Headfort School film on Oscars longlist

'School Life' the documentary film on Headfort School teachers John and Amanda Leydon, is one of five Irish films on the Academy Awards long list. Noelle Finegan met the teachers last July.

When filmmakers Neasa Ní Chianáin and David Rane arrived in Headfort School, Kells, to begin shooting the award winning ‘In Loco Parentis’, the documentary’s central characters John and Amanda Leydon initially declined to be involved.
Preferring to stay out of the limelight, it was only after David and Neasa had filmed in Headfort for a full year, that the couple agreed to participate and then only because they had become friends with the filmmakers and how do you say no to a friend, as John puts it.
John, from North Wales and Amanda, who was raised mostly in London, started teaching in Headfort School in 1970, two weeks apart.
They both fell in love with Headfort and have lived on the grounds ever since and remain happily teaching in the school 47 years later.
When ‘School Life’, as the documentary has been re-branded ahead of it stateside launch, is screened in the school as part of the Guth Gafa’s film festival this weekend, it will certainly be special. Not just for John and Amanda to see the film ‘coming home’ but also for the many past pupils who are returning to Headfort for the occasion.
Filming took place over two years, with the first year’s footage used to pitch for funding to make it. Director Neasa Ní Chianáin told how Ireland was just coming out of the crash and nobody wanted to fund a film about a private boarding school. That is until they saw the footage and realised it was something special.
John explained how they first became aware of the documentary: “David and Neasa appeared and said they were making a documentary about the school. For the first year we said don’t include us please. If we have a place, it is behind the camera and not in front of it.
“But they seemed like very nice people. A year later they asked again. They had become friends of ours so what do you say to friends when they ask you again.”
Amanda recalled she felt a bit awkward on the first day of filming but that was more to do with having a new form who she didn’t know very well. After that she says they didn’t take any notice of them the film crew became “part of the furniture”.
“They had already been here for a year and children knew who they are and they did it very cleverly so it wasn’t a surprise to the children, they merged as people who work here,” she said.
John was nonplussed about the filming and said they just got on with their lives. He said: “Fine, I’m here to do a job, I’m going off to do it, if you want to film it, it’s your funeral.”
He explained that filming took place at every time of the day you could think of but not constantly. “It was all done in a completely unobtrusive way,” he added
And how did the children react: “The children didn’t mind at all. They got on with being at Headfort and being happy, studious kids,” said John.
After filming ended, John and Amanda didn’t think too much about ithe film and got on with what they do and that is being teachers.
Then late last summer Amanda recalled how they went to Dublin to see the documentary. It wasn’t finished yet but it came as quite the shock to John and Amanda to see how they were the film’s central characters.
“Quite frankly, we just watched it. We didn’t speak and I don’t think we really spoke on the way home, not until the next day. We were gobsmacked,” said Amanda.
“We were expecting to be bit players,” added John.
“We weren’t angry or anything we were just silenced,” said Amanda. “It is very difficult to describe suddenly seeing yourself. We don’t like being the centre of attention.”
“We tend to disappear in the background and then suddenly we were there for all the world to see,” says John.
“I felt humbled,” added Amanda. “We were like- what, us??”
Despite their shock at being central characters, both are very happy with the film and said it was just like Headfort.
“It turns out people around the world think its brilliant. I can’t agree and I can’t disagree,” said John.
People around the world who they taught have heard about the film and been in touch to say how brilliant it is. “It’s extraordinary,” said John.
The documentary was shown earlier this year at the Hinterland festival, which was its first screening in Kells.
“The first Kells showing at Hinterland was emotional. They gave us a huge cheer,” recalled Amanda. “It was awful,” interjects John, and Amanda agrees but also says it was “emotional” and “special”.
So what have they made of the reaction around the world to the film which has met critical acclaim.
“Johnny will read the reviews and we go oh that’s nice. We’re so busy we don’t have time to think about it very much,” said Amanda.
“David and Neasa are pleased and we are pleased. We’re doing it for them. We don’t like to promote ourselves, it’s a bit silly. We’re only school teachers,” she adds.
Indeed, they tell me that they routinely turn down any offers for interview and it is only for Neasa and David who are also festival directors of Guth Gafa that they have agreed to do this one, as we sit down with a cuppa for a chat in their home on the outskirts of the estate, which is surrounded by countryside with views to die for.
Amanda said they have been invited all over the world to go to premieres but “but we’re teachers so we stay here.”
“John only came to Dublin for the premiere because our younger daughter was with us,” she added.
John and Amanda began teaching in Headfort in 1970. John recalls how he put his name down with the professional asociation for prep schools after leaving university and asked them to find him a job. He got a call about Headfort, came over, “loved it” and said “I’m staying here”.
Amanda’s father was a minister and they moved around quite a bit but she was mostly raised in London. After leaving university, she was looking for a job and her aunt saw a job advertisement in the Irish Times for Headfort School.
“I just loved it, I thought I’ll just live here. It’s beautiful.”
And that is exactly what the Leydons did. They started working at Headfort within two weeks of each other and were married two years later. Initially they lived in one of the stone cottages and in 1976, they moved to a former schoolhouse on the grounds of Headfort, which is still their home today along with their two dogs, Fred and Ginny.
They have three children- James, Charlotte and Sarah- and six grandchildren. James lives in Oldcastle and has four little girls. Charlotte has a boy and a girl and lives in Scotland and their youngest daughter Sarah lives in Penzance. Their children went to school in Kells town as John and Amanda say they would not teach their own children.
The Headfort School the Leydons joined in the 1970s is very different to the school of today. Amanda recalls that it was quite austere. There were no phones and the children got to see their parents one Sunday before half term and one after.
“It was quite austere. It was still fun though. And wild,” she says. “It will always be wild,” adds John.
“We have had three exceptional headmasters who have just gradually allowed it to evolve into an extremely happy place which it is now,” he says.
“The austerity is gone and has been replaced with kindness.”