WHEN Parliament Hill School’s new technology building opens next September, one key person will be missing from the celebrations.
Headteacher Christine Peters, 60, is stepping down this week after 10 years at the helm of the Dartmouth Park school. She said: “It’s the first new building for over 50 years so it is very exciting for us. I did think about waiting until next year but in the end it was time to go.”
The former geography teacher, who walks to school every day from her home in Crouch End, is leaving to work as a consultant for some of the most challenging schools in London.
She is proud of her achievements at the girls’ school with a mixed sixth-form which became a technology college during her time as head. She said: “We wanted to develop the maths, science and technology side, all subjects that girls traditionally do not do so well in, so they have a broad skills base, right across the curriculum.
‘We have not just become a technology college. We are a leading-edge school. Our skills and expertise are excellent and we work closely with other schools and support them.”
During her 37 years as a teacher, Ms Peters has seen attitudes to working women change.
She said: “When I wanted to be a head of department in the early 1970s, the interview panel asked me why I was doing it when I had a two-year-old daughter.
“Times have changed but I still think women are often not so confident in acknowledging their skills and their potential. They need to be encouraged to grow. It’s about developing their self-esteem and confidence.”
Pictured: Departing head Christine Peters, with from left, Nahida Roquib, 12, Tara McGee, 12 and Fahmida Miah, 12