Sir Anthony Seldon

Sir Anthony Seldon is one of Britain’s leading contemporary historians, educationalists, commentators and political authors.

For 20 years he was a transformative headmaster, first at Brighton College and then Wellington College, one of the country’s leading independent schools. From 2015 to 2020 he served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham. From 2023 to 2024 he served as interim Head of Epsom College.

He is the founding Director of Wellington College Education, encompassing ten co-educational schools around the world as well as Festivals of Education in the UK, US, China and Thailand.

He is the author or editor of over 35 books on contemporary history, including insider accounts on six 21st century prime ministers.

He was co-founder and the first director of the Institute of Contemporary British History, and co-founder of Action for Happiness. He is the UK Special Representative for Saudi Education, a member of the government’s First World War Culture Committee, and is a former chair of the Comment Awards. He is a director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the President of IPEN (International Positive Education Network), and patron or on the board of several charities. He is the founder of the Via Sacra Western Front Walk and was executive producer of the film Journey’s End.

In 2023 he co-founded AI in Education, an independent, not for profit cross-sector body committed to ensuring AI benefits everyone involved in education, which was the subject of his 2018 book The Fourth Education Revolution.

Sir Anthony appears regularly on TV and radio and in the press, and writes for several national newspapers. His views are regularly sought by the government and political parties. For the last 15 years he has given all the profits from his writing and lecturing to charity.