Duncan Bathgate

A former headteacher for over 30 years, Duncan Bathgate was educated in Hampshire, Norfolk and Northern Ireland, Duncan returned to Ipswich for Sixth Form. A degree in Early Learning at Reading led back to Ipswich, teaching at schools across Suffolk over the next 15 years, eventually becoming Headteacher of Bealings in 1996.

Bealings discovered Heathcote’s little-known drama work, “Mantle of the Expert” reinventing and developing it as the main way of learning. At Bealings, the children and adults work in co-created fictional organisations with a successful past. The children raise questions, discover clues, make theories and follow lines of inquiry. The method has attracted world-wide attention. Offered Beacon Status in the 2000’s, Bealings developed training for teachers across Suffolk and beyond, it has featured in seven professional films and has been rated ‘Outstanding’ five times by OFSTED.