St Dunstan’s Education Group
‘An ambitious, forward-thinking community of schools that inspires and supports individuals to thrive.’
Welcome to St Dunstan’s Education Group
St Christopher’s The Hall merged with St Dunstan’s Education Group in early 2025, joining a community of schools that includes St Dunstan’s Junior School, St Dunstan’s Senior School, and Rosemead Preparatory School.
We have a shared vision to provide an ambitious, forward-thinking education to the young people under our care and to ensure that, in so doing, we both inspire and support each pupil to thrive as an individual.
EDUCATION GROUP
Nick Hewlett Head, St Dunstan’s Education Group
Graeme McCafferty Head, Rosemead Preparatory School & Nursery
Laura Whitwood Head, St Dunstan’s College Junior School
Jade McLellan Head, St Dunstan’s College Senior School
Tom Carter Head, St Christopher’s The Hall School
SCHOOL & NUR SERY
PREPA TORY ROSEMEAD
St Christopher’s THE HALL SCHOOL
Advantages of the Merger
There are numerous advantages presented by the merger. For pupils, we can share facilities, resources and learning opportunities. For staff, we can share best practice and work collaboratively through staff training and development. For parents, we can facilitate automatic transition across the schools, subject to the decision of the Transition Panel, and to ensure best practice across our operation.
For all stakeholders, coming together as one community allows us to create efficiencies within our professional services provision and in so doing to better face current and future economic and political headwinds.
Governance and Leadership
Each school will maintain its own Head and its own autonomy whilst under the oversight of the Head of the Group – Nick Hewlett – who leads the St Dunstan’s Executive Team (DET). The DET brings together the respective Heads and leaders of the schools as well as those responsible for the leadership of the professional services provision – the CFO and COO. The Executive reports to the Board of Governors for St Dunstan’s Education Group, who in turn assume governance responsibilities all schools within the Group.
Pupil Admission and Transition
Pupils can move between schools, subject to decisions made by the appropriate Transition Panel. The main transition point is from one of our junior schools to the St Dunstan’s Senior School. This decision is taken before the Trinity half-term in Year 5. The Panel, consisting of senior staff from all schools, considers each child’s academic performance and potential, as well as behavioural and pastoral context, before taking a decision regarding automatic transition. It is expected that most pupils will automatically be granted transition from our junior schools across to our Senior School. For those not awarded transition, the option remains to take the formal 11+ assessments in the January of Year 6, and for which support and preparation will be provided. Equally, we quite recognise that some parents will want to consider other school options for senior school and support will be provided for these children too.
Joint Ambition, Separate Identities
St Christopher’s and St Dunstan’s were both founded on points of difference and breaking the mould in educational thinking. Each school shares our community vision for an exciting, ambitious, and forward-thinking education. This said, each school also has its own identity, autonomy, and values, as carved out by the respective Head. We believe that autonomy within one group identity presents the best of all opportunities for our schools and the children we care for.
Our Strategic Objectives for 2030
Our schools operate within one strategic framework as we plan for the ongoing evolution of our schools. Our strategic objectives for 2030 are as follows:
Our Education
Our schools work with a range of partners to be at the forefront of educational thinking, continuing to challenge convention, taking courageous educational decisions, and remaining true to a broad, liberal, and values-driven education. A culture of safeguarding children underpins all we undertake.
Our Pupils –Academic and other achievements
Pupils are inspired and supported as individuals, and in such a way that enables each of them to make outstanding and measurable progress across a broad range of subjects and interests, making creative use of digital innovation as a key facilitator for progress.
Our Pupils – Personal Development
Pupils have a keen sense of wellbeing that is rooted in being at one with who they are and the diverse environment in which they are situated. Pupils personify grounded, open-minded, articulate thinking, as active citizens of a changing global community.
Our Staff
Staff seek to work in our schools because of our purpose and vision, our unique identity and reputation, and our sincere commitment to staff voice, professional development, wellbeing, diversity, and equity, all of which creates a culture of ambition, loyalty, and trust.
Our Alumni
Our schools celebrate a vibrant alumni body, where former pupils are engaged, proud and active ambassadors for their school, its community connections and philanthropic work.
Our Parents and Carers
Families of all means apply and remain at our schools from everwidening catchments, because of a wholehearted belief in the distinct ethos that underpins our education. Parent satisfaction is strong, and parents and carers can be active participants in our development and culture. Our relationship with parents and carers is rooted in integrity, underpinned by robust and clear policies and procedures, engendering trust and transparency.
Our Wider Community
We believe in a broader educational purpose that supports an aspiration for the betterment of our local communities and
their residents and we know that such work entirely aligns with the educational aims we have for our pupils. Working with local partners we provide life-enhancing opportunities to local people that seek to promote social mobility, engender wellbeing, and improve communities, in addition to responding with generosity to local needs and events.
Our Environment
Our schools have a clear and rolling programme of investment into their buildings and infrastructure, ensuring that we lead the way in developing an appropriate digital and physical environment for forward-thinking educational charities. We are committed to becoming a carbon-zero organisation and seek to set ambitious standards for sustainability.
Our Business
Our schools are underpinned by a thriving business model that ensures efficiency of expenditure and diversification of income, maximising the use of growing and impressive assets, and actively considering the expansion of our reach through mergers, acquisitions, and commercial partnerships.
Getting between schools
