In this week’s ‘Conversation With…’ we had a chat with Mr Steve Macpherson, Shiplake’s School Staff Instructor CCF, DofE Manager and Head of Outdoor Education. Before working in education, Mr Macpherson was in the Royal Marines and travelled around the world on various tours of duty.
Can you let us know when you joined Shiplake and the roles you held previously and currently?
I joined Shiplake in 2013 as the school staff instructor for the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and DofE Manager. Since then I have taken on the development of the Outdoor Education programme as well as anything else Shiplake throws at me!
I really enjoy working at Shiplake, the job is varied and fantastic and I love the military side of things and the expeditions.
What got you interested in CCF and Outdoor Education and inspired you to teach the subject?
I was in the Royal Marines for 22 years up until 2010. During my time in the Marines I helped run the Marine Cadet Training Team and worked with schools. I saw other people doing a CCF role in schools, and thought what a great job! Being in the Marines, made me the person I am today, so to carry on the work I was doing, with a military ethos within a school environment was just brilliant. I kind of stumbled into it.
I’ve always been interested in the outdoors. I grew up in rural West Wales, so being outdoors was part of my everyday - building dens, climbing trees, out in my canoe. I think then going on and getting a qualification in this area, was part of my genetic make-up.
On leaving the Marines, I ran CCF at Haberdashers for two years and then the opportunity at Shiplake came up.
I live in school during the week, and then it’s back home to Cardiff on the weekend, so being on the right side of the M25 on a Friday night helps.
What's a normal day like at Shiplake for you?
There’s no normal day, however I always start the same way with a dog walk, a cup of coffee and checking the emails. Then it can be anything from delivering group training programmes, to sorting logistics for trips and getting in touch with parents, to strimming the grass around the sailing boats. No one day is the same, however it is fun and full of variety.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m very lucky that in my job, I do all the things I love - trips, expeditions out on the river - so my spare time is all about being with my family back in Cardiff because I am away during the week. I am also really getting into gardening.
What does the future hold for Mr Macpherson?
I’ll still be at Shiplake for the foreseeable future, and I am really looking forward to the new Davies Centre being completed and all the facilities that will come with it - the climbing wall, the air rifle range, the multi-use space and archery. It is a fantastic facility and will really raise the profile of our school.
Along with this, CCF, Outdoor Education and DofE is constantly evolving and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes with that. I’m keen to develop even better programmes for the pupils and developing staff to help deliver them.
