LWC Headmaster, Adam Williams on discovering passions and never fearing failure…

 

Sometimes in a conversation, there’s a moment that cuts through the rhythm of the words, like a hot knife through butter.

 

This moment comes when you ask Adam Williams how to identify an excellent teacher. As he approaches three decades in education, he’s certainly had plenty of practice.

 

“Oh you can spot it a mile off,” he says, a flicker of excitement crossing his face. “Literally within five minutes….You see it in the way they act around pupils, parents, colleagues. They are invariably, in fact they are always optimistic, even when they pretend they’re not. I worked with someone many years ago who had a really successful group of children and he would say to me, ‘Adam, these kids thrive on neglect.’ It was a complete lie. He would tell them (with tongue firmly in cheek), that they were his least favourite class ever, but he would also write them individual, handwritten letters before they sat their GCSEs or A-levels. People like him always do stuff on the fringes. They get it. Teaching is a way of life and the job is to create the conditions for kids to go and smash it.”

 

“All that you want is for the people that have been through your school, to have a real warmth, a sense of home and for it to be a part of who they are. But only a small part because there are many brilliant experiences in life and this is just one of them”

—Adam Williams

   

Mr Williams’ enthusiasm for spotting such teachers is indicative of his love of a profession that he first joined 28 years ago. But he admits that it wasn’t necessarily his first career choice.

 

“Both of my parents were teachers,” he explains. “Why did I want to be one? I don’t think I did to begin with. I did a gap year of teaching to play some sport and then worked in sales and marketing for a year, whilst also contemplating professional golf.” He admits that his responsibilities mainly stretched to making tea and coffee during those first twelve months of employment, until a cricket dinner changed everything.

 

“I was sitting next to a Head of Geography and he said, ‘Adam, you’d love to be a teacher. There’s a job coming up, why don’t you apply?’ So I did and that was nearly thirty years ago.”

 

The infectious energy he radiates when talking about teaching, was ignited by his own Geography teacher. “His name is Roger Keeley. He was my teacher at A-level and I eventually went back and taught with him in that same department,” he reveals. “He was well-travelled, very cultural and had a twinkle in his eye. I loved the shape of his brain. It just kept pinging off in different directions. He brought simplicity to complexity and made me passionate about Geography. Honestly passionate about it.”

     

Indeed, Geography has been a staple, as other obsessions have come and gone. Mr Williams studied the subject at university before becoming Head of Geography at Bradfield College and later, Oakham School, leading the largest Geography department in the country. He remains adamant that if the opportunity arose to step back into the classroom to teach it again, he would have no qualms.

 

“I would happily go back and teach a full timetable tomorrow,” he beams. “That’s not to say that I don’t love my job. I love what I do.”

 

It was September 2015, when he joined LWC as Headmaster, following a Deputy Headship in Glasgow. “I could see the potential,” he admits, when asked about the moment he set foot in the 1200. “I used to joke at the time that it felt as though the school was a shy teenager. Hair draped over our eyes, scruffy shoes….but there was the potential to develop that inner self-confidence. I didn’t believe the place believed in itself enough. I wasn’t interested in following what everyone else was doing. I love the niches, the quirks and just taking a different view on things. Things evolve and develop when you look at them slightly differently.”

 

Things have certainly evolved. Just under a decade on from his arrival, LWC began this academic year with more students than ever before, record-breaking A-level results and journalists describing a ‘buzz’ about the place.

 

But at the heart of the school, much like the Head, is an endearing modesty. When asked what he’d like his legacy at LWC to be one day, Mr Williams grins. “Note to self…you’re only ever remembered for three weeks….always. If you’re lucky, there might be a photo. I’m genuinely not into legacies. All that you want is for the people that have been through your school, to have a real warmth, a sense of home and for it to be a part of who they are. But only a small part because there are many brilliant experiences in life and this is just one of them.”

   

He may not be big on legacies, but there are a host of things that he is passionate about, beyond those already discussed. He remains a British Speedgolf champion, having been introduced to the sport via an online video during covid. He’s keen to make a ‘valuable’ contribution to girls’ and women’s cricket at school, local, county and national level (LWC having produced nine girls selected for county sides this academic year alone). He’s also reassuringly self-aware and knows that these passions are part of his seemingly ever-optimistic make-up. “I love being part of the start of something. Just making something happen. That’s why I love education. There are lots of people who are up for making things happen, not because they’re going to get paid more, but because it’s exciting.”

 

But surely there’s something that he’s significantly less enthusiastic about? We’re only human after all. He takes a long pause…. “Heights and depths I really struggle with,” he says softly. “Skiing at speed, diving, swimming in deep water, climbing. All terrifying. A few years ago, my wife Karen and I went trekking in the Dolomites, using a guidebook written by the master of understatement. What he described as a ‘little rocky scramble’ was a vertiginous cliff face of a climb. Horrendous. I’m still scarred by that.”

 

He also admits to not being the best at clay pigeon shooting, but instead of feeling deflated by this, sees it as more of a learning curve. “I tried it recently, had 16 shots and missed them all. If you play golf or cricket, you fail all the time and that’s ok.”

 

Adam Williams’ approach to life is much like his strategy for nurturing students and staff at  LWC. “It’s good to be in situations that are uncomfortable sometimes. If you get the culture right in your department, House, school, business, then you’ll cultivate a community that feels brave enough to try something new. You just create an environment where it’s cool to give it a go.”