As a boy, Nick Page鈥檚 parents ran a riding school and trained racehorses on the family farm in Suffolk.
And while most children might have been watching TV or playing football, Page was employed as what he describes as a racehorse 鈥渢ester鈥.
鈥淚 spent most of my childhood on a horse. Whenever we got a new one where we wanted to find out whether it was good for customers or not I would get put on to see whether it killed me or not鈥, he jokes.
Clearly, he survived the ordeal 鈥 and it鈥檚 hard not to think that this early willingness to take risks and try new things might have made him ideally suited to his most recent career turn.
After , split by a four-year stint as deputy head of Westminster School, Page last year led the project to establish .
Opening in September 2025, the school is something of a trailblazer, and will be among only a handful of British international schools in the United States 鈥 a country with its own long tradition of private education.
With senior staff appointed, that project now has wings of his own, and Page is back in England managing another high-profile start-up.
He has taken the helm of plans to launch Inspired Education鈥檚 , a sister school to the in Marylebone, recently acquired by Inspired. It will be based in in the much-feted .
The co-educational secondary day school, also opening in September 2025, will eventually take 470 pupils in years 7 to 13, aiming to offer a rigorously academic curriculum with the holistic education usually offered by a boarding school.
Page, who held both academic and pastoral leadership roles at Harrow and Westminster, says this has prepared him well for setting up new schools, and ensuring there is a distinct culture and ethos in place from the start.
He says of his experiences leading the Harrow New York project last academic year: 鈥淭he purpose of my time in New York was to set up the school, recruit and train the leadership team, and most importantly, leverage all of that time at Harrow in the UK, to establish the kind of the culture, structures and values that will enable it to move forward.鈥
The role proved even more interesting than I thought it was going to be.
He says his latest role at Wetherby Pembridge was an 鈥渋ncredibly appealing opportunity not only to set up a school but build a culture and an ethos from scratch鈥. He plans to stay as the headmaster for the long-term once the school is opened.
He says: 鈥淚 knew it was going to be interesting, it proved even more interesting than I thought it was going to be.鈥
He says Wetherby Pembridge will be an additional offer in London where there is 鈥済reat demand for really high quality co-educational senior schools鈥 – this, despite the advent of VAT on fees.
He says: 鈥淲hen this opportunity came along I sort of looked at it and I thought, well actually, this doesn鈥檛 really exist in central London.鈥
He says a highly academic approach alongside first class facilities for the arts and sports mean it will 鈥渇ill a gap in the market鈥 for co-education. Children living in West and central London won鈥檛 have to board outside the capital, he says, or 鈥渟chlep鈥 across the city to school.
But while Page is visibly excited by the prospect of new schools, he is honest about the challenges of a start-up, even with a prestigious and well-established brand behind it. At all schools, he says, newness does pose its own issues.
He says: 鈥淥ne of the challenges that that people setting up a brand new school could encounter is convincing people to make a leap of faith, to a degree, as opposed to something which is a proven product.
鈥淏ut of course, in both the case of Wetherby Pembridge and Harrow, actually, they’re sort of continuations or expansions of existing heritage.
“It鈥檚 still really important to be strategically careful in the way that you start.”
鈥淭here鈥檚 expertise that you’re built on, rather than starting something totally distinct, so I think that’s helpful, and it’s an advantage.鈥
Although Wetherby Pembridge will be separate from Wetherby Prep, he says it will have the same emphasis on character education, a traditional academic approach and a judicious use of technology that ensures it is not just jumping on the latest 鈥済immicks鈥.
The school will focus on a British curriculum with 鈥済old standard鈥 A-levels, and prepare young people for applications to both British and US universities.
But despite the trusted branding, he does recommend new schools have prudent beginnings.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still really important to be strategically careful in the way that you start,” he says, “So we’re going to open Wetherby Pembridge with three year groups, and then grow a year at a time. We’re totally optimistic about our numbers, and we think it’s a compelling offer but it makes sense to adopt a cautious approach.鈥
This term, there has been a big push for admissions and Page has been recruiting a team of staff, with the school鈥檚 website asking for 鈥渆xpressions of interest鈥 from teachers.
While teacher recruitment is tough everywhere, he thinks the school will be an exciting prospect for quality teachers.
He says: 鈥淧eople who are coming in to be the first head of maths, head of English, head of science, this is an opportunity to build that from scratch and really shape those departments and shape the way that they work and teach, so I think it鈥檚 going to be very compelling.鈥
If I didn’t still love teaching, I’d be in the wrong job.
As a teacher, Page also finds the prospect compelling, and plans to teach modern languages alongside his headship. Fluent in French, Spanish and Russian, it will be one less member of staff to recruit in a market famously short of languages teachers.
But most importantly, he loves it.
He says: 鈥淚’ve been incredibly lucky鈥ntil I hit deputy head level, I’ve taught all three of my languages and actually being in the classroom is something that is really important to me now.鈥
He adds: 鈥淚 think if I didn’t still love teaching, I’d be in the wrong job, frankly. It’s still one of my favourite things to do, getting in a classroom and getting in front of students. And I think also it really helps your interactions with colleagues. Whatever job you’re doing, there’s a commonality there, you all have that classroom experience.鈥
He is dismayed by reports that the study of modern languages is falling away in UK education, and insists it is down to passionate language teachers to 鈥渂e more vocal鈥 about the benefits of languages degrees and also careers in language teaching, creating a 鈥渧irtuous circle鈥.
He adds, recollecting his education at : 鈥淚 had an incredible Russian teacher鈥he must have been teaching already for 30 years at that point, but she was still so enthusiastic about it.鈥
It鈥檚 an enthusiasm that has no doubt rubbed off on Page as he gets his teeth further into establishing, and running, his new school.
