Talking Heads - Magus Education

on Jun 17, 2021

Alastair Gloag studied history at Nottingham University before training as a teacher. Through his career, Alastair has worked in selective, non-selective, single-sex and co-educational day and boarding school settings. Alastair has been the Head of Saint Christina’s since September 2018. You have been Headmaster at Saint Christina’s since August 2018. Please tell us what attracted you to the school in the first place and what the biggest changes you have undertaken so far are. It is easy to say that Saint Christina’s felt special, but it just did. I have worked in six different schools, all of which have been for children aged 3-18, and they have all had their charms. However, there was an authenticity and warmth to Saint Christina’s that was deeply attractive to me when I was invited to discuss taking up the role. It felt as if the school was serious about the...

Talking Heads: Laura Lamont of Queen’s College Preparatory School

on Nov 30, 2020

Laura Lamont (previously Hall) took up the position as Headmistress of QCPS in September 2020. She was previously Deputy Head at City of London Preparatory School for Girls. What is your background? What brought you to QCPS? I came late into teaching, after working in marketing and lecturing about History of Art on cruise ships in my early 20s. It wasn’t until I was 27 that I applied to my first teaching position. After several years working in the state sector, I joined City of London School Preparatory School, where I ended my tenure as Deputy Head. During my time at City, I had the privilege of being mentored by legends in the field of education including Jane Rogers, now Head of The Cavendish School, Rachel Hadfield and Jenny Brown, respectively Head of the Prep and of the Senior School. After more than four years as Deputy Head, I felt like it was time to run my own ship....

Talking Heads: Eve Jardine-Young of Cheltenham Ladies College

on Nov 27, 2020

Eve Jardine Young is the Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, an independent boarding school in Gloucestershire named South West Independent Secondary School of the Decade by the Sunday Times Schools Guide in November 2020. Eve grew up in Malawi and won a scholarship to attend CLC in the sixth form. She previously worked at various independent secondaries including Radley College and Epsom College. What brought you back to CLC? I did think quite carefully about the wisdom of applying to work at a school I had attended, and where I had been inspirationally taught. I had a healthy scepticism and was prepared to say: this is not a good idea. But what felt powerful and visceral on both occasions — coming to the college on a tour aged 16 and walking back through the door to be interviewed 25 years later– was the sense of observing a community of people who were energised and...

Talking Heads: Richard Tillett of Queen’s College London

on Nov 25, 2020

A Cambridge graduate, Richard’s teaching career has seen him work in both co-ed and single sex schools. He has been Head of Queen’s College in Marylebone since September 2017 and took up the position of overall Head of Queen’s College Prep School and Queen’s College in September 2020. What attracted you to the headship at Queen’s College? That was the first question I got in my interview for the job and I will give you the same answer I gave the Governors: ‘It is the fit.’ It felt like a school where I could both belong and make a difference. I love the size of the school; it’s small enough that I can know every child and most of the families. It is also big enough that it has huge amounts going on; dozens of music ensembles and sports teams, plays, over 70 clubs … everyone can find opportunities here. The history of the place was incredibly exciting. I’m a history and politics...

Talking Heads: Mrs Kingsmill Moore of Glendower

on Nov 24, 2020

Mrs Kingsmill Moore was appointed Headmistress of Glendower Prep in South Kensington in September 2019. She was previously the Deputy Head of Lambrook School, an independent prep in Berkshire. I think it’s safe to say your first year at Glendower may not have gone exactly as you had envisioned when you accepted the post. How did the school manage the first lockdown? Although we used online teaching and learning in the pre-Covid era, it was never our main style of communication. But as soon as we heard a lockdown might happen we started working on potential formats. Initially we thought we might maintain the exact timetable, but after running it for the week before Easter and then consulting with the parents and the teachers, we came to a compromise. We settled on a morning dedicated to lessons, whether live or taped, and a dip-in dip-out model in the afternoon. The afternoon...

Talking Heads: Mr. Faber of Summer Fields

on May 4, 2017

Summer Fields is a full-boarding and day boys’ preparatory school in the heart of Oxford. David Faber, Headmaster since 2010, discusses his transition from the world of politics to teaching, and shares his insights into educating boys. In this interview he reveals how, having celebrated the school’s 150th anniversary, he is making plans for Summer Fields’ future. Could you tell me about your own career? What led you to transition to a career in education? After leaving Oxford I was elected as an MP in 1992, but at the 2001 election I decided that I was young enough to try my hand at something else. After writing two books on 20th century history, I was invited to lecture in a number of public schools. In many ways, I wished that this is what I had started out doing twenty years ago. You have a strong personal connection to Summer Fields, both as a former pupil and a parent. How does...