Surrey


<p>Say hello to Rebecca Tear &#8211; aka Bex &#8211; the new Executive Head at <a href="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/school-reviews/downsend-school-leatherhead/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Downsend School</a> in Leatherhead, who landed there in September 2025. With a decade running the show at Badminton School and three years calling the shots at Fulham School, she’s basically got “headmistress extraordinaire” written all over her CV. Bex is all about transformation, growth, and making sure the kids come first—she runs a tight ship, but with hear</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1001" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/12/Downsend-Bex-Tear.jpg" alt="Rebecca Tear, Headteacher at Downsend School in Leatherhead, Surrey." class="wp-image-63317" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/12/Downsend-Bex-Tear.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/12/Downsend-Bex-Tear-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/12/Downsend-Bex-Tear-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/12/Downsend-Bex-Tear-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/12/Downsend-Bex-Tear-768x513.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-top-3-things-to-tackle-in-your-inbox"><em>What are the top 3 things to tackle in your inbox?</em></h3>



<p>Always number one has to be to spot opportunities to see and celebrate what is going on around school. It’s&nbsp;so re-energising to watch everyone’s vision come to life, impact&nbsp;learning&nbsp;and build&nbsp;confidence&nbsp;and communities. Essentially&nbsp;priorities are people&nbsp;centred, the community&nbsp;is the beating&nbsp;heart of the&nbsp;school and it has to be nurtured. However, there has to be really close attention to any more technical matters that need&nbsp;resolving for pupils, staff or parents and of course very practical compliance matters; a Head’s inbox is always dynamic…. and prolific.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-30-second-elevator-pitch-for-your-school-sell-it"><em>30 second elevator pitch for your school – sell it!</em></h3>



<p>Downsend is a real community and a&nbsp;place&nbsp;where things happen. It’s&nbsp;about communicating and contributing, which staff and pupils do&nbsp;brilliantly in class, in creative&nbsp;arts spaces and from pitches to pool.&nbsp;We are excited that,&nbsp;increasingly,&nbsp;it’s&nbsp;about innovating and iterating, with digital and&nbsp;entrepreneurial&nbsp;skills growing a pace; I was so proud of our Y6 entrepreneurs&nbsp;monetising&nbsp;a&nbsp;platform&nbsp;game they&nbsp;created to raise funds for charity and love that our Year 10 and 11 undertook all the tech for our recent production of CATS!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-would-star-as-rebecca-tear-in-the-movie-of-your-life"><em>Who would star as Rebecca Tear in the movie of your life?</em></h3>



<p>Tough call&#8230; Meryl Streep amazes me by transforming fabulously for every role, but I also love Miss Piggy’s energy and confidence!!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-ve-been-given-a-1m-donation-for-the-school-what-will-you-spend-it-on"><em>You’ve been given a £1m donation for the school, what will you spend it on</em></h3>



<p>We already have so many brilliant spaces at Downsend that I think it would be a good basis for enabling bursaries for students at this&nbsp;challenging&nbsp;economic times or funding&nbsp;some&nbsp;really novel projects for staff and students (perhaps programming satellites to gather weather data, coding drones to deliver&nbsp;items&nbsp;around the school &#8211; whatever the idea it would have to be bid for through a great pitch so that every skill is honed through enabling it!).</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-describe-your-own-childhood-school-days"><em>Describe your own childhood school days</em></h3>



<p>Busy! I loved doing things &#8211; so a lot of music, dancing and running.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-did-you-go-to-uni"><em>Where did you go to uni?</em></h3>



<p>Exeter for my first degree, then University College London and eventually Cambridge&nbsp;(Judge Business School).</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-you-study"><em>What did you study?</em></h3>



<p>Chemistry&nbsp;was my&nbsp;original&nbsp;degree, but I have really&nbsp;found&nbsp;a passion in studying Entrepreneurship more recently &#8211; most specifically&nbsp;understanding&nbsp;how developing an entrepreneurial mindset can enhance&nbsp;academic&nbsp;learning, which is&nbsp;really exciting to put into action.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-was-your-high-and-low-of-student-life"><em>What was your high and low of student life?</em></h3>



