New Leadership Team announced for one unified Sherborne
Sherborne Schools Group has appointed Dr Ruth Sullivan as its first Group Chief Executive Officer, marking the next step in bringing Sherborne Prep, Sherborne Boys and Sherborne Girls together as one unified Sherborne, as announced in June.
From January 2027, Dr Ruth Sullivan will lead a newly restructured Executive team and report to the Chair of Governors, providing clear strategic direction as the three schools transition to a single brand and a shared all-through pathway from age 3 to 18. Simon Heard has been appointed Head of Schools, working alongside Dr Ruth Sullivan to lead a newly combined Senior Leadership Team spanning both Sherborne Boys and Sherborne Girls.
Hanford, which offers a distinctive all-girls boarding education from Year 3 to 8, will continue to be marketed separately in recognition of its unique offer outside the Sherborne model, while remaining part of the wider Sherborne Schools Group. Hanford's Head, Sophie Blewitt, will report directly to Dr Ruth Sullivan as CEO, reflecting the important place Hanford holds within the family of schools.
Sherborne's distinctive "Separate, yet together" model sees pupils learn co-educationally at Prep, before benefiting from single-sex teaching through the GCSE years - an approach the schools believe delivers greater engagement, confidence and outcomes at that stage - and then move into an increasingly co-educational Sixth Form by 2028.
"There is something about Sherborne that anyone connected to it recognises: its community, its humanity, its excellence," said Christopher Samler, Chair of Governors. "This new leadership structure is designed to bring that spirit into sharper focus - building a genuinely cohesive team and staff body, sharing best practice across our schools, and keeping pupils at the centre of every decision we make."
The unified leadership team will oversee this transition alongside Sherborne's continued commitment to Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Character education, including the appointment of a new Director of Digital Innovation and Director of Enterprise, and October's inaugural Sherborne Turing Conference marking 100 years since Alan Turing joined the school as a pupil.
With over 1,200 pupils, more than 850 full boarders and a combined history of 1,500 years, Sherborne is one of the great educational communities in the country - shaping pupils who are capable, quietly confident, and ready to contribute to the world.
One unified Sherborne. One outstanding education.
3 September 2026
Notes to editors
Sherborne Girls, Sherborne Boys and Sherborne Prep form part of Sherborne Schools Group, a wider family of independent schools united by a shared commitment to transformative, values-driven education. The Group's vision is to be recognised as the UK's leading group of independent schools, renowned for blending academic excellence, character and wellbeing, and 21st-century skills – preparing every pupil to thrive, lead, and shape society as ethical innovators, courageous thinkers, and global citizens.
For more information about Sherborne please contact:
Camilla Bashaarat, Group Head of External Communications, Sherborne Schools Group camilla.bashaarat@sherborneschools.group or 07585 330303
