Bradfield College is an environment where young people thrive thanks to an innovative approach to contemporary pastoral care aiming to better serve the diverse needs of every pupil. Richard Penny is our Deputy Head (Pastoral), and shared more about Bradfield’s Culture of Care in the recent edition of The Bradfieldian.

The Bradfieldian

Richard Penny, BSC (Hons), Med

Richard joined Bradfield College as Deputy Head (Pastoral) in September 2022, arriving from Cheltenham College where he was Senior Housemaster and an established member of the Senior Leadership Team. He was educated at Exeter School, Devon and went on to read Geography at Swansea University. After graduating, Richard spent ten years in the Armed Forces, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. Having completed his PGCE in 2010, he spent one year at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls before joining Cheltenham College as Head of Geography and CCF Contingent Commander, becoming a Housemaster shortly thereafter.

Richard possesses a depth of pastoral and boarding expertise alongside a compelling commitment to rounded character education. He believes strongly in educating the whole person – building confidence and resilience – to create well-rounded, polite and innovative young people. In between teaching, Richard has a keen interest in health and fitness, particularly outdoor pursuits and ultra events. Richard lives at the College with his wife Tamaryn (an Old Bradfieldian I 92-94) and their two children.

For many pupils, the rhythms of school life can sometimes feel overwhelming. Recognising this, Bradfield has made subtle but powerful changes to ensure these pupils don’t just cope but flourish. One of the first changes has been to refine the Year 6 Admissions process, broadening the pastoral interview to acknowledge a wider range of interests and strengths and fine-tuning scoring systems to allow scope for reflective and analytical answers to reduce confirmation bias towards the extrovert.

Beyond Admissions, Bradfield has been actively reshaping its physical and social spaces. A new quiet workroom in Palmer House, reconfigured dining hall seating for more intimate meals and  dedicated ‘timeout’ rooms in the Medical Centre are all part of a larger effort to create reset space, areas where pupils can take a breather when the pace of school life feels too much.

Our onsite Talking Therapies team of clinically trained Counsellors, Psychologists, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Therapists, are on hand for our pupils. Find out more here:

Talking Therapies