Mr Chris Townsend, current Head at Felsted School will be joining the Cheltenham College community as the new Head of College from April 2026.

President of Council, Mr Straker-Nesbit said,”I am delighted to announce the appointment of the 23rd Head of Cheltenham College, Mr Chris Townsend who will join us from the start of the Summer Term 2026. Mr Townsend brings with him a wealth of experience having been Head at Felsted for 10 years and having held senior positions in schools before that. I am sure that all of our community will wish him, his wife Melanie, their children David and Lydia, a very warm welcome to Cheltenham.”

On accepting the Headship at Cheltenham College, Mr Townsend said, “It is a real honour to have been given the chance to build on the excellent work of Nicola Huggett as the next Head at Cheltenham College and I look forward to getting to know everyone in the community in the coming weeks and months”