Hurstpierpoint College

Hurst College is now one of the leading schools in the south east and that is down in no small part to the Principal, Tim Manly. Interview by Maarten Hoffmann

EVOLVING LEADERSHIP

Tim is vibrant, full of passion and experience, and demonstrates genuine care for every single pupil. This shines through in the exam results, the general wellbeing of the children and the steadily increasing reputation of the college. In short, he is the educational leader every progressive school would want.

But change is inevitable as there is the desire to move with the times and, perhaps, get ahead of the curve. For the past few years, Tim and the governors have been planning changes within the leadership of the school and the basic structure of the college.

Tim has now moved on to become the Principal of Hurst, with the former Head of the Senior School, Dominic Mott stepping in as Head of College and assuming many of Tim’s previous roles. This has allowed Tim to assume responsibility for the strategic direction, culture, operations, staff and the finances of the college – no small feat.

This change in roles also allows Tim to focus on the Hurst Multi-Academy Trust. Tim is only too aware that schools such as Hurst can tend to drift into becoming inward looking and rather detached from the wider world. Therefore, the Hurst Education Trust is growing rapidly with the aim of raising standards across all schools, and follows the government’s white paper which mandates that from 2030; all state schools should be part of such a Trust.

Never known for letting the grass grow under his feet, Tim grasped the baton, and the Trust already includes a number of local primary schools. This brings considerable benefits to all concerned and raises standards across the board whilst keeping Hurst in touch with the issues and problems faced outside the hallowed walls of the college. Tim has now become the CEO of the Trust, leading this initiative with a small team from the college.

The college also introduced a system of flexi-boarding some time ago, whereby parents can elect to have their children board several days a week, thus allowing busy parents to work unhindered whilst their children enjoy all the benefits of boarding but without the pain of leaving home. With the catchment area of the school generally being within an hour’s drive, it feels more like the fun of staying away for a few days rather than full boarding, and then the family is all together on a Friday evening to enjoy their time away from school and work.

Full weekly boarding is available, of course, but the deliberate decision not to have any international students leads to there being no full boarders in the school. The lack of any international students might seem foolhardy as the income that this generates is often irresistible for such schools.

❛❛ It left me with one overriding thought – why on earth didn’t l send my children to Hurst? ❜❜

However, that ignores the tremendous benefits that arise from having a local school for local children, thus generating a true sense of community, engagement and, certainly from what I have witnessed, a true spirit within the school that l have rarely seen elsewhere. There is an excellent range of foreign trips to ensure that pupils do not miss out on this international influence.

Further changes are reflected in the reshaping of the college structure. Instead of the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior School structure, the college has introduced a Junior Prep (Reception-Year 6), and a separate Senior Prep (Years 7 and 8) in recognition that 11-year-olds are too young to enter secondary school and much can be gained by having those years at the top of their prep school. This leaves them totally prepared for the senior school setting.

Hurst currently has almost 1,350 pupils with roughly an even split of boys and girls, aged 4-18 years. As with all good schools, the mental health of their students is taken very seriously, especially in light of the current mental health crisis the country is witnessing. Hurst goes one step further with the use of their Mind Clinic. Not for the use of the students, who are amply cared for, but for the staff.

As Tim said, “We often overlook the faculty when discussing this subject with such a strong focus on the children but as all adults know, we can also suffer from such issues. The Hurst Mind Clinic came about after a conversation between Tim and one of the parents, who ran the clinic for corporate organisations.

Tim immediately saw the benefits, and the clinic was introduced at Hurst. It allows any member of staff to attend and chat, totally anonymously, about any issues they face, be it at school

❛❛ As with all good schools, the mental health of their students is taken very seriously ❜❜

or in their private lives. As Tim says, “a healthy staff ensures a healthy student body”.

Having spent a couple of hours in Tim’s company, l was inspired by the care, attention to detail and genuine passion he has for the college and these recent changes can only be hugely beneficial for the school as long as Tim is in charge. It left me with one overriding thought – why on earth didn’t l send my children to Hurst?

Hurstpierpoint College, College Lane, Hurstpierpoint

www.hppc.co.uk

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