Habs welcomes Head of Prep, Mr Rossetti

The School is delighted to welcome our new Head of Preparatory School, Mr Matteo Rossetti.

 

Having grown up in Milan, Matteo attended a classical lycée before becoming a Sixth Form boarder at St Edwards School in Oxford, where he developed a love of English and classical literature, and was a keen actor. 

 

Matteo went on to read Classics at Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he also rowed for Balliol College’s 1st VIII and coached the novice boat. Upon graduating, Matteo became an executive producer, bringing popular shows, including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, to television screens around the world. In search of a more “meaningful career path” and driven by a desire to give back, Matteo moved to teaching, working his way up at The Harrodian School from being an A-level Greek teacher to heading up the school’s Classics department and eventually becoming the Head of the Prep School. 

 

During his sabbatical in Israel, Matteo studied Middle Eastern History at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and led fundraising campaigns for a network of bilingual schools in Israel, Hand in Hand, and for the founding of a museum on behalf of the Custody of the Holy Land. That experience gave Matteo the impetus to realise his own vision for a new primary school in south-west London; Thomson House School opened its doors in 2013 and was immediately oversubscribed. The School achieved Ofsted ‘outstanding’ in all areas only five terms later.

 

Matteo, his wife Smita and their two children have recently relocated to the UK from Morocco, where Smita was British Deputy Ambassador and where Matteo worked as a consultant for schools in Morocco and the UK, including the Preparatory School at Habs, whilst learning French. In his spare time, Matteo enjoys cooking, skiing and horse riding.

 

Our new Head of Prep, who will be part of the Senior Management Team at Habs, says: “We want to continue to nurture excellence, challenging our Prep boys in and out of the classroom, in a warm and supporting environment. I believe that our job is to inspire in the boys curiosity, a love of learning, participation and service to others, mindful that our wellbeing is intrinsically linked to that of our communities.”