Mr Matthew Goulborn was appointed by The Good Shepherd Trust as Head of Christ’s College Guildford, taking up this post in January 2025.

Christ’s College is the local Church of England secondary school that serves this community. Its aim is providing an inclusive and enriching education that is designed to enable ‘students to flourish and reach their God given potential’. Christ’s College was rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted and rated Excellent by SIAMS at their last inspection.

Three year 7 Students Ariana Khodjaeva, Aurelia Lawrence and Cian Dooley met with Mr Goulborn at the end of his first half term to find out a little more about their new headteacher, ask him about his time so far at the school and what plans he has for Christ’s college.

Here is their report:

Mr M. Goulborn who lives in Guildford, has become the new headteacher of Christ’s College Guildford (CCG) and has been given a pleasant welcome into a new school community after leaving George Abbot School this year. He has had 16 years of experience in two different schools, George Abbot and Salesian School in Chertsey.

Mr Goulborn is thrilled to start improving the school by giving students greater opportunities to reach greater potentials. He said:

“My experience at Christ’s College Guildford has been incredible! The hardworking staff and students always make my day. I particularly enjoyed the school’s production that happened last week. The Lightning Thief had over 100 students involved and the amazing array of talents that they showcased were truly inspiring.”

Furthermore, he stated that it was a great opportunity to join a school with an exciting journey – the school has achieved excellent things over the last couple years.

When he was questioned about how he wanted to improve the school in the future, Mr Goulborn replied that he wanted to reward the students more frequently for their hard work. He recently introduced the ‘Headteacher’s Breakfast’, a weekly celebration for students living the school’s core values – Service, Cooperation, Love, Stewardship and Respect.

According to the school’s headteacher, in the future he is planning to make Christ’s College “the school of choice in the area”. In addition, Mr Goulborn wants to achieve these goals with success and happiness from every student and teacher in the school. Since he is already impressed by the sense of community, kindness from the students, and their hard work, he looks forward to helping them in the future with their academic achievements and goals.

In conclusion, Mr Goulborn has loved his time so far at Christs College Guildford and is looking forward to carrying on the spirit of the school, through its values as the students’ progress through their time at the College. His actions will lead to a greater future for the school community and help students that need that extra support.

Thank you to Mr Goulborn and the year 7 aspiring writers for this first introduction. We look forward to hearing more from Christ’s College and the student voice in the future. For more information about Christ’s College Guildford and events at the school visit the website: www.christscollege.surrey.sch.uk