A warm KGS welcome to Mr Mark Wallace, the School’s new Principal Deputy Head. Mr Wallace comes to us from Caterham School, where he had the twin responsibilities of looking after the boy boarders – 100 of them from 11-18 and 26 different countries – and being Head of Sixth Form.

It has been a challenging first couple of weeks, he confesses, getting used to all the systems and finding where everything is and how it all works, as it was bound to be starting in the middle of the year, not made any easier by all the bad weather and the snow and having to close the cage and the knock-on effects of that in such a cramped site and all the cover and the trial GCSE exams and the AS retakes, not to mention the interviews and the entrance examinations and having to drive in from Caterham at the crack of dawn every day. 

But it has also been very enjoyable, he insists. Everyone has been very helpful and welcoming, he has been impressed by the warmth and politeness of the students and he has particular praise for the prefects and senior prefects, who are, he thinks, an amazing bunch who thoroughly justify their high profile and role in the School, running events like the entrance examination with remarkable calmness, professionalism and panache. 

As for the future, Mr Wallace is not one for jumping in and wanting to change everything for the sake of doing so. He’s looking forward to getting to know the School more, and then perhaps developing some areas, helping them to evolve. 

The appointment of Mr Wallace, as many of you will have noticed, has coincided with a mass shuffling of offices on the first floor of the London Road building. Mr Hall has moved to a swanky new office in Bedford, Mr Grant and Mr Beard have moved into Mr Hall’s old office, Mr Yates into Mr Grant’s, Mr Dunlop into Mr Beard’s and the new boy, Mr Wallace, has been put in Mr Dunlop’s old room.  

This is a deal smaller than the cavernous space his predecessor occupied, but Mr Wallace doesn’t mind. Honest. He thought Mr Hall’s was just too big for one person and is glad to be where he is; his room has a commanding view of the corridor along to the staff room – be warned! 

Mr Wallace trivia: whisper it ever so quietly, but rumour has it Mr Wallace is a man of some distinction. There may very well be a prize for the first reader who can tell me what amazing feat gets our new Deputy Head into the Guinness Book of Records!