Beechwood Park School in Markyate, Hertfordshire, has appointed Christian Pritchard as its new head from September.

Pritchard, head at Beachborough School in Westbury, Buckinghamshire since 2018, was educated in Northumberland and started his teaching career in Yorkshire. He then spent time overseas teaching and leading British international schools, around the world, from Taiwan to the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. In 2012, he returned to the UK as head of Ranby House Preparatory School in Nottinghamshire.

Mark Hammond, chair of the board of governors at Beechwood Park said: “The board has been extremely impressed by Christian’s vision and strong academic, pastoral and leadership skills. He is highly regarded as a head and is ideally placed to take Beechwood Park forward over the next few years, building on its reputation as a leading co-educational day and boarding prep school.”

Pritchard is married to Zoe who is a primary and early years specialist teacher. They have two teenage daughters who attend boarding school in Oxfordshire.

Pritchard said: “[Beechwood] is a remarkable school with a very bright future, where children learn with a tangible buzz of excitement. After visiting the school this term, and meeting the children, staff and governors, I feel that Beechwood Park is perfectly placed to provide a world-class, sector-leading, innovative learning experience to the children of Hertfordshire and beyond, which is tremendously exciting. I look forward to meeting and joining the Beechwood community, in due course, as we embark on this journey together.’

Following the departure of former head Ed Balfour in December, Maureen Cussans will lead the school as interim head for the two remaining terms of the academic year and work with Pritchard on the transition.