Hailing from near Dijon in Eastern France, Géraldine arrived at Radley 12 years ago to take on the new and critical role of the College’s Database Manager. I asked Géraldine about how she came to apply for the job.
I joined in August 2013, when my children were young – my sons were nine and eight and my daughter six. We had just moved back to the UK from Belgium a couple of years previously, where we had been for three years. We moved to Oxfordshire partly because we knew of the European School in Culham (now Europa School) which had an excellent reputation. I saw the job advertised and although I hadn’t heard of Radley College, I thought working in a school would fit well around the children.
Tell us about how you initially came from France to the UK.
I grew up in Autun, a small town near Dijon and had been an exchange student in the US when I was 16. I went on to study Business Studies and, as part of my course, I returned to the US for several study placements; in Richmond, Virginia and in Portsmouth, Ohio. I also studied in Aalborg, Denmark for a semester. The company I worked for in the US asked me to set up a business in Paris, selling a financial service through La Tribune newspaper, a similar newspaper to The Financial Times in the UK. You can tell this was a while ago because I was working remotely from my Paris apartment and communicating with my boss by fax! Having worked like this for a while the company asked me to move to Sutton, Surrey. I met my husband, Clive, in the UK and we lived in London until our move to Belgium in 2007.
What has changed since you arrived at Radley?
Funnily enough, I’ve actually been at the same desk, in the same office since my first day! Back then there were fewer academic support staff. I covered many aspects such as importing the timetable, calendar, website and the database. Each has changed hugely and things like the website have become more important. Overall, the College has become more professional and our jobs and responsibilities more defined. The database underpins everything we do from communicating with parents, setting the boys in various subjects, working out blocks for GCSE and A-Level subjects, managing the timetable, the reports, collecting academic data, exams and much more.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It’s very rewarding, I’ve learnt a lot and I am still learning. There have been big projects, like changing the database, which keeps things fresh. The move from the original database, G2 to SchoolBase in 2015 was a scary moment; I worked closely with Lee Hutton, the IT Manager at the time, who was lovely. I felt out of my depth and inexperienced but looking back I learnt so much and I was so grateful for patient colleagues! When we moved from SchoolBase to iSAMS a couple of years ago it felt a bit less daunting.
What does Radley mean to you?
It really is a special place; people are well looked after here. I’ve worked for Roger Shaw (Deputy Head, Systems) for 12 years and he has always been very kind and supportive. My job helped me to find my sanity when the children were small and I returned to work after a period of being at home. It’s been wonderful to be able to pursue my career whilst being able to look after my family at the same time. It’s not an easy balance and it’s very valuable to me. I get on very well with my colleagues and we’ve always had fun in the office. I feel fortunate. There isn’t a day when I don’t want to go into work. I like being busy and I like to do things well and to be able to help people. I get to work with lots of different people across the school: the IT department, Common Room and the boys to a lesser extent – while I don’t meet them, I try to accommodate everyone’s subject choices, making sure all the requirements of different dons and departments match with the sets needed.
What might we find you doing when you’re not at your desk?
I’m quite active – my husband and I love walking and mountain biking on the Ridgeway, close to where we live. I swim as a Master with my daughter and I’m the Secretary of our swimming club. I love reading, particularly a good murder mystery, and I also love cooking. I’m lucky to have the holidays off and we usually go back to France where my family live. There are certain tasks that I do over the summer to get the database ready for the new academic year but I can do that remotely which is great.
