Looking for leaders

What are the qualifications and characteristics needed to head a Catholic school today? What are the key challenges of the job and what kind of support can a head-master or mistress expect when the going gets tough? All those questions were on the agenda at the beginning of April at a meeting of the European Committee for Catholic Education, hosted by St Mary’s University College, Twickenham - yes, the very same venue which Pope Benedict visited during his pastoral journey to the UK in September last year.
Oona Stannard is Director of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales and was one of the principle organisers of the Pope’s meeting with teachers and school children in Twickenham – a meeting that was streamed live to Catholic schools and colleges across England, Scotland and Wales. She told Philippa Hitchen about the challenges facing head teachers in the UK and about the lasting impact of Pope Benedict’s meeting with the world of Catholic education ...

Listen: