Private School News

New Head for St Hugh’s School

St Hugh’s School, the Independent, Catholic prep school for St Edmund’s College, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Leonard Blom as the new Head of St Hugh’s. Mr Blom took up his post on 20 April 2010 and takes over from the previous Head, Mrs Jacqueline Hart, who left in December to become the Headmistress of Woodford Green Prep School.

Mr Blom joins the school with a wealth of leadership and teaching experience, most recently gained at Edgeborough Prep School in Surrey, where he was Head of Geography. Prior to that, he held Headships at St Dominic’s Priory Junior School and Erica Girls’ Primary School, both in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Originally from Port Elizabeth in South Africa, Mr Blom is married with two teenage children and in his spare time he is a keen runner and cyclist – regularly taking part in triathlons and marathons. He has a BEd Honours degree specialising in Educational Management and a BA degree in History, Psychology and Philosophy, both gained from universities in South Africa, plus he recently obtained his National Professional Qualification for Headship in the UK (NPQH).

Mr Chris Long, Headmaster of St Edmund’s College said:

“The Governors and I are delighted to welcome Leonard to St Hugh’s. He has exactly the right experience and qualities to oversee the day-to-day running of the school and to positively support our pupils, staff and parents”.

New Headmistress for St Mary’s School, Buckinghamshire

The Board of Governors of St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Jean Ross as Headmistress, to succeed Mrs Fanny Balcombe when she retires on August 31st 2010. Under Mrs Balcombe’s exemplary leadership the School has thrived and grown during her 15 year tenure. The governors, teachers and pupils, past and present will miss her but wish her a happy and healthy retirement.
Mrs Jean Ross is currently Deputy Head Teacher at St Albans High School for Girls, where she is also Director of Marketing and Communications. St. Albans is one of the leading girls’ independent day schools, whose primary department was the Sunday Times Independent Preparatory School of the Year last year. Her academic specialism is in Modern languages and she holds a BA (Hons) from Manchester University in French. She is a published writer and a strong advocate in the belief that every child matters; “we need to make education a challenging and positive experience in which every child can acquire confidence and self esteem. My educational philosophy is one of identifying the individual talents of each and every child and giving them the tools and motivation to reach beyond their best. I believe that a happy child is a successful child and so academic provision should be backed up with excellent pastoral care. I want every child to look forward to coming to school each day”.
The Board of Governors is confident that St. Mary’s will continue to flourish under the leadership of Mrs Ross and wish her every success.

Bedford Modern School welcomes Mike Hall as new Headmaster

Bedford Modern School is delighted to welcome Mr Mike Hall, BA (Hons), MA as the new Headmaster with effect from 4th January 2010.

Mr Hall has been the Principal Deputy Head of the fully co-educational and independent Kingston Grammar School since 2004. Prior to that appointment he was at Arnold School, also co-educational and independent, for almost 11 years, including periods as a Boarding Master, Head of Department, Head of Faculty, Head of Sixth Form and member of the senior management team.

Mike Hall is married to Emily, a professional singer and teacher; they have two young children.

Mr Hall said, “It is a privilege to join and lead BMS at this exciting stage in its development. Under the leadership of the former Headmaster, Stephen Smith, the School has made significant progress. My aim is to strive to continue the raising of academic standards, maintain the excellent pastoral care and co-curricular provision; as well as developing and improving on the impressive facilities.

“I look forward to working within the special atmosphere that exists at Bedford Modern School, where boys and girls from a variety of backgrounds happily co-exist and derive mutual benefit from each other both in their academic work and co-curricular activities.

“BMS is receiving increasing national recognition in a number of areas; Rowing and Waterpolo being two recent successes. I hope to firmly establish the reputation of the School both in Bedford and further afield.”

Photo: Mike Hall, Bedford Modern School Headmaster

UK’s top achieving school loses Chaplain to head Kingham Hill School

Magdalen College School, Oxford, that topped this years ‘A’ Levels result table, has lost its chaplain and house master to Kingham Hill School, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

Nick Seward, 38, took over as headmaster at Kingham Hill at the beginning of the new school year, following five years at Magdalen College School. He brings with him an enthusiasm to build upon Kingham Hill’s founding principles – broad intake, well-rounded education, strong pastoral care, and all in the context of a vibrant Christian ethos.

