Governance

Aatif founded Dukes Education in 2015. He is also Chairman of Cavendish Education, a group of schools for pupils with dyslexia and autism; and a trustee of St James Independent Schools. Aatif is also on the board of CReSTeD.

Aatif has a first-class degree in Mathematics and Economics and also had a British Army commission. In 2020, he was awarded the Freedom of City of London for services to education.

Christine is an education specialist with over 30 years of experience in education. She spent 20 years working as the Headmistress at a number of co-educational, girls’, and boys’ schools. Her time at leading schools such as Godolphin Prep and Hawkesdown House enabled her to form a deep understanding of independent schools and what they are looking for in prospective students. Christine has spent 12 years as an ISI inspector, finishing as a trained Reporting Inspector (RI). She has represented children’s interests in legal cases, offering judgments in school investigations and participating in grievance panels, and has over 20 years of experience as a school governor, with four as Chairman of the Board for an overseas English international school. Alongside this, Christine has 12 years of state school experience, including overseas army schools.

Currently an independent adviser with The Child and Family Practice, she uses her wealth of experience to provide parents and their children with well-grounded education advice to help them make the right choices when considering independent education in the UK.

She supports Dukes in an advisory capacity, retaining her independence as a consultant for parents.

Born in West London, David attended a local comprehensive school and was the first member of his family to do A levels or go to university. He graduated from Oxford with a First in Classics. From 2012 – 2023 he was Head of Latymer Upper
School. David is committed to advancing social mobility through independent school bursary programmes, in conjunction with their partnership and outreach work. In 2017 he launched the Inspiring Minds campaign, which successfully completed its aim of raising £40m to offer 1 in 4 pupils a means-tested bursary. In 2018, Latymer won 3 TES Awards, including ‘Independent School of the Year’; David was also a finalist in the ‘social mobility champion’ category of the UK Social Mobility Awards.

David has two sons who both attended Dukes schools; he chaired the Dukes Education Advisory Board prior to his appointment as Managing Director. He is a trustee of the Dukes Foundation, as well as a Fellow at Winchester College.