About Me

I have been a prep school head for twenty years, first at Davenies in Buckinghamshire and more recently at St Hugh’s in Oxfordshire, where I spent thirteen years.

Through my headships, consultancy, governance and inspection, I have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of best practice and am in a position to help other schools with leadership, recruitment, development, marketing, admissions and preparation for senior school entrance. I also help parents with senior school choices, pre-test advice and general consultancy. In addition to my experience of headship, I chaired IAPS for four years, I am a governor of HMC and IAPS schools and a qualified coach, experienced appraiser, mediator, former ISI inspector and mental health first aider. I speak regularly at conferences and training sessions for heads, deputies, registrars and governors in the UK and around the World. In 2018 I was Runner Up in Tatler’s ‘Best Prep School Head’ category and in 2019 I was Runner Up in their ‘Lifetime Achievement in Education’ award.

Professional standards and independence

My work spans school leadership, governance and advice to families on school choice. These are complementary strands, and I hold to clear principles so that each is conducted with complete integrity.

I serve as a governor and trustee at several schools, roles I undertake in a voluntary capacity and in the interests of those schools alone. Where I also advise families, I am transparent about any school connection I hold, so that parents can weigh my guidance accordingly. My advice is never contingent on a child being placed at any particular school, and I hold no financial interest in where a family chooses.

All my governance interests are formally declared on the relevant registers, and I withdraw from any decision in which a personal or professional interest could bear on the matter in hand. I regard this not as a constraint but as the ordinary discipline of acting in good faith.

Integrity is the foundation of this work. Parents and schools trust me with significant decisions, and that trust is something I protect in everything I do.