NOTICES
11th December 2009 Press Release
RETIREMENT OF CHELTENHAM COLLEGE HEADMASTER
Headmaster John Richardson has announced his retirement from Cheltenham College in July 2010, the end of this academic year.
He retires after 6 years in post, having not only effected many far-reaching developments across the school but having strengthened its place as one of the leading independent schools in the UK.
John Richardson commented: 'I have always had it in mind to retire in 2011. This term, however, has seen the College Council formally adopt the next stage in our ambitious development plan. There will be significant investment in many new facilities over the next decade, which will require substantial and sustained commitment from everyone, particularly the Headmaster. While this is an extremely exciting prospect, it seems entirely right to me that my successor should be able to lead this project from the outset. With this in mind, I have decided, with the agreement of the President of Council, to bring my reitrement forward by a year to July 2010.
He continued: 'I have immensely enjoyed my time as Headmaster; it has been an enormous privilege to see so many children realise their potential and grow into fine young men and women. I will be leaving behind a team that is unstinting in its efforts to provide the best possible education and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to their huge contributions.'
John Horan, President of Cheltenham College Council commented: 'Working closely with John Richardson since his arrival here in 2003 has been an enormous privilege and I wish him every happiness in his well deserved retirement. With his immense determination and commitment, College has gone from strength to strength. The sharpening of the academic focus is now well established and Cheltenham College is universally regarded as leading the way in terms of the breadth and quality of our extracurricular programme. Continuity of leadership over the next decade will be crucial to the success of the College development plan and we are committed to finding a successor of the highest calibre to take up the reins. In the meantime, it will simply be business as usual.'
While it will be business as usual for John Richardson as he leads the school through the rest of the academic year, he is, of course, looking forward to new challenges following his retirement from College.
He commented: 'After a long career within education I look forward to spending more time with my family whose support throughout my time as Headmaster has been invaluable.'