He has a very eclectic background. Born in Zambia, Nick Seward spent his formative years in Papua New Guinea, where his father managed the national football team. His education continued at Millfield School, Somerset, before he read aeronautical engineering at Imperial College, University of London and theology at Cranmer Hall, St. John’s College, University of Durham. He was ordained in 1999 at Canterbury.

As the School’s new headmaster, Revd. Seward looks to the future with keen anticipation: “Kingham Hill has a fine tradition and a great heart. Generations of students have benefitted, flourishing and going on to make their mark in the world. I feel privileged to be taking over as Headmaster at a time when schools like Kingham Hill are needed more than ever.”

Nick Seward is married to Hannah, a former organ scholar of Jesus College, Oxford, and a German linguist. They have two young children and share a love of the English choral tradition in worship.

Photo: aerial view of Kingham Hill

CCSS appoints new Principal

Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies (CCSS) has appointed Stuart Nicholson as its new Principal.

Mr Nicholson has replaced Mr Neil Roskilly, who has recently taken the post of the CEO of the Independent Schools Association, one of the oldest of the independent schools’ organisations in the UK, which has 300 member schools.

Stuart Nicholson has wide-ranging experience in the education sector in the UK, including 18 years variously as teacher, housemaster, and headmaster at schools in Devon, Edinburgh, and Suffolk.

A graduate of the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, Mr Nicholson also holds the National Professional Qualification for Headship and serves as a team inspector for the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate.

His teaching experience at A-level covers physics, business studies, and accounts. Outside the classroom he represented university sides at cricket and squash. Latterly he has taken up jogging and he enjoys driving his 1966 Riley Elf.

Mr Nicholson’s vision for CCSS is to continue providing a high quality education and outstanding pastoral care to all CCSS students and their parents, and to support constant improvements to the services provided to the families and other members of the extended CCSS community.

On his appointment to CCSS, Mr Nicholson commented “I am delighted to be Neil Roskilly’s successor as Principal of The Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies. CCSS is a special place for students which also makes it a special place to teach and to be Principal. The exceptional results that CCSS students achieve is a great source of pride for all involved, both students and staff. These very impressive performances by CCSS students make it an enticing place to come and be Principal and an exciting place to come and learn”.

Alan Dunckley, Chair of CCSS Trustees, said: “The Trustees are delighted that Stuart has joined CCSS as its new Principal. He brings a wealth of relevant experience and shares our ideals, values and aims.”

What a difference a new headmaster can make

At one level nothing very much at Kingham Hill has changed at all. The setting is still as stunning, tucked as it is in a beautiful fold of the Cotswolds, not far from Stow-in-the-Wold. The founding principles remain firmly in place – vibrant Christian ethos, all-ability intake and education of the whole person. The deputy headmaster pads the corridors as he has for the past 20 years, albeit with whiter hair!

But there again, the change is marked. A new vision has been cast. Saturday school has been replaced by an ambitious programme of outings and activities. Day houses and a network of school transport introduced. An academic society established for the brightest pupils. Refurbishment and development. A smattering of top quality new teachers bursting with fresh ideas.

Stir together the previous two paragraphs and what emerges is a small school with a very big heart. A culture that encourages ambition and achievement yet nurtures happiness, as pupils realise that they are loved and valued for who they are rather than the part they must play in improving a school’s league table position. A place to call home – where you laugh and cry with friends.

Nick Seward – that new headmaster – is excited about the intriguing blend of heritage and innovation. However, he is most pleased to see a school full of happy and well-rounded pupils.

New Headmaster for RGS The Grange, Worcester

The Governors of The Royal Grammar School are delighted to announce that the new Headmaster of RGS The Grange (one of the two RGS preparatory schools) is Mr Gareth Hughes. Mr Hughes takes up his appointment from 1 September 2009, following the resignation of Mr Tim Lowe for personal reasons and ill-health.

Mr Gareth Hughes has made an outstanding contribution as Head of Lower School at RGS Worcester for the last four years, having previously been Director of Sport. He is a top sportsman himself, having played fly-half for Saracens in the 1990s and subsequently for Worcester RFC. Mr Hughes has been a teacher for 20 years. He brings with him a wealth of leadership, vision and talent that will be invaluable to the school. The father of two also successfully led both curriculum and pastoral initiatives at his previous school and was a figure head in community and charity events. His wife Sophie is a local primary school music teacher.

