Staff Spotlight: Michael Herring, Head of Upper School
Our pupils do amazing things every single day, but behind those achievements are all of the hardworking staff here at Merchant Taylors' School. In Staff Spotlights we look to explore the diverse backgrounds and skills of the people who make Merchant Taylors' a great place to be. This week we hear from Michael Herring, Head of Upper School.
When did you join Merchant Taylors'?
I joined Taylors' in September 2018 to teach History.
Tell us about your subject. What excites you about it? How did you get into it?
It’s the ‘Queen of the Humanities’, innit. I definitely don’t think of myself as an ‘historian’ and I suppose I fell into it a bit more than really being ‘passionately’ drawn to it. For a while, one of our department blurbs used the word ‘capacious’ about the subject; I’m not quite sure I know what that means but I think it means that history encompasses everything because it’s about human beings, the structures they inhabit and the ideas they have. I like that there is politics, art, literature, philosophy, psychology, economics, science, and everything else besides contained within the subject. And crazy stories, too.
What are you most proud of outside of your work at school?
On reflection it would be the day in or about May 1994 when I scored 74* and bowled unchanged to take 3-3-0-3 against Winchester House. Mostly downhill since then. I’ve also played an integral role in raising the angriest cat in North-West London. Otherwise, it’s things I’m halfway through: War & Peace and a circuit of the Wainwrights. The letter W plays a big part in my life. Also that I only cried a very little bit when Rodri scored in Istanbul.
What did you study at A-Level?
Economics, English Literature and History with a spot of French.
What piece of media would you recommend and why?
I’m writing this on World Book Day, so here’s a podcast. It was a very sad day when we saw the demise of David Runciman’s Talking Politics; luckily, David Runciman’s Past, Present, Future has filled the gap nicely. Interesting, erudite and expansive. Highly recommended.