Heads of Year

A great deal of emphasis is placed on pastoral care. We are entirely committed to providing an environment that inspires warmth, confidence, creativity and personal development in all our girls. Our Heads of Year care for the girls, supported by our School Nurse, Chaplain and Counsellor. Individually planned help is available for girls needing extra support with learning and study.

The six Heads of Year lie at the heart of the Farnborough Hill pastoral care system.  When a pupil arrives at the School, she comes under the care not only of a Form Tutor, who changes every year, but also a Head of Year who has overall responsibility for her well-being over several years.

Mrs Emily-Jayne Harrison and Mr Emanuele Maccherini are our heads of Years 7 and 8 and take it in turns to welcome our new intake of Year 7s.  They stay with their Year Group for the next two years, helping them to settle in and negotiate the pitfalls of secondary school.  They are assisted by Mrs Christina Balsom, Miss Hannah Collier and Mr Simon Haddock.  In Year 9, the girls have a different Head of Year, Mrs Joanne Brereton, Mr Scott Temple, and Miss Naomi Lynch see them through starting their GCSE courses in Year 10, mentoring and monitoring their progress in Year 11 up to their GCSE examinations. They also oversee the A level choices programme, with the Head of Sixth Form, preparing them for Sixth Form study. They are assisted by Mr Aaron McGuire, Mrs Rupinder Sidhu and Mrs Katherine Wood.

The Head of Sixth Form is Mrs Pippa Sutton who takes Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth students on through their A levels and, with the help of Mr Andrew Smith, Assistant Head of Sixth Form and Mrs Ailsa West, our Alumnae and Careers Officer, sets them on the path to the right university.  

The great advantage of this system is the continuity it provides.  Our Heads of Year work together as a close team and get to know the girls in their care, and their parents, very well.  They act as the first point of contact for parental concerns and deal with a great range of academic, personal, social and disciplinary issues.

Pastoral Issues
For specific issues concerning students, our pastoral system of Heads of Year is the first port of call.