On his last day at Shiplake College, we had A Conversation With Mr Jonnie Howorth, who arrived at the School with his (at the time) fiancée Julia in September 2010 having just completed his PGCE. In his time here, Mr Howorth has coached the U14B rugby team and U14A cricket side, has been Assistant Housemaster and Housemaster of Lower School. In 2014, he took over as Housemaster of Welsh House and has been Senior Housemaster since last year. Having accomplished all this in his eight years at the school, he has also been Head of Cricket and coached the 1st XI for seven years!
What does your average day entail?
My alarm goes at 6.30am, although having three small children means I am often up before then anyway! I open up the House and wake the boarders up for breakfast. I then go home to wrestle our three small boys into their clothes and help my wife Julia get them ready for the day. I’m back in Welsh House by 7.45am when I meet with Matron, the crown jewel of Welsh House, to see what needs to be done that day. After morning check at 8am, it is either chapel, assembly, communion or admin time. I teach Geography so it’s off to the department for Period 1 at 8.40am. I have five exam classes so that keeps me fairly busy. In the afternoon I coach sport, whether its rugby, hockey or cricket, depending on the season. I also make sure I pop into the staff room to catch up with colleagues, either on school business or just for a catch up. I’m back in Welsh by 4.45pm and then it’s a mixture of duty, dashing home to help with bath time and kids supper or meetings with pupils. In the evenings, I am very fortunate to have a superb duty team in Welsh so I know when I get a couple of precious hours off in the evening, the Welsh boys are in safe hands. I am back in house at 10.15pm, when I finish making sure the senior boys get to bed before it’s late, before doing any final prep for the next day. I usually lock up the house at 11.30pm and crawl to bed, hoping a small child doesn’t wake me up before the alarm goes off!
What is your favourite time of year at Shiplake, and why?
It has to be the cricket season. The Front Field is such a great place to be on a sunny summer afternoon and the seven seasons I have spent coaching the 1st XI have been incredibly enjoyable. I’ve met some great opposition coaches from other schools and seen the 1st XI win some incredible games. Another bonus of the summer term is the Shiplake Wanderers cricket side, the staff team, which play six Friday night T20 matches over the course of the term. I will certainly miss those summer evenings, especially as being captain I can stand at slip for all game and make Mr. Mallins bowl up the hill.
What were you like as a schoolboy and what was your favourite subject?
I’d like to think I was fairly good, although I am sure I had my moments. I really enjoyed school, especially boarding at Secondary School, which is why I think I have enjoyed my time as Housemaster so much. I was never much of a linguist or scientist but gave it all a go. My favourite subject was Geography and I will always remember the sound of the TV and video trolley being wheeled into our classroom on a Friday to watch our weekly video. No such thing as Youtube or interactive white boards in the 90s!
If you could travel to any country to watch cricket, where would it be, and who would be playing?
I would love to pack my bags and do a tour of the world watching cricket. However, I don’t think Mrs Howorth would be delighted with that as a holiday option. I am a massive Test Cricket fan, the ebbs and flows of the game are unrivalled in my opinion. However, if I had to go and watch anything it would be the Indian Premier League. It has changed cricket forever (whether for better or worse is up for debate). To watch the Mumbai Indians play at Eden Gardens in front of 100,000 fans would be fairly special. A close second would be Australia v England in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
What do you enjoy doing more than anything else?
Either spending time with family and friends or playing and watching sport. I love all team sport and try to encourage a sense of fun in all the teams I coach. I think you can learn so much from being part of a team, regardless of the sport, ability or level. I was never the most talented of sportsmen, but I still love playing cricket, football and touch rugby whenever I can. When the TV at home doesn’t have In The Night Garden or Power Rangers on I try to sneak Sky Sports on for five minutes. My six and four year old sons are starting to get into football and cricket now so that’s a good excuse to watch it.
However if I had to pick one thing to do above all else, it would be an evening picnic in the sand dunes at the foot of Brae Hill on Daymer Bay beach in Cornwall watching the sun set. My whole family (18 of us including all my nephews and nieces) go to Cornwall every Easter and whenever the weather is good enough that’s where we now end up. I’ve been going to that beach since I was 6 months old so it’s a special family spot.
What is the most important thing you have learned while at Shiplake?
I have learnt a lot from some fantastic people in my time here. I try not to worry about things that I can’t control and always try to have a positive outlook on life. However, I think the toughest lesson I have learnt is not to accept a £20 pound bet to tackle the staff room Christmas tree at the staff party until the money is in your hand. I am still owed £18 from Dan Swan from 2010. I keep reminding him to send it to me.
What does the future hold for Mr Howorth?
Julia and I pack our bags at the end of this week and head to Gloucestershire, where I start my new job at Rendcomb College. We will miss Welsh House, the grounds but above all the friends we have made both at the College and in the area and Shiplake will have a special place in our hearts forever. We arrived in 2010 as a recently engaged couple and leave with our three sons in tow. To say Shiplake has played a major part in our life would be an understatement.
In terms of the short term, I suppose I need to start learning the ropes at my new school and find a local cricket club to join.
The whole Shiplake College community wishes all the best for the Howorth family, and the best wishes for their new, exciting opportunity at Rendcomb College.
