The Doon School’s new headmaster, Matthew Raggett says that for meritorious students, joining the Doon School need not be an impossibility due to financial constraints.
In an exclusive interview with The Pioneer here on Monday, he said that almost half the boys at the Doon School receive some financial aid which may include scholarships and bursaries. “These bursaries help the boys travel to and from the school, get uniforms and go on school trips,” said the new headmaster. “Some students receive complete bursaries while 47 per cent students receive aid. We wish to raise this to 50 per cent.”
He said teachers and other students did not know which of the students were receiving this financial aid. He said that the fact that students were being aided financially broke the myth that only the children of the rich and elite could find admission here.
Raggett said that from April 2017, the school would be introducing the two-year IGCSE programme of Cambridge to replace the ICSE programme. “For this, we will need to pay more attention to the teaching of French, Spanish and German and also create a new time-table. Class nine will begin with this programme in April next year.”
Describing the school as a “tranquil paradise”, he said that he had been mostly in office since the day he arrived here (July 11). “I have been around the city a bit and found it quite interesting and dynamic. I look forward to some mountain biking as soon as I can get some time out,” said Raggett who is a keen mountain biker.
A passionate teacher, Raggett has some refreshing views some of which he shared with this correspondent. He said he was completely against the idea of “holiday homework” and felt that the best ways for students to spend their holidays was with their parents “on a holiday”.
“If we make the children work all year round, they will burn out. We do not want tired and unhappy students as that would not make for a proper foundation for good learning”, said the headmaster. “Holidays cannot be called holidays if they are spent in tuitions”.
He said parents should trust the teachers in school completely and avoid resorting so much to tuitions.
The headmaster said the founder’s day celebrations of the school would be held from October 22 this year. A Hindi play “Muafza” was being prepared by the boys for the celebrations.
Ragget recently assumed office and has brought with him vast experience in international education which spans over twenty years in various capacities and countries. He said he was offered this position in October 2015 and was sure he would take it.
He said he had great regard for the value system of The Doon School and was happy to share it. “The Doon School works at making students go ahead and excel at various things-becoming a political analyst, a sports captain, a writer,” said the headmaster.
He said coming to the Doon School was also due to personal reasons for him. “I wanted to move with my family to a different and interesting place”, he said adding that he had had many Indian friends and students in countries where he was earlier posted.
Raggett grew up in England and did his Bsc. In Math and Applied Physics from the University Of Newcastle, a PGCE in Education from the University Of Worcester and went on to do an MBA in Educational leadership from Charles Sturt University, Australia. His tryst with education began with Yarm School in UK as a Physics teacher in 1995. From Yarm he moved to Vienna International School as Head of Physics and later to Pearson United World College, Canada. In the years to follow, besides teaching he handled pastoral and boarding life of students in United World College, Singapore where he was a House Parent and later in Kings College, Madrid where he was Boarding Head. Before coming to Doon, Raggett was the Principal of Secondary School of leipzig International School, Germany for the last seven years.
Raggett is very fond of gardening.
He is joined by his wife lindsay who also happens to be a German teacher by profession. The Raggetts have two sons Hugh and William and a daughter Eve.