He admitted making his announcement was emotional, but felt it was the right decision.
John told the Herald: “I told staff on Friday morning and that was a very special moment. It was wonderful, they applauded and a few tears. They were surprised, I think they thought I’d always be there and that’s not the case.
“I found it a sense of relief – when you make the decision you want to go through the process.”
No wonder he uses the word relief, as with many heads of big schools, John’s commitment has been above and beyond, but feels the time is right to step down.
“Being the head of a large learning community there’s only one way to do the job and that’s giving it everything,” he explained. “That means at least a 70-hour week and multiple accountabilities and the pressures that comes with that.
“I’ll be 57 in the summer and the question was do I go for another five years at that kind of pace? Or is it actually that time to hand the baton on? I certainly never want to be in that position when people say ‘I wish he’d move on’.
“I wanted to leave the party while it’s going strong. I just realised it was time for me to work a few less hours a week and for the school to enjoy someone else coming in with their vision and drive for it and take it forward.
“The school is strong but also needs to be cutting edge and pushing forward.”
Although not retiring, John has yet to make exact plans about what he will do next.
He has worked in other areas besides education, so is keeping an open mind.
He explained: “I’ve not spent my entire life in teaching. I trained as a British Aerospace engineer and went on to work for different charities, and spent time working Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
“I did a philosophy degree when I was 24, so I did things differently and then kind of fell into teaching and found I liked it and ran with it.
“There’s definitely a sense of excitement of wondering what will come next. I can’t spend my life plodding round an allotment and doing the washing-up. Once we get the new principal appointed, I’ll start thinking what’s next. You get to dream a little bit.”
John’s family home is in Stratford, which he shares with his wife Louise – their two sons are both at university. He says his stepping down will also take pressure off Louise.
“She has been a phenomenal support – you can’t do this job without a spouse who’s prepared to make the sacrifices that you can’t make, like looking after the children, late nights, doing the parents’ evenings.
“It gives me a chance to support her career. She’s a qualified primary school teacher but chose to work as a teaching assistant because of my workload.”
Asked what advice he would hand on to the next principal, John reflected: “What I see it in my senior colleagues, and I hope they see it in me, is humanity and humility. You’ve got to know people and invest in people. It matters to the parents, children and the staff. We’re trying to do the best job with a great set of people but sometimes we don’t do it as right as we’d like to. Then you’ve got to reset and say ‘I got that slightly wrong’ and explain to people why you are doing what you are doing.”
As he departs John has a few thoughts about the way the government is managing the education system.
“The problems are getting more acute,” he said. “After the years of austerity no wonder we are seeing families that are reaching crisis much more quickly and students with more complex needs and social services are in crisis. As a result, more and more is being demanded of schools. The resources we get make that difficult us to meet expectations.”
He shares a final thought: “As challenging as it has been at times, I’ve absolutely loved the vast majority of my time here. I will miss it desperately.