Finishing Up @ The Grammar

When starting up this blog, I couldn’t quite decide where to begin. Our initial landing in Hangzhou relaying our exhaustion and excitement? Perhaps an exhaustive documentation of the packing process? Maybe a sensible introduction to my family, who we are, what we’re doing etc. In the end what made the most sense to me was beginning at the end. (Quentin Tarantino style?) By the end, I mean the end of my experience working in both the UK and at a Grammar School.

When I first came to the United Kingdom in the summer of 2013, it was to teach my passion subject; History. So I did, for a year, but temporary contracts being what they are (temporary) I found myself needing a new position to stay in the UK. Thus I took up a position (Temporarily) teaching History at a Grammar School. Well…it was supposed to be a History position.

This particular Grammar School is a medium sized, Boys school with a history dating back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth; not that any of the students particularly seem to notice or care. A copy of the schools charter hangs upon the wall of a dark dank largely unused stairwell and despite a yearly celebration of the school’s founding (IE: an hour of sitting in a church being spoken to) you never really got a sense of the school’s history or identity. Anywho, I rocked up here September 2014 to teach History and immediately discovered that my job had been given to an entirely different teacher and that I would be joining an English department (My second teachable) working under joint heads of department who had similarly been informed that morning that they now had a different job to the one they had applied for. This was…annoying and I would have most certainly left the place after a year. If not for Katy.

A year dating, a trip to Italy, Greece and then to Canada/USA later we were engaged. And our relationship hinged upon one thing really. Me staying at The Grammar. My Youth Mobility Visa was all but used up, a work Visa was required. I managed this by getting a permanent position, perhaps on account of me being the devil they knew vs the devil they…knew less. So I continued on teaching a subject I didn’t particularly enjoy to a variety of largely uninterested children.

That’s not to say it was several years of glum. Working in the same school as your fiance is (As I’m sure many Teaching Couples can attest) quite lovely. Furthermore I began a number of clubs for the weirder and thus much more interesting portion of the student body. Most notably Warhammer Club.

At its peak we had just over 30 active members and our own entire classroom (albeit a derelict one) which we refurbished coating the walls with posters and art. We even had Games Workshop come visit us to film a promotional video! Of all the things I did at and for this school, this was probably the grandest. Closely followed by the similarly popular and well received Saturday Morning Youth Games Club.

Running this with my BBF (Best British Friend) Jonathan Rowe was a blast and with any luck it’ll continue even after I leave. But none of this was enough to distract me entirely from the stark reality of teaching a subject I didn’t want to teach in a school I progressively wanted to teach in less and less.

I won’t specify what exactly it was which wore me down. I’m not going to publish dirty laundry etc. But lets’ just say that after Katy left to work at Kings School in Peterborough in 2016 (She may make a post about this!) everything just kind of went down hill. Alas I couldn’t leave, even after me and Katy tied the knot in August 2016, I didn’t yet have a residence permit and thus I continued to work at THE GRAMMAR.

3 YEARS LATER…

I was a father now. Of this guy

I needed to get out. I needed to get out of here. After much research into what I already suspected about International Teaching I decided there was only one way forward. Going abroad. The problem, my dear wife Katy is a Latin Teacher. Latin/Classics is not super popular overseas on the International Teaching Circuit. Throughout all of Asia there are about 7-9 schools which teach it(Out of around 1300 schools). Luckily, I stumbled upon a new school which had JUST opened in Hangzhou China. Basis International School. This school just so happened to be looking to offer the wisdom of Ancient Rome to apart of the world the Romans only vaguely knew existed at all.

We applied. We got offered jobs teaching History (FINALLY) and Classics and we of course accepted. Naturally you’ll be hearing all about our lives working (Together again) here when I’m not documenting our adventures throughout China and the rest of Asia. I suppose now I ought to reflect upon my time at Grammar School.

Working at The Grammar taught me that life is far too short and the world is far too large and interesting to stay in one place. How long will we the Hopkins of Hangzhou be the Hopkins of Hangzhou (Well it is a 3 year contract)? Will the name of this blog need to be changed? Will we even make it three years!? As I often say to my wife. “I dun know.” But at the very least we’ll have tried to do something different and not continue to live in a prison of our own devising. Will I miss working at the Grammar School? Sometimes. Will I miss the boys and the staff. Certainly. Will I miss the beer here? That…remains to be seen.