Caroline Garrett has been principal of Oatlands College, Mount Merrion, Dublin, since 2011, having been the school’s first woman deputy principal before that.

“The principalship was received very well, because I was already in the building. The deputy principalship, however, I had come from outside and I was also a female. In the main it was received well. But there would have been some people who would have challenged me. And I don’t mean in a verbal sense. They would have certainly tested me to see if I was fit for the position,” she says.

She felt that was coming from some “staff more than anything”, she clarifies. “But that was the culture here at the time. It has changed hugely.

“I think I was just dogged in my approach. I proved to them that I was very capable of the job.” Coming from an Education and Training Board [ETB] background, Garrett says, “I had been exposed, before I ever became a deputy principal, to management roles. As a result I was able to very seamlessly move into the position. And also I had the huge support of my principal at the time.”

The boys at the school were “hugely respectful” and “adjusted very quickly”.

“I would have a good relationship with teenage boys anyway. I think I get them ... I have a great interest in sport of all types and they saw that quite quickly. When I started, I also taught a couple of classes so they saw me not just in the management position, but also as a teacher ...