Executive Principal

Mrs Lucy Elphinstone has recently stepped down from the headship of Francis Holland School Sloane Square after eleven transformational years in which the school doubled its roll, ascended to the top academic ranks in the country and was awarded Sunday Times Independent School of the Year 2023. Voted Best Head of a Public School by Tatler in 2019, Lucy crowns an eventful and varied career. She holds an MA in English from Cambridge University, a PGCE and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She has taught in senior and prep schools throughout England and Scotland, but prior to a career in teaching, she worked in publishing, property development and hospitality. As a ghost-writer, she has published several books.

Her vision is to prepare young people for the challenges of the workplace in a world being swiftly transformed by artificial intelligence. She believes that skills of problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration and communication are vital tools for success, and seeks ways in which the curriculum can develop creativity, enterprise and innovation.

Lucy is an intrepid explorer, recently trekking in India, Sri Lanka, Central Asia, Turkey, China, Japan, Argentina and Ethiopia. At Easter 2023, she hiked the 180km of the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, crossing 5416m high Thorong-la Pass, and raising £500,000 for a scholarship at her school in perpetuity. She has four grown up entrepreneurial children, and enjoys riding, skiing, tennis, theatre, playing the piano, singing and painting.

Lucy is Executive Principal of Glenalmond Group and Interim Warden.