Mr Douch, tell us about your role at Sompting Abbotts Prep School

I'm Head of English and History at Sompting Abbotts. From 2013 until 2023, I served as Headmaster, stepping down for health reasons.

What is your educational background?

I hold an MA in Modern Literature, Culture and Creative Writing from the University of Kent and a BA in English and Art from Canterbury Christ Church University College. I studied at Lancing College after having received an excellent education at Sompting Abbotts myself.

What did you do before joining Sompting Abbotts as a staff member? 

I used to be a writer employed by the Government to set up writing and reading groups in Kent, before deciding that my heart was in teaching as a career. I taught GCSE at Shoreham College before joining Sompting Abbotts as Head of English.

What do you especially value as a teacher at Sompting Abbotts?

Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School is a Sussex independent school that offers a genuinely caring and family setting for children from their entry into primary school (reception and nursery) through to Year 8.

The school is located amidst incredible grounds – beautiful fields and woods – that the children enjoy during supervised break-times. It provides outdoor learning, forest-school and nature discovery opportunities. When you're a child, the environment that surrounds you is so important; as is the chance to 'be kids' in a safe but unstructured and creative way.

Sompting Abbotts is not a designated feeder school so pupils move on to a mix of excellent senior schools rather than being 'funnelled' to just one. An independent stance assures our parents that we can genuinely help them decide what the best next step is for each individual child, according to their interests, personality type and academic ability.

Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School is a West Sussex independent school that achieves excellent scholarship and Common Entrance results for our children. That's down to three things: we get to know and understand each child's strengths (and, yes, lesser strengths) in depth; we then identify and foster their unique potential, and we provide very individualised – you could say bespoke – learning for each child. 

What do you contribute to the school in the extra-curricular sense? 

I've an eclectic bunch of interests. I'm passionate about Saxon and Viking history and that feeds into the History clubs I offer. I write the annual school play. Directing and writing is a big part of me and the children love it and give so much. I see them stretch themselves and overcome fears and become more confident when we all get enthused by a production and that's heartening. The team collaboration and performance skills the children gain from the experience will be translated to many other applications in their future lives. There's a lot of truth in that 'all the world's a stage' ... 

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Sompting Abbotts?

So much! But mostly that through working with children, I keep learning...