“Take the opportunities that come and be willing to say yes; be willing to put yourself out of your comfort zone; take on challenges.“
MR BUrman-ROY
This advice from Mr. Burman-Roy is more than just a quotation; it’s the mantra that shaped his career. His story shows how his own experiences, dealing with family expectations and constantly looking for his place, inspired him to create exciting new opportunities for pupils and champion the voices of others within the School community.
Coming from a South Asian community, Mr. Burman-Roy’s first big challenge was navigating family expectations. He explained that the common pressure in his community was to choose a respected field like medicine, law, or teaching to gain “standing in the community.” Being one of literally a handful of Asian students in his school in Orpington, London, intensified this, making him feel he was “representing [his] whole community, [his] whole race even to an extent.“
So, when the time came to choose his path for university, he made a strategic choice. He used his aptitude for science to successfully apply to read Natural Sciences (Biological) at Churchill College, University of Cambridge and called it the “fairly obvious choice“, even due to the competitive nature of the course and low statistical chances of gaining admission, because its breadth allowed him to delay committing to a single discipline within science, thus keeping his future wide open.
Following the completion of his PGCE, the next major influence on his career came from his time teaching at a highly diverse international school in Thailand, which included over 56 nationalities. This environment fundamentally operated on the power of the pupil voice, where young people led by Student Delegates in the 6th Form, were actively involved in shaping the school.
When he arrived at Oundle School his approach was simple and empowering: to transfer the fun and the initiative to the pupils. When asked to run the Scott Society, he encouraged pupils to take the lead telling them: “It’s not my role to source the speakers for the talks: it’s your job.” And they did.
The creation of the Oundle School Basketball team is a clear example of his philosophy in action. Drawing on his personal history as a player and coach, he was determined to offer an alternative to the traditional sports available, especially for international pupils who were passionate about basketball. One particular example was a promise made to talented county standard girls in the Berrystead that by the time they were in the Sixth Form there would be a team for them and fixtures.
His determination was immediate. He started running late practices at 9pm after the school day officially ended, and pupils showed up because they were “desperate to play.” This shared passion, rather than any official mandate, fuelled the growth and awareness of the sport within the Oundle community. Basketball teams from Oundle have now entered the National Cup for Boys and Girls at four different age groups and have progressed to the knock out phases in all, proving that if you give pupils a chance, they will commit fully. He is particularly proud that attendance from those who have signed up for the games option has always been excellent.
Mr. Burman-Roy’s career, encompassing roles from Head of Basketball to overseeing overseas applications, reflects his belief that opportunity is always worth the effort. His life story serves as a powerful model, encouraging the pupil body to reject the fear of failure and embrace his simple, powerful command: to “put yourself forward and try.”
