A Position of Privilege

Bernard McNeill was born in Birmingham in 1945. He was educated at the Holy Family Primary School; St. Philip’s Grammar School and spent four years of his secondary education at the Sacred Heart College in Shropshire, a catholic junior seminary, with a view to preparing for the priesthood. He finally decided on a career in teaching. He qualified as a teacher of French, Art and Religious Studies at St. Mary’s University College, London, in 1968, during which time he spent a year teaching English in Paris as part of his course. After a year in a London primary school, he returned to Birmingham to work in local secondary schools. He subsequently took BA and M.Ed. degrees in Mathematics, Computing and Educational Administration. He served for 37 years as a teacher of Mathematics, 10 years as a pastoral head of year and for 15 as the head of a mathematics department. He also took on the role of school bursar as additional duties from 1992. He retired as a teacher in 2004 to start a new career as School Business Manager at the same school, a position which he still holds. He started to write as a form of relaxation from work. ＂A Position of Privilege＂ is the first piece of writing he has considered worthy enough to be offered for publication.