Chris Calvey, head of Ardingly College Prep School started in banking, moved into teaching and loves wildlife photography. His main problem now is the "Ardingly stone" , courtesy of the excellence of the school food!

Chris Calvey, head of Ardingly College Prep School started in banking, moved into teaching and loves wildlife photography. His main problem now is the “Ardingly stone”, courtesy of the excellence of the school food!

If you hadn’t become a teacher, what do you think you would have done instead? I began my career working for Lloyds Bank before becoming a teacher but I’m not sure it is something I would return to. I do enjoy the outdoors and photography and if I weren’t a teacher, would probably enjoy combining these interests and be a wildlife photographer. In Ardingly’s own beautiful woodland, we are just in the process of placing a number of owl, bat, bird and hedgehog boxes which house cameras that will be linked to the school intranet allowing pupils to view the inside of the homes: our very own “Spring Watch”!Who would you most like to have as a pupil, if you could pick anyone?This is a very interesting and different question and rather than pick an individual I would be very interested to have in my class someone who now looks back on their education as something they did not enjoy to see if I could change that.What was your favourite lesson? Was there ever one you wish you could have missed?My favourite lesson was very definitely Geography and the one that I would happily have missed was Latin. Both of these answers have everything to do with the teachers that taught them and I still remember the fun I had with a very entertaining and lively Geography teacher. Was there any type of school dinner that you couldn’t stand when you were at school? I found most types of school dinner that involved cooked vegetables unappealing. They were generally overcooked and rather tasteless but I’m pleased to say things have moved on a lot since I was a boy. The food at Ardingly is too good and I am now carrying what is known as the Ardingly stone (the extra weight all staff put on in their first year!).So, your Desert Island disc… Which record would you want with you if you were marooned on a desert island?Rather than a record would it be cheating to request my itouch? It is smaller than a record, but holds over 3000 of my favourite tracks! Failing that, I would pick The Verve, Lucky Man just to remind myself how lucky I was to be on a desert island.Do you have a favourite current artist or song? I have many artists and songs which are always changing. At the moment I am listening to The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace composed by Karl Jenkins rather a lot but I am also partial to a little Oasis and Coldplay which I am also learning to play on the guitar.What is special about your school?With Oscar joining in September, I can answer this as a parent because I have a child excited about his first day in his new school who just can’t wait to experience all the things he has heard about. As Headmaster, I say the grounded confidence the pupils have as a result of good teaching in a happy and supported environment where children are encouraged to take risks and not worry about the mistakes they make in doing so.

If you hadn’t become a teacher, what do you think you would have done instead?

I began my career working for Lloyds Bank before becoming a teacher but I’m not sure it is something I would return to. I do enjoy the outdoors and photography and if I weren’t a teacher, would probably enjoy combining these interests and be a wildlife photographer. In Ardingly’s own beautiful woodland, we are just in the process of placing a number of owl, bat, bird and hedgehog boxes which house cameras that will be linked to the school intranet allowing pupils to view the inside of the homes: our very own “Spring Watch”!

Who would you most like to have as a pupil, if you could pick anyone?

This is a very interesting and different question and rather than pick an individual I would be very interested to have in my class someone who now looks back on their education as something they did not enjoy to see if I could change that.

What was your favourite lesson?

Was there ever one you wish you could have missed?

My favourite lesson was very definitely Geography and the one that I would happily have missed was Latin. Both of these answers have everything to do with the teachers that taught them and I still remember the fun I had with a very entertaining and lively Geography teacher.

Was there any type of school dinner that you couldn’t stand when you were at school?

I found most types of school dinner that involved cooked vegetables unappealing. They were generally overcooked and rather tasteless but I’m pleased to say things have moved on a lot since I was a boy. The food at Ardingly is too good and I am now carrying what is known as the Ardingly stone (the extra weight all staff put on in their first year!).

So, your Desert Island disc… Which record would you want with you if you were marooned on a desert island?

Rather than a record would it be cheating to request my itouch? It is smaller than a record, but holds over 3000 of my favourite tracks! Failing that, I would pick The Verve, Lucky Man just to remind myself how lucky I was to be on a desert island.

Do you have a favourite current artist or song?

I have many artists and songs which are always changing. At the moment I am listening to The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace composed by Karl Jenkins rather a lot but I am also partial to a little Oasis and Coldplay which I am also learning to play on the guitar.

What is special about your school?

With Oscar joining in September, I can answer this as a parent because I have a child excited about his first day in his new school who just can’t wait to experience all the things he has heard about. As Headmaster, I say the grounded confidence the pupils have as a result of good teaching in a happy and supported environment where children are encouraged to take risks and not worry about the mistakes they make in doing so.

NOTABLE OLD ARDINIANS

Among a wide number of noteworthy former pupils of Ardingly College (referred to as Old Ardinians) are:

Private Eye editor and star of Have I Got News For You Ian Hislop

Brighton and Hove Albion player Adam Virgo

Mike Hawthorn Formula 1 world champion 1958

Sir Bill Cotton Controller BBC 1 1977-81

Actor Terry-Thomas

Composer and band leader

Victor Silvester