“I am thrilled to be given this opportunity and excited at the prospect of working with the staff, parents and pupils of RGS The Grange. I believe in nurturing an environment where all members of the school are able to enjoy their experience of education whilst accepting the values and ethos of the community” commented Gareth Hughes, the new Headmaster.

“His hand-on and creative approach to education will be very exciting to see at the school. I look forward to working closely with him and Marion Lloyd at RGS Springfield as we take the three schools forward” added Andy Rattue, Headmaster of RGS Worcester.

Appointment of Head of Junior School at Saint Felix School

Saint Felix School, Southwold, Suffolk is delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Julia Campbell to the role of Head of the Junior School. She will take up this position in September 2009.

Mrs Campbell was Head of the Pre-Preparatory Department at Riddlesworth Hall, Diss, where her husband Colin was Headmaster. She has a great deal of teaching experience at both Key Stages 1 and 2 and she will bring to this new position her professional expertise with children of junior age. Mrs Campbell has been working as the Gifted and Talented and Enhanced Learning Co-ordinator in the Preparatory and Pre-Preparatory Departments at Saint Felix since September 2007.

In her submission to the selection panel she said “The new position of Head of Junior School at Saint Felix offers a unique opportunity to build on the progress made over the last five years. In my view, the children should be the main focus of our thinking about the Junior School. Their experience is paramount.”

This new post has been created as part of the School’s Development Plan. From September, the Preparatory and Pre- Preparatory Departments will form the Junior School of Saint Felix, with The Dragons’ Nursery and Reception being administered as part of the Foundation Stage.

NEW HEADMASTER FOR KINGS SCHOOL BRUTON

Mr Ian Wilmshurst has been appointed as Headmaster of King’s School, Bruton, from September 2009

Ian Wilmshurst (42), who is currently Deputy Head at The Royal Hospital School in Suffolk, said he was attracted to King’s on account of its reputation, size and location.

“I was delighted to accept the position of Headmaster of King’s Bruton”.

“King’s is well known for its very strong pastoral care; it has a strong family feel and is part of the community. I have already been impressed by the down to earth attitude of the pupils and the commitment of its staff.”

Educated at The Edinburgh Academy (1971-1984), where he was head boy, Ian Wilmshurst obtained a Geography MA and PGCE at Pembroke College, Cambridge (1985–1990).

His first teaching position was as geography master, house tutor and games coach at Highgate School, London (1990-1992) before moving to Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh (1992-2005) where he taught geography, was a housemaster and the 1st XV rugby coach. He will have spent 4 years as Deputy Head at The Royal Hospital School when he and his family move to Bruton later this year.

Ian is married to Helen and they have two daughters; Anna aged seven and Natalie aged five. He enjoys sports, hill walking and spending time with his family.

He will be taking over in the autumn from Nigel Lashbrook, who has been appointed Headmaster of Oakham School, Rutland.

Founded in 1519, King’s School has been fully co-educational for more than 10 years. Of its 330 pupils, 70% are boarders, while its associated prep/pre-prep school, Hazlegrove, at Sparkford – also co-educational – has a roll of 350 and a strong boarding element.

As Chairman of Governors at King’s, Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire said, “The Board of Governors is delighted that Ian Wilmshurst has accepted the appointment and we look forward to welcoming him and his family in September, to lead King’s into the next chapter of its development.”

A childhood dream comes for Cottesmore’s new Headmaster

Tom Rogerson is certainly coming home when he takes over as the new headmaster at Cottesmore School in Pease Pottage, West Sussex, one of the longest-established IAPS prep schools in the country.

Some thirty years ago Tom himself was a pupil at the school, where his father Mark was headmaster. Born and brought up at Cottesmore, Tom decided at an early age that he would like to run the school some day – as in fact Mark had done too, because his own father had been head there for nearly thirty years!

So Tom becomes the third Rogerson to lead the school, and if ever there was a family school, this is it!

Cottesmore provides full and weekly boarding for boys and girls aged 8 to 13, and prepares them for entry to all the top public schools. Tom himself went to Eton and, following his ambition, set about gaining strong teaching experience that would equip him to run Cottesmore one day. He has worked at a number of leading prep schools, including Broomwood Hall, Eaton House The Manor, and Ludgrove, so he understands what parents want for their children and is well well placed to provide it.

