Dr Christopher Halls, Eaton House Belgravia’s New Head for September 2026, currently at Dulwich Prep, shares his vision for why boys learn differently
Do boys learn differently from girls?
There are shelves in libraries dedicated to this question, and whilst I do not want to offend those authors by summarising thousands of pages into a few sentences, my short answer would have to be ‘yes’. Studies have shown that boys and girls differ in their cognitive and physical development throughout their education and whilst they ultimately level out, we must acknowledge key differences in development to ensure we are supporting boys to their fullest.
What does high-quality education for boys look like?
High-quality education for boys is, of course, centred around cognitive stretch but crucially this is in a curriculum where curiosity in the world around them is encouraged. Furthermore, there should be an emphasis on strong language development with roots in oracy, reading and understanding. Beyond the academics, single-sex education allows us the opportunity to really focus on Values where boys learn that it is, ‘cool to be kind’.
How do you create an uncompromising strong foundation for boys?
To create a strong foundation for boys, you first and foremost need a staff body who ‘get’ boys and understand their development. For example, the Reception teacher who knows they need to start with strengthening core and shoulder muscles to unlock a boy’s ability to write, or the Year 1 teacher who purposefully builds excitement when sharing stories to build a life-long love of reading. In short, the word which comes to mind is ‘intentional’, that everything we do is because we know it supports boys to achieve their best.
What is your vision for Eaton House Belgravia?
The key feature of Eaton House Belgravia is that it is a small, bespoke, single-sex pre-preparatory school with a 100-year history of preparing boys for the finest schools in London. My vision for the school is to further develop these strengths. I want EHB to continue being the very best school for boys, where staff are ‘experts’ in understanding their development and support them in a homely, nurturing environment where every member of staff knows every child.
