Tomas Duckling, Headmaster of Dubai College, on why kindness is the bedrock of all good education
Tomas Duckling is the newly appointed Headmaster of Dubai College – arguably the most respected and academically selective schools in the Middle East. But behind the façade of academic rigour is a leader with a genuine belief in something more enduring: the moral purpose of education. In this latest episode of Heads & Tales, Tom joins Henry Faber to reflect on his guiding principles – kindness, character and humility – and the lessons he's learned on the way from a small school in Watford to heading up one of the Middle East's most prestigious institutions.
Before moving to Dubai, Tom spent eight years in Aiglon College in the Swiss mountains, where he led on curriculum, pastoral care and a global scholarship outreach that supported students in some of the world's most deprived locations, from Somaliland to Palestine. He holds a degree in history and politics and an MBA in educational leadership, but it's perhaps his interest in philosophy that reveals the other side of Tom: a copy of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations lives on his desk and he quotes Seneca to this students. Eloquent and knowledgeable in equal measure, Tom's vision for the future of education isn't to be missed.
🎙️ Episode highlights
Tom discusses a mentor at Aiglon College who hit home with the importance of "planning for joy" and building kindness into the fabric of a school.
He shares a formative anecdote about his fiery politics teacher at school who pushed him to the edge in order for him to succeed.
He had a whirlwind start to headship, including a surprise resignation and the challenge of restructuring the SLT within days of arriving in Dubai.
He discusses Aiglon's global scholarship programme, bringing students from deprived areas into one of the most elite schools in the world.
A devout philosophy reader, Tom explains his love of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations and the mantra within that he lives by.
He makes the case for character education as imperative in a world shaped increasingly by automation, but that we can't know exactly what that world will look like.
His parting wisdom: take your work seriously, but never yourself.