Dukes Education is a family of nurseries, schools, and colleges across the UK and Europe, united by a shared mission: to give children the foundations for an extraordinary life. Founded in 2015 by Aatif Hassan, Dukes Education brings together educational settings that share a deep commitment to quality, joy in learning, and strong human connections.
Being part of the Dukes Education family of schools gives every school the strength of a close knit educational community while preserving its own identity, character, and culture. This shared foundation facilitates opportunities, support, and stability that no single school could provide alone.
For our students, it means an education enriched far beyond the classroom. This offers a world of academic, personal, and cultural experiences that help them discover their strengths. Alongside exceptional teaching, they gain access to summer camps, interschool events, arts and sports competitions, and the Dukes Plus Future Ready programme – all of which broaden their horizons, build confidence, and prepare them for life beyond school.
For our families, it brings the best of both worlds: the warmth of a familiar local school combined with the reassurance of belonging to a trusted, well-established educational family. They partner with teachers who know their children deeply; encounter leaders who remain present and engaged; and experience the confidence that comes from strong safeguarding expertise, aligned standards, and long-term investment in their school.
Our staff gain a powerful professional community that spans schools and regions. Through shared learning, development pathways, subject networks, and collaboration which enriches their practise, staff can build meaningful and fulfilling careers.
For schools themselves, Dukes Education strengthens the foundations that allow them to thrive. With aligned systems, operational support, and strategic investment – alongside rigorous frameworks, such as School Evaluation and Quality Review (SEQR) – leaders can focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional learning.
Together, this creates the conditions for one shared purpose: helping every child build the foundations for an extraordinary life.
We Hold a Shared Set of Values
Across the family, each school is guided by four core values that shape our culture and community:
We Lead with Heart
No one knows their school better than the Principal or Head who runs it. And no one cares more about it than they do. We ensure they lead every decision, preserving the individual character and ethos of their schools.
We look for leaders who are still children at heart; people who love the fun – as well as the fundamentals – of the classroom. These are the people who shaped the direction of Dukes Education from the very beginning, and continue to shape it to this day. And we do our very best to look after these people, because we know they’re the most important asset we have.
We’re a Team
Individually, we can achieve amazing things, but together we’re extraordinary. So, while each of our schools is independent, they’re strengthened by being part of a family that shares resources and expertise. The best teams are made up of autonomous individuals.
Our management structure has no more than four levels, from our board of directors to the most junior members of our team. This means everyone knows where they fit in the bigger picture – and they have the freedom and flexibility to act quickly and make decisions for their school.
We Love Learning
We believe education should be exciting at any stage, whether you’re starting school or you’re running one. So we’re driven to instil our lifelong love of learning in our students through teaching inside the classroom and, outside, through our initiatives.
We also provide extensive staff training, leadership and management programmes, so our teachers can continue their education too.
We Do it Well
We know that if we want to inspire excellence in young learners, then we need to achieve excellence in everything we do.
One way we accomplish this is by working closely with regulatory authorities and inspection bodies to ensure everyone in the Dukes Education family delivers the highest possible standards. Additionally, the members of the Dukes Education Advisory Board come together regularly to discuss recent and future developments across the group. Their expert support and guidance not only help us meet best-practice standards, it encourages us to set newer, higher standards for all.
Dukes Education Across Europe
The Dukes Education family continues to grow across Europe.
