Dominic Mott has taken over as Head of Hurst College from Tim Manly, who has left the College to run the Hurst Educational Trust. Maarten Hoffmann sat down with Dominic to find out what his plans are for the school

Maarten Hoffmann: Welcome to your new role, Dominic. Can you describe your route to this appointment?

Dominic W Mott: I started at the College in 2015 as Head of the Senior School and was acting as the righthand man to Tim Manly, the Headmaster. I was, effectively, the Deputy Head. I have a great love and passion for Hurst, the culture, the setting - it’s just perfect for me and l didn’t want to go anywhere else. At the same time, l was keen to advance to Headmaster in my career progression.

I was fortunate that when Tim announced that he was intending to step aside, the Governors decided to hold onto me as his successor. A two-year plan was put into place to ensure a smooth transition, so l took over as Head of College in 2022.

The analogy we have used is somewhat like a DJ seamlessly blending one track into another. This, to me, perfectly describes the transition path.

MH: Let’s take you back to the start of your career, did you always intend to go into teaching?

DWM: Not at all. I’ve had quite a varied career to this point. Many of my friends went into the City and were making ludicrous amounts of money so l thought, ‘why not?’ Once there, l realised I had sold my soul to the Devil, and quickly recognised it was not for me.

Prior to university, I attended Sandhurst and become an Army officer commanding a platoon of soldiers. l learnt an awful lot about myself during that time. As a linguist, l spent a year in Madrid before entering politics as a researcher for Andrew Mitchell, who was at that time the shadow Secretary of State for International Development.

Funnily enough, l recently found my school careers report, and it stated that the number one career l was best suited to was education – so that was a lightbulb moment. It even said it was a shame it was that l had decided not to pursue that route.

I then secured a job at Highgate School and just fell in love with it. Totally untrained, they gave me an A-Level class and told me to get on with it, and l never looked back. For me, it really is a vocation.

MH: What impact does your workload have on your personal life?

DWM: My partner is also a teacher, but it’s just the two of us for now; life is just too full at the moment for children. With Hurst being a day and boarding school, it never stops. The weekdays are full-to-bursting. At weekends, we have such an intensive co-curriculum programme that Saturdays are full. It’s only on Sundays that l get to catch up on the week, prepare for the next – and then Monday rolls around. But l have to say, l love every minute of it.

MH: Now you are in the head role, what would you change about Hurst?

DWM: Not much, as Tim has handed over a school in robust health. However, one thing we are all agreed on is the need for increased diversity. We don’t have any international students, our student body is primarily white British, and l think ethnic diversity is very important.

It brings many new experiences to the students. It is not easy as Sussex is not particularly ethnically diverse. Regarding the teaching staff, we have changed much of the recruitment process to reflect that desire to make the student body and the staff common room more diverse.

MH: What do you think about the Labour plan to remove charitable status and enforce VAT on fees on independent schools should they get into power?

DWM: The best way to increase diversity is to increase the number of bursaries and scholarships we can offer to students to encourage socio-economic diversity within the school. But if VAT is placed on fees, not only is that really tough for parents working two jobs and busting a gut to ensure their child has a first-class education but it will reduce our capacity to increase diversity through the bursary route.

Tim and the school have already done a lot of work through the Hurst Educational Trust to enable hundreds, if not thousands, of local state school children to benefit from what Hurst has to offer and that will continue at pace. What people are not talking about – aside from Platinum who l know has been keen to highlight this – is the massive impact such a decision will have on the state sector.

Very conservative estimates show that a minimum of 10% of independent school pupils will be priced out and forced into the state sector and, quite apart from that massive influx into already overcrowded schools, the infrastructure that would be required is mind-boggling. Then we have schools such as Hurst, who will have to make cost savings. Thankfully, we are in robust health but those economically marginal independent schools might well be forced to close – and that would be a tragedy.

MH: What is at the top of your list to change or improve?

DWM: The one thing l am determined to crack is to develop genuine independence amongst our pupils. Schools are very good at extrinsic motivation – the carrot and stick if you will. We can encourage, cajole, guide and support children from A to B and ensure they come out with great results.

However, what will set them up far better for life is if we can give them the intrinsic motivation; to give them the self-knowledge and self-awareness to set their own goals, to coach themselves towards success and to adapt to the challenges of life without an adult telling them what to do. This route can really set them up for life.

MH: Who is your customer - the pupil or the parent?

DWM: That’s an interesting one. As an independent school, the pupil is the client and the parent is the paying customer. However, there is sometimes a disconnect between what the pupil wants and what the parents want for their children.

Part of our cultural mission is to try to align those with what we as the third party want for the children. All parties want success but there can be some tension about how to go about achieving that success. Many children want that success without doing the hard work, for instance, and our mission is to ensure they understand that one cannot come without the other.

I always like to engage with the parents and prefer to hear if there are any problems sooner rather than later. From there, we can come up with the solutions before they become bigger problems. A genuinely great relationship with our parental body ensures a two-way conversation, and an open relationship between all three parties.

MH: You take all phones from the pupils at the start of the day. Personally, l think this is an incredibly important move in the right direction.

DWM: Absolutely. Mobile phones are not a major issue within lessons but they are during break times when they can greatly affect social interaction. Groups of pupils glued to their phones rather than talking to each other was the biggest driver for us. The pupils were not happy with this decision but as each new year group comes through, it has become accepted. Now – lo and behold! – we look around at break time and see groups chatting, laughing and interacting. It has ultimately proved to be the right decision.

MH: I am sorry to say that we have come to the end of our time but l am delighted to hear what is going on at Hurst and l wish you the very best in the role and look forward to returning next year to see how you have been getting on. Many thanks.

DWM: Thank you Maarten, it has been a pleasure.