Berkshire


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/Wellington-College-HEad-James-Dahl-scaled.jpg" alt="WELLINGTON COLLEGE BERKSHIRE MASTER JAMES DAHL" class="wp-image-65692" /></figure>



<p>James Dahl is Master of one of the UK&#8217;s top day and boarding schools, where he leads the charge for wellbeing and a progressive education. He’s charming, fun and laser focused on ensuring the pupils here are happy and squeeze every opportunity out of their time at Wellington. When he&#8217;s not running a busy school of 1,100 pupils, ensuring the school leads the charge on everything from exam reform to AI, you might find him actually running (Brighton Marathon was on the horizon). Muddy sat down for a cuppa and a chat.  </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sell-your-school">Sell your school…</h2>



<p>Wellington College is a vibrant, exciting and buzzy school which blends our unique history and heritage, with this insatiable desire to be progressive and forward thinking in everything that we do. We blend Premier League academic provision and results but with really innovative and proactive pastoral care. Good character, and developing a mindset of service and leadership and global citizenship within our young people, is the bedrock of Wellington&#8217;s culture.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-3-things-to-tackle-in-your-inbox">Top 3 things to tackle in your inbox?</h2>



<p>1/ A renewed focus on wellbeing and our wellbeing provision. We have just completed a Purpose &amp; Strategy Review – a deep dive into our strategic priorities in education, social responsibility and inclusion, and educational enterprises. We have looked forensically at every aspect of Wellington College&#8217;s provision and operations through a wellbeing lens with a view to create a new strategic framework that will shape the next 20 years. </p>



<p>2/ Life Beyond Wellington – which is a programme that reflects the need to do more for pupils as they prepare to leave school. It&#8217;s not enough to just get young people the exam results they want and into the best universities. We need to help them engage with the world of work, to be there to support them with internships, careers experience and networking whilst they are pupils are at school, when they&#8217;re at university and into those early years as they get into the world of work. It&#8217;s really daunting. </p>



<p>3/ Where technology is going in AI. That is just a very live and ever-changing topic. We don&#8217;t have the answers yet, but we are plugged into a lot of really exciting projects and discussion groups, and we&#8217;ve got some plans to get some consultants to come and work alongside us. We want to be at the vanguard of the conversation and practice in that regard. I think it&#8217;s really important to say that we don&#8217;t have all the answers – not just in AI, but in wellbeing and pedagogy, but we want to be part of the conversation that&#8217;s driving the sector forward. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-inspires-you">Who inspires you?</h2>



<p>Former Wellington College head Anthony Seldon is a friend and mentor [big shoes to step into]. I was speaking to another head on the circuit – who shall remain anonymous – who has vowed to never take over from Anthony in anything again. He&#8217;s such a trailblazer and I feel uniquely honoured to have worked with him at Brighton College. He shaped my views of what education could and should be more than anyone else in my adult life. Funnily enough, I don&#8217;t feel the pressure of Anthony&#8217;s legacy. It&#8217;s a privilege to build on the work he did at Wellington College and take that forward into the world of tomorrow – same journey, new chapter.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/Wellington-College-James-Dahl-in-lake-1000x667.jpg" alt="James Dahl master of Wellington College race through water" class="wp-image-65694" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-would-you-describe-the-culture-at-wellington-college">How would you describe the culture at Wellington College?</h2>



<p>We&#8217;re a values-based school that&#8217;s ambitious and aspirational. Kindness, courage, respect, responsibility and integrity have been woven into everything we do – from the pupil admissions to staff recruitment. Uniquely, we conduct a values-based interview. If the best candidate&#8217;s values are misaligned, they won&#8217;t get the job. </p>



<p>The second bit is I just want every child here to get to the end of their time, believing that they can achieve anything in life. And that seeps through into the way in which we do things here. So when a child comes up to us and says, you know, I&#8217;ve got an idea. Or a member a staff says, I&#8217;d quite like to do this, we will never, ever say, I&#8217;m afraid that&#8217;s not the Wellington way of doing things, we will always say, let&#8217;s see if we can make that happen and how that fits in.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-educational-exam-reform-do-you-want-to-see">What educational/ exam reform do you want to see?</h2>



