Dr Cornell has taught at Norwich School since 2016 and became Head of Department in 2024. He took his first History degree at Christ Church, Oxford before gaining a journalism qualification and working as a sub-editor, principally at The Daily Telegraph. A strong desire to teach, however, took him abroad and he worked in both Italy and Switzerland. He then completed a Master’s degree at UCL and a PhD at Lancaster, where he taught seminars, before taking his first secondary-school post in London.

Dr Cornell has published academic articles on medieval religion but receives much more enjoyment from exploring the full range of the history curriculum, from L4 to U6, and encouraging pupils’ curiosity whatever they are studying. He runs the Clio Society for senior pupils, where that curiosity emerges in an amazing range of discussions, always fuelled by biscuits.