Back to Inspiring Minds

Stuart Dorrian

Stuart Dorrian is a much-loved figure in the minds of many Latymerians, having been in the unique position of Prep Principal and Upper School A Level English teacher.

Stuart embodies the Latymer ethos in so many ways, not least his own personal background. Education was, for Stuart, particularly transformative. As the first in his family to go on to higher education, and then to university, it became his life's mission to inspire in all children a love of learning and to encourage those from backgrounds such as his to ‘think big’. 

In reference to the school's bursary programme, Stuart says:

“When I visit people who are hoping that Latymer might be able to provide them with bursarial support, I recognise very often myself and my circumstances in those children and the potential which they have. So for me, this has been a deeply personal thing – it touches me to the heart. When I see other people contributing time, and of course money, I am so grateful because I know – I know – how transformative education can be, and that’s why I’m a teacher.”

Stuart believes strongly in educating the whole child, beyond just the academic. Teaching young children at the Prep, his aim was to nurture intellectual curiosity, confidence and empathy in all of his young charges. The phrase he uses to describe the Prep experience: ‘lighting fires, not filling buckets’ sums up his approach to education, in which a child’s potential is not considered to be static or predetermined.

As Stuart says; 

“All children can achieve beyond everything that might have been expected of them.”