Twenty years ago I put an ad online asking strangers to join “a tribe” to help fund and build an eco-tourism village on a remote Fijian island. Thousands of people signed up and I moved to Vorovoro, and we, guided by our new local partners, built our dream together.
We encountered cyclones, fires and a national political coup — but the project survived, and it generated millions for the local economy and inspired thousands of people to think differently about how we live.
It didn’t make me wealthy financially, but it did change my life — and many others — and it happened because a few of us dreamers came together and said yes, when most would say no.
This is entrepreneurship.
My journey from the Fijian island to Sherborne has been a long, fun and bumpy one — but the reason our three children are at Sherborne Prep is because we were attracted by its community-driven culture that puts the children’s curiosities at the heart of their education. The result is that the school is now attracting more entrepreneurial families like ours.
And today I’m joining Sherborne as your first Director of Entrepreneurship because, like the leadership of this new group, I believe we are at a really important, challenging moment in education and society — and one that also comes with great opportunity.
Our pupils are walking into a world being rewritten at speed — by AI, by climate, by geopolitics; significant change none of us can fully predict.
They’ll need everything you already give them — confidence, character, community — and also the ability to spot an opportunity, back themselves, take a risk, and make something happen.
Enterprise is what academic excellence and confidence in yourself looks like when it meets this unpredictable world.
It does NOT mean becoming a business school
It means learning how to test business skills against new ideas in different areas.
It does NOT mean becoming a tech-dominated school
It means learning how to use new tech to test and grow ideas, as well as exploring the opportunities in the low-tech economy.
Keep your head in the clouds, but your feet on the ground.
One of my favourite mantras
So you’ve just heard about the big dream we have for SSG to be an entrepreneurial destination for pupils, families, educators, alumni and leaders — but what about making it happen in reality?
This term I’ll start by getting to know you, learning about where in the curriculum and programmes at Sherborne the seeds of entrepreneurship already exist. Then, we’ll start to plan how we might do more together.
I’ll also run small, experimental projects:
- +The Sherborne Shark Tank
- +A dashboard of Sherborne Startups
- +Turing Time AI Club
- +Silicon Abbey
- +Parent events
I’ll be at SSG Monday to Thursday every week. Book me for a meet, invite me to your class, boarding house or club.
My ask to all of you is simple: if you’ve got an idea, or you see a pupil with one — come and find me. I want to help turn that spark into something real.