After 12 years as Head of School at ACS Egham, this summer Jeremy Lewis is retiring. Before we bid him a fond farewell, we had a chat about what makes the school so special, what’s changed over the years, and his plans for retirement.
What was it that first attracted you to ACS Egham?
I wanted to continue in an IB school for the sake of my kids and because my wife and I had both taught in IB schools. At that time, my kids were in the PYP (Primary Year Programmes) and MYP (Middle Year Programmes).
Also, the lure of being closer to family in the UK and Ireland was very attractive. I knew of ACS before I got here and that was also part of the attraction.
How has the school changed since you started?
The demographic has changed and we now enrol more local families than we did when I started, and I also think the IB programmes are more embedded than when I first arrived. There have been enormous changes to the facilities; without exception, every building within the campus has been remodelled or we’ve added significant new buildings, like Woodlee, and have created a new IB Diploma centre.
I think the curriculum has got stronger. It’s delivered with more gusto and finesse than it was before.
We have a very strong community, although I would say it’s in the process of starting to be rebuilt after the impact of the pandemic.
A lot of the service learning and outreach projects have grown in scope. The Nepal Project is just one example of a number of community service learning projects, and I think the success of ACS Egham rests on the shoulders of so many committed parents and staff.
There are people who have been here since before I was here, who take great pride in all aspects of the school, from maintenance, facilities, security, catering, and delivering the curriculum. It’s a very committed team. I’ve been very fortunate to work with an amazing group of educators and staff. There’s a very strong sense of belonging.
There are so many things that have changed over the years, such as having a very strong alumni network, and the whole structure of ACS has changed, as it wasn’t a charity when I started. It’s undergone radical transformation. We only had three schools when I started, and now there are four [sister school ACS Doha opened in Qatar in 2011], and Tim Cagney is now the third CEO I’ve been working with.
How important has the relationship been with parents?
Our parents have been very supportive for what the school’s trying to do and have always been there to support teachers and support me. They’ve embraced what the school sets out to do in terms of what and how we teach the students.
The last two years have been a very difficult journey through the pandemic, but our parents have stood by us.
What are you most proud of?
The sense of community and camaraderie is very strong. I’m very proud of the performance within and beyond the classroom, across all the ages. Everything from PYP kids excelling through Forest School or through the exhibition, through to university entries.
I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve done everything we can to cater for the widest range of student abilities, so it’s been very inclusive. It’s been inclusive in many ways, in terms of different learning styles, different learning abilities, different interests, different persuasions. I’m very proud we’ve done so well in terms of being an inclusive school.
I’m proud of the fact we’ve had so many external accreditation agencies who have recognised in a formal sense how good the school is, and that’s a source of great pride.
What have been the biggest challenges along the way?
The single biggest challenge has been managing a school throughout a pandemic. Managing a school through high levels of unpredictability, high levels of stress and concern, high levels of impact on everyone’s wellbeing, and trying to maintain a sense of excellence through all that period has been very difficult. Just trying to continue to give students continuous access to education, it’s been very challenging to do that.
What has impressed you most about your students?
There have been so many students since I arrived at ACS Egham that have been really excellent and have gone above and beyond in so many different ways, be it sport or music, drama or Model United Nations, or through service projects or academics.
A lot of students’ characters are shaped by schools and I think we graduate and develop students of very strong character who truly embrace the values of what ACS is all about."
I’ve always tried to be values-driven in all the decisions I make, and it’s very important for me to be aligned with the values and mission of the organisation, to use that as a guiding light.
How would Jeremy describe ACS Egham to a stranger?
"It’s more than a place of learning, but a place to call home and a place where people will care for you."
Do you have any words of wisdom for your successor, Mark Wilson?
Mark is joining a school that has achieved a lot and still has great potential. I think there’s a great willingness in the community to take it to even greater heights. Our community is ambitious, they’re ready to go boldly forward. It always has been and it’s ambitious and aspirational in that sense.
Mark Wilson, who joins ACS Egham as Head of School in August 2022
What’s next for you after ACS Egham?
I work for a local charity, so I’ll continue to volunteer with the Windsor Homeless Project. I’ll also continue to work with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), accrediting schools around the world, and I hope to be doing some education consultancy and possibly recruitment for international schools.
I’m really interested in antiques and furniture restoration. I’ve never done it, and I’m useless with my hands, so maybe that’s a bit ambitious! But I’d like to collect art and antiques. And I need to be more active!
Also, I have family all over the world, so I’d be very keen to visit them.
Is there anything you’ve learned about yourself during your time at the school?
I’ve probably got reserves of resilience and optimism that I didn’t necessarily know that I had, and I’ve had to draw on those constantly over the years, particularly in the last few years. I think the ability to bounce back and an underlying belief that people will ultimately do the best that they can for the right reasons.
One of the things I’ll really miss is the beautiful grounds. I’m so fortunate that I come to work in an amazingly beautiful environment, that I don’t take it for granted. The grounds staff and maintenance crew have created the most incredibly beautiful campus, and I will miss it.
The stunning grounds of ACS Egham are one of the many things Jeremy will miss
L-R: Robert Cody (Head of School, ACS Doha), Barny Sandow (Head of School, ACS Cobham), Jeremy Lewis, Martin Hall (Head of School, ACS Hillingdon).
