Graham George Able (born 28 July 1947) is an English educationalist who was the Master at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

from 1997 until his retirement in 2009.

Early life

He was educated at

Worksop College Worksop College (formerly St Cuthbert's College) is a British co-educational private school for both boarding and day pupils aged 11 to 18, in Worksop. It sits at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, England. Founded by N ...

and went on to study Natural Sciences at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he received his MA in 1968. In 1969 he completed his PGCE and married Mary Susan Munro with whom he has a son, and a daughter.Who’s Who 2004, page 3, (A&C Black: London)

Career

After completing his PGCE in 1969 Graham Able went on to teach at

Sutton Valence School Sutton Valence School (SVS) is a private school near Maidstone in southeast England. It has 560 pupils. It is a co-educational day and boarding school, boarding school. There are three senior boarding houses: Westminster, St Margaret's and Sutto ...

. In 1976 he became the Boarding Housemaster and he continued in this role until his departure in 1983. In 1983 he also completed an MA in Social Sciences from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. In that year he took up the position of Second Master at

Barnard Castle School Barnard Castle School (colloquially Barney School or locally the County School) is a co-educational private day and boarding school in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the North East of England. It is a member of The Head ...

and in 1988 he left Barnard Castle School and went on to become the Headmaster of

Hampton School Hampton School is a fee-charging, boys-only private day school in Hampton, London, England. As of the 2024–2025 academic year, the school charges a minimum of £26,040 per year for attendance. Until 1975, the school was a voluntary aided gram ...

. During his time at Hampton School he jointly published ‘'Head to Head'’ in 1992, became a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

in 1994, and MIoD in 1995. In 1996 he left Hampton School and took up the position of Master of

in 1997. He retired in the Summer of 2009 and was made a Fellow of Dulwich College. Able was Chief Executive Officer of the Alpha Plus Group, a company that owns a number of schools and colleges in Britain, from 2009 to 2014, and has been its Deputy Chairman since 2014. During his time at

Graham Able was co-chairman of the HMC and GSA Education and Academic Policy Committee (from 1998 to 2001). In 2003 he was chairman of the HMC. In 1998 he jouned the

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. It ...

Foundation Council. He served on the Council and Court of ICSTM, from 1999 to 2006, on the Council of

Roedean School Roedean () is a private boarding school governed by royal charter on the outskirts of Brighton, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19t ...

, 2000 to 2009, and the governing body of

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

from 2013 to 2020."Able, Graham George (born 28 July 1947)" in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'', online edition, accessed 30 October 2023 His love of cricket is epitomised by his membership of the MCC and he is also an honorary member of the

East India Club The East India Club is a gentlemen's club founded in 1849 and situated at 16, St James's Square in London. The full title of the club is East India, Devonshire Club, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools Club, Public Schools' Club due to mergers ...

Publications

*''Head to Head'' (jointly) - 1992 *''Head to HoD'' (jointly) - 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Able, George Graham 1947 births People educated at Worksop College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English educational theorists Masters of Dulwich College Living people Alumni of Durham University Graduate Society