Tony Little, celebrated Headmaster of Eton College, has retired to become Chief Education Officer at a chain of independent schools.
Eton College has said goodbye to “one of the very greatest Head Masters” in nearly seven centuries of history, according to its Provost, Lord Waldegrave. Tony Little retired this summer after 13 years to become Chief Education Officer of Gems, an international chain of independent schools.
“Eton was a fine school when he took it over. But it is a much better school now,” said Lord Waldegrave. “He saw what we could be, if we added humanity to excellence.”
Little, who spoke in depth last September to the Windsor, Maidenhead and Ascot Magazine, is one of the most sophisticated, progressive thinkers in British education. A tireless advocate of strong modern boarding schools, he believes passionately in expanding the boarding experience beyond its traditional parameters. During his tenure Eton became the sole educational sponsor of nearby Holyport College, a state-funded free school for both day pupils and boarders.
“If a boarding school is good, the experience can be transformative,” he told the magazine. “That’s why we’re solidly behind Holyport. We want to spread the benefits of a boarding education to families who may not be able to afford the fees for a school like Eton.
“Eton itself has offered scholarships since 1440, so we’ve had a mixture of boys from the outset. The ultimate aim would be for the school to be needs-blind. That is to say, to be able to take any boy who was suitable, with the appropriate character and ability, without his needing to worry about the financial wherewithal.”
The son of a Heathrow security guard, Little himself attended Eton on a bursary, before winning a choral scholarship to Cambridge. His teaching career included a stint at Tonbridge School in Kent and the headmastership of Oakham School, Rutland, and he has recently published a book: An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Education.
His new empoyer, the Gems group, runs more than 50 schools in 19 countries, including India, Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda and Switzerland.
From September, Eton’s Head Master will be its former Head of History Simon Henderson, who leaves his post as the innovative Head of Bradfield College, near Reading.