As a trainee teacher back in the 1980s, the first piece of advice I was given by the more experienced staff was, “Don’t smile ‘til Easter”.

Back then, teachers were supposed to be rather stern and unapproachable. I don’t suppose I stuck to it then and I certainly don’t subscribe to such a view now. Schools should be vibrant and supportive, orderly and disciplined but, above all, happy places to be.

When I reflect on the experience of teaching back in the 1980’s, I am stunned by the complete lack of structure. Now we have The National Curriculum, but back then it didn’t exist. As a teacher of English, I had complete freedom to decide for myself what I was going to do with each class. You could say we made it up as we went along, although I do recall wading through a grammar textbook on noun clauses with a Year 9 class, or 3rd form as they were then.

There were no interactive whiteboards, video clips or other technical wizardry to liven up the lesson. However, just like today, the most successful teachers were those who found ways to engage pupils’ interest, who knew their subjects really well and who knew the pupils even better.

One thing I enjoy now as much as I did back then is seeing pupils excited by success and being genuinely fascinated by some new thing they had just discovered. Children may have changed since the 1980s, but the change is not as great as some would have us believe.

Just before Christmas, a group of our Year 11 Catering students invited me to their lesson to make a cake. I felt rather chuffed. I bought my ingredients and was quickly taken under the wing of some very competent young chefs. During the weighing and measuring I asked one of the lads about his plans for next year. Now this boy is very trendy, (I don’t know if that is the current expression but it will do for me), very keen on music and street dance, “I love the Discovery Channel, Miss. Anything about space and astrophysics, so I’d like to go down that track if I can.”

Moments like that are a pure delight and they are not uncommon. Every day, as students show more interest in their own progress, demonstrate increasing ability to help others and show leadership, I feel more and more inspired to keep working hard to develop Great Barr School as a vibrant school where students can have big ambitions and begin to realise them. That kind of drive and achievement does create fulfilled people.

Plenty to smile about ... and it’s only February!