John Tutt, headteacher at Rusthall St Paul’s School
“There’s an absolutely lovely, amazing bunch of teachers and teaching assistants here in Rusthall, who are really committed and positive and know the children incredibly well. It’s a special place.”
John Tutt is the Executive Head of a soft federation between St James’s in Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall St Paul’s Primary School here on our village High Street.
“There’s an absolutely lovely, amazing bunch of teachers and teaching assistants here in Rusthall, who are really committed and positive and know the children incredibly well. It’s a special place. I wouldn’t work here if I didn’t like it,” he says. John is heading a leadership team which comprises of himself, his deputy head Lucy Hayward, and Rusthall St Paul’s deputy head Sandra Sheldrake. “I have a lot of confidence in Lucy and Sandra, they are a strong team.”
John grew up in Tunbridge Wells, and went to University in Lancaster to study History before training to be a teacher. “I left university not knowing what I wanted to do and ended up in a call centre for a bank in London. When I started my PGCE teacher training it was the first thing I’d done in my life that I found hard – but also the most enjoyable work I’d ever done.”
After successful periods in schools in Southall in London, followed by Maidstone, a job came up at Bishops Down Primary School in Tunbridge Wells. “I love being in a classroom,” John says. “You have to work to maintain the right energy level in your class, and you have an audience of thirty children to listen to all your jokes!” After being promoted to deputy head, a job came up at St James’s in Tunbridge Wells where he is now the head of a three-form entry school with 630 pupils, 21 classes and over 100 staff.
“It’s a big operation,” he admits, talking about what keeps him motivated. “The most important part is establishing and maintaining high-quality relationships with parents, children, and staff. You are responsible for educational and pastoral needs, and that can be challenging, but I enjoy it. I love talking to people, love public speaking (the Vicar of St James’s once turned the mike off on me), I love getting to know people and I really love working with kids.”
John cycles on an bike to work each day from Crowborough, where he lives with his wife and children. “Car ownership is one of my biggest hates. Even electric cars are just middle-class greenwashing. I object to the number of near-death experiences I’ve had riding my bike.” As well as his commitment to the environment, he is passionately committed to bringing out the best in every child. “We’ve got to bust a gut in this country for our children to stand a chance against the privileged rich – I’m passionate about giving children the opportunities to shine.”
“Rusthall school is a place that needs to be protected, cherished, nurtured, and supported by its community.”
He is also clear about what brings him to Rusthall. “I’ve known Miss Powell for a long time, we worked together at Bishops Down, so I wanted to help when she went to Groombridge. I have a connection to this village too because my grandparents lived on Parsonage Road,” he says. “You’ve got a great local school on your doorstep here, it’s a great resource and an increasingly rare one. In a world that increasingly drives towards centralisation, a whole sense of community and localism can fade away. Rusthall is lucky in that it retains its local character and community, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted and in changing, difficult times, a local school at the heart of the community is more important than ever. It grounds a community, it’s a focal point, and school is more than an education. People make friends, they meet people and come together. Rusthall school is a place that needs to be protected, cherished, nurtured, and supported by its community.”
