Appointment of New Headmaster

We are delighted to be able to tell you that the Governors have appointed Mr Christopher James-Roll to be the next Headmaster of Cundall Manor School.

Chris will join us in September 2022 from Sherfield School in Hampshire where he currently holds the position of Senior Deputy Head. Sherfield is an excellent, all-round academic and creative school and one of the top independent co-educational day and boarding schools in the UK with pupils attending from nursery through to age 18. With  a BSc(Hons)  in Science and  IT, Chris began his early career in financial services before qualifying as a teacher in 2010 and then embarking upon the role of Head of Physics and Housemaster at St James Senior Boys’ School in Surrey. Chris was then appointed as Director of Science and Physical Education and Assistant Principal at Christ the King College on the Isle of Wight before moving to Sherfield School, initially as Director of Teaching & Learning before accepting promotion to the Senior Deputy Head position. In 2018 Chris also held the role of Acting Headmaster at Sherfield.

As well as strong academic and leadership skills supported by an MEd, Masters in Educational Leadership, Chris brings with him a considerable knowledge of both academic and character education and has articulated a belief in creating a unique learning experience for every child, which is much aligned to the ethos we hold very dear, here at Cundall. He has demonstrated a good understanding of the challenges facing parents as we prepare our children for the fast-changing and more diverse world in which they will need to compete in the future. Chris is a keen sportsman and coaches rugby and cricket as well as enjoying middle distance running and swimming.

In Chris’s own words:

‘It gives me great pleasure to be appointed as the new Headmaster of Cundall Manor School; my wife, Jessica and our three children, Arthur, Tabitha and Georgina are very much looking forward to moving to North Yorkshire and joining your wonderful school community next year. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the school over the past couple of weeks, meeting pupils, staff and governors through a very demanding interview and selection process.

I very much look forward to working with the excellent teaching and support staff at Cundall when I formally join the school on the 1st September 2022. I am excited by Cundall‘s reputation for creating happy, well-rounded children, where academic excellence can sit alongside an individual learning experience.

Over the coming months I will be regularly visiting Cundall to continue to gain a better understanding of life at the school. Of course, early in the Michaelmas term 2022,  there will be an opportunity for all parents to meet with me in an open forum so that I can hear your views and you can find out more about the school vision as we take Cundall on the next exciting phase of its journey.’

The Governors were unanimous in their decision making to appoint Chris as Headmaster and are firmly of the belief that Chris has the educational qualities and leadership experience required to lead Cundall, as it evolves to succeed throughout the forthcoming stages of its development.

In sharing this wonderful news with you I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the Governing body for the unstinting support and professional expertise demonstrated throughout the whole process. We were very well guided and advised by Perrett Laver, a leading search organisation for Head teachers in the independent sector, who presented an exceptionally strong field of candidates for the position. I would also like to extend our most sincere thanks to Mrs Kirby for her professional support in leading the school throughout and to all the teaching and support staff and the pupils who played a most important role in the recruitment process. Thank you.

There will, of course, be many opportunities to celebrate the significant contribution Mrs Kirby has made to our truly exceptional school over her tenure and to formally acknowledge her outstanding skills in educational leadership before her retirement, at the close of the Summer term 2022.

I wish you all a healthy and successful last few weeks of the Michaelmas term.

Yours sincerely,

Rachel Powell

Chair of Governors