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Charlie Higson: “Pay Teachers Better”

Charlie Higson enjoyed his education – but wishes it had prepared him better for life beyond it…

Charlie Higson
by Charlie Higson
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I enjoyed school; am I allowed to say that? I did, though.

I had some good friends and teachers, and quite quickly found out what I liked, so I could focus on those things. Art, mainly, although I was good at maths and physics, too. Chemistry… not so much. I may have been a little bit cheeky in lessons at times, but not in any threatening way. I had no compulsion to cause disruption – perhaps because I was, largely, happy.

It was only later that I realised how lucky and spoilt I was to have the education I did. At the time, you just think that all schools are the same as the one you’re at, don’t you? Memories of primary are a bit of a blur, along with the time I spent at my funny little prep school, the likes of which used to fill England – all caps and short trousers.

After the 11+, though, I got a scholarship to Sevenoaks School in Kent. It’s a private school, and hardly short on tradition, having been founded in the 16th century to educate the poor of the area – but it was pretty progressive, I think.

For example, it was one of the first schools in the country to offer the Baccalaureat; part of which involves doing voluntary work, so it felt like quite a well-rounded education. We were learning about the world alongside the rigorous academic stuff. The art department was excellent, and there was a media department, too – those things weren’t common in the mid 70s.

My kind of people

By the time I got to sixth form, the art department was where I spent most of my days. My kind of people hung out there – we could play records, and the art teacher, Bob White, was fantastic. I learned more in the art department, about life and ways of looking at the world, than I did in all my other lessons put together. It was like we ‘arty’ types had our own common room.

A lot of the boys from that group went into music, forming bands like Gang of Four and The Mekons. The Higsons started there too, of course.

I went back to visit the school a couple of years ago, on a book tour, and they work the students incredibly hard now; but there’s still time and space for music, art and drama.

I hope that Comedy Classroom, the BBC’s new competition to find the funniest young writing talent in UK schools might tap into that sort of energy and enthusiasm. When I was asked to get involved, I instantly thought it sounded like a fun, interesting thing to do, and I liked the idea that it could encourage some kids who might not naturally think of themselves as writers and are put off by talk of Wordsworth and Shakespeare, and endless grammar lessons.

You need strong literacy skills to produce effective comedy, and the ‘class clown’ is probably great with language without even realising it. As a judge, I’m looking forward to reading some genuinely funny stuff.

State versus private

There are a lot of arguments about state versus private schools, and which is the better option; there’s no doubt that independent schools tend to benefit from better facilities and smaller class sizes – but at the same time, school is supposed to be an education for life, and there are drawbacks.

At Sevenoaks I was mixing with kids from a very narrow range of backgrounds – especially as the school was single-sex at the time. I didn’t learn how to integrate with a wider society, which put me at a disadvantage in some ways later on.

It was partly for that reason that my wife and I decided on the state system for our children. We were lucky, in that we live in an area where the schools are good, and I didn’t want them to have to travel for miles every day, or to board. I liked that they would get to know local kids and grow up feeling comfortable and fitting in.

They got a lot out of school and we don’t regret making that choice – but it’s impossible, when you’ve experienced both sides of the system, not to be conscious of the disparity between them, if only in terms of resources.

There’s room for a big debate. But one thing I have definitely learnt from visiting schools – and I’ve been doing it for a while now – is that it’s often down to individual teachers, heads, librarians, even, to make a difference. A strong character can influence the whole ethos of a school, change things, and get kids interested. So it makes sense to encourage teachers, pay them better; and make the job something that the best people will want to do.

Charlie Higson is a best-selling author, actor, comedian and screen writer; for more information, visit www.charliehigson.co.uk or follow @monstroso

He is among some of the UK’s top comedy talent supporting the BBC’s Comedy Classroom competition for 13-15-year-olds. A collaboration between the BBC and the National Literacy Trust, it will give students the chance to have their comedy writing work made and broadcast by the BBC this autumn

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