Long-time local resident since his retirement, C.J.(Jonty) Driver has written a fascinating book – Some Schools – about his distinguished teaching career, though he has distinguished himself in many ways: as an educator in a general sense, as a poet, as a novelist and, perhaps most significantly, as someone who has had his ideals genuinely tested and has not found himself wanting in their defence.
This was when he was President of the National Union of South African Students in his native land; Jonty Driver’s principled stand against apartheid resulted in his imprisonment and, later, while studying in Britain, the loss of his South African citizenship, rendering him stateless for a time.
After gaining a British passport and supported by his scarcely less remarkable wife Ann, he began his teaching career at Sevenoaks School, helping, through his stewardship of the overseas house there, to begin the school’s meteoric rise to its present eminence. From here, partly through concern at spending his entire career in the independent sector, and partly due to the impossibility of buying a house in the Sevenoaks area on a schoolmaster’s salary, he left the independent sector and transformed sixth form studies at a pioneering comprehensive in Cleethorpes, which became a beacon of excellence in its area.
From here, Jonty Driver gained his first headship, that of the Island International School in Hong Kong, here too ensuring the school’s rise to educational distinction.
Returning to Britain, Jonty Driver complete his teaching career by heading two of the country’s best-known educational establishments: Berkhampsted first, followed by the Mastership of Wellington College. Here too, he instigated important changes which ensured the positive development of both. Throughout his career, Jonty Driver continued to produce poetry and novels of a high order.
This is all narrated in an easy but expressive jargon-free style with a great deal of humour, much of it directed at the author himself and a picture emerges of someone whom we can unreservedly admire and not only because of his opposition to apartheid, something the author barely mentions. Jonty Driver is not only an idealist, as I said, but one whose idealism is tempered by an underpinning of pragmatism.
He is aware of human weakness, especially that of young people and though he knows that there is wickedness, he also believes that there is the possibility of redemption. He believes that there is a place for punishment and values good manners and the social graces as easing human interaction; he is not afraid to be labelled ‘old fashioned’ and takes pride in the title ‘schoolmaster’.
His success in all his posts has been achieved by knowing what he wanted to accomplish linked with a clear awareness of the compromises that might be necessary to arrive at the desired goal. Helping this clarity of mind was a strong and persuasive personality which took others with him
It used to be said that all of us think we know about education because we have all been to school; Some Schools, very attractively produced (a handful of misprints) by John Catt Educational, should enthral any reader for that reason; it will convey to anyone what teaching is really like with its difficulties and its joys. The strongest impression I had from it is that any parents reading it would be truly delighted to have someone with the qualities of Jonty Driver overseeing the education of their children.
photo: Kenneth Bird