Claire Oulton

Claire read History at Oxford and then did her PGCE at King’s College, London. Her first teaching post was at Benenden and after four years there she moved to Charterhouse to become Head of History.

In 1994, at the age of 32, she was appointed Head of St Catherine’s, Bramley (750 pupils 4-18, day and boarding), and in 2000 she was asked to return to Benenden (550 pupils, 11-18, all boarding) as Headmistress, a post which she held for 14 years. During her time as Head of Benenden, Claire helped to set up a 3-19 Academy in Ashford. Much as she enjoyed headship, Claire decided that 20 years was a perfect stint and so decided to step down in 2014. She is now our Head of Leadership Appointments, leading the team which appoints heads to UK schools. She is also the Series Editor of the highly acclaimed RSAcademics’ Ten Trends reports.

In addition to her work at RSAcademics, Claire is on the Governing Body of Westminster School and chairs their Education Committee.

Email: ClaireOulton@rsacademics.com