Shiplake College News

As part of an ongoing feature, A Conversation With..., we caught up with Head of Careers Louise Rapple Moore. Mrs Rapple Moore began her career at Shiplake as a peripatetic music teacher. Following Dr Snellgrove's retirement at the end of the last academic year, Louise has held the position of Head of Careers.
 

What does your average day entail?

My average day includes teaching three or four Careers lessons to Year 12 and 13. It also includes a lot of administration, answering e-mails from staff and parents, making phone calls, perhaps a couple of meetings with students or staff. Because I am involved in music at Shiplake, as well as Careers, it might involve playing the organ in a Chapel service, accompanying a pupil in a concert or sorting out some music timetables. When I leave Shiplake at the end of the day, I usually go straight on to run a choir rehearsal of one of my four choirs.

What were you like as a schoolgirl and what was your favourite subject?

I wasn’t particularly nice as a child. I’m sure some people would say that nothing much has changed! In those days, I didn’t really care what people thought of me, so I was very blunt and something of a loner. My favourite subject was music and I spent most of my time either playing the piano or curled up on my bed reading a book. I can still be rather direct at times, but I have learned some diplomacy and am much more outgoing.

What is the best piece of advice you would give someone who doesn’t know what to do when they leave school?

Just keep on taking the next step. A lot of people don’t know what they want to do in later life when they’re at school – I didn’t know until I was 28! Just keep on doing the next thing that seems like the right thing – either going to university, studying a subject you like or are good at, or getting a job that plays to your strengths – and one day something will happen and you will realise ‘THIS is the direction I want to go in!’

How do you encourage people who aren’t happy with ‘the way things are’?

Make sure you always speak out if you’re unhappy about something. I have a policy of always letting everyone know how I feel, always telling the truth and telling things exactly as they are. It makes for a very happy existence, as you are never brooding over anything and everyone knows exactly where they stand with you. Don’t be afraid to call people out if things are wrong or unfair. On a very small scale, I received an e-mail from UCAS a couple of months ago addressed to ‘Dear Sirs’. In this day and age this is archaic and unforgivable, so I got in touch and said so (very politely) and they took it on board and now all their e-mails go out addressed ‘Dear Sir or Madam’. What amazed me is that they said no-one else had ever mentioned it!

What book are you reading at the moment?

I’ve just finished a brilliant trilogy called The Plague Times by Louise Welsh. My sister gave it to me for Christmas. It’s about survival in England during and after a plague hits the world and kills nearly everyone. I love apocalyptic stories and disaster stories!

How did your own career path lead you to where you are now?

In a very roundabout way. Like I said earlier – I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I just did the next thing and the next thing… and here I am! I studied Music and French at university and went into a French-speaking job after that and then, when that company moved away and I was made redundant; I worked as a recruitment consultant, which I hated. After 18 months, I had an appraisal and my boss said that she didn’t think my heart was in it, and that I should become a piano teacher. I handed in my notice the very next morning, and got a part-time admin job and some piano pupils. I ended up teaching piano full time, and came to Shiplake as a piano teacher in 2006. A couple of years after that I started doing the music admin here, and then the careers admin, and then I started teaching careers…. Now I’m the Head of Careers and I no longer teach any piano. Outside of school, I’m a choral conductor and I run four choirs!

Which fictional character do you most relate to?

Tricky one. I don’t think they write books about people like me. It would be too boring! Nothing would really go wrong, there wouldn’t be any crises, all the relationships would be with lovely, sensible chaps… I can’t really think of anyone, which is ridiculous because I read all the time! I’d love to say Katniss Everdeen but I don’t think I have her resourcefulness... Jo from Little Women was always my favourite because she’s a tomboy but in the next book she went on to have loads of kids and work with children, which really spoiled it for me. Ah. Got it. I am clearly Daenerys Targaryen. Feisty, forceful, fair, tries to do the right thing and some people are quite scared of her!

What does the future hold for Mrs Rapple Moore?

At the moment I’m in a new position as Head of Careers so for the next few years I think I’ll be concentrating on making the most I can of this job. It’s ripe for expansion and there’s so much I can do in this position. I’m also always working hard with my choirs outside of school, making them as successful as they can be. I’m ambitious for my choirs and for my work but not so much for myself – in five years’ time I hope I’ll still be at Shiplake, with one of the best Careers Departments in the area!