Case study: UK Leadership Appointments
Our approach
We are experts in headship search and selection across the UK and worldwide. As one of the UK’s foremost headship appointment companies we have assisted hundreds of Governing Bodies and educational organisations with the appointment of their Chairs, CEOs, Heads, Deputy Heads and Bursars.
A snapshot of some of our UK appointments is provided below which gives you a glimpse of the breadth and range of our headship recruitment work. For each of these schools, we started by listening very carefully to our clients and understanding the profile and skills of the ideal candidates. We put together our search strategy for the post which, in each case, took us across the UK and internationally, opting for quality rather than quantity in our search.
For each school, we produced a field of impressive individuals with the particular skills required. Our own robust preliminary interviews led to our recommendation that the first round of Governor interviews should include six to eight of the strongest candidates. We then assisted the Governors with those interviews and with reducing the field to three to four candidates for the final round of interviews.
For all the interviews, we provided strong discriminator questions, presentation topics and tasks which enabled the selection of the most outstanding candidate.
We liaised very closely with the candidates throughout this process to ensure that they remained enthusiastic and excited about the opportunity. In each case, the post was offered to and accepted by the Governors’ chosen top candidate from a strong and exciting field.
A small selection of some of our completed appointments
Sherborne Girls: Dr Ruth Sullivan, Deputy Head at Haileybury
St Paul’s School for Girls: Sarah Fletcher, Head of City of London Boys’ School
Henrietta Barnett School: Clare Wagner, Head of West London Free School
Queen Margaret’s, York: Sue Ballie, Pastoral Director at The Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham: Kirsty von Malaise, Head of Norwich High School
Queen’s Chester: Sue Wallace-Woodroffe, Head of Princess Helena College
Alleyn’s School: Jane Lunnon, Head, Wimbledon High School
King’s College School, Wimbledon: Dr Anne Cotton, Head of Portsmouth Grammar School
Westminster School: Gary Savage, Head of Alleyn’s School
George Watson’s College (3 appointments):
- Principal, Melvyn Roffe
- Head of Senior School, Gordon Boyd
- Head of Junior School, George Salmond
St Aloysius, Glasgow: Matthew Bartlett, Head at Dover Grammar School for Girls
Exeter School: Louise Simpson, St Paul’s School, Brazil
Wycombe Abbey: Jo Duncan, Head, The Royal High School for Girls
To discuss the needs of your school
Email Claire Oulton, Head of UK Leadership Appointments, at claireoulton@rsacademics.com, and Angela Short, Head of Search, at angelashort@rsacademics.com