Headmaster

Dr Ralph Townsend is Headmaster of Winchester College. He was previously Headmaster of Oundle School and before that Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School. He was educated at Scotch College, Perth, from which he went on to read English at the University of Western Australia, having won a Commonwealth Scholarship. He then began his graduate studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury. After brief teaching appointments at Dover College and Abingdon School, he proceeded to further study at Oxford. He was first Senior Scholar at Keble College, then a Junior Research Fellow, Tutor and Dean of Degrees at Lincoln College. He taught in the Theology Faculty at Oxford.

Dr Townsend took up a teaching post at Eton College in 1985. He left as Head of English in 1989 to become Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School. Whilst in Sydney, Dr Townsend was Patron of the Australian Musicians' Academy and President of the New South Wales Classical Association. After ten years in that post, he returned to England to become Headmaster of Oundle School. In 2005 he was appointed Headmaster of Winchester.

Dr Townsend has written books, articles and reviews in the areas of church history, and religious literature. He has been a Governor of Terra Nova School (Cheshire) 1999-2003, Old Buckenham Hall School (Suffolk) 1999-2006, Ardvreck School (Scotland) 2000-2005, Ampleforth College (Yorkshire) 2003-2006, Bramcote Lorne School (Nottinghamshire) 2003-2005 and Mowden Hall School (Northumberland) 2000-2007. He is currently a member of the Council of the University of Southampton, a Governor of The Pilgrims' School (Winchester), St Swithun's School (Winchester) and Worth School (Sussex), a Trustee of the Cothill Educational Trust and he is an Adviser to the African Leadership Academy, the National College of Music (London), the Church Schools Company and the United Learning Trust. He is an Honorary Liveryman of the Grocers' Company.

He is married to Cathy, a music librarian. They have two adult children. 

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