In The Press

New headteacher at St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross

Bucks Free Press – 28th September

Education – Gerrards Cross

By Gemma Parry
AI Assisted Reporter
@GemmaParry4

A new headteacher has taken the helm at a school.

Lars Fox has joined St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross, succeeding Patricia Adams, who served in the role from 2018.

Mr Fox, who was born in Germany, has spent 25 years in all-girls education, with experience at schools in Newcastle, Durham, York, and Sussex.

Mr Fox said: “I think the school is already very well known for its strong pastoral side – with so many layers of support, pupils’ pastoral needs are very well cared for – but what people perhaps are less aware of is the significant academic progress girls make beyond their projected grades.”

Mr Fox said he is proud of the school’s “value-added” performance, noting that Year 11 pupils achieve nearly a full GCSE grade higher than predicted from their Year 7 baseline.

He also highlighted the school’s emphasis on developing confidence and self-belief in its students.

Mr Fox said: “St Mary’s is also an excellent environment for helping girls develop self-confidence and self-belief – those really important soft skills.

“Research shows that girls are more likely to answer questions, risk being wrong, and engage more when in a single-sex environment and it is my evolving mission to make the school known for its nurturing of confidence, resilience, creativity, and vital soft skills required to succeed.”

Under his leadership, the school has begun introducing artificial intelligence (AI) into the classroom and is working with an AI specialist to train staff.

Mr Fox said: “We all know Chat GPT, for example, regurgitates facts and figures and education should never be about just rote learning so adapting to AI is all about understanding how to interpret and analyse information and apply to a variety of contexts.”

He also confirmed that the school’s no-phones policy will remain in place.

Mr Fox said: “There is now plenty of data that shows that even having a phone in your bag as a student is a distraction to learning.

“This policy was already here when I arrived and it will certainly continue.

“We know girls are adversely affected by social media so to create a social media and phone-free environment in the day is important.”

Mr Fox is only the second male headteacher in the school’s history, with the first appointed more than 50 years ago.

He said: “I am passionate about all-girls education because I have seen it produce young women who have had the space and time to grow in confidence – I saw the transformational change with my own daughter.”