We speak to Adam Pettitt, Head Teacher at Highgate School, to find out a little it more about the school?s core values and how it prepares pupils for the future
How long have you been at the school"
I joined Highgate as Head in 2006. I was touched to have some congratulations on ?LinkedIn? from alumni who joined me that year (as pupils!): we wondered where the time had flown. Highgate is the kind of dynamic school which constantly evolves, so it doesn?t ever feel as though your job is done.
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the school"
We were founded in 1565 by a Tudor bigwig in the legal world, Sir Roger Cholmeley, who lived in Highgate. After a couple of quiet centuries, pootling along as a small grammar school where the Headmaster spent as much time running the chapel as the school, our destiny changed with the arrival of Dr John Dyne, Head Master for over thirty years in the mid-19th century: the school grew hugely, the well-known Victorian buildings replaced the Elizabethan school house and a reputation for academic excellence was established. In the 21st century, we became a co-educational school and are now well-established as a school welcoming both girls and boys, in equal numbers. Highgate School?s pupil-founded Random Acts of Kindness Society (photograph taken before Covid-19 social distancing restrictions)
What do you believe your school does particularly well"
We don?t let exams determine what we teach and how, so that our pupils...