Dorset, Somerset &amp; Bristol

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/00-Head-Jessica-Miles-Badminton-School-Janruary-2023-15.jpg" alt="Head Jessica Miles Badminton School" class="wp-image-85088" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/00-Head-Jessica-Miles-Badminton-School-Janruary-2023-15.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/00-Head-Jessica-Miles-Badminton-School-Janruary-2023-15-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/00-Head-Jessica-Miles-Badminton-School-Janruary-2023-15-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/00-Head-Jessica-Miles-Badminton-School-Janruary-2023-15-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/03/00-Head-Jessica-Miles-Badminton-School-Janruary-2023-15-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



How long you have been at the school?



I&#8217;ve been the Head since April 2023. 



30 second elevator pitch for your school – sell it!



A unique, gem of a school which encourages aspiration, curiosity, courage and courtesy, located in the vibrant city of Bristol!



You’ve been given a £1m donation for the school, what will you spend it on?



Transformative bursaries – without any shadow of a doubt!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/06/Evoke-Pictures_Badminton-School_Badminton-Grounds_30-1.jpg" alt="Badminton School" class="wp-image-97466" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/06/Evoke-Pictures_Badminton-School_Badminton-Grounds_30-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/06/Evoke-Pictures_Badminton-School_Badminton-Grounds_30-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/06/Evoke-Pictures_Badminton-School_Badminton-Grounds_30-1-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/06/Evoke-Pictures_Badminton-School_Badminton-Grounds_30-1-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Who would you like to star as you in a movie of your life?



Juliet Stevenson.



Describe your own childhood school days



Supportive, nurturing, care-free and fun



What was the common theme of your school reports?



Jessica does extremely well in anything that involves talking, acting and being creative, and has absolutely nothing to do with physics or chemistry.



Favourite/worst teachers at your childhood school and why?



Sister McCormack. My headteacher – the living embodiment of kindness, care and quiet charisma, who had an amazing ability to make you feel safe and valued.



Best and worst subject at school?



Best subject: Spanish. Worst subject: chemistry



Where did you go to uni?



Oxford University.



What did you study?



Spanish and Linguistics



What was your high and low of student life?



High was being part of OUDS (Oxford University Dramatic Society) and touring Japan and Russia in 1989. Low was Paper 3 of my finals on medieval Spanish translation.



If you weren’t a Head, what would you be?



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1875" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor.jpg" alt="flamenco dancer" class="wp-image-98240" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor-640x800.jpg 640w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor-320x400.jpg 320w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor-768x960.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-alexander-jawfox-l8V8q01KVxA-unsplash_Fotor-1229x1536.jpg 1229w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo Alexander Jawfox for Unsplash</figcaption></figure>



A flamenco dancer.



Describe what’s on your work desk…



A half-eaten bag of jelly babies, some salt and vinegar crisps, a pair of large dangly earrings, a bright red lipstick and a photo of the Miles boys.



And what’s in the top drawer?



Sadly I don’t have a top drawer. If I did it would house a half-eaten bag of jelly babies, some salt and vinegar crisps, a pair of large dangly earrings and a bright red lipstick. I would then have a very tidy work desk!



Tell us your favourite books – in childhood, uni and now



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="749" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/oo-jessica-miles-books.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-98239" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/oo-jessica-miles-books.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/oo-jessica-miles-books-800x399.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/oo-jessica-miles-books-1000x499.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/oo-jessica-miles-books-400x200.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/oo-jessica-miles-books-768x383.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Ballet shoes for Anna by Noel Streatfeild; La Casa de Bernarda Alba [The House of Bernarda Alba] by Federico Garcia Lorca; A Pocketful of Happiness by Richard E. Grant.



What’s the best school trip (childhood or current) you’ve ever been on?



The annual GCSE Spanish trips that I used to take to Jerez de la Frontera. One of my favourite towns in Spain and a trip which I hope inspired many a Year 10 Dulwich boy to study Spanish to A level and beyond.



What play, book and film should be on every child’s cultural bucket list?



The stage version of A Christmas Carol, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis and Mary Poppins (the original).



If you want to hide from the kids and staff for half an hour, where do you go?



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="996" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-oliver-clarke-gwaun-valley-landscape-tree-nature-forest-grass-wilderness-458018-pxhere_Fotor.jpg" alt="Phpto of Gwaun Valley by Oliver Clarke for Rawpixel " class="wp-image-98241" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-oliver-clarke-gwaun-valley-landscape-tree-nature-forest-grass-wilderness-458018-pxhere_Fotor.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-oliver-clarke-gwaun-valley-landscape-tree-nature-forest-grass-wilderness-458018-pxhere_Fotor-800x531.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-oliver-clarke-gwaun-valley-landscape-tree-nature-forest-grass-wilderness-458018-pxhere_Fotor-1000x664.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-oliver-clarke-gwaun-valley-landscape-tree-nature-forest-grass-wilderness-458018-pxhere_Fotor-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/00-oliver-clarke-gwaun-valley-landscape-tree-nature-forest-grass-wilderness-458018-pxhere_Fotor-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo of Gwaun Valley by Oliver Clarke for Rawpixel </figcaption></figure>



A walk on Durdham Downs. Or I close my eyes and transport myself to the Gwaun Valley in North Pembrokeshire.



The song you sing at full volume when everyone’s gone home?



Bobby Jean by Bruce Springsteen



What advice would you give to your younger self?



Believe in yourself a little bit more.



And your current students?



Work hard, be brave, be kind, and amazing things will happen.



<a href="https://www.badmintonschool.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Badminton School</a> is a day and boarding school for girls aged 4 to 18 in Bristol. <a href="https://dorsetsomerset.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/badminton-school/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read our review</a> and find out about <a href="https://www.badmintonschool.co.uk/admissions/open-days-school-visits" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">upcoming open events here</a>

Head’s Up: Muddy meets Jessica Miles of Badminton School, Bristol

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