Best Schools - Bishop's Stortford College appoints first female head in its 150-year history

Pure maths graduate Kathy Crewe-Read will be only the 10th head since the school, which has 1,173 pupils aged 4 to 18, was founded as the Nonconformist Grammar School in 1868. She will take up the post on September 1, 2020.

She will join the Maze Green Road co-educational independent day and boarding school from the award-winning Wolverhampton Grammar School (WGS) in the West Midlands, where she has been head for six years.

She succeeds Jeremy Gladwin, who earlier this year announced his retirement as College headmaster. He started his headship in 2011 and is the shortest-serving head in BSC's history.

Crewe-Read has enjoyed a successful career in education, teaching at a number of independent schools. It was at WGS, a co-ed day school, that she built and led her staff to excellence, earning the title of 2018 Senior Leadership Team of the Year in the TES Independent Schools Awards.

Kathy is also an inspector with the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate (ISI), chair of the West Group of HMC – the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, the UK organisation of independent schools – a governor at the Merchant Taylors’ Schools and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

She has been reported widely in the national media, representing the sector on issues including the role of digital technology in education and the public benefit of independent schools.

Losing tax relief could kill us, small private schools warn

Hundreds of private school teachers face redundancy and smaller institutions may close if the Scottish government confirms a proposed tax rise, MSPs have been told.

Private schools are due to be stripped of charitable rates relief in 2020 to bring them in line with state schools, which have to pay business rates.

Senior staff held crisis talks with MSPs last night, to attempt to head off a tax increase which they said could devastate the sector and cost taxpayers money.

One small school said that the increased costs could spell “the end” for the institution, while schools in Perthshire said that they would have to lay off more than 800 full-time staff if all schools closed.

Private schools say it is unfair to bring them in line with state schools, which are council-funded so business rates flow from one council pot to another.

John Edward, director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, said the rate rise could actually deplete the public purse rather than raise new funds, as every child who is priced out of private education will ultimately have to be paid for by the state.