Heads & Tales Live: An Evening with Top UK Schools
New York City.
On Monday 6th October 2025, Oppidan Co-Founder Henry Faber hosted a fireside Q&A followed by networking drinks with three of the UK’s leading boarding schools: Eton College, Wellington College and Wycombe Abbey.
Just under 100 New Yorkers signed up to be a part of the event, from Heads, to placement leads, consultants, neuropsychologists, tutors, teachers, school alumni and of course, plenty of parents.
The schools were represented as follows:
Justin Nolan, Director of Communications, Engagement and Development at Eton College
James Dahl, Master at Wellington College (Head of School)
Jo Duncan, Headmistress at Wycombe Abbey (Head of School)
Each school leader was given the chance to open the event with 4 minutes of their perspective on why their school is an organisation for which they’re proud to work. Henry Faber steered the conversation for a further 45 minutes, touching on some of the following themes:
Myths related to UK boarding
Queries and concerns from international families
Pros and cons of the A Level / IB systems
Trends from top UK schools for Higher Education
VAT pressures on UK schools
Celebrating the best of what’s been seen in the United States
The success of UK franchises overseas
The nuts and bolts of admissions for UK schools
After the talk, the majority of attendees stayed for 90 minutes of networking over drinks and canapés. Connections were made and relationships fostered between school admissions teams and all those who came to learn more about the opportunities of an education in the UK.
Feedback from attendees:
“Oppidan Education is bringing something fresh and new to NYC with the aim to help children and families. Henry and his team truly care about their work and the people they partner with.”
“An engaging panel and reception that gave U.S. educators valuable insight into the world of top UK schools while fostering meaningful connections. ”
“Education plays a very significant role in determining the people we become and what we do with our lives. More effort needs to be made in helping parents pick the right education for their children and Oppidan seems to be pioneering an answer to that problem.”
“It was an incredibly informative evening. Henry led the conversation beautifully, allowing the event to be both educational and enjoyable. It was pleasure as well to meet school officials from such venerable secondary schools.”
