Winter Edition 2019

HEAD SPACE
Who or what inspired
you to teach?
Three things: firstly,
my grandfather was a
Headmaster and my
aunt a Deputy Head, so
there may be a genetic
explanation; secondly, I
loved my school years,
particularly my Sixth
Form at Haileybury;
thirdly, the ability to
influence, shape and
help transform the lives
of young people is the
greatest privilege there is.
Do you have an all time
favourite book?
Virgil’s The
Aeneid. The human
experience in its
entirety can be found
somewhere in it.
What music do you
listen to? Favourite
piece or song?
Primarily classical and
opera, but I also do a
good line in late 1990s
house and techno! Wagner’s
Götterdämmerung is unsurpassed.
If I could only listen to Act 3 for
the rest of my life, I’d die happy.
Favourite play or musical?
I saw Hamilton earlier this
year - it is a remarkable piece of
theatre. Truly ground-breaking
and breath-taking to experience
in the flesh.
Your personal motto in life?
Suis non sibi semper which
translates as “For your team,
and not yourself, always”
If you could only bring three
things to a desert island what
HEAD space
James Dahl, new Head of
Wellington College on the dreams,
passions and experiences that
have shaped him
would they be?
My family, a cocktail-making kit,
my Spotify account.
Who would your five ideal
dinner guests be (famous, living
or dead)?
I’d like to make it quite punchy!
The 1st Duke of Wellington,
Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Pericles
and Garibaldi.
If you were invisible for the day
what would you do?
Walk around
the final day of
the Masters at
Augusta with
the final group.
If you weren’t
headmaster, what would
be your dream job?
I wanted to become
a DJ for much of my
teenage years. I still have
my decks and record
collection so perhaps the
dream might still happen!
Your favourite subject at
school?
Probably Politics, but I
loved Latin and Greek
as well.
Any signature dishes?
I make a mean Crème
Brulee ice-cream.
As the new Head, what
do you hope to bring to
Wellington?
Energy, visibility,
enthusiasm, clarity of
purpose, and warmth.
What three things
do you need to be a
successful headmaster?
Only three?! Vision,
values, and a good sense
of humour.
What is the best advice you
would give one of your new
school joiners?
Work hard, be kind and
respectful, pursue every cocurricular
opportunity which
takes your fancy, and be yourself.
In one sentence, what is your
school’s ethos?
To provide a genuinely holistic
education which a) is inspiring
and transformational b) supports
all pupils to be happy, flourish
and become the best they can be
and c) prepares them for a world
which doesn’t yet exist.
70 schoolnotices.co.uk ★ W I NTER 19