Alice Fletcher on leading Heatherton School

In this episode, Simon speaks with Alice Fletcher, Head of Heatherton School, about settling into a new leadership role, what makes a purposefully small all girls school distinctive, and how Heatherton supports girls to flourish academically and personally. Alice also explains how she is building on the school’s pastoral strengths while raising its academic profile, and how she works with staff and parents to make the right next step for every girl.

Key topics:

• Alice Fletcher’s first term at Heatherton was spent listening, watching, and learning the rhythm of the school before making changes.
• Heatherton sits within the Berkhamsted Schools group but keeps its own identity in Amersham, serving girls aged 3 to 11.
• The school’s size is a strength, allowing staff to know every girl and parent well and build a close community.
• She describes how Heatherton uses research about how girls learn, including practical choices such as investing in construction resources that better support the way girls naturally build.
• Alice shares her own educational path, from an all girls primary school in Hammersmith to Tudor Hall, and says that experience helped her thrive.
• Her route into teaching began with a business degree, followed by volunteering in an inner city Leeds school, which led her to complete a PGCE and become a teacher.
• She brings broad experience from the independent sector, the state sector, Dubai, Australia, and top prep schools in London.
• In her first months as head, she focused on staff listening and parent engagement, including coffee mornings and drinks evenings before formally starting the role.
• Preparation for senior school begins early through purposeful play, assessments informed by data, and conversations with families about the right next school for each girl.
• Alice stresses that academic outcomes and pastoral care are not competing priorities, but complementary ones.
• She sees healthy risk taking as essential, whether that means climbing trees, getting muddy, or speaking in front of classmates.
• Her long term aim is to strengthen Heatherton’s academic reputation while preserving the strong pastoral culture that already exists.

https://www.berkhamsted.com/heatherton/

Tel: 01442 358001