Rural land values over the last decade risen dramatically (200%+ in Britain alone). This has attracted considerable transfers of land and also the interest of the economic elite. However, rural elites have always operated on a global scale and this paper seeks to explore global changes that impact upon rural spaces via the lens of the role and status of rural professionals. Recently, attention on rural professionals has highlighted land agents or intermediaries (‘factors’). This is reflected in recent initiatives in the British context, such as the Centre for Rural Economy’s ‘landbridge’, aiming to offer rural professions a ‘cross-pollinating’ experience. Yet, such initiatives’ focus remains upon those within an agrarian specialist sector. This paper seeks to see how rural professionals sit within a much broader pattern of changes in global capitalism by mining into the local circumstances of one profession. It uses headteachers within rural settings (broadly conceived) as a case study. The paper is organized in three sections. First is an overview of relevant policy definitions and recent demographic changes together with the number and distribution of rural schools. Best summarised as a reflection of the marginal status rural areas increasingly enjoy in policy circles, the paper nevertheless argues that theorising of rural space has never been more vibrant. Discourses of networks, symbolic representations and aesthetics have now joined the importance of economic forces. Secondly, the paper discusses qualitative data from various rural projects (Bagley & Hillyard, 2011) and focuses upon the headteacher and what unique pressures the rural context brings. It flags the cross-village role heads fulfil and how their personal identities have changed, raising questions about exclusionary ‘village’ cultures: is ‘the village’ a ‘total institution’ controlling inmates’ identities as in Goffman’s (1963) asylums? Finally, the paper analyses the changes in heads’ roles and status vis-à-vis changes in the way the rural has become commoditised. This includes the impact of increasingly global management and ownership of the British countryside. Much like ‘passive and ‘active’ estate management (Roberts & McKee 2015), the rural head possesses some autonomy and remains a key local actor within a much broader network. The paper concludes by evaluating the implications of such