The new principal of Brookeborough Controlled Primary School, Andy Young, is settling into his new position well, embracing the challenge of balancing teaching and leading at the rural primary school.

“It’s amazing,” said Mr. Young, speaking to The Impartial Reporter about how he is enjoying his new role as a teaching principal, having stepped up from the position of a senior teacher at the previous primary school that he worked at.

“In terms of how I found that jump, it’s everything that I thought it would be – it’s ridiculously full-on. It’s just pedal to the metal, flat to the mat,” he said with a laugh.

“But the thing I love about it is the variety, teaching Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then I get to do all the sort of principal-related jobs on a Thursday and Friday.

“That mixture of work and the type of work that you’re doing is really fascinating to me.

“I love that creativity of doing brilliant lessons with children, but I also like coming up with vision and sort of ‘big picture’ strategies for the school, and to link it in to the community.

“So the variety in the job is absolutely brilliant – but I wouldn’t say it’s for the faint-hearted,” said Mr. Young.

Originally from Worcester, England, Mr. Young has lived in Northern Ireland since 2004, moving over with his wife, who he met during his time at university in Nottingham.

Although Mr. Young has a great enthusiasm and love for teaching, it was not his original career path.

He explained: “I’ve been teaching for 12 years now, but before that, I worked for about 10 years in business and consultancy for town planning.

“That has given me a lot of good life skills that I have transferred across to teaching, and especially becoming a principal. That previous life experience is really useful.”

On deciding to change his career, Mr. Young went back across to England to complete his PGCE. After achieving his PGCE in 2011, he started his first teaching job in East Belfast.

He then went on to work for three years in an integrated primary school in Moira, and then in 2016 he started working in Dungannon Primary School as a senior teacher.

There he worked for six years, before he was appointed to the role of principal of Brookeborough PS this spring.

Having previously worked in urban schools, as a rural school, Brookeborough PS is somewhat of a change for Mr. Young.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said, noting how he is settling in well to the more rural environment of Brookeborough.

“I love Fermanagh, I love the area and I know it quite well. So there was a number of reasons I thought, ‘Oh, I’d love to go work in a country school’.

“I also think it’s a great place to just learn and develop, and you get the parents on side with you as well in a small community school in a way that is harder to do in a big town school, for example,” he said.

As the new principal of Brookeborough PS, Mr. Young explained what he hopes to bring to the role and his vision for the future of the primary school.

“I really want to give it a really positive future for the village. So part of that is the potential for the shared campus development between St. Mary’s Primary School in Brookeborough and ourselves.

“We have funding and approval for a shared campus, but the pandemic just delayed it and then the business case has to be re-done, but we’re hoping within the next three or four years that work can start on that

“Brookeborough PS and St. Mary’s PS have a 40-year history in shared education, of just working really closely together, so I really want to build on all [those] good community links and relationships, and then push forward and develop this new campus where the two schools share the same site.”

He added: “As well, [I’d like] to just push forward a school with a really good, strong Christian ethos that takes account of the spirit in the village really.”

Andy has a love for the arts and music which he hopes to share in the classroom.

“In my spare time I’m a singer-songwriter, and there’s a couple of venues that I’ve residencies in, doing music, so I would love to obviously make Brookeborough PS a musical place.

“I have passion for literacy and I want all children to develop a love of reading and writing.

“I also love getting children to recognise their talents and abilities and become the best version of themselves in all areas,” he told this newspaper.