Communications from the Chairman

Extract from Chairman’s Speech for Speech Day at Cranleigh School Sunday 3rd July 2011

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls and welcome to Cranleigh School for Speech Day 2011.

We are going to follow our usual format today, but I personally will do something a little different. Those of you who attended last year will recall that the Headmaster announced that he will be retiring in July 2014. That is now only three years away, which is not much in the life of a busy school. Many of you will still have children here after that and even those who won’t would I hope be interested, so I have agreed with the Headmaster that I should tell you something of how the Governors intend to go about appointing his successor.

I think I can most usefully divide this into three parts. The first concerns our philosophy. The Governors believe that during Guy Waller’s headship Cranleigh School has improved very considerably in every way capable of measurement and many that aren’t. We think that is largely due to the distinctive ethos and style of the School that has developed over the period. That ethos has served the School very well and the most tangible evidence of how well it is regarded is the growing number of parents who want to send their children to this School. We have no intention therefore of changing that ethos so, in seeking the headmaster’s successor, we will be looking for someone who can readily identify with it and can build on the firm foundations that have now been laid.

The second part is the process. The appointment is of course exclusively a decision for the Governing Body as a whole, but there are over 20 of us and that is too large a group to supervise the selection process. I will therefore be appointing a committee of experienced governors before the end of this calendar year to help me with that process. The first thing that that committee will do is interview a number of the best head-hunting firms in the educational sector, going on to appoint whichever one we believe will best help us achieve our aims. I have no doubt that the considerable success of Cranleigh School in recent years should ensure a strong field of applicants, but we do not wish to leave anything to chance; the only way of being sure that we have left no stone unturned is to use top class professionals who do this sort of work day in, day out. We will of course be guided by them on the timing, but it would be our hope that we could announce the new head early in the Lent term of 2013.

The third part is the preparation. Taking over as the new head of a large, busy, but above all successful boarding school such as Cranleigh is a pretty daunting undertaking as Guy can no doubt attest. That process can be greatly facilitated if there is an established and experienced senior management team already in place to assist. Cranleigh is fortunate in that respect and in particular to have Mr Andrew Griffiths as deputy head. The plan is that Andrew will himself be retiring a year after Guy, which would then allow him to see in the new head and then gracefully depart. The new head would then appoint a new deputy at the end of his or her first year in office. Andrew will also be ideally placed to lead the preparations for the celebration of Cranleigh’s 150th anniversary in 2015, something it would be pretty tough to expect a brand new head to do!

In order to prepare Andrew as well as possible for these very important tasks we are doing two things. The first is that we are going to send him off to help him complete his Doctorate of Philosophy in New Zealand vulcanology. Sadly this has been an all-too-topical subject in the last few months. Andrew and Lesley will be departing for New Zealand very shortly, returning to the UK in December. Tim McConnell –Wood will therefore enhance his senior management experience by moving up to take the role of deputy headmaster.

In the Lent term of next year we intend to kill two birds with one stone, if I may put it that way. Many of you will be aware that the Cranleigh Foundation has achieved great things since its foundation in 2007, raising well over £3 million for the benefit of both the senior and the prep school. There is however much unfinished business on its part, as I suspect there always will be. So, in order to widen the net beyond these shores of Old Cranleighans who have so positively re-engaged with their old school, we think it is time to broaden our efforts to the United States and Australia, where many Old Cranleighans have settled and built very successful careers. When it comes to choosing the most effective and influential ambassador for the School, there can be no doubt that it is the Headmaster who best fits the bill, especially one who has presided over such a successful period for the School. We will therefore be despatching Guy Waller to both coasts of the USA and then on to Australia during the Lent term next year.

You will already have worked out that the second “bird” is putting Andrew Griffiths into the position of Acting Head for that term, further enhancing the operational experience he will be able to offer the new head on his or her arrival just over two years later. Those of you who have ever been an acting chief executive will appreciate that it is a lot less stressful if your boss isn’t present on a daily basis to scrutinise your every move; it will give Andrew an insight second to none on what is required in running all aspects of this school!

That will I trust have given you a reasonable idea of what will happen and I hope I haven’t overburdened you with too much information. I do however remember being told on taking the chair of Governors that the most important task I would ever have to undertake is the appointment of a new head. I am very well aware of it so I wanted to share with you all something of how we intend to go about it.

Anthony Townsend
3rd July 2011