom will undoubtedly make a huge contribution to the already successful North of England school.
The newly appointed Director of Music. Simon Dearsley arrives at Barney from Stowe School with an impressive background in music. A Cambridge graduate, Simon was previously an Assistant Organist at Westminster Abbey, a housemaster in the Choir School, and a music master at Westminster School. In 1993 he became Director of Music at Gordonstoun School, and in 1995 Head of Composition at Wells Cathedral Music School, before being appointed an Instructor in Music Theory at The Juilliard School of Music, Manhattan, New York City in 1997. In 2003 he took up the role of Director of Chapel Music at Shrewsbury School, and in 2007 the Director of Music at Stowe School.
“I am delighted to join Barnard Castle School; its students are urbane, charming and vital individuals who are a delight to meet. I am looking forward to developing everyone’s desire to really enjoy all types of music, and to give them opportunities to try and develop together in all styles of music.”
Simon who specialises in composition and performance strongly feels that intelligence is simply not fixed and that poor ability or weak abilities do not exist; it is much more about the level that the student has reached at that moment. He says the evidence is overwhelming that given the right impetus students can really achieve anything they want.”
The second of the two appointees is Dr Michael Truss, the new Director of Studies. Dr Truss has a Masters degree in Physics from Oxford University as well as a PhD in Astrophysics from Leicester University. Michael will be responsible for the academic life of the School.
He arrived at Barney from Bedales School in Hampshire where he was Head of Maths and Academic Enrichment. His previous employers include Durham University where he was a Teaching Fellow in Physics and St Andrews University where he was a Research Fellow in Astrophysics.
“My role here gives me some freedom to influence academic strategy, and that is exciting. I am looking forward to working closely with all the great students we have and hearing about all their diverse interests and hopes for the future. Hopefully, I will be able to offer them some useful advice too.”
“Today’s students are under more pressure than ever before to perform and deliver results that get them into the universities or jobs they want. Achieving this while still having the time and space to be yourself is an increasingly difficult challenge, but as educators, that is what we need to help students to do.”
“We also find ourselves in a period of change, with both GCSE and A Level curricula being reformed. However well-intentioned these changes are, uncertainties about their intrinsic value, quality and particularly the standards of exam assessment abound. Many independent schools are voting with their feet and offering a mix of qualification routes which may involve International GCSEs and A Levels or Pre-U qualifications. These varied qualifications exist in many subjects here at Barnard Castle School.”
“One of Barney’s key attributes is the breadth of experience it provides: as well as an excellent academic education, students here have the opportunity to become involved in an extraordinary range of activities, from top-level sport to overseas trips, music, drama and beyond. We also have some of the most polite and considerate students I have ever worked with: that simply could not happen if the school was not a welcoming, inclusive community.”