A Conversation With... Mrs Felicity Blakeman

We catch up with PA to the Deputy Heads, Mrs Felicity Blakeman, in this week's 'A Conversation With...'. Mrs Blakeman has been working at the College since 2022 and in today's feature, we learn more about her previous business ventures, as well as what she does here and why she enjoys working the College!

What is your role and how long have you been at Shiplake College? 

I started working at Shiplake College in April 2022 as the PA to the Deputy Heads who at the time were Mr Brown and Mr Jones. With Mr Brown retiring at the end of last summer, it has been great working with Mrs Elliott this academic year. 

What were you doing before working here at the College? 

I spent 10 years working for Yamaha as their Artist Relations and Events Manager, where I was looking after the artists that endorsed Yamaha’s musical instruments as well as planning the many events and exhibitions they attended. The music industry wasn’t conducive to family life, so I started up my own business while my children were young. 

What led you to working within the education industry? 

The business that I started up as a hobby ended up growing into an unplanned relative success! I ran sensory discos for pre-schoolers in the local area but when the pandemic hit, they came to an abrupt halt. During the enforced time off, I realised that with both children in full time education, I could re-evaluate my career. The job at Shiplake has been a wonderful way to get back into the working world. 

What is a day in the life like for you at Shiplake? 

Every day is certainly very different! I start the day by checking Mr Jones’, Mrs Elliott’s and my own inboxes, before updating all our to-do lists and then making a plan from there. This can include prioritising jobs, firing off many emails, arranging meetings, and of course... taking minutes. 

What is something challenging, and something interesting, about your role? 

Managing everybody’s priorities is the biggest challenge – both Mr Jones and Mrs Elliott have many demands on their time from pupils, teaching staff, parents and external agencies. I think the most insightful or interesting area of my role is the fact that every day is a school day! Because of the breadth of the roles that Mr Jones and Mrs Elliott perform, I am always learning something new! 

What is the best thing about working at Shiplake? 

The community at Shiplake is fantastic. Wherever you walk, there is always a smile and a hello from staff and pupils alike. I love that I can also get involved in a wide variety of activities here. I have played for the staff ladies cricket team twice and just signed up for the netball team too! I can also bring my dog to work; Dizzy is a Hungarian Vizsla and gets spoilt rotten with attention whenever he walks around the school. 

What do you do outside of work in your free time?  

I can mostly be found on the sidelines of various sports pitches during the weekend acting as cheerleader to my two sons. Dizzy also needs a long walk, and we all love getting out in the countryside. 

What does the future hold for Mrs Blakeman 

I want to keep doing what I am doing – working in a great setting with some awesome people!