Headmaster Kings Worcester

[Badgerooney]

Just reported in the local paper that the Headmaster has left suddenly before the start of term? Statement from the school didn’t offer any thanks etc does anyone know what’s happened? They have appointed an interim head while recruitment for a permanent replacement is underway.

Yes very interesting! Comments on Worcester News are being rapidly deleted!
I wonder if any parents know the inside story? It's all very odd.

I noticed most of the comments had been deleted on Worcester News. We are booked in for the upcoming open day and I’m not sure what to think of it. Seems like the school hasn’t been a happy place under his leadership.

My friend works there and is always taking about how awful he is. Wish I'd listened harder!

On the promotional side he always seemed to come across very well but it seems maybe that was a public persona and maybe there was another side? As I said, we are booked in to the open day and not sure whether it’s the right place to join.

We toured the school a while ago and he was friendly but a little snooty! He does come across well on camera or when representing the school.

Yes I agree, we have looked at a few schools and favour RGS at the moment but the VAT statement from Kings is making me wonder whether we should take a closer look. Just a bit unsettling with the head leaving so suddenly. Maybe we should stick with RGS.

He wasn’t universally liked. Big into PR and a little narcissistic, the headship is very much figure head. The school has a solid SLR in charge. He came up against parents who were much cleverer and worldly wise.
He wasn’t a patch on the previous two heads, one who retired after 12yrs service the other who was just making his mark when he sadly died suddenly and very unexpectedly after an accident. So no problem with the school pre the current head.
The acting head will be embraced with enthusiasm.
It’s safe to say that he is unlikely to find another headship.

I don’t think you should worry too much about the head leaving suddenly. Both schools have the usual problems because they are full of teenagers. The RGS head is a lovely man and although there is a local rivalry my DS’s friendship group ( they left 2023) is a mix from the two schools. Both schools produce well mannered, considerate young adults. They all go through the usual teenage problems but the ethos in the schools is very similar.
There are a lot of rumours banded around but like most educational institutes it is often only true of a very small number of pupils.
The head leaving has nothing to do with the school.
Do visit the school, the pupils do the tours and will answer questions. We chose it based on how the children came across rather than the glossy PR.

Thank you Angrymum22 that’s very reassuring. We will go for a second look and go from there. The entrance testing at Kings is in November this year so we won’t have the luxury of holding an offer from both schools then making a decision. I believe testing for both schools is usually in January so Kings must have decided to take a different approach this year.

I’d check the VAT for RGS first they’ve already had a large increase in fees for this September and apparently adding 17% in January. My child used to go to RGS but pulled them out at Christmas as we weren’t happy with how they dealt with bullying.

I'm not sure I would read too much into the school's announcement about him stepping down - the fact he's acknowledged at all in the announcement is an indication that he couldn't have departed on entirely negative terms: https://www.ksw.org.uk/a-new-acting-head-has-been-announced-at-the-kings-school-worcester/

Compare / contrast with the departure of the Head at Dulwich College in London who has decided to resign prematurely this summer, 1 year before his planned retirement, owing to his behaviour at a staff party (as has been reported in the press widely over the last week). He has pretty much been erased from the school website with no announcement about his departure whatsoever.

I have heard the rumours and have also read some of the comments by dissatisfied parents prior to deletion - some clearly feel very let down by the Head and the GB.

Bear in mind that finding, appointing and inducting a new Head is generally quite a lengthy process (especially now as it will be done under a microscope) and any required change also takes time. An Acting Head generally keeps the wheels in motion, rather than implementing change/new policy. Any uncertainty or conflict at the top can also cause a flurry of staff resignations, further disrupting learning.

There is a popular view that the King's VAT pledge is not sustainable, especially if they continue to lose pupils, so parents may get a shock down the line - pure speculation of course.

The PR machine at King's has been extremely active over the last four years, but some information reportedly did not stand up under scrutiny, so be sure to fact check anything important to your decision making.

RGS does have an amazing Head with a wonderful, calm leadership style and I think the school is currently outperforming both King's and Bromsgrove. If the numbers continue to increase as they have been though, there could soon be complaints from parents at RGS because there is definitely a physical limit to their capacity, and no obvious investment in new facilities.

Hope that helps.

Bobsfriend you make me smile. There has always been a bigger rivalry between RGS and King’s parents than between the children. Apart from the sports field.
The problem with looking at the academic achievement of the current cohort is that a lot can change from yr7-13. Kings suffered the tragic loss of a headmaster who was, like RGS’s head a quiet and effective figurehead. Then the pandemic hit so the staff, children and parents had no real contact with the new head for nearly 12 months.

