New Headmistress for Thornton College

The Trustees at Thornton College School for Girls, Convent of Jesus and Mary, are pleased to announce that Mrs Jo Storey has been appointed as the new Headmistress from September 2015.

Mrs Storey is currently the Deputy Principal at New Hall School in Chelmsford, one of the most successful Catholic Boarding Schools in the UK. Miss Agnes Williams who has led the school from strength to strength over an 18 year period is set to retire at the end of the academic year.

After graduating from Loughborough University with a 2:1 in Mathematics and Education, Jo was employed as a Risk Analyst at London Underground. She moved into education as a lecturer and senior lecturer in Mathematics & Statistics in Cambridge and an Educational Technologist at Cambridge University. After some time spent teaching abroad she returned to England to take up a Head of Department position at King Edward VII School. She was appointed as Vice Principal (Academic) to New Hall School and was soon promoted to her present position as Deputy Principal.

Jo is married to husband, Darryl and has one daughter, Sinéad.  A keen sportswoman, Jo has a golf handicap of 10 and enjoys tennis, netball and marathon running in her free time. She also enjoys walking her dogs; a Bichon Frisé called Snowbell and a Bernese Mountain puppy called Buster, with her family.

Sr Helen Mary Haigh, Chair of Governors at Thornton said: “Jo has a clear understanding of the ethos at Thornton and will bring to her headship a wealth of experience and vision. She has committed to continue to promote the school’s strong tradition of excellence and innovation in teaching and learning in order to educate the whole student – including the student’s intellectual, physical, social, moral and spiritual life.”

New Headmistress Jo Storey said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to lead this highly successful school and to building on the exemplary leadership of Miss Williams. I believe the school to be one that embodies all that is great about education; a welcoming and inclusive community, where the pursuit of excellence is tailored to the talents of each pupil and where pupils feel valued as individuals.  I am sure I am going to feel very at home when I join Thornton.”