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Old Sennockians: The global alumni network for Sevenoaks School
Join our new alumni network, Sevenoaks Connect, here: https://connect.sevenoaksschool.org/register There are over 14,000 former students spanning 100 countries and we hope that every leaver will find a reason to become, and remain, an active member of the Old Sennockians. As a member of the Old Sennockians you will be invited to class

reunions, social, sporting and school events. Privacy: If you write on our wall, we may store the information that Facebook makes available to us to help us better manage our relationship.

04/09/2026

This is the last in our series 'Heads of Sevenoaks'. We hope you have enjoyed reading about the inspirational and innovative former Heads who have helped shape Sevenoaks into the world-leading school it is today.

DR KATY RICKS – Head 2002 to 2019

When Katy Ricks was appointed in 2002, she became the first female Head in the school’s history. From the start she brought energy and sensitivity, and modern management and style that were very refreshing.

Although Sevenoaks had prospered over the previous decade there was a need for consolidation. Katy immediately focused on this and it was obvious, by the end of her first year, that she was an exceptional leader. She quickly developed a strategic vision for Sevenoaks; by the end of her second year the Governing Body agreed the first school masterplan in decades. Ian Doherty, Chair of Governors, later referred to “a combination of broad strategic vision with an attention to detail…that is one of Katy’s great strengths, along with her instinct for choosing the right staff”.

During her tenure the school flourished on a global stage, going from strength to strength as a world-leading IB school and gaining, in the words of Robert Sackville-West, "a real sense of self-belief". Sevenoaks was twice named as The Sunday Times Independent School of the Year and consistently headed academic league tables during Katy’s leadership.

As you walk around the centre of the campus today, it is hard to imagine what it looked like before Katy arrived, when the heart of the school had been a car park known as The Flat. During her leadership, a quadrangle evolved with teaching spaces equal to the best in the world and dedicated to elements of the school’s liberal education – the Sennocke Centre for sport, the Science and Technology Centre, The Space for performing arts and the Brian Ong Global Study Centre to inspire the outward-facing ambition of our educational programme. She believed in spaces to enable students, teachers and staff to meet and intersect in inspiring places, to do things in new ways.

Katy continued to teach English throughout her time as Head of Sevenoaks. As someone who places huge value on learning for its own sake, she took a sabbatical term to complete the DPhil thesis she had abandoned 30 years before for a career in teaching.

It was an absolute pleasure to unite Katy with fellow Heads of Sevenoaks earlier this year, in Manor House. They each spoke to the school’s past and future and reflected on the rich legacy each of them had received from their direct predecessors and other Headmasters, from our first known Schoolmaster, Thomas Hales, in the 1490s, to today.

01/09/2026

We are excited to welcome alumni, parents and guests in Tokyo for an evening of drinks and conversation.

📅 Monday 26 October
⏰ 6:00pm - 7.30pm
📍 Tokyo

Director of Admissions, Vanessa FitzGerald is looking forward to meeting you, whether it has been years or you've not long left Sevenoaks. Come and reconnect with old friends, meet new faces and hear updates from school.

Sign up - https://osonline.sevenoaksschool.org/upcoming-events/

28/08/2026

We're delighted to have opened Sevenoaks Connect up to current and former staff who are beginning to join the site.

It's the perfect time to join us, or log back in to connect with those who inspired you!

24/08/2026

Sevenoaks School is again celebrating outstanding GCSE and IGCSE results.

•88 per cent of all examinations were graded 9/8/7 (or A*/A grades)
•47 per cent of all examinations were graded 9, with 72 per cent of examinations graded 9 or 8
•104 students gained 10 or more 9/8/7 or A*/A grades, and of those, 17 scored a superb 10 or more top grades of 9 (or A*).

All students take 10 or more GCSEs, including Mathematics, English Literature and English Language, all three sciences, at least one modern language, and a humanity. Their GCSE studies combined with our Sevenoaks School Diploma is excellent preparation for the IB Diploma.

The Headmaster, Mr Jesse Elzinga, said: "Congratulations to our Year 11 students on a superb set of results. We are immensely proud of all they have accomplished. These outcomes reflect not only their academic ability, but also their dedication, perseverance and commitment throughout their studies.

“The combination of (I)GCSE courses and the Sevenoaks School Diploma provides an outstanding foundation for the IB Diploma Programme, which all of our Sixth Form students follow. The IB remains highly regarded by universities and employers around the world, preparing students exceptionally well for the future."

21/08/2026

Calling all Old Sennockians!

Our next all OS drinks event in London is on Wednesday 2 December and everyone's invited, whether you left school decades ago or just last term.

Drinks, food, good company, and plenty of laughter. Join us to kick off the holiday season!

