‘An outstanding team’: New Heads of School appointed

A desire to contribute to school life, to work closely with all year groups and to encourage boys to ‘have a voice’ and share their views are among the motivations for Tonbridge’s newly appointed Head of School, Hector Day-Lunn.

Inspired by those who previously held the role, Hector (MH4), pictured, said he was thrilled to be offered the position and is looking forward to following in their footsteps. “There have been four Heads of School during my time here and I always felt very spurred on by their talks and also by seeing them around the school, even if they were just walking into Chapel,” he said. 

“They always made me want to give a hundred per cent in everything I did. I hope that I can live up to their example and play my part in the life of the school, making this the best possible environment for us all and bringing out the best in others.”

Hector will be supported by Hiro Pakdeevutitam (Sc4) and Ben Sibbald (FH4), both of whom have accepted roles as Deputy Heads of School.

He has a busy year ahead – he is studying for four A-levels and will be applying to Cambridge to read English – and is looking forward to the time when boys return to school. “Once we’re all back on campus, there will undoubtedly be a tremendous energy across all areas of school life,” Hector said. “The online learning in this period has been a great success but it will be exciting to be at Tonbridge again, to see friends and to work together.

“There are so many opportunities and it’s this part of life here that I appreciate most, just the day-to-day Tonbridge experience.”

Current Head of School George Adams (OH5) congratulated his successor, adding: “The role has been extremely rewarding and often demanding: an experience from which I have learned a huge amount. Hector’s appointment is very well deserved and I’m sure he will do an excellent job.” 

George recalled many highlights from the past year. “The warmth of Old Tonbridgians at the Skinners’ Hall Dinner, the buzz of whole-school Saturday Chapel talks and the consistently good company of the Praes (school prefects) over coffee, pizza and at the Benenden dinners come to mind,” he said. “More recently, the ‘Virtual CRAS’ demonstrated the incredible community spirit of boys and staff.”

James Priory, Tonbridge’s Headmaster, said that an outstanding set of applications made for an enjoyable, but nonetheless difficult, final selection process. “I was deeply impressed by the thoughtfulness and insight offered by the boys as they reflected on their experiences at Tonbridge, their aspirations for the future and their hopes for what could be achieved next year,” he said.

“Hector, Hiro and Ben will make an outstanding team and I look forward to working with them in the near future.”

Housemasters will now be leading the process of identifying Heads of House and making recommendations for next year’s School Praes.