Houseparent Liz Carrick-Dow
Deputy Houseparent Leah Abbott
Matron Jill Morgan-Lynch
Liz begins her career at Stowe as Houseparent of Winton. Before joining Stowe, she was Head of Year and Head of Personal Development (and previously Head of Music) at The Cooper School in Bicester. Pastoral roles have always been an important part of her career, and she has been an Assistant Houseparent and teacher of music at Aiglon College in Switzerland, Kilgraston in Perthshire and Haileybury in Hertford, where she also ran the tutorial programme.
Liz studied music at Bangor University, completing her undergraduate degree as a performance scholar and later her master’s degree in music. Following the completion of her PGCE in Music with instrumental teaching at Liverpool Hope, she moved to Switzerland for her first classroom teaching role.
Liz lives locally with her wife, Nicki, and two pugs Betty and Albie. She loves cooking, dog walking, strength training, and travelling.
From their first day at Stowe, Wintonians are encouraged to embrace all the opportunities that Stowe has to offer and to contribute to a community that prides itself on support and tolerance for one another. Of course, we are all continually evolving and none of us is the finished product – but the ethos of the House is to learn from our mistakes and to recognise that only then can we develop and grow as individuals.
Along with Cheshire (the Girls’ Day House) Winton was founded in 2019 as the first Boys’ Day House at Stowe. It began with 38 pupils and as of 2023 has 87 – such has been its growth that from September 2023 a second Boys’ Day House, Croft, will be established. Winton was named after Old Stoic Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the Kindertransport operation that led to the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War. The world found out about his work over 40 years later, in 1988. The British press dubbed him the "British Schindler".
"Being one of the first 38 boys in Winton, I have seen the House grow into a successful house with a fantastic mix of talents, abilities and personalities. I have had an incredibly positive experience in Winton as I have been encouraged, supported and challenged to stretch myself and participate in activities that I thought I’d never do."