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18 May 2022
Downe House is delighted to announce that Miss Kate Eaves will be joining the School’s Senior Leadership Team in September 2022, as Assistant Head (Lower School). Kate’s expertise, experience and energy will be invaluable as the School continues to give the very youngest pupils the most enriching, challenging but supportive start to their senior school journey.
Throughout her career in independent education, Kate has had a particular interest in pastoral care and a strong affinity with boarding; having been a day pupil who made the most of the boarding environment herself. Kate joins Downe House from Wetherby Senior School, where she has enjoyed the opportunity to have significant input into the educational and pastoral life of a new and growing school.
“My focus is very much on equipping young people with not only the education but crucially the personal skills and tools they need to thrive in a world that is increasingly challenging and can be difficult to navigate. For me, holistic pastoral care and coaching is all about building resilience and one of the many things that drew me to Downe is that its ethos aligns very closely with this principle, as well as the School’s commitment to working in close partnership with parents, which for me is a crucial part a boarding education.” -Miss Kate Eaves,
Notable amongst the highlights of Kate’s career has been leading initiatives such as an inspirational lecture series aimed at encouraging pupils to aim for success whilst also having a positive impact on the communities around them. She also implemented a Lower School pupil-coaching programme, ensuring pupils gain the skills they need to develop and meet their potential both academically and emotionally, and lead successful, well-rounded lives beyond school.
Downe House provides outstanding education, pastoral care and support to all our boarding and day pupils. Kate’s appointment follows the retirement of Mrs Judith Gilpin-Jones who has been at the head of the Lower School for over 14 years.
“When Kate joins Downe House in September 2022, she does so at what is an exciting time in our Lower School. The School has just restarted its programme of sending all of our Year 8 pupils to spend a term in France at our beautiful Château de Sauveterre; we have launched our World Ready Programme, ensuring that our young people develop a broad range of personal skills alongside their academic curriculum; and the girls will enjoy all the benefits of our home-from-home community purpose-built Lower School houses, whilst also enjoying all the advantages of interacting with more senior students and being very much part of the whole-school community.” – Mrs Emma McKendrick, Headmistress
