Annual Conference for Heads
🏷️ Included in 2025/26 membership for UK full members; £750 for international full members; £1,125 for affiliates and day schools; £1,500 for non-members
🏠 Accommodation not included
🎧 Heads
📍 Crowne Plaza, Stratford-upon-Avon
Headline sponsors:
“As a boarding head you can’t afford not to be there.”
We look forward to welcoming Heads from our member schools to the Annual Conference for Heads, taking place May 5–6, 2026.
All UK full member schools receive one complimentary delegate place; however, an RSVP is essential to confirm your booking.
This two-day event will bring together Heads to learn, share, and debate all things boarding, exploring the latest challenges and opportunities for leaders in our sector.
The conference will also feature the BSA Annual Awards and Conference Dinner, which will be held on May 5, 2026.
It’s always stimulating and thought-provoking to meet colleagues and to hear from speakers with a range of different experiences.
Exhibiting and sponsorship: We are delighted to be able to offer sponsorship and exhibition opportunities at this event. For full details please reach out to Neil Rust, Head of Commercial neil.rust@bsagroup.org.uk or Laura Brain, Senior Commercial Consultant, laura.brain@bsagroup.org.uk or call on +44 (0)207 798 1580.
Really good opportunity to step away from the hubbub of school life for a couple of days, do some free thinking and come away with new ideas.
Speakers:
Henry Price, BSA Chair 2026 and Head, Oakham School
Henry has been Headmaster of Oakham School since September 2019. A Classics graduate of Oxford University, he brings over 30 years of experience in the boarding sector. A boarder himself and former Housemaster, Henry has worked at Sherborne, Rugby, Wellington School and Oakham. Henry is a strong advocate of the value of boarding and its benefits to pupils and families, and deeply committed to all the staff who support and enrich these precious communities.
Sir Nicholas Coleridge CBE DL, Provost of Eton College
Nicholas is the Provost of Eton College and Chairman of Historic Royal Palaces.
He is a former Chairman of HM The King’s Campaign for Wool, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Fashion Council.
He was Co-Chair of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
For thirty years, he was successively Editorial Director, Managing Director, President and then Chairman of the Conde Nast Publishing Group.
He is the author of 14 books and commissioned a folly in Worcestershire by the architect Quinlan Terry.
Richard Stokes, CEO, ABSA
Richard Stokes is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA). He began his career in boarding in 1980 at Immanuel College, Adelaide, before moving to Brisbane in 1982 to St Peters Lutheran College, where he served as Assistant Senior Boarding Master and later Coordinator of Boarding. In 1996, Richard became Dean of Residential Care at St Joseph’s Nudgee College, overseeing a boarding program of nearly 600 boys until 2005. Involved with ABSA since 1985, he has held numerous leadership roles and became its first Executive Director in 2007. He achieved Certified Association Executive (CAE) status in June 2024.
David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding & Education and Director, BSA/TIOB
David is the Executive Director, Boarding and Director BSA/TIOB and joined the BSA group in August 2023. He has over 20 years’ experience in boarding schools and has worked in a range of schools in the UK and Africa, alongside being a prep school governor and a trustee of a MAT. Before taking up his post at the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-ed independent school in the South-East.
Dale Wilkins, Executive Director, Scotland/Wales and Accredited/Compliance
Dale joined the BSA in 2017 to lead safeguarding, inspection, and compliance across the UK, building on his experience as a course tutor since 1998. He works closely with ISI, Ofsted, and DfE, and oversees the Group’s work in Scotland and Wales. A trainer and consultant for BSA and SACPA, Dale is Vice Chair of SAFCAB. Previously, he was a boarding practitioner for 31 years, including Housemaster and Deputy Head at Old Swinford Hospital. He also trains for the Methodist Church, is a trustee of the National Youth String Orchestra, chairs a performing arts charity, and volunteers in sport and Scouting.
Kate Hollyer, Partner and Director, BSA Group Legal Services Ltd
A qualified solicitor with over 14 years’ experience in UK immigration law, Kate advises and supports members on a full range of immigration matters. Before joining BSA in 2022, Kate was Partner and Head of Department at a leading UK law firm, where she built extensive expertise in complex immigration cases. Since 2014, Kate has lived in boarding houses alongside her Housemaster husband, giving her a unique, first-hand perspective on the challenges and opportunities of boarding life.