<p>I sit on the Board of Trustees at AQA, and they are doing a lot of work in what online exams could look like. When you consider that A Level history looks and feels exactly as it did 120 years ago, in 2024, surely we could be doing things differently? There&#8217;s a whole piece around access to technology and equity, but the digitisation of exams is something I&#8217;m excited to see – it&#8217;s more inclusive and we are teaching young people who are digital natives. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vat-on-school-fees-is-the-hot-topic-what-advice-can-you-give-parents">VAT on school fees is the hot topic, what advice can you give parents?</h2>



<p>Engage in conversations with your child&#8217;s current school. All schools have been planning for this for ages, all schools are putting aside funds to support parents who need it, to ensure the children get through. In the medium to long term, no independent school wants to become a more exclusive, narrower social group of families and pupils. The perversity of this policy is that far from broadening educational routes, it is going to narrow them and make our sector even more exclusive. That&#8217;s really sad. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-you-maintain-diversity">How do you maintain diversity?</h2>



<p>There are many different types of diversity. Because we do the International Baccalaureate in Sixth Form, as well as A Levels, we&#8217;re very attractive to international students. So we get diversity through the fact that we have 35 to 40 different nationalities in the student body. On gender diversity, we will be 50:50 boys and girls by Sept 2025. I&#8217;ve converted a boys&#8217; boarding house into a girls&#8217; house, and we are building an 18th co-ed Sixth Form house slightly weighted in favour of girls. </p>



<p>Then there&#8217;s socio economic diversity. We have to do a lot of fundraising and use a significant proportion of our commercial revenue from our international schools to pay for socially transformative scholarships via our Prince Albert Foundation. Next year, we&#8217;ll have 38 students in the school who are on 110% scholarships, and these are children from disadvantaged or low income backgrounds. Many middle class families are being priced out as well. We offer a means tested bursary pot for those who need a bit of help to get over that line. We currently have over 125 students in the school who have some form of financial support to maintain that breadth of background diversity;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-re-given-a-1m-donation-what-will-you-spend-it-on">You’re given a £1m donation, what will you spend it on?</h2>



<p>For the last five years all our philanthropic work – the donations and gifts that we&#8217;ve been given from parents – have been funnelled into the Prince Albert Foundation, Wellington College&#8217;s socially transformative scholarship scheme. We&#8217;ve now got a pot of over £16 million, but we&#8217;re trying to get to £25 million. If I were given a £1 million tomorrow by parents, and they said you can spend it on whatever you want, that&#8217;s where it would go.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-describe-your-own-childhood-school-days">Describe your own childhood school days…</h2>



<p>I loved school, all the way through. I think that&#8217;s why I wanted to go into teaching. I always had a lot to say. I was a very good prep school boy. I was a bit naughty for a couple of years when I got to senior school, then thanks to some inspirational teachers who were part of my life, I got back on the straight and narrow. I moved to Haileybury School in Hertfordshire for sixth form and had two of the happiest years of my life there. I just did everything on offer at school: sport, music, academics, debating, Model United Nations – I just tried to get 100% value out of everything that I did. I want to provide that environment here at Wellington.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-was-the-common-theme-of-your-school-reports">What was the common theme of your school reports?</h2>



<p>Lots to say for himself. I mean that can be a really good thing, but it came up quite a bit.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1501" height="901" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/jesus-chimney-e1715942100480.jpg" alt="Jesus College Cambridge" class="wp-image-65698" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/jesus-chimney-e1715942100480.jpg 1501w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/jesus-chimney-e1715942100480-800x480.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/jesus-chimney-e1715942100480-1000x600.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/jesus-chimney-e1715942100480-400x240.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/jesus-chimney-e1715942100480-768x461.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1501px) 100vw, 1501px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jesus College, Cambridge University </figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-did-you-go-to-uni-what-did-you-study-and-your-high-and-low-of-student-life">Where did you go to uni, what did you study – and your high and low of student life</h2>



