Dorset, Somerset &amp; Bristol

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-Ed.jpg" alt="headmaster hazlegrove school somerset" class="wp-image-100570" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-Ed.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-Ed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-Ed-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-Ed-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-Ed-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



How long you have been at the school?



Two years.



What are the top 3 things to tackle in your inbox?



VAT on school fees, and how we mitigate it. The future of Common Entrance. Combatting social media.



30 second elevator pitch for your school – sell it!



We are a truly all-round school, combining strong academics with a wealth of opportunity across Sport, Music, Drama and the Arts. We are blessed with beautiful, spacious grounds in the heart of Somerset that provide a wonderful sense of adventure and discovery for our boarders and day children alike.



You’ve been given a £1m donation for the school, what will you spend it on?



A solar panel field, thereby removing all electricity costs and helping protect parents from fee inflation.



Describe what’s on your work desk…



Calendar of family photos, marking, Senior School references.



And what’s in the top drawer?



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A cricket ball and a bag of strawberry foam shrimps.



Who would you like to star as you in a movie of your life?



Eddie Redmayne.



Describe your own childhood school days



Lots of sport and music, and great outdoor adventures with my friends.



What was the common theme of your school reports?



Hard-working and diligent.



Favourite/worst teachers at your childhood school and why?



Mr Dunhill, a brilliant maths teacher, who had a knack of making the subject feel both easy and fun. I didn’t have a bad teacher.



Best and worst subject at school?



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/map-5653498_1920-jill-from-pixabay.jpg" alt="map" class="wp-image-101159" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/map-5653498_1920-jill-from-pixabay.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/map-5653498_1920-jill-from-pixabay-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/map-5653498_1920-jill-from-pixabay-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/map-5653498_1920-jill-from-pixabay-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/map-5653498_1920-jill-from-pixabay-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo Jill from Pixabay</figcaption></figure>



Best: Geography – I loved everything to do with maps, and physical change. Worst: Physics – I could not get my head around it.



Where did you go to uni and what did you study?



Durham University, where I took Spanish with Russian and Economics.



What was your high and low of student life?



High: playing hockey for the university, on and off the pitch. Low: Not doing nearly enough work



If you weren’t a Head, what would you be?



Calm, rested and relaxed.



What’s the best school trip (childhood or current) you’ve ever been on?



Year 8 Leavers’ Trip 2024 – camping, gorge walking, sailing and kayaking in Cornwall – absolutely brilliant!



What play, book and film should be on every child’s cultural bucket list?



Play: Noises Off. Book: The Hobbit. Film: Empire of the Sun.



Tell us your favourite books – in childhood, uni and now



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="749" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-books.jpg" alt="the hobbit, the beach, born to run books" class="wp-image-100574" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-books.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-books-800x399.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-books-1000x499.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-books-400x200.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/09/00-hazlegrove-head-books-768x383.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



The Hobbit by J R Tolkien, The Beach by Alex Garland, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.



If you want to hide from the kids and staff for half an hour, where do you go?



Running around the local country lanes



The song you sing at full volume when everyone’s gone home?



Northern Attitude by Noah Kahan.



What advice would you give to your younger self?



Don’t waste a single day or a single opportunity.



And your current students?



Don’t waste a single day or a single opportunity, and, when you get older and feel that you need a phone, remember to put it away, there is so much more to life.



<a href="https://www.hazlegrove.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hazlegrove Prep </a>is an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged two to 13 years at Sparkford, not far not from Sherborne and Yeovil. <a href="https://dorsetsomerset.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/muddy-best-schools-hazlegrove-prep/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read our review</a>, find about upcoming <a href="https://www.hazlegrove.co.uk/admissions/open-days" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">open days</a> or call the school on 01963 442606 or email <a href="mailto:admissions@hazlegrove.co.uk">admissions@hazlegrove.co.uk</a> to arrange a personal tour.

Head’s Up: Muddy meets Ed Benbow of Hazlegrove Prep, Sparkford

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