Current Eton parents

[TonTonMacoute]

I was wondering if anyone knows what is happening with the headmaster.

Just curious really, as DS left in 2017, but I would be interested to hear the latest.

Feel free to PM if you don't want to say on the public boards.

Hey, did you get any intell on this?

I have had some PMs, yes.

Anything you can post here?

Well, I would be sharing information that other Mumsnetters sent me privately, which I prefer not to do.

There was nothing juicy, but I understand that Simon Henderson is back working at the school atm, having taken extended leave for health reasons.

DS's last 2 years at school overlapped with SH, and I am willing to share the fact that I was most definitely not a fan!

Are you willing to share why you weren’t a fan?

Well he’s aggressively ‘woke’ so that’s not in his favour for a start!

Met him and Tony Little several times at school functions. SH was cold, aloof, arrogant, woke, his behaviour verged on outright bullying at times, especially regarding Will Knowland. He didn't seem that interested in the boys,and certainly wasn't interested in meeting the parents. A stark contrast to his predecessor.

I got the impression he thought he could completely change the school into something it wasn't, at times it seemed like he actually would have been happy to destroy it. The sooner he goes the better IMO,

During my visits there , I think he seemed to be less aproachable than his predecessors & the Provosts of the past 50 years or even a Commidore or Brigadier. He had his expensive box at Lord's during Eton & Harrow match in May2022 while his Deputy & the Boys were in the terraces . An autocratic predecessor who came in from Bradfield did not last long at EC . Others might have different perspectives of him ,
but that was my experience of him .

I heard an account of him dealing with a BAME or an ethnic minority boy on a bursary who had been summoned f bullying & badly injuring a white boy . Apparently there was no redress & it seemed that he was too frightened of being called a racist or being disrespectful to a boy on a bursary even though the bully was apparently seriously in the wrong . It appalled the staff who felt that they had " a bad taste in their mouths " . As a result , he lost the regard of one of his fans whom I know quite well .

His handling of Will Knowland in 2020 , coinciding with the obnoxious episode of Matthew Mowbray was marmite & polarising f the Eton community . It shows that the culture of modernism , trendiness & wokery promises a happy community or society of nobody taking offense at anything , but instead encourages people to be more prickly & to take offense more easily & more quickly . Rather telling , I think .

The culture seems to have shifted back towards elitism and financial drivers and away from sharing and community. Almost as though someone has a consultant in to claw back the VAT impact.

If they can claw back some VAT ,
perhaps somecof it could go to supplement bursaries f financially less able parents of successful candidates .

In spite of having taught at the school previously he seemed to have no understanding of the importance of the traditions of school governance. I think people assume that it's all very old fashioned and irrelevant, but in fact those traditions mean that all levels of the school, including the house masters, the boys the whole OE organisation and even the non-academic staff, had a real say in many important issues affecting the way it is run.

In spite of making a big show of moving his office away from the traditional head man's office, he didn't want to listen to anyone else and sought to impose his wishes for change without even seeking, let alone winning over, a consensus.

I am relieved he is leaving and hope the next head will be more in the mould of Tony Little.

He took over the Geography Schools where he set up the Management Team's Offices . Apparently , the Boys nicknamed it the " Management Training Centre " .