20 Apr 2026
It’s been the best part of three decades since Andrew Dunne walked the corridors of Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School as a student, and in September he will be returning in a very different role, that of headteacher.
The previous head, Declan Linnane, who took over in September 2014, performed an incredible turnaround during his tenure which saw the school move out of special measures to receive an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted inspection.
It might therefore be argued that not only will Andrew face the pressure of being the head of the school which effectively made him, but also following in the footsteps of someone who completed a remarkable journey in the role, but he doesn’t seem daunted by the prospect.
“I’ve been on that journey myself in a different context here in Brent [as head of Newman Catholic College]. Since I started 16 years ago we have built our reputation to become renowned in the diocese and the local area. We’ve had a big impact on the culture, attitude, behaviour and values of our students, so I’ve already had that experience in my career.
“The opportunity coming into Nicholas Breakspear now will be in reflecting the messaging from the previous headteacher and building on that to create our own identity as a school in what is a new and challenging future.
“Since all of the successes of the school have been achieved, the ball has moved to a new pitch and the goals have moved along with it, because the Government has upped their level of expectations under the new inspection framework, and they’ve released a new White Paper which has completely changed the structures and boundaries which all schools were working towards.
“We need to work together to rise to that new challenge. The most important aspects of NBS are the student bond, atmosphere and values, the strength of the messaging of Catholic social teaching, and the staff, who have done such a good job, for them to continue that journey they’re on. I’m not coming in to throw all of that away, I’m just here to enhance and build on that.”
He explained how he came to apply for the role: “Declan had made an indication last summer to staff and parents that he was leaving – a few different people sent me the advert and said they thought I might be interested…”
Andrew was subsequently appointed on February 4 following a stringent interview process, but had to keep it quiet until he could tell the staff at his current school, and subsequently the students.
“I felt it was important to come from me and not elsewhere. So I held three big assemblies where I told them all, which was quite emotional as I’d been there for 16 years. For some of them, they have only known me as their deputy or headteacher for their whole school careers.”
Nicholas Breakspear’s acting head of school Melanie Green left at the end of the spring term, with Anne Atkinson stepping into the role for the summer, but Andrew will be taking advantage of different holiday dates to come in during the first week back to start getting himself known and meet the students.
“I haven’t really had an opportunity to chat with the students yet, which is probably what I’m most excited about,” he revealed.
Now 46, Andrew started at Nicholas Breakspear in 1991 and finished in 1998: “I had seven amazing years there. From our form group alone, four of us became senior leaders in schools, two of those as headteachers.
“Of our former teachers, one is now the headteacher of another St Albans school and two of Declan’s deputies are headteachers in the local area as well, so there’s definitely something special about the formation of students within that Catholic ethos when it comes to service and vocation.
“Everyone absolutely loves NBS, and it’s somewhere everybody has a story and a happy memory about, in a really productive and aspirational sense. If I look back at my friends who I’ve known since I was 11, one is in New York, one’s in Sydney, one’s a lecturer in Paris, we’ve all gone off and done really diverse and successful things, but we’re all still in touch, and that journey all started when we got together in Year 7 at Nicholas Breakspear. It had such a strong impact on all of us.”
Perhaps because his career has been largely focused on London schools, but Andrew has only visited Nicholas Breakspear a handful of times since leaving.
“When I started my teaching journey I went back for one day to visit key teachers and then hadn’t been back since the 60th anniversary of the school, so there was a big gap, but it’s always been very close to my heart. I’ve always known how the school is doing, through some of its more challenging times to more recently getting back to the level which we were at when we left in 1998. I was really, really pleased to see that.”
He is keen to stress both his long-term commitment to the school, and his vision for the future, which he says will be achieved in collaboration with staff, parents and students alike.
“The timing just seems perfect for me to move to a school back home – because I live in the local area – but also for the school to be in such a wonderful position of strength, and for there to be such opportunities as well, including a new physical future for the school as well by building facilities worthy of 21st century education.
“The school hasn’t really changed its infrastructure much since I was a student, which is a long time, and it’s really important that young people coming to Nicholas Breakspear are getting the best provision and facilities.”
“One of my first jobs is going to be going out to meet families in their local parishes, listen to them, look at what their ambitions are for the future, understand the culture and context from their perspective, and then bring that back to the school and try and build on that to establish how we can unite to move forwards with the new vision we are going to build together for the next decade.
“I’m young enough to have that vision about what the potential future for the school can be, but also I’m committed enough to be able to say that NBS is going to look and feel very different in the next 10 years, and that will only benefit our school community and also the St Albans community as well.”
