Dr Paul Arnold has been appointed Head of School at King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS), from September 2024.
Currently Deputy Head Academic, and Deputy DSL, at St Helen’s School in Northwood, London, an academically selective girls’ independent school, Dr Arnold has a track record of raising academic standards without compromising the school’s commitment to pupil wellbeing.
He has previously been Head of Classics in three schools, including Godolphin and Latymer School, London, a leading academically selective girls’ independent school. He has also worked in two boarding houses, including as Boarding Housemaster at Bedford School.
Dr Arnold holds a Doctorate in Classics from The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, for which his thesis was in the area of Greek and Roman Comedy, and a first class Classics degree from the same college.
He was himself an Assisted Place pupil at King Edward VI School, Southampton.
Mrs Kirsty von Malaisé, Principal of KEHS, who will become Chief Master & Principal of King Edward’s School (KES) and KEHS in September 2024, said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr Paul Arnold as Head of School at KEHS, from September 2024. We had a tremendously strong field of applicants and were delighted at the interest this new role generated. The KEHS Head of School appointment is the first step in forming the school’s new leadership structure, which will also be in place for September 2024. A parallel process is ongoing at KES, and an announcement about the KES Head of School is also being made today. Both schools will have their own Leadership Teams and there will also be some joint roles which will work across the two schools, as I will.”
Outside of work, Dr Arnold is Vice Chair of Governors at Northwood School, a non-selective school within the QED Academy Trust. Choral singing has been his lifelong passion, and he held lay-clerkships in choirs of The Queen’s College and the Oxford Oratory. He also enjoys playing recreational football and cricket and going on long walks with Phoebe, his Rhodesian ridgeback.
Dr Arnold said: “I am privileged and delighted to be joining the KEHS community and look forward to building on Mrs von Malaisé’s outstanding legacy. From the moment I first arrived at the school I was struck by the warm, welcoming atmosphere and the clear sense of purpose which the pupils and staff share. As a former Assisted Place pupil myself, the school’s commitment to providing unrivalled educational opportunity to girls from across Birmingham and the wider region, irrespective of their family background, resonates personally as well as professionally. I look forward to getting to know colleagues, pupils, parents, Old Edwardians and the wider school community and to working with and for the KEHS community and the young people of Birmingham.”
The Head of School is a vital role, being responsible for the day-to-day operation of KEHS, as well as contributing to its continuing development. Under the overarching strategic leadership that Mrs von Malaisé will provide in her role as Chief Master & Principal of KES and KEHS, Dr Arnold will be at the heart of the KEHS community and a key point of contact for pupils, staff, parents, Old Edwardians and others in the school’s wider community. He will work closely with the Head of School at KES, particularly where there are opportunities for greater alignment and parity of pupil and staff experience, and will also represent KEHS in Foundation-wide senior leaders’ forums.
