Staff Spotlight: Clare Harrison, Deputy Head (Pastoral)

When did you join Merchant Taylors'?

September 2020, when I joined as Head of Upper School following five years as a Housemaster at Habs' Boys. 

Tell us about your subject. What excites you about it? How did you get into it?

I studied biochemistry at university and my PhD is in cancer biology. Biochemistry is about figuring out how living things work at a molecular level: I always remind people when they ask me to identify an insect or plant that biochemists tend to just put everything into a blender to find out what it is and how it works! I have always been obsessed with understanding the mechanics of things: as a child I would build and pull apart machines and circuits and I was always collecting bits of animal skeleton and dead insects for my microscope; I was a classic science nerd. My passion came firstly from a love of the natural world (growing up on the edge of the Peak District) and secondly from the idea that everything can be understood in terms of basic laws and principles. Even when faced with a difficult pastoral issue I tend to break it down into first principles and look at the evidence before I form a conclusion, so I think my scientific approach and training has been invaluable for my role as Deputy Head Pastoral.

What are you most proud of outside of your work at school?

My five wonderful children (currently aged 6-18) and myself, for keeping them all functioning whilst working in a job which I also love.

What did you study at A-Level?

Biology, Chemistry, Physics and General Studies (which was compulsory and involved me translating some Latin text and painting a t-shirt, as far as I remember). Physics without Maths was painful, although I still harbour an (unspoken) belief that Physics is the best science!

What piece of media would you recommend and why?

I always have a poetry book by the bed as I'm usually too tired to read a novel. I named my son Alfred, after Prufrock, so I'd probably have to choose a TS Eliot anthology, although when it comes to the TV I have a secret addiction to the series Top Boy. As one of my Sixth Formers once put it, "miss has a soft spot for a roadman!"