Welcome to our new Head, Mr Alex McCullough

Orwell Park Prep School is delighted to announce that the Governing Council has appointed Mr Alex McCullough as the next Head.

Following a recruitment process that attracted an impressively strong field of candidates, Mr McCullough was the unanimous choice of the selection panel and will take up his position from September 2026.

A vastly experienced leader in the independent prep sector, Mr McCullough has a strong track record of delivering excellence in day and boarding prep school environments.

This appointment comes at an exciting time for Orwell Park. The recently-announced partnership with Benenden School not only brings stability but an opportunity for growth, and Mr McCullough will bring experience, vision and energy to the role of Head, for the long-term benefit of Orwell.

Mr McCullough said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed to lead such a wonderful school as Orwell Park at this exciting period in its history.

“Orwell is clearly a remarkable school with an extremely bright future and I am very much looking forward to working with Benenden and the Orwell Park community to build on the school’s proud legacy of delivering an outstanding education for its pupils.” 

Mr McCullough has been working in education for 30 years, firstly in the state primary sector before moving into independent prep schools. He was an Academic Director at Repton Prep School before taking up his first headship at Polwhele House School in Truro, which he led for nine years before moving to his current post, as Headmaster of Perrott Hill in Somerset, in 2018.

Mr McCullough’s skills and knowledge include being a Team Inspector with the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) and a former District Chair with the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS). A keen musician, Mr McCullough is a Durham music graduate and a former cathedral chorister. He also has a passionate interest in all sports and particularly enjoys playing golf, walking and skiing.

Mr McCullough is married to Helen, an experienced Reception teacher, and they have two teenage children. The family looks forward to moving to Orwell.