<p>I loved the opportunities to try new&nbsp;activities&nbsp;and to have access to sporting facilities with&nbsp;friends&nbsp;always all around. The low would be the hours of labs &#8211; physical chemistry was my nemesis with its precision and calculations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-weren-t-a-head-what-would-you-be"><em>If you weren’t a head, what would you be?</em></h3>



<p>I think I would immerse myself in creative&nbsp;activities.&nbsp;I love colour, textile and design.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-describe-what-s-on-your-work-desk"><em>Describe what’s on your work desk…</em></h3>



<p>Electronic&nbsp;notebook (life saver, as keeps me organised and also lets me be colourful and creative with my notes), tea cup (always ready for a strong, hot cup of tea!) and water bottle (allows pause for thought when taking a sip and also ensures I get to the end of the day with a voice&nbsp;and without a headache!)</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-what-s-in-the-top-drawer"><em>And what’s in the top drawer?</em></h3>



<p>Always&nbsp;emergency items: Eight Hour Cream, tights, spare pen, packet of&nbsp;tissues and a cereal bar.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-your-favourite-books-in-childhood-uni-and-now"><em>Tell us your favourite books – in childhood, uni and now.</em></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="648" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2026/02/Book-The-Little-White-Horse-by-Elizabeth-Goudge.jpg" alt="The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge." class="wp-image-64202" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2026/02/Book-The-Little-White-Horse-by-Elizabeth-Goudge.jpg 648w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2026/02/Book-The-Little-White-Horse-by-Elizabeth-Goudge-518x800.jpg 518w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2026/02/Book-The-Little-White-Horse-by-Elizabeth-Goudge-259x400.jpg 259w" sizes="(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px" /></figure>



<p>Childhood book would be Elizabeth Gouge’s&nbsp;<em>Little White Horse</em>&nbsp;&#8211; I loved the way children led the&nbsp;adventure&nbsp;and how the lens they viewed life through let them make discoveries&nbsp;that adults couldn’t, as well as the&nbsp;detailed&nbsp;descriptions, especially of the food! </p>



<p>As I’ve got older I get fickle with books, according to my mood and needs &#8211; right now I am loving re-reading <em>Radical Candor</em> for a book group meeting set up by some of our middle leaders. This book makes you really reflect on what you care about, how to express it and how to take others on that journey with you.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-want-to-hide-from-the-kids-and-staff-for-half-an-hour-where-do-you-go"><em>If you want to hide from the kids and staff for half an hour, where do you go</em>?</h3>



<p>Definitely not my office! Probably I&#8217;d go and sit at the back of the theatre &#8211; no one will interrupt you while you watch a rehearsal (and how amazing is it&nbsp;anyway&nbsp;to see brilliant theatre, music and dance while you work!).</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-song-you-sing-at-full-volume-when-everyone-s-gone-home"><em>The song you sing at full volume when everyone’s gone home?</em></h3>



<p>Usually some Country Music &#8211; probably Dolly Parton or Miley Cyrus. &#8216;9 to 5&#8217; is a great one to get behind.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-advice-would-you-give-to-the-younger-rebecca-tear"><em>What advice would you give to the younger Rebecca Tear?</em></h3>



<p>Ask the question. Don’t sit back and wonder. Be bold and push&nbsp;understanding&nbsp;forward, make progress, create and contribute.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-your-current-students"><em>And your current students?</em></h3>



<p>Same!</p>



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<p><strong><em><a href="http://www.downsend.co.uk/?utm_campaign=directories&amp;utm_source=muddystilletos&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_content=websitelink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Downsend School</a> is an innovative, forward-thinking and down-to-earth school in Leatherhead for children aged 6-16. It&#8217;s a superb all-rounder that’s big on sport, academics and performing arts.</em></strong></p>



<p><em><strong><a href="http://www.downsend.co.uk/?utm_campaign=directories&amp;utm_source=muddystilletos&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_content=websitelink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Downsend School</a>, 1 Leatherhead Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8TJ. Tel: 01372 372197. <a href="http://www.downsend.co.uk/?utm_campaign=directories&amp;utm_source=muddystilletos&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_content=websitelink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">downsend.co.uk</a></strong></em></p>


Head’s up! Rebecca Tear, Downsend School

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