EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST WITH PRINCIPAL
Katherine Vintiner FROM HAMPTON COURT HOUSE SCHOOL, RICHMOND Nestled in Bushy Park on the south west London and Surrey borders, Hampton Court House is an awardwinning independent co-educational school for children from 2-18, educating children in pre-nursery to students in Year 13. The majority of their pupils select to stay on to complete their full education, enjoying great success in their GCSEs and A Levels. Principal Katherine Vintiner speaks to us about Hampton Court House’s purposeful informality, the school’s core ethos and values and provision for students wanting to attend from further afield.
making sure that we value each child as an individual. Our school is very much focused on the importance of relationships, allowing all children to find who they are, find their passion and fly. It’s also really important that Hampton Court House has a very small familyfeel to our community, where it’s not just about our children, it’s about our parents and our staff. Hampton Court, as you know, is a very special place that combines both academic achievement with a small nurturing environment. I think that all of my past experiences in the wide variety of sectors that I’ve worked in contributes to my leadership role as Principal.
How do you believe your previous experiences are contributing to your leadership of the school and your insight as Principal?
On the website, you describe Hampton Court House as embodying ‘achievement with heart.’ Could you explain to me what that means?
I have had an interesting and varied career. I’m not what one would call a ‘career head’; I haven’t worked all my life in schools - I’ve had the pleasure of working across lots of sectors and doing many different jobs, all focused on children, young people and education. It’s an absolute pleasure to be able to put all of my knowledge and experience into one school, focusing on the children and 24 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S P R I N G 2 024
Hampton Court House is a unique place and has a unique approach to education - we’re small and we’re nurturing. All children are known, there’s no place to hide, but we’re a high-achieving school with high academic standards. For us, achievement with heart really embodied that, it was about thinking about the two things that mean a lot to us, including that personalised approach, really
