Emanuel - new Head?

[OvalOpal]

We are considering Emanuel for 10+ entry but are concerned about the change of Head. We’ve heard on the grapevine there may be an internal successor. Any thoughts from current Emanuel parents?

I am mindful that you can’t bank on a Head staying in any situation but the current Head seems to have been instrumental in enhancing the school’s results etc.

Most London heads seem to shift every 10 years. Francis Holland, Putney, St.Paul girls, SHHS, JAG, Ibstock.

Thanks for raising this question as I have the same thought. Would love to hear from other parents at the school and to know if they think this will impact the school positively or not.

It’s not a rumour , an email went out re the in the internal successor after extensive search. He’s average! Milne going to Dulwich

Milne going to Dulwich and the previous head was moved due to an incident as reported in FT newspaper and other press, so Dulwich have an interim headteacher until Sept 2025. Heard Emanuel have a new head that is a deputy head at Emanuel, so he worked under Milne and came from Hampton Boys school. The London coed schools have a few new coed schools without track records and the established ones: Latymer, Highgate, Alleyn, Emanuel, Ibstock and Harrodian. The safer route is apply to a few and seat the exams and see which offers you get. Go to Offer days, talk and check the school out. The new coed like Wetherby Senior and Thomas Senior would be quite slick with their marketing due to the backing of the private equity companies and capital from the finance world versus those schools with decades of education. So spend time at offers days seeing pupils, and talk to teachers etc.

Hi what do you mean by the new head of Emanuel is average? We heard pretty bad feedback on him when he was head of pastoral but that was from one child so would love other perspectives. Thanks

Don’t think there are many child on MN posts. Maybe ask current parents? One kid perspective may not be viable as a yardstick. We heard that he has given warnings and sanctions due to bad behaviours. Though that seems general in coed secondary schools compare to primary. We know kids in Latymer being given warning about behaviour in class etc same as Emanuel such as caught cheating in tests. Sorry can’t answer those questions from current parents, though a good yardstick is knowing how many parents sending their DC siblings because they like the school and how many leave the school to other London day schools or boarding from Year 7 to Year 9.

Current parent - new headteacher is part of the senior management team (who are all really good) currently and has had a high profile in the school. He seems very professional and I think that not much will change when he is headteacher as he has been part of the SMT which has seen the big improvement in exam results. Mr Milne is a wonderful headteacher but I always thought he would leave at some point to a boys school (having come from Kings College).

I am also a parent, the announcement has been a surprise for us/around us. It was, sadly, not welcomed by my child and friends. We have been there a number of years but somehow I don't have any opinion, apart from coming across as professional and hard working, but does not appear the sort of head of pastoral that kids would go to willingly if they had an issue.
whilst the school has massively improved since Mr Milne took over, further improvement on matters of SEN/neurodiversity and Inclusion would be welcome.

Watching as we are considering Emanuel for DC2 (if an offer is forthcoming…! ) Would love to hear further views from current parents as it sounds mixed so far…

been happy with the school so far. our children have been very engaged with the sports, all arts/creative subjects, latin are excellent and embraced. generally very friendly/community feel, great friends, some truly engaged and inspiring teachers. very busy/dynamic/ambitious and entrepreneurial school, I am not expecting major changes coming with the new headship.
On the SEN side of things, whilst it was not our situation, applying with SEN does not, sadly, feel encouraged/welcome compared to other similarly academically selective London day schools who appear more open/may have a better understanding, more inclusive. also hearing of unusual policies in regard to assessments (dyslexia, ADHD, ASD...). However, those children who get in appear to be well supported.

I suspect it has not caught up yet with that side of education and/or the times yet, due to the focus on turning around the school and putting it "up there", which has now been achieved, so hopefully the SEN area will also improve in line with the rest so far, as it would benefit greatly the entire community.

Thank you @11plusNewbie - that’s great to hear

Know a few kids there who aren’t all too excited about the new head, but kids never are… I think he’ll be great, he’s a member of SMT (they’re all rather senior and experienced)

He is an unpopular choice among students and parents. So unpopular that on Instagram whenever he appears a host of students and parents comment so negatively they have to switch the comments off. Best mates with the current head - wonder how he got the job? My advice would be to abandon ship now before Celine Dion starts piping up…

I agree with the fact he is not popular at all with the children nor with parents who don't really know him or rate him. the announcement was a bit of a disappointment, however the school is unlikely/unexpected to change much which I guess has pros and cons.
I also agree with the SEN policy being a little odd/old fashion, thank god for the wonderful teachers who work positively with the children on a daily basis

So, you think that the governors of Emanuel School picked him because he's best mates with the outgoing head. What a weird post.

I hear the new parent evenings are under way at Emanuel. What does everyone think of the new head and the new deputy head? This is my worry as I had older friends who used to go to Emanuel and they really like the old headmaster and deputy head.

I am not a fan of the new Head and know parents and students at the school who agree. Lots of kids left when he was appointed. Anecdotally, he treats staff very badly and is rude. His appointment went down like a lead balloon with the staff/kids. He has pulled lots of ‘Ed Davey’ style stunts recently to prove he is a nice guy - dressing up as a fairy/posting silly videos online - but I am not sure the kids are buying it. I agree there is a nepotistic element to his appointment and am not sure how well qualified he is for the role. Ultimately the staff are fab and the kids will pull through I am sure, so let’s focus on the positives in spite of it all.

All seems good so far. Seems to be following on from the work of Mr Milne and consolidating on what he achieved. I feel sorry for anyone who is a headteacher these days- have kids at other schools and some of the vitriol from the parents is hideous.

Current parent here. I don’t recognise some of the comments from myfirmolivebee. New head is very much about continuity of the progress the school made under the leadership of the previous head, of which the new head played a key role on the SLT for best part of six years. His new term letter went down well with parents and he is pushing a key message for all kids to strive to be ACE - have ambition, be communicative and have empathy - solid values in my book. The school is thriving and I have very happy children there enjoying a well rounded education.

Another current parent here. He's not popular with some of the kids and my DD says he's 'unfriendly', unlike Milne who had a reputation for being the opposite.
However, some parents might be displaying a bit of unconscious bias by questioning his ability because he's a person of colour.

So many unpleasant comments here. Sounds like a hatchet job if ever I heard one.