Interview with Mr Speck, Head of Grounds at Pipers Corner School

Tell us about your role at Pipers | As Head of Grounds it is my responsibility to maintain and enhance the extensive School gardens, pond, sports lawns, orchard, small woodland and our wonderful wildflower meadow. Pipers Corner is 96 acres so there is a great range of differing landscapes to look after.
In such a role there is a great variety of work, in one day I might be cutting grass, meeting with other Heads of Departments to plan for future events, chopping wood for our Forest School, taking a Form group for tree planting and waving parents and students off as they leave at the end of the day whilst controlling the flow of traffic. Each day is different. Being in the Grounds Team gives you appreciation for the whole School ecosystem.

I am fortunate to do this with a dedicated and enthusiastic team of Grounds Assistants. As a team, our main areas of focus are creating an enjoyable and safe environment for students, parents, guests and visitors that enrich their experience during any time spent at Pipers. With the drive to increase our biodiversity and sustainability.

What experience led you to your role of Head of Grounds? | I have always had a strong interest in the outdoor life. From my youth in the Boys Brigade completing my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award, hiking through the Swiss Italian Alps and many trips into the Scottish wilderness. This led me to complete a Degree in Environmental Management before joining a small private Scottish Estate as a Ranger. Following this, I moved south and spent five-years as a Groundsman at Wycombe Abbey School, working my way up to Senior Groundsman in my final 18 months. It is during this time, that I built up my knowledge and practical proficiency that gave me the confidence to pursue the position here at Pipers.With my breadth of experience from Rangering in Scotland to working in an independent school I feel I’m well placed to be working at Pipers, which is such a unique School.

What has been your first big project here at the School? | On joining the team at Pipers and assessing the resources we had readily available, it became clear to me that we could provide something additional for our Forest School to give them more functionality during their time together in the woods. So following discussions with the Grounds Team, we set about using the wood that was available on-site to build several low-level rustic benches and construct a mud kitchen for the students.

Not only were these things that the Forest School wished to have so they could add to the students’ experience in the woods, it also provided the Grounds Team with an opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to benefit the wider-School in a way that were not able to before.

What is the most rewarding part of the role? | For me there are several rewarding parts to my role. Firstly to see within my team a level of enthusiasm and effort that encourages me to develop new and different ideas for the enhancement of the site. Building relationships with a number of different departments and being able to provide them with support and an environment that they feel is beneficial to their work. And for me probably the most rewarding is to see the students engage and enjoy the grounds that we are custodians of, whether that be sitting chatting on the lawn during break time or in a class taking lessons.

How do you like to relax? | To relax outside of work, I enjoy walking in the woods and countryside of the Chilterns, also travelling back to Scotland to spend time with my family.

Tell us something we might not know about you... | Something that is not well-known about myself is that I spent near ten years living in the Estonian capital Tallinn. It’s a beautiful medieval city and I would highly recommend a weekend break to anyone who wishes to experience some Baltic hospitality and culture.