David Griffiths to step down at The Mount School in York

David Griffiths started at The Mount School in Dalton Terrace back in January 2022. The school, which has about 240 pupils, counts Oscar winning actress Dame Judi Dench and astrophysicist Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell, among its former pupils.

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When he started at the Quaker school Mr Griffiths became their 20th principal since the all-girls' school moved to Castlegate in 1831 and the first man to lead the school since co-founder, William Tuke, retired in 1804.

Mount School principal David Griffiths with pupils (Image: Supplied)

In a letter to parents at the school Margaret Bryan from The Mount School Committee has said: "As of January 2025, our Principal, David Griffiths, will be stepping down, and will take up a role on The Mount’s recruitment, admissions and marketing committee.

"In his new capacity, David will be instrumental in continuing to support the strategic objectives of the school, particularly in the realm of international recruitment and business development. Additionally, he will continue in his role as a Director of Mount School Estates Ltd, the school’s commercial activity arm.

"We, as a board, are deeply grateful for David’s invaluable contributions during his tenure as principal.

"His wealth of experience, dedication to pupil success, and unwavering attention to detail have been instrumental in accelerating the school towards the delivery of our Strategic Direction 2022 – 2027.

"Thanks to his leadership, we are now well-positioned for continued success.
The Mount School has experienced remarkable growth under David's leadership, with an increasingly diverse pupil body hailing from seventeen different countries.

"A generous financial gift has enabled us to now embark on boarding expansion plans, and then to make wider investments in our facilities from September 2024 to 2026. This growth has been paralleled by improvements in academic achievement, including enhanced examination results, prestigious Oxbridge and wider university offers, and a vibrant super-curricular programme.
In particular, our pupils now have access to a wide range of expeditions, including those to Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions."

The school is looking for a new principal

Mr Griffiths joined The Mount from Wycombe Abbey School, Changzhou, where he had been head since 2015. 

The search is now underway to find a new principal by the start of the Spring Term. 

Dame Judi Dench is a past pupil

In the meantime the senior leadership team of Joanne Goudriaan and James Waddington in the senior school, along with Rachel Capper in the junior school will lead the day-to-day operations until Mr Griffith's replacement is able to start.