September 20th 2025
I returned to school today having been at the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) annual Heads’ conference in Brighton. This event offers Heads the chance to listen to talks on the latest developments in education, hear about sector trends, and share ideas with each other. It's been a fascinating forty-eight hours with so much learnt, and as ever perhaps the most valuable time was that spent networking with fellow Heads. By 8.30am this morning I’d had three extremely interesting conversations, with a 7am bracing swim in the Channel with Nick Holloway, Head of Swanbourne House, starting the day. Nick’s school has become a member of the Stowe Group of schools, so it was fascinating to hear his experiences. Following a swift hot shower, I popped back out to the seafront to take a selfie for this piece, but with limited success. Thankfully, I bumped into Mark Turner from King’s House in Richmond. Mark and I have talked a lot over the past few years as our schools are both on an almost identical transition from all boys to co-education, and so it was excellent to catch up. Mark also very kindly took the photo above! I then had breakfast with Nigel Reed, the Head of Hatherop Castle, a member of the Wishford Education Group of Schools. Schools that have recently joined this group include Henley’s Rupert House and St.Mary’s (the latter joining last week). As a ‘for profit’ model, Wishford Education offers a different perspective to the Stowe Group which operates, like Moulsford, as a charitable trust.
We live in uncertain times, and this is particularly the case for the independent schools’ sector. What came through very clearly from the main conference and the fringe events, was the importance of putting children (and parents) at the heart of every decision, and of having a clear vision and strategy. For Moulsford that vision is: to be the best co-educational prep school in our area, instilling kindness, courage and curiosity in all our pupils. Our independence and charitable status are also extremely important to both us, and we believe to you as parents. Moulsford's model allows us to be in control of our destiny, reinvest in the school, give impartial advice on life beyond Moulsford, and to ensure that all decisions are taken for the short term benefit of your children, but also for the long term benefit of the School.
Instilling Moulsford's values takes time, and is achieved in so many different ways, some obvious, others less so. One very important area is through your children hosting the opposition at match tea, and I often reference this when talking to prospective parents about a Moulsford education. Looking after our guests and sharing stories following a match, is every bit as important to me as the fixture itself. At the beginning of a new academic year, please could I remind parents that it is a very clear expectation that children stay for match tea, and also that they do not migrate to parents’ match tea! Thank you, and I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow at the Ludgrove fixtures for Year 5 and above.
