Mrs. Jade McLellan

FROM ST DUNSTAN’S COLLEGE, LONDON

In this episode of Education Corner Podcast, we welcomed Mrs. Jade McLellan, Head of Senior School at St Dunstan’s College, London. A co-educational school offering education from Nursery through Sixth Form, St Dunstan’s prides itself on providing an ambitious, forwardthinking environment where individuality is celebrated. In this podcast, Jade discussed the school’s admissions process, ethos and how to prepare children to face the complexities of modern life.

Mrs. Jade McLellan’s career began with a deep passion for languages. She shared: “I was really passionate about French, so I studied that at Oxford and at the Sorbonne in Paris.” However, her first job took her down a different career path: “After university, I wanted a complete break, so I didn’t consider education at all. I went into public relations.” While working in PR for the Department for Education, though, Jade realised that teaching was her true calling, reflecting: “Life has a funny way of leading you back to your métier.”

“It’s a grounded school, like all of the state schools I worked in before, but it also offers the freedom and opportunities that come with being an independent school.” she explained. Admissions at St Dunstan’s are designed to identify children who will thrive in the school’s vibrant and diverse environment. Jade stated: “We’re not looking for one thing. We really look for diversity and variety in our students. We’re not a very large independent school – we have 125 children in a year group – and we want children who are allrounders.”

The process involves a series of steps, starting with a registration deadline.

“After registration, students come in and do an admissions test with English, maths, verbal reasoning and nonverbal reasoning, hosted by GL Assessment,” Jade expanded. Following this, there are additional maths and English tests, observed lessons and interviews. She added: “The observed lessons let us see how students work with others and whether St Dunstan’s education is the right fit for them.”

Jade’s journey into education began as a French teacher in the state sector, where she spent almost a decade before transitioning into the independent sector. She joined St Dunstan’s eight years ago and now finds joy in combining the best of both worlds:

Interviews allow prospective students to share more about themselves, with Jade noting: “These days, children really have much more of a decisionmaking role in choosing their secondary school, so it’s really important for them to explore the school and help their parents make that decision.”