Sir Anthony Seldon

Independent school Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire, has appointed Sir Anthony Seldon as founding director of Wellington College Education, its new global education network of independent schools that are adopting the Wellington school ethos.

Wellington College Education encompasses 10 schools around the world and its activities include festivals of education in the UK, US, China and Thailand. Sir Anthony is charged with “developing the network in the UK and abroad and infusing it with a unified vision about what responsible and imaginative education means in the 21st century”.

James Dahl, master of Wellington College and chief executive of Wellington College Education said: “This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Wellington College Education. We live in an era where both the way we educate and educating bodies themselves are undergoing significant change, driven by geopolitics and revolutionary new technologies. Anthony’s leadership and vision will be invaluable as we equip pupils across the world to thrive in a landscape where a global perspective and an education rich in humanity will be essential.”

Wellington College’s chair of governors William Jackson added: “Education is changing massively. Anthony has been renowned as one of the most pioneering and influential figures in education for 25 years and we’re delighted to have him return to Wellington to help maintain and develop our position as a leader in educational thinking globally”

Sir Anthony has just finished as head of Epsom College, an appointment occasioned by the tragic murder of its head Emma Pattison in February last year. He was previously vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham and master of Wellington College from 2006 to 2015, and before that headmaster of Brighton College. At Wellington he initiated a network of international schools and the festival of education.

Sir Anthony said: “I am delighted to rejoin the Wellington fold after a decade away. At no point in the last century has education been more in flux. There is something fundamentally flawed and outmoded about the mechanistic straitjacket governments in the UK and abroad impose on schools. Wellington College Education aims, building on its pioneering educational model, to shape thinking about what education means and schools can be, and to promulgate a new more holistic paradigm for the mid-21st century, attuned to the history and traditions of the countries in which we will be operating.

“AI alone is changing every single aspect of education and the world we are preparing young people for. We need to be educating the young to think globally, entrepreneurially, creatively and responsibly if they, and the world, are to flourish.”