Welcome to 2023!

Today in 2023, eight years into this eventful journey, helping students realise their highest aspirations remains at the heart of Dukes – and it’s still what motivates me and our incredible Board. Throughout my own involvement in finance, the military and sport, I’ve been inspired by many great individuals, and I wanted to give others the same chance to overcome obstacles and succeed.

I was blown away by the recent ‘Leading with Heart’ team conference at Wembley Stadium. The quality of speakers was truly superb but equally your participation and engagement spoke volumes about our team’s continuous drive to keep learning. What really stood out for me was how everyone came together to support the day from the preparation, organising transport (given the train strikes), to the many volunteers at the welcome desk, the care for our guest speakers, to serving each other for lunch. Like the Japanese fans who stayed behind to clean all of the stands at the football World Cup, it’s a clear demonstration of our values. It’s a statement about respect, gratitude and attention to detail. The small things are the biggest indicator of the big things: our values and culture. For us, the Dukes values of We love learning, alongside We lead with heart, We’re a team and We do it well were clearly evident on that day and can also be seen across this annual report. As the saying goes, culture eats strategy for breakfast. And despite our meteoric growth, I am so so pleased the culture of Dukes is shining bright.

This report gives a small insight into the exceptional work that goes on across the group. Congratulations to you and particularly to our pupils. I am constantly impressed and inspired by all the individuals from all across the Dukes family who have gone above and beyond. The annual awards 2022 saw a record level of nominations, which highlights the culture of high performance and inspiring stories we have. There are so many wonderful stories of academic success, pastoral brilliance and co-curricular variety that is enriching a child’s education across our schools. I am particularly pleased with the launch of the Dukes Club, rebranding of Little Dukes and Dukes Plus, the continuous growth of the learning & development programmes and engagement in the Dukes Hub (which I hope will have a physical space later this year!), our investment into the Dukes Foundation and sustainability promises.

While our mission is simple, making it a reality however can be complex. Education is a multifaceted process that begins at birth and never ends. Indeed it’s increasingly understood that children need support throughout their entire infancy and youth to really achieve their best as adults. That’s why Dukes now covers every age group from birth to 18 years, across a variety of Little Dukes settings, schools, colleges and Dukes Plus. It’s our breadth and depth in the quality of provision and exceptional people that makes us unique amongst our competitors. The all-through model, relentless focus on the pupil, long-term thinking with a decentralised structure empowering each of the settings to be the very best they can be is genuinely distinctive.

This is the model where our focus will lie over the coming years.

We have set about five strands to our flywheel being:

5. Acting as a responsible organisation

How we re-invest into our educational settings, the Dukes Foundation and sustainability initiatives

1. Operational resilience

Ensuring we have the right structures, resources and settings to succeed

Dukes Flywheel

4. Quality of product

Making our teaching and learning experience for our pupils extraordinary

2. World-class admissions

Providing exceptional customer ser vices

3. Having the best sta

Caring, supporting and rewarding our most important asset

To play a part in the future of so many young people is a tremendous privilege; it’s also a huge honour to work alongside such an extraordinary family of expert educators. Without the experience, knowledge and skills of our fantastic leaders and teachers, spread over 43 institutions, the Dukes family would not be able to inspire our students and parents in the same way. They come to us because they believe in what we offer: the best educational support at any age. It is by honouring that promise in the years ahead that we will continue to succeed – and take our group to great heights.

We have a clear strategy to fulfil our ambitious vision. With what I have witnessed over the last 12 months,

I am seriously excited about this year. It’s time to be brave, face the elements and thrive. We remain humble and with a desire to do better. I am privileged to have the opportunity to lead this organisation, so a big ‘thank you’.

Let’s go! Welcome to 2023!

Aatif Hassan Chairman & Founder of Dukes