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VALET FOR HON OA STAFF
A passionate advocate for language and literature, Joe revived The Alleynian, encouraged student writing, and oversaw a rich programme of publications to mark the quatercentenary, including a new College history and School Stories by OAs and pupils. He contributed himself, writing poems and librettos with the linguistic precision that defined much of his leadership. Service remained the anchor of his mastership. The 400th anniversary began with a College-wide day of community action, including music in the park, primary school visits, sponsored walks, capturing Joe's belief that institutions must look outward as much as inward. His commitment underpinned Dulwich College’s role in SCITT training and the Southwark Schools’ Learning Partnership, work recognised nationally when he was named TES Independent School Headteacher of the Year in 2024. Joe’s decade‑long promise to the Governors reached its symbolic high point in 2019, but the years that followed were among the most challenging in the College’s history. The COVID‑19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter, Everyone’s Invited and a high‑profile open letter tested leadership profoundly. Joe insisted every allegation be examined, commissioning an independent review, the recommendations of which have shaped the Dulwich College of today. His steadiness in adversity ensured the College emerged more self‑aware, more compassionate and more resilient.
Dr Joe Spence By Dr Nick Black
In the quiet corner of Kingsland Churchyard lies Arthur Herman Gilkes, Dulwich Master from 1885 to 1914, whose legacy of service, access and educational ambition shaped the College for a century. Remarkably, these same three principles have defined the mastership of Dr Joe Spence, who led Dulwich College from 2009 to 2024.
When Joe arrived from Oakham, he brought a firm belief that Dulwich College should be “a school of access and service,” and that its buildings should reflect its values. The campus he inherited, part sinking, part patchwork needed new coherence. What began as a modest plan to refurbish one wing of the post‑war science block evolved, with full Governor support, into a bold masterplan. The result was the new Science Building: modern yet sympathetic to the Barry Buildings and conceived as “a home for the sciences as well as a venue for the arts.” A “democracy of giving” underpinned the fundraising, seen in the donor wall that records gifts from £20.19 to many thousands. Joe’s architectural renewal extended across the campus, culminating in the restoration of the Barry Buildings and a transformed landscape. Much of this was timed for 2019, the College’s 400th Anniversary, a celebration that, for Joe, was not nostalgic but a reaffirmation of Edward Alleyn’s founding mission. As part of this, he championed a strong bursary programme; by 2024 more than 200 boys received means-tested financial support, reflecting his vision of a socially broad school where access remained central.
Under his leadership, pastoral care deepened, academic life broadened, and his assemblies memorable for their candour and challenge shaped generations. His belief that learning “should explore between subjects and beyond the curriculum” led to Free Learning days and a richer, more collaborative approach to education. In 2025, Joe was awarded the Honorary OA Award, recognising his impact on the College’s ethos and his national contribution to state‑independent partnerships, work he now continues as CEO of the School Partnerships Alliance. Joe’s humour, humanity and phenomenal energy have long been hallmarks of his leadership, supported steadfastly by his wife Angela. Dulwich College today is smarter, kinder, more coherent and yet still proudly South London, “slightly edgy and worldly, neither grand nor snobbish.” Like Gilkes before him, Joe leaves a legacy that will shape the College for generations The Dulwich College community offers Joe and his wife Angela its warmest thanks and every good wish for the years ahead. At the Past Presidents lunch in November, Joe was made an Honorary Member of the Old Alleynian Association in recognition of the work he had done in advancing the name of the College during his time as Master.
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