EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH HEADMASTER
Mr. Edward Venables FROM EAGLE HOUSE SCHOOL, BERKSHIRE Founded in 1820, Eagle House is one of the country’s oldest preparatory schools, located in Sandhurst, Berkshire. The school has around 120 pupils in its Pre-Prep and Nursery, and over 230 pupils in the Prep School. Many Year 8 pupils from Eagle House are awarded scholarships from their choice of senior school, and the school takes pride in its excellent academic record. Mr. Edward Venables speaks to us about the benefits of boarding at Eagle House, their Golden Eagle Programme and how their curriculum is preparing pupils for a future within a fastchanging world. We understand that you started your new position as Head of Eagle House School in September 2023. You were the long standing Head of Admissions at Wellington College and have now taken over at Eagle House as Headmaster. How do you believe your previous experiences will contribute to your insight as Head and leadership of the school?
Thanks so much for having me, Chloe, it’s very, very exciting to be here! Going back a little bit further, I first worked in the city for twelve years in banking and hedge funds. I was Head of Department at Wellington, a House Master, which 32 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S P R I N G 2 024
was the best job in the world, and I also acted as Director of Admissions. Critically, I was also a Designated Safeguarding Lead at Wellington, which has very much formed who I am now and how I look at school. Understanding what the world of work looks like now, how a modern senior school is preparing children for that world is really, really critical. Aligned with that, having an understanding of the mental health challenges and other pastoral pressures that teenagers face allows me to work incredibly hard to equip the young people who come through Eagle House with the skills to be as prepared as possible for that next stage of their life. There’s a lot of work needing to be done on that transition from Years 8 to 9, as well as on the transition from Years 4 to 5, interestingly. At the heart of this, really, is pastoral care and understanding that we need to prioritise pastoral care for children of prep school age, so they are ready to flourish in the senior school world. On the website you describe Eagle House as ‘progressive, friendly and buzzy’. Can you tell us a little more about the ethos and values at Eagle House?
Our values are kindness, respect and courage. As with many schools, we reiterate these values
