With the Headmaster's Approval Read Online Free PDF

membrane. Adam walked in as she was handing out elastic bands to the girls with long hair who used them to tie it back. “Please carry on,” he said as the girls stopped what they were doing to turn their attention to him.
    He watched as they lit their Bunsen burners. “Do you always tie back your hair before lighting the Bunsen burner?” he asked an untidy-looking girl who was struggling to get wayward wisps of hair into the elastic band.
    “Yes, Sir,’ she replied earnestly, “Miss Murray said that when she was a student she set her hair on fire and she had to put her head under a tap and all one side was burnt and she had to cut it really short and it took ages to grow again,” she finished in a rush, and wondered why Mr Wild smiled and covered his mouth with his hand and turned away, and why Miss Murray was scowling at her.
    “A sensible precaution, Miss Murray,” he said , moving towards the door.
    “I’m glad you approve,” she replied, glaring at his retreating back.
    Dee Taylor had begun researching her programme of self-defence and was outlining it to a class of juniors who were sitting cross-legged on mats in the gym staring up at her with as much interest as they paid to the TV weatherman, when the door swung open and Adam walked in. Outdoor shoes were not allowed on the sprung wooden floor so he stepped onto the mat where she was addressing the class.
    “Do you mind if I ask the girls how much they know about self-defence?” he asked.
    “Please do,” she replied, stepping aside and standing at ease, as if she were on a parade ground.
    He took her place in front of the class and the girls’ interest immediately perked up. Hooking his thumb in his trouser pocket he shifted his weight on to one leg and waited until he had their full attention before asking; “What is the biggest advantage an assailant will have over you, no matter how well prepared, or how well armed you are to defend yourself?”
    “He’d be bigger,” suggested one girl.
    “He’d be stronger,” suggested another.
    “He might have a knife,” added a third
    “Three good answers that would be true if the assailant were attacking you. But what if the assailant were attacking me? What advantage would he have even if I had a gun or a knife?”
    The girls were mystified. He was tall, he was strong and Miss Taylor had told them he did martial arts.
    “Imagine if a gunman burst in here now? How would you all feel?” he asked.
    “Surpri sed,” said Dee Taylor.
    Adam turned to her. “Exactly. An assailant will always have the advantage of surprise. He ’ll have a plan of action that he can probably carry out before you’re even aware of what is happening.”  He paused to give them time to think about it. “So, what can you do to minimise it?”
    “Be alert,” suggested a girl in the front row.
    “Yes,” he replied, and she turned to her neighbour with a satisfied smirk.
    “Be aware of your surroundings and any potential threats at all times. It’s your first line of defence.  Don’t walk down the road chatting to your friends on your phone. Someone riding, or running by, could snatch it. And don’t wear or carry anything that you might have to risk your life for. If someone threatens you and asks for your phone or purse, throw it away and run. The chances are that the thief will go after the purse rather than you,” he said, and then turned the class over to Dee Taylor once more.
    Hayley Price had instructed the girls to make their own name badges and had given them a standard badge-size piece of card. They were permitted to decorate them however they liked, as long as their name was legible. If Mr Wild approved, then the badges would be laminated.
    Some of the more artistic girls had painted flowers round the edge; others had concentrated on an intricate font, which Hayley Price feared Adam would not be able to decipher. The wits had dashed off a silly cartoon next to their names. A few girls, who would have