New head of top independent school left school at 16 to qualify as an engineer

A former aircraft engineer and banker who switched careers to become a teacher has been appointed as the new headmaster of Wales’s newest and fastest growing independent school.

Ian Lloyd, 51, originally from Wallasey where he attended The Mosslands School, will take over the reins at Myddelton College, in Denbigh, in September.

After leaving school aged 16, he joined British Aerospace at Broughton and worked on the BAe 125 executive jet and completed his apprenticeship but later worked for the NatWest bank before moving into the world of education.

He worked with Conwy Local Education Authority on data services for schools before joining Denbighshire Council at Prestatyn High School and then retraining as a Maths teacher at Bangor University and taking a postgraduate certificate in Educational Practice with Cardiff University before teaching at secondary schools in Prestatyn, Abergele and Holywell.

He joined Myddelton seven years ago as assistant headmaster, at the same time as current headmaster Andrew Allman, who leaves at the end of August, and has worked closely with him as the school has gone from just 75 pupils to currently over 360, from prep school to sixth form.

Parents and prospective parents will get the chance to meet the headmaster-elect, who will take over in September, at Myddelton College’s Open Day on Saturday, May 18, from 10am, book places at [email protected]

Ian, who lives in Dyserth, said: “I have that experience of being in the world of work from the age of 16 and of being in the public and private sector, both before and after moving into education.

“Working in multiple schools I have seen a lot of changes in the educational landscape and it’s been really exciting to be involved here at Myddelton as the school has grown and developed and won awards along the way as well as having a number of sporting achievements.

“But we are not just a sporty school – we have many students who go on to great things at A-level and go to top universities. Just last year we had two students go on to Oxford University.

“Myddelton has a reputation for its outdoor learning and range of activities but we are more than just that – we have a really strong academic record as well and a commitment to helping our students fulfil their potential.”

Ian, who teaches Maths and Computer Science, has been heavily involved in the school’s impressive track record in Information Technology and he runs the Microsoft Showcase School programme at Myddelton, one of only three in Wales and the only one in North Wales.

Myddelton made use of that expertise in ensuring that students were able to keep up with the curriculum during Covid lockdown when it delivered a full programme of subjects for remote learning.

He takes over as the school embarks on a £1.7 million upgrade of facilities including a new sixth form centre and a refurbishment of the accommodation for its boarders who come from Europe, Africa, North and South America, China and India.

He also plays bass guitar with the Myddeltones, the school band, and has a background in musical theatre and met his wife, Bethan, after he had starred at the Liverpool Empire Theatre.

He said: “I had been performing there as the leading man in Me and My Girl for a company from Birkenhead.

“I was introduced to the Rhyl and District Amateur Operatic Society when their leading man for the same show had laryngitis and I sang his part for him from the orchestra pit.

“In their next show, I met Bethan who was their leading lady in Guys and Dolls.”

The couple have three children, daughters Ffion, now at Lancaster University, and Aderyn, in Upper Sixth Form at Myddelton, and stepson Alex, 27, who has gained a Masters in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool.

Ian is also a proud Liverpool supporter – his father was a steward at Anfield, in charge of the Main Stand for 25 years during the glory days of the Seventies and Eighties when the club won four European Cups.

Myddelton College, an award winning Independent co-educational day and boarding school, was the UK’s newest independent school when it opened in the autumn of 2016 and is the only school in North Wales with a 5G network.

The school currently has over 360 pupils and 70 staff, 35 of them teachers and Mr Lloyd added: “We want to provide a well-rounded education and give all our pupils a breadth of opportunities including the chance to work and form bonds with students from all over the world.”