An English graduate with a broad range of interests in sport, art and music, Tom is married to Lottie who is a very experienced early years teacher.

Tom is young, energetic and passionate about Cottesmore and its children. He takes over a school that was described as “excellent” no fewer than 17 times in an ISI inspection during the spring term. That in itself makes Cottesmore remarkable, but Tom has plenty of ideas about how he will develop the school over the coming years:

“Cottesmore has always offered an amazing education by making sure everyone has plenty of fun while they’re learning and playing. As a country boarding school we can provide facilities, opportunities and experiences that no other type of school can. I want Cottesmore to be known as a school where children are just bursting to tell their parents what they have done, a school parents would wish they’d been to themselves, and a school where our children love it so much that they want to come back and run it one day!”

Definitely a school to watch as Tom gets going!

For more information, please contact Tom Rogerson at Cottesmore School on 01293 520648 or visit www.cottesmoreschool.com

Two Heads are better than one!

As the final few weeks of term approach, Tony White’s headship of Downsend School in Leatherhead draws to a close after 40 years at the school. During this time the school has changed, almost beyond recognition and Tony has seen amongst many other things, the school double in size, the introduction of girls to create a thriving, co-educational community, the building of a new Sport and Swimming Complex and most recently the opening of an impressive, multi purpose ‘all weather’ pitch.

His successor, Floyd Steadman is currently headmaster of Salcombe Preparatory School and will be taking over in September. Floyd has an impressive sporting background. On the rugby field he played for the Barbarians, captained Middlesex and was club captain of Saracens RFC. Floyd’s sporting achievements have been recognised in his former appointments as National Squad Adviser for the RFU, Director of the Sports Aid Foundation and Chairman of the West London Performance Development Committee. He has lectured part-time in Rugby at the West London Institute of Higher Education. His teaching career began at Colet Court, the preparatory department of St Paul’s School in London where he became Head of PE and Games and Head of Juniors. Prior to becoming Head of Salcombe Preparatory School he was Deputy Head of Belmont, the Junior School of Mill Hill in London.

Mr Steadman said, ‘I am extremely proud to be taking over the headship of Downsend in September. Tony is handing over the reins of a dynamic and vibrant school and he leaves behind a legacy created by the devotion of all of his teaching life to the school. The school’s outstanding inspection report is a testimony to its success and fully supports its reputation as one of the finest co-educational preparatory schools in the country. He will be a hard act to follow but I am looking forward to the challenge. I wish Tony the happiest of retirements’.

Mr White said ‘It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work in the company of thousands of boys and girls, with their incessant chatter, joys, woes and mostly feeble jokes. I have also delighted in being able to work alongside some of the finest and most creative teachers in the profession and I know I am leaving the school in very capable hands.’

New Head for Prior Park College – September 2009

The Governors of Prior Park College, Bath, are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr James Murphy-O’Connor, to be Headmaster from September 2009. The appointment has been made following the retirement announced earlier this year of Dr Giles Mercer. Dr Mercer has given 13 years of distinguished service to the school and retires in July 2009. 
From school at St Benedict’s, Ealing, where he was Head Boy, James Murphy-O’Connor read History at Oxford and gained a PGCE at Cambridge. After teaching at Stamford School and Sherborne, where he was a Housemaster, he was invited in 2004 to be the founding Headmaster of Sherfield School. In this enterprise he has been highly successful, seeing this co-educational, independent school set up from scratch, with the school roll rising to 540 pupils.

James Murphy-O’Connor and his wife, Ali, have four children and are actively involved in their local parish church. They have a very high regard for, and commitment to, Prior Park’s Catholic Christian character and life, and to its all-round educational philosophy. James Murphy-O’Connor’s father and four uncles were educated at the school.

page two Prior Park CollegeBath BA2 5AHTelephone: 831000www.priorparkschools.co.uk

The Chair of Governors, Sister Jane Livesey CJ, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Mr Murphy-O’Connor, so ably supported by his wife, will be leading Prior Park into its next very exciting phase of development, whilst at the same time cherishing all the vital strengths of the school which has gone from strength to strength under Dr Mercer’s outstanding leadership”.

Mr James Murphy-O’Connor added “I am very pleased to have been offered the position of Headmaster of Prior Park College. It is a privilege to be asked to continue and develop the strong traditions and the all round excellence of the school. I am looking
forward to leading the staff and pupils from September 2009”.