After 24 years at Nottingham High School, including 17 years as Head of School, Kevin Fear has announced his decision to retire in September 2025. During this time, he has provided brilliant leadership to the school taking it from strength to strength in providing an outstanding all-round education, with a real care for individuals being a hallmark.
Kevin said “It has been the privilege of my life to lead Nottingham High School and its fantastic team of teaching and support staff. I have been so proud of all of the students who have been in our care and of their remarkable achievements. I am looking forward now to my retirement but I do so with the School in fantastic shape. I will miss so much about the school, the amazing children, the supportive parental body and of course all of the outstanding staff and Governing Body.”
Under his leadership the school has achieved much recognition, including National Co-Educational Independent School of the Year, East Midlands Independent School of the Decade and being ranked first for academic results in the East Midlands. Amongst the many improvements he has overseen are the addition of Lovell House, the expansion of the Junior School, the very successful move to become Co-Educational and more recently the completion of the Wellbeing Centre which demonstrates Kevin’s commitment to the mental and physical health of pupils. Kevin has also championed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the High School across all areas of school life, as part of our school value of individuality, starting with a working group and now spanning into all areas of school life. His period in charge has seen significant improvements in public exam results as well as a real focus on the tutor system, which is widely regarded as one of the most favoured aspects of the High School among the parent body.
He joined us in 2000 from The King’s School, Chester where he was he was Head of History, and Publicity and Marketing Officer. Initially Senior Teacher and Director of Marketing, he soon moved on to Deputy Head (Academic and Marketing). In 2007 he became Head of School and began leading the journey of Excellence that would benefit so many students over the years. His commitment to harnessing technology has been clear, from making the move to digital reports to the more recent introduction of Bring Your Own Device and Google Classroom. Kevin’s leadership and management has led the school to achieve great things in the academic sphere, as one of very few independent schools to maintain their pandemic results in the first year back to regular examinations. Our regular position in the Top 50 schools in the UK is also testament to his leadership in this area. The awards and several high quality inspection outcomes pay testament to his commitment.
Steve Banks, Chair of Governors said “ Kevin’s leadership of the school has been truly outstanding and his passion for excellence has always driven him to continually improve and never be complacent. This drive for all to get the best results they can has been balanced by genuine care for all pupils as individuals and set up so many for successful future careers and lives. His track record speaks for itself, and he will leave behind a strong leadership team supported by excellent staff. I have appreciated his openness and transparency with the Governors and look forward to working with him for the next four terms.”
The search for the next Head of Nottingham High School will now begin and we are confident of attracting a high quality successor to continue the schools success story.
