It was an absolute pleasure to unite three outstanding leaders of Sevenoaks recently.
We warmly welcomed back former Heads Dr Katy Ricks and Tommy Cookson, pictured here with current Headmaster Jesse Elzinga in Manor House.
Katy was Head of Sevenoaks from 2002 to 2019, and our first female Head. During her tenure the school flourished on a global stage, going from strength to strength as a world-leading IB school and gaining, in the words of Robert Sackville-West, ‘a real sense of self-belief’. Katy developed a strategic vision for Sevenoaks, at the heart of which was her belief in education. The resulting masterplan developed the campus and reframed the heart of the school, The Flat, with teaching and learning spaces dedicated to elements of the liberal education we offer.
Visiting Aisher House and New House was a particular highlight of the visit for Katy. The final works in the masterplan, they were completed after she had left.
Tommy Cookson was Headmaster from 1996 to 2002. He made Sevenoaks front-page news with the decision to go all-IB in 1999. With the Governors, he did so in the belief that the underlying philosophy of the IB suited Sevenoaks students and provided the best preparation for university and beyond. It is a decision the school has never regretted. Tommy also furthered the school’s international outlook by developing the Modern Languages programme, introducing links with schools in Brussels and Russia, and completing the International Centre’s move into its new purpose-built home.
Katy, Tommy and Jesse spoke the school’s past and future, and reflected on the rich legacy each of them had received from their direct predecessors and from other Headmasters, from our first known Schoolmaster, Thomas Hales, in the 1490s, to today.
