Thank you, Mr Alderman

The entire school community at St Julie’s Catholic High School have wished headteacher, Tim Alderman, a long and happy retirement as he leaves his post after 13 transformational years of leadership and service.

During his tenure as headteacher, Mr Alderman, has led the school to a 2018 Ofsted judgement of good with ‘outstanding leadership and management’ and ‘outstanding personal development’, a judgement re-affirmed in May 2023. In the canonical inspection of 2017, St Julie’s was found to be ‘Outstanding’ in all areas of Catholic life, collective worship and religious education.

Mr Alderman led the school through change of the classrooms themselves, being a critical member of the team delivering the transition from a problematic and uninspiring 1970s school campus to a state-of-the-art new building proudly rising on Woolton Hill. The new building opened to students in September 2017.

Mr Alderman looked to the work of the Sisters of Notre Dame for inspiration and guidance, and their values are the cloth upon which the embroidery of life at St Julie’s is stitched. Former chair of governors Sr Margaret Walsh SND made reference to this in a personal tribute when she said: “You have faced so many challenges with courage, confidence and foresight. Alongside these challenges you have strengthened the Notre Dame identity of the school.”

Mr Alderman was always a sound moral compass to remind the school community that the easy thing and the right thing aren’t always the same, and that it is the latter which is more important.

Alongside his work at St Julie’s, Mr Alderman spent time as an executive headteacher at St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic High School in St Helen’s and as chair of governors at a primary school in the Isle of Man.