Dr Helen Wright meets Peter Green, the executive head master of Rugby School Group, which includes Rugby School in the UK, its Bilton Grange prep and its outposts in Thailand and very soon, Japan.
Mr Green talks about his role in devising strategy for the group and how the Thai project was born in 2017. He also elaborates on how the new school in Japan will be far from “a badge above the door” or a “cash cow” and will act as a catalyst for cultural and educational exchange.
Rugby School in the UK has been closely involved with establishing the new school, and all students who graduate will be known as “Old Rugbeians”, and benefit from a global alumni network, he says.
He also talks about the new Rugby School Group “enrichment campus” on the Japanese island of Hokkaido which will provide opportunities for students across the group and the world.
Mr Green also addresses the sticky topic of privilege and the “politics of envy”, saying that the UK Government should view private schools “rather like the monastic houses in medieval Europe, who were spiritual flagships”.
“Our schools should be viewed as educational flagships, schools to learn from,” he says.