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The headteacher of one of Britain’s top schools has resigned ahead of schedule after an incident which left him “lost” [his] A “heat of temper” with a colleague led to an independent investigation, according to correspondence seen by the Financial Times.
In a letter to staff and parents, Joseph Spence, headmaster of the £55,000-a-year private school Dulwich College, said he would resign before the start of the academic year next month following an incident at a staff summer party.
“As some of you may have heard, I lost my temper with an employee at the July 4th Employee Party – the only time in my career that this has happened,” Spence wrote, adding that he apologized to the co-worker involved.
“That incident made me reflect on what it takes to lead a complex multinational organisation like Dulwich, especially given the huge challenges we have all faced in recent years,” he added.
A separate letter from the school board chairman said the incident “resulted in a comprehensive investigation by an independent investigator appointed by the Board of Trustees and appropriate action was taken to the satisfaction of the Board of Trustees.”
Spence, who has been principal of Dulwich College since 2009, had planned to retire at the end of the academic year in August 2025, but will now return “as an ambassador and adviser,” the letter from Adrian Carr, chairman of the board of governors, said. Spence’s replacement — Robert Milne, the current principal of rival private school Emanuel School in London — has been chosen to start next September. An interim principal has been appointed until Milne takes over.
Dulwich College is one of the UK’s most elite private colleges. school — which counts Oscar-winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and MP Nigel Farage among its former pupils. Last year, the school generated £36m in net tuition fees and has lent its name to a large international network of schools, mainly in Asia, owned by global school provider Education in Motion.
During Spence’s tenure, Dulwich College was one of a number of fee-paying schools in London to face allegations of sexual assault by former and current students, which have fostered a “rape culture”, as part of an online campaign called Everyone’s Invited.
More recently, independent schools have come under pressure from the new Labour government, which initially threatened to strip them of their charitable status before backing away. However, from next year, independent schools will lose their VAT exemptions under Labour’s plans to fund 6,500 new state school teaching places.
“I have always wanted to get to the point where I have seen us overcome those challenges and can pass the torch,” Spence said in the letter. He said his role as an adviser would focus “on our ambition to raise funds for scholarships and to carry out ambassadorial duties as needed.”
Representatives for Dulwich College and Spence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
