Headington is a vibrant and welcoming school set in 23 acres of playing fields and grounds. Educating girls aged three to 18, it provides a supportive environment where individuals come first and is renowned for its commitment to academic excellence, pastoral support and an extensive range of extra-curricular opportunities. The School was founded in 1915 as an independent school with a Church of England Foundation. Today, Headington pupils face very different challenges and the School aims to enable them to develop the thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills they need to help explore their potential and achieve more than they thought possible.

With its Future Ready Girls strategy, Headington plans to further develop the breadth of choice for its girls, enabling them to follow a path that both suits their academic aspirations and satisfies their natural curiosity and passions. Students will be encouraged to take appropriate risks and to embrace the learning opportunities from experiencing failure within a supportive environment; to welcome problem-solving opportunities which can be unravelled by thinking creatively and working collaboratively with others. In doing so, Headington will equip its girls so they are future ready, fully prepared to take on the challenges they may face and to thrive, wherever life takes them.

Looking to the future, it was recently announced that Headington is to merge with its neighbour Rye St Antony in 2024. This is therefore a time of significant and exciting change in which the School will expand to over 1,300 pupils, including 200 boarders, operating a new co-educational prep school and a girls-only senior school. This comes following a period of substantial investment in the facilities at Headington, including the recently completed Creativity and Innovation Centre and Rowing Boathouse. 

Headington School is seeking a new Governor with a broad commercial property or surveying background to join its Governing Council. Following the recent announcement that Headington is to merge with its neighbour Rye St Antony in 2024, the appointed individual will make a valuable and important contribution at a time of significant change as the School expands to over 1300 pupils, including 200 boarders, operating a new co-educational prep school and a girls-only senior school.

In conjunction with other Governors, the individual will support the Board and the Senior Leadership Team with the development of a strategic site masterplan for three campuses spread over nearly 38 acres in Oxford, as well as oversee the development of an environmental and sustainability strategy for the new school. Additionally, having invested over £20m in improving the facilities of the School over the last 10 years, including the recently completed Creativity and Innovation Centre and Rowing Boathouse, the appointed individual will play a key role in determining Capital investment priorities for the new merged school. This is a key advisory role at one of the most important and exciting times in the history of the School.

In parallel, the appointed individual will also contribute to the wider work of the Governing Council in ensuring the School meets its mission to provide the necessary education, training and support to enable all pupils to develop their potential as individuals (to be Creative, Confident, Compassionate, Courageous, Collaborative and Curious) and thereby ensure they are ‘Future ready’ when they leave Headington so they will be able to take their place in society and be effective Contributors to it.

As it prepares to merge with its neighbouring school, Rye St Antony, Headington School is seeking a new Governor with a broad commercial property or surveying background to join its Governing Council.

The Governor (Property / Estates) will be either a chartered surveyor or individual with relevant commercial property experience, such that they are able to contribute to the strategic development of the School's Site Master Plan and identification of capital investment priorities. The successful candidate should ideally have broad commercial experience, encompassing building development, acquisitions, contracting and disposals. They could have served as a senior executive overseeing a property portfolio within a large complex organisation or they may be in private practice as a surveyor. Experience within the education sector is not required, nor is a connection with either Headington School or Rye St Antony. The position is open to individuals considering their first position as a non-executive.

In line with the School's policy, applications will not be open to parents of current pupils apart from those in U6 form. Applicants from Headington Connect, the school’s Alumni Association, are welcomed.

The Governing Council (‘Governing Board’) of currently 11 members is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of Headington School. In 2024, the existing Governors will be joined by four Governors from Rye St Antony to form the new combined Governing Council of the merged school, Headington Rye Oxford Ltd.

The Council is supported by the following sub-committees: Development; Education; Finance and General Purposes; Governance and Nominations; Remuneration.

A list of the current Governors can be found here.  

The role is unremunerated but travel expenses are reimbursed. The appointment is for a three-year term which can be renewed for a maximum period of nine years. The appointed Governor will attend three full Council meetings and three sub-committee meetings per year and, where required, annual training day, half-day strategic review and conversation in between meetings. Governors are also expected to make school visits, preferably one in the autumn and one in the spring term as part of their duties and are welcome and encouraged to attend school events to support the school.

Applicants are not required to live locally, but Board and committee meetings, as well as events are held in school. Applicants will therefore need to be able to travel to Oxford so that they can attend.

Headington School welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, belief or disability. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.