London Headteacher Admits Dangerous Driving After Cyclist Injury
A headmistress at a prestigious London private school has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after an incident that left a cyclist with a fractured wrist.
Catherine Hitchcock, 49, headmistress of the £20,000-a-year Donhead Preparatory School, admitted to dangerous driving after pulling into the path of cyclist Robert Atkinson at a mini roundabout. The incident on February 10 in Wimbledon, south-west London, caused Atkinson to fall from his bicycle, sustaining a broken wrist.
Hitchcock, who also serves as a governor at Putney High School, did not directly collide with Atkinson. Her lawyer entered the guilty plea on her behalf at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon. The lawyer stated that Hitchcock acknowledged the cyclist had the right of way and expressed her apologies for the accident.
Representing Hitchcock, her lawyer mentioned there was a "significant distance" between her car and the cyclist and that the injuries sustained were "minor." Hitchcock, who previously held a clean driving license, was fined £911 and received five penalty points on her license.
Donhead Preparatory School, which Hitchcock began leading as headteacher in January 2024, was previously attended by actor Tom Holland. Hitchcock began her teaching career in 1999 as a geography teacher at Finchley Catholic High School. She joined Donhead Preparatory School in 2015, serving as Assistant Headteacher until 2021. Her educational background includes a geography degree from the University of Oxford and a PGCE from University College London. She has also served as a governor for other elite London private schools and works with the Independent Schools Inspectorate, a Department for Education body that inspects private schools.