Speakers

David was born and brought up overseas and was therefore packed off to boarding school in the mid-1970s, which was an interesting experience. His teachers identified some academic talent and he was therefore put into the fast stream which came as something of a surprise. Alas, like many of his contemporaries, he came up with a thousand reasons why he couldn't focus on his studies and, instead, found time to pursue his many sporting passions. Needless to say, he got rather a shock when his O Level results were revealed but that period of underperformance gave him the kick he needed and he achieved much better at A Level and beyond.

From school, he went to study for a history degree at Exeter and played rugby and hockey for the university. His PGCE was taken at Cambridge and he returned four years later to complete his Masters degree in Education Management where his research on boys underachievement was published. He started his teaching career in big comprehensives and then moved to Caterham School where he was head of Politics and Head of 6th form and was then promoted internally to Deputy Head. From there, he secured his first headship at Battle Abbey School which, for a history teacher, was pretty special and he had 10 happy years there before recently joining Cranbrook School.

From an early age he had a flair for languages and the humanities and, rather fortuitously, he had some wonderful teachers in those subjects. He became a History teacher having been inspired by two great teachers, both of them RAF veterans, who brought the subject to life and fired up an interest in him that went far beyond the classroom. Equally, after many school and family trips to Europe his French improved dramatically and he now speaks fluent French and passable Italian.

He has a love for travel and the wider world. In his twenties, he spent three years working his way around Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Europe and he will never forget the incredible experiences he encountered. Having an internationalist outlook is therefore hugely important to him and he will always encourage students and teachers to embrace opportunities for overseas travel and cultural enrichment.