<p>I read Classics at Jesus College, Cambridge. There are so many highs. I met Queen Elizabeth when she opened our new library. I had a lot of fun playing a lot of sport and represented the university in rugby and cricket – Second Team level, so I never got to Blue. The low? Losing the under 21s varsity match in 1997 by one point when Oxford kicked a penalty goal with the last play. We were winning until that point.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-weren-t-a-head-what-would-you-be">If you weren’t a head, what would you be?</h2>



<p>I can&#8217;t quite believe I&#8217;m gonna say this – club DJ. I still have my decks and about 4,000 records. My mum said to me, &#8216;You&#8217;re probably the only person in the history of our nation to get to the end of university and genuinely way up a career as a DJ or Latin teacher&#8217;. My DJ name? DJ Dahl.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-funniest-story-from-your-teaching-career">Funniest story from your teaching career</h2>



<p>Oh, God. This is a totally true story. In my very first lesson as a teacher, I was asked by a Y10 boy called Marcus if I was related to Roald Dahl. It was a question I had been asked all throughout my childhood, and I always said no. When Marcus asked me this question, I flippantly replied, &#8216;Yes I&#8217;m Roald Dahl&#8217;s grandson and Sophie&#8217;s my cousin. Did you know <em>James and the Giant Peach</em> was actually written for me when I was born?&#8217; </p>



<p>Two days later, on the third day of my teaching career, I was walking through the front quarter of Brighton College, and Anthony Seldon, beckons me over to meet Marcus&#8217;s parents. They couldn&#8217;t believe that I was the grandson of Roald Dahl. They used to live next door to the author in Great Missenden, were great family friends and asked if we had met at the funeral. I had to fess up and say no, and never, ever, ever again have I pretended to be Roald Dahl&#8217;s relative.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1499" height="998" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/les-miserables-barricades-e1715942255475.jpg" alt="Les Miserables Musical" class="wp-image-65700" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/les-miserables-barricades-e1715942255475.jpg 1499w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/les-miserables-barricades-e1715942255475-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/les-miserables-barricades-e1715942255475-1000x666.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/les-miserables-barricades-e1715942255475-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/05/les-miserables-barricades-e1715942255475-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1499px) 100vw, 1499px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hit musical <em>Les Miserable </em></figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-play-book-and-film-should-be-on-every-child-s-cultural-bucket-list">What play, book and film should be on every child’s cultural bucket list?</h2>



<p>Play? I&#8217;m gonna go for a musical &#8211; <em>Les Miserables</em>. The book I keep going back to is <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> – it&#8217;s a real exploration of what it means to be human and the power of compassion. The film? <em>Shawshank Redemption</em>. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advice-you-d-give-your-younger-self-and-your-current-students">Advice you’d give your younger self – and your current students?</h2>



<p>To my younger self, I&#8217;d say, don&#8217;t be in a rush. Like many young people I was wanted to get stuff done and to be promoted. We&#8217;re all going to be working until we&#8217;re 70+, so take your foot off the accelerator and enjoy the journey.</p>



<p>For the young of today – find out who you are and always be your authentic self. I was introduced to a brilliant Jewish proverb about five or six years ago, which simply says, &#8216;If I pretend to be them, then who will be me?&#8217; That says it all.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hungry-for-more">Hungry for more?</h2>



<ul>
<li><em>Read the new Muddy review of Wellington College <a href="https://berkshire.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/wellington-college-crowthorne/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</em></li>



<li><em>Wellington&#8217;s Sixth Form team talk about <a href="https://berkshire.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/parenting-life/why-moving-school-at-sixth-form-is-a-savvy-move-for-teens/">why moving school at Sixth Form is a savvy move for teens.</a></em></li>
</ul>


Head’s up: Muddy meets James Dahl of Wellington College

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