Book to join us here - https://osonline.sevenoaksschool.org/upcoming-events/

20/08/2026

HEADS OF SEVENOAKS SERIES

TOMMY COOKSON MBE - Headmaster 1996 to 2002
A few years into his headship, Tommy Cookson made Sevenoaks front-page news (and inspired a cartoon in The Times) because of the momentous decision to go all-IB. Backed by the Governors, he did so in the belief that the underlying philosophy of the IB suited Sevenoaks students and provided the best preparation for university and beyond. Tommy described it as ‘a better yardstick of excellence’. That daring decision in 1999 supported Sevenoaks’ reputation for academic innovation and was a considerable turning point in the school’s history. It is a decision the school has never regretted.

Tommy’s six years as Headmaster showed an intense commitment to the true aims of education: to widen and deepen minds, and to stimulate a thirst for learning with a curriculum that provided enough challenge for students in all years. He had a constant insistence on the merits of an international education and was in tune with the school’s global outlook. This included developing and extending the Modern Languages programme through options in the Lower School and extra classrooms, widening opportunities for foreign language exchanges through links with schools in Brussels and Russia, ensuring trips abroad were the norm across subjects and built into the curriculum, and completing the International Centre’s move to its purpose-built home in 1997. Within a few years, Sevenoaks was established as a leading IB school and its worldwide reputation was rapidly rising.

An expanding school with continued growth in student numbers led to the need for more space. School House, which 80 years earlier had housed most of the school, was renamed Old School and became home to a single department (Maths) in 1997. During the late 1990s there was also great success and opportunity across sport, drama and music and in 2000 Sevenoaks was named by The Sunday Times as its Co-educational Independent School of the Year.

Tommy later founded Physics Partners, a Kent-based educational charity, and in 2022 he was awarded an MBE for services to education. He is pictured with the current Headmaster, Jesse Elzinga, this year and remains a passionate supporter of Sevenoaks School and the IB.

19/08/2026

Calling all alumni and parents in Paris! Join us for an evening of conversation.

📅 Monday 28 September
⏰ 6:30pm - 9pm
📍 Paris

Whether it's been years or you were just here last term, come reconnect with old friends, meet new faces, and hear all the latest news from school.

Sign up here - https://osonline.sevenoaksschool.org/upcoming-events/

We can't wait to see you there!

17/08/2026

We want to hear from you!

If you've not been hearing from us, and are feeling a bit left out, if might be because we haven't got an updated email address for you, or our emails are going into your junk folder!

Make sure you get in touch with us at [email protected] with your current contact information so you can stay up to date with all the latest Old Sennockian and Sevenoaks School news.

14/08/2026

Your reminder to sign up for the Annual OS Touch Rugby & Tennis Tournaments!

📆Saturday 5 September
⏰10am - 12pm

Join old friends and meet fellow alumni for a morning back on the pitch or court.

To sign up - https://osonline.sevenoaksschool.org/upcoming-events/

13/08/2026

HEADS OF SEVENOAKS SERIES

RICHARD BARKER - Headmaster 1981 to 1996
Richard Barker succeeded Alan Tammadge, having previously taught at Bedales and Marlborough College. From 1966 he had also pioneered a Business Studies A-level, considered a cutting-edge development in education.

Sevenoaks already had a reputation for innovation. As a moderniser with a new ‘management approach’ and strong grasp of business Richard Barker was a good fit. John Guyatt wrote in Richard’s obituary, ‘It was an exciting, almost turbulent time. Richard wanted change and he wanted it fast: co-education…new buildings, tennis, the Summer Festival, the IB: all were enthusiastically pushed forward. Decisive, firm, always courageous, ideas tumbled out of him’.

Richard Barker is credited with creating a heterogeneous school. Four years prior to his arrival Sevenoaks had been the first HMC school to offer the IB Diploma and he enthusiastically publicised its merits as a broad, rigorous and challenging programme. By the time he left Sevenoaks, half the Sixth Form were choosing it instead of A-levels - even though many people in England were unaware of the qualification - and the school’s overall academic reputation had improved. Richard Barker also recognised the advantages of co-education and international students; the school went fully co-ed in 1984, and he championed investment in boarding including Sennocke House in 1986. Among his other achievements were much improved sporting standards and an emphasis on co-curricular opportunities for everyone.

In terms of the campus, Richard Barker oversaw significant development during his 15 years. As well as repairing the damage done by the Great Storm of 1987, he was clear the school needed the very best facilities for it to flourish and be considered one of the best independent schools in the country. This involved a huge re-landscaping of the campus, a new Science, Electronics and Computing Centre in 1988, the Bailey Tennis Centre in 1989, extending the Aisher Hall in 1990, and Claridge House in 1992.

While at Sevenoaks, Richard Barker was greatly supported by his wife Imogen who we were delighted to see in June for the Retired Staff Lunch. She is pictured at the event alongside John Guyatt and Tommy Cookson who, on his appointment as Headmaster in 1996, noted Richard Barker’s ‘dedication, shrewdness and foresight which had carried the school to new heights’.

Address

High Street
Sevenoaks
TN131HU

Telephone

+441732467708

Website

http://osonline.sevenoaksschool.org/, https://connect.sevenoaksschool.org/register

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