Stories

St Dunstan's College is delighted to reveal it has been named as a finalist at the upcoming Independent Schools of the Year Awards.

The College has been nominated in the Development Award for Outstanding Fundraising Achievement category.

The news comes at an exciting time for St Dunstan’s. Earlier this year, the school was named the Most Progressive Independent School in London at the Private Education Awards 2023.

Last year, the school was also named Independent Senior School of the Year at the Tes Awards in London. The awards, known as the Oscars of Education, celebrate the work of teachers and schools across the country.  

Judge David James has worked in independent schools for over 20 years and is an experienced inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate. He said: ‘There’s a very clear and coherent vision of what they want to do, both with the curriculum and the local community.  

‘The head is asking interesting questions of the sector, including areas like privilege and responsibility, which go beyond the usual platitudes. It’s a really interesting school in a tough market, trying to not just survive but actually make something different for the children and families they’re working with.’  

Most recently the school has won praise for its ground-breaking Stuart Curriculum, which looks at relationships, skills for the future and critical thinking. Stuart lessons have tackled the rise of toxic masculinity, and in particular, individuals such as Andrew Tate. Speaking about the lessons, St Dunstan’s Deputy Head Academic, Jonathan Holmes, explained: ‘As well as having the confidence to react to specific examples such as Andrew Tate, it’s important that our teaching is predominantly proactive and enables students to independently understand when views are harmful and dangerous, and how they can protect themselves from being exposed and influenced by them online.’