'I want schools to be places that celebrate kindness, encourage bravery and nurture ambition': Meet the new head of The Richard Pate School

Sam Morgan took up his new role as headmaster in August 2025, just in time for the start of the academic year at The Richard Pate School. He brings with him senior leadership experience from neighbouring independent school, Clifton College in Bristol, where he held the role of head of its pre-prep school.

With an outstanding reputation as one of Gloucestershire's leading prep schools, Richard Pate is renowned for its state-of-the-art facilities on a beautiful 11-acre campus in the Leckhampton countryside. SoGlos caught up with Sam in his first month on the job, to find out how he's settling in and what appealed to him about Gloucestershire and his new school.

What inspired you to pursue a career in education and what led to the role at The Richard Pate School?

The answer to both parts of that question is about finding where I felt a sense of belonging. I know several colleagues who have followed in their family footsteps to become a teacher and – likely in no small part because my mother was a primary school teacher and head – I grew up immersed in school life. I always felt that deep sense of enjoyment that comes from a breadth of learning opportunities and being part of a school community. I love learning, sport, music and contributing to a community, so as an industry, it is a very good fit.

About five years ago, a respected friend and colleague mentioned Richard Pate (RPS) to me – his children having attended the school. He knows me very well and at the time he said, ‘I know a school in Cheltenham that's where you belong. If ever the headship comes up, you should be going for it.’ 

Fast-forward five years, and after an amazing experience of leadership at Clifton College, the job came up at the perfect time whilst I was considering my next career step. One visit as a prospective candidate and I had no doubt whatsoever as to why my friend saw me fitting in here.

How would you describe your educational philosophy?

I want schools to be places that celebrate kindness, encourage bravery and nurture ambition. I believe that if you give children a real breadth of opportunities, are aspirational for them and champion them as individuals, their passions and talents will be discovered. This philosophy aligns very nicely with the school’s motto, ‘Patebit tum quod latuit’, meaning ‘what is hidden will be revealed’.

What attracted you to RPS and the community in Cheltenham?

I was drawn to RPS because I knew very quickly that my sense of belonging aligned with the purpose of the school. To me it feels like the embodiment of what all ideal prep schools should be. 

As a standalone school, dedicated to the primary age range, the focus and purpose of the organisation is purely serving children of this age. We take great pride in helping parents to choose the right onward destination to suit their particular child and we give bespoke support to each individual pupil as they make this transition to secondary.

What do you see as the school’s greatest strengths?

The majority of our children join in Nursery and, from the age of three, we aim to instil a joy of learning that follows them throughout their time with us and beyond. We have invested significantly in the school over the years and are very fortunate to benefit from specialist facilities, including an art studio, science lab, music centre, an amazing woodland area and floodlit astro. This allows our specialist staff to offer the children the broadest possible education.

An undeniable strength of the school is the way in which it supports each individual child. Keeping pupils with class teachers for core subjects, but also having brilliant specialist teachers, means that they are so well known as learners. We have significant expertise in the transition to secondary and our children are exceptionally well-prepared for the onward school that is right for them and their families. From 11-plus readiness to applying successfully to independent schools, the staff hold considerable knowledge about accessing the options available for the next phase of education.

What’s your approach to pastoral care and how do you support children’s mental health and emotional development?

Pastoral care at RPS is focused on developing our children to be happy, confident and resilient.

Our community is based upon respect, good manners and fair play. We are committed to providing a safe and caring environment that is free from disruption and any form of harassment and where our pupils can learn and play and can talk about their worries, confident that an adult will listen and offer help.

Each pupil has a class teacher who they see on a daily basis for registration and for many of their lessons. The class teacher is able to build a good relationship with his/her pupils and is the first port of call if a pupil, parent or specialist teacher needs to raise any concerns. 

How do you encourage pupil voice and independence in learning at this young age?

RPS School Council and Pupil Voice work hand in hand to give pupils a genuine say in school life and the confidence to see their ideas through. For example, over the past year, they have led several exciting projects: researching and recommending the best webcam for our woodland area, running a school survey to choose new playground equipment and then organising its purchase and distribution. 

They also work closely with the PTA, carefully managing the financial contribution provided and deciding how best to spend it. On a regular basis, the School Council organise and deliver school assemblies on themes they find important. These experiences give our children real responsibility, helping them to develop leadership, decision-making and teamwork skills while seeing the positive impact of their voices across the school.

What kind of environment are you hoping to cultivate for pupils on a day-to-day basis?

Culturally, I want the children to be in a stimulating environment, where they are confident making mistakes, knowing they have everyone behind them. Physically, the site itself has benefitted from significant investment over the years. 

It’s important we continue to maintain high-quality facilities – such as our amazing woodland area, specialist science lab and music studio and extensive sports pitches – to ensure that we build on our strong history of producing brilliant learners as well as very successful sports teams and players, musicians and thespians.

How important is it for the school to contribute to the local Cheltenham community and in what ways might that happen?

Highly important. The school enjoys being a place with a strong reputation for academic success, but schools like ours are much more than that. It’s imperative that Cheltenham and its families benefit from the broad opportunities that a community like ours can share. 

From hosting other schools and clubs in our sporting facilities, to getting out and sharing our music at local care homes and community groups, there have been many successful partnerships that have seen the local community engage with school in recent years. This is something I look forward to building on even more over the coming years.