Acclaimed Wigan St John Rigby College principal calls it a day

Peter McGhee has been principal of St John Rigby College in Orrell for the past 15 years, but now, at the age of 60, he is calling it a day and looking forward to a well-deserved rest...while not completely ruling out a return to further education later.

He admits that during his tenure that it has not always been plain sailing, arriving in 2010 to an institution which had judged itself “requiring improvement,” adjusting to the return to exam-led, rather than assessment-heavier A-levels and, the nightmare of Covid. The last of these, he admits now, was such a torrid time that he almost walked away.

But much happier times returned and he is able to leave the Gathurst Road education hub on a high.

St John Rigby retained its “outstanding” grading when Ofsted last inspected and for that, along with his work as a national leader for further education with the Further Education Commissioner, where he has helped struggling sixth forms around the country, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2023.

With such credentials, Mr McGhee is unlikely to be short of new offers of work, but at the moment his mind is set on some long-earned R&R and a first ever term-time holiday with wife Judi, who at the same age is also retiring as a manager at the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The father of three said: “It has been a terrific stint here at St John Rigby College but it is time for a new chapter. Judi and I always planned to call it a day when we turned 60 and that is what we are able to do.

"I plan to enjoy my retirement with my wife, family and friends, and do some travelling which includes going away in September and October which we have never done before.

"Lots of live music is on the schedule including trips to Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, and I am going to learn a musical instrument for the first time in my life. It will be the guitar seeing my children bought me one for my 60th birthday. I can’t read music but I have a couple of friends who play and will use them as my support group.”

Enjoying more games of paddle tennis – currently capturing the British public’s imagination – is also on the agenda.

But it is also a time to reflect on a career in education spanning 38 years.

Born and brought up in Bury and educated, like his father, at the Xaverian School in Rusholme, the young Peter excelled in maths which took him to Sheffield University where he met his wife-to-be on the first day!

On graduation he admits that he was a bit unsure what to do, but he thought he might give teaching a go and see if he took to it and was any good at it.

He taught maths for two years at Hathershaw College in Oldham before Loreto Roman Catholic College in Hulme was brought to his attention and so sixth form specialisation began. He was there for 10 years and became head of maths and its senior pastoral manager.

Mr McGhee was then asked by the principal to set up a post-16 centre in North Manchester because there wasn’t anything Catholic-specific in that area. He worked with Manchester College of Arts and Technology (Mancat – now just Manchester College) on this new venture to provide separate sixth form provision.

It was so successful that a decision was taken to create more separate sixth forms with Mr McGhee as part of the senior leadership team before becoming deputy principal of Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College.

And from there he was appointed principal at St John Rigby College in 2010, having been keen to move back to a Catholic sixth form and be a part of a large educational “community” involving students, staff and parents.

He said: “When I arrived, the college had a very strong reputation for supporting young people but there were some inconsistencies in terms of results in three or four subjects. In fact I was quite alarmed at them. I was expecting the phones to be ringing with complaints from parents, but was surprised only to get one polite call, which suggested to me that people’s ambitions weren’t as high as they might be.”

Mr McGhee said he set about trying to build the college’s reputation through greater consistency and higher achievement.

He added: “I perhaps naively thought it would take three to four years to turn things round, but while improvements were made, it was only 2016 when we assessed ourselves to have moved from ‘requiring improvement’ to ‘outstanding’ and this was then vindicated with the same rating from Ofsted the following year.

"During that time we raised the aspirations of the students – and the parents too. Once we were in a good, strong position, it became more about creating the right environment for people to flourish and that included trips, visits and educational experiences while working with employers.

"We also got involved in national competitions. Having one of our students – Jess Mason – win the national Poetry by Heart competition, for instance, was inspirational. This, along with big successes in other areas such as the arts and sport, showed the students they could stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone, whether they come from comprehensive or private education.

"We work alongside a very strong sixth form college in Winstanley which is more selective. But we want to be inclusive without compromising and adjusting our targets if some of the students come to us with lower exam grades.”

The upward trajectory hit its first turbulence in 2017 when the Government changed modular A-levels back to the old style, two-year linear A-levels with achievements almost exclusively graded by end-of-course exams.

Mr McGhee said that this became more of a challenge for some of the students, but that was a problem for the staff not the teenagers to solve and, after a couple of years, they were back on track. But then came the pandemic.

"Covid was the hardest, most challenging time in all my 38 years in education and the only time that I did not enjoy the job. It became completely different: a communications role.

"We had to switch on the news and find out what to communicate to students, staff and parents; then there would be a new announcement about what was possible the next week. Everybody across the country suffered.

"It was a tough couple of years and I was beginning to think ‘there’s not much longer I can do this.’ But in 2022 things began to return to normal and more so in 2023: that’s really when the joy returned.

"Being able to attend students’ exhibitions and performances and being there on results day again was wonderful. We were back to pre-Covid standards and retained our ‘outstanding’ from Ofsted."

Mr McGhee technically finishes on July 11 although he will spend another week tidying desks and preparing for his successor to take her place.

And it will be current vice-principal Paula Nolan – who herself had several years at Loreto College before being lured back to St John Rigby – moving into the top job.

Mr McGhee said: “I am delighted for Paula, and the beauty of this internal appointment is that we have been able to do three months of handover work.

"She knows the staff, high school partners and students and can carry on along the same line, with some added improvements no doubt.”

As for the long-term future, Mr McGhee is not committing to anything at the moment.

He said: “Some people whom I respect have said to me that I might lose my sense of purpose and eventually need to find something to do.

"As one of 10 national leaders in further education for the FE Commissioner which has seen me going into colleges in the South East, North East and North West to help them out I suppose I could go back into that by working with a principal and senior leadership team.

"It’s not a firm plan, but if I find myself wanting to go back into further education, that is the most likely route. It was for that work and what I’ve done at St John Rigby College that I received my honour.”

In the meantime, Mr McGhee plans to enjoy the summer break, with one quick nip back from home in Gatley to the college in Orrell for A-level results day on August 14.