With the ongoing restrictions, in such an extraordinary period I suspect he was given much more slack than he would normally have had. By his third year it became obvious that he was not the right fit.

I would caution against choosing a school based purely on academic achievement. Much better that it is the right fit for your child. Having supported DS through the last 4 yrs ( cancelled GCSEs and the grade debacle of Alevels), school was much more than results.

Honestly despite him not being everyone’s cup of tea it has not affected my childrens time at the school. The teaching staff are excellent, the SLT is strong. My children are genuinely so happy and achieving incredibly well! That is the most important thing. They would never consider being anywhere else. The friendships they have are amazing and that’s what makes a school… children who are happy and achieving.

Totally agree with the previous poster who said the rivalry between the two schools is mainly between the parents! The kids in both schools all socialise together and often switch between schools for 6th form with no problem.
The School will tick over just fine without the Doodes show and so far any children I have spoken to who attend the school are non plussed he has gone.
One thing I found quite strange is how the wife of the headmaster has an open social media profile where she calls herself ‘the head’s wife’. Does she not have her own persona? Was her entire identity that of her husband? Considering she is a ‘educational marketing specialist’ you would have thought she would have realised the archaic implications of such a name for her open profile!

I always found the "heads wife" handle odd and a bit cringe. We're at RGS but we wish the best for our neighbours.

Yes, there was an audible cringe amongst the parents at the couples very, in your face social media presence. It’s not really a school that runs on public social media, hence there is absolutely no mention of his leaving on the official FB site. I haven’t asked DS what the unofficial pupil sites contain. Never actually met her, he didn’t really put her on show at the smaller social events.

There is a very funny Instagram post on his site. Where he posts about the assembly where he talked about “likes” on social media and the effect on confidence and mental wellbeing. Every child that attended “liked” it, in minutes, after one pupil spotted it. A more than subtle dig at his preaching.
One thing that constantly irritated me was how he always referred to “my school” and “my pupils”.

I didn’t go to RGS so i’m not very good at maths but I heard they had 11% increase this term plus 20% when Starmer gets his way = shafted. But like I say my maths ain’t that good !

This awful man was full of his own self importance and everything he did was for his benefit and not the schools. In the time my DCs were at the school they had 3 heads at KSW. Mr Keyes was pretty much perfect, Mr Armstrong very focused on the academia and Mr Doodes focused on himself! Don’t let this dreadful man taint your view of KSW, it will be better now he has gone. The governors will have to choose the next head very carefully. The staff are wonderful and will flourish again now the Doodes dictatorship is over and the normal excellent schooling will resume. It was the best thing I did sending my three DC there. I sincerely hope that Doodesgate isn’t the downfall of Kings and that things get better.

Can’t agree with that at all. DH has very close connections with the school and has heard nothing negative.

The worst instagram post by far for me was “My queen meets my pupils” when Camilla came to the cathedral earlier this year. Just an awful self-publicist.

Well he must be the only one, unless the close connection your DH has is Mrs Doodes! I have heard nothing positive about Doodes -check out the comments on the Worcester News, oh sorry you can’t because 90% of the comments deleted were voicing negative opinions. I want the school to flourish and return to its former glory. The first step towards this as been taken - Doodes has gone, the next step is to appoint an excellent leader who has no skeletons in the closet!

www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/24547704.kings-school-worcester-headmaster-gareth-doodes-leaves/?cmpid=cmt#comments-anchor

I find the gossip the worst part. I spoke to lots of kids in my DS’s year today and they are truly not bothered, they were more upset that people will use this as a way of talking badly about their school that they love! They don’t want this to be used as a way of tainting the school they loved so much. Doodes in their minds was not part of that, they separate him from their own experience of kings. The school, the teachers and their friends. Altogether the best school experience possible. Doodes is aside to this, he didn’t interact with them and the school continues to have many many positives. Unfortunately what his stupid and immoral actions have resulted in is the opening of the flood gates for the haters to pick the school apart and that is really not fair on the staff or students who are going to be rebuilding and ultimately make Kings the great school that it is. NOT Gareth Doodes.

What exactly are his 'stupid and immoral' actions? I'm just wondering what he did specifically?
I understand his social media posts may be quite narcissistic, but that is often par for the course these days! I don't see a problem with referring to 'my pupils'.
There seems to be more to this than meets the eye, with all the deleted comments on WN. Was he more than just annoying? The rushed exit is highly suspicious.
I suspect it's a case of him being too woke? If that is the case then good riddance! Too much of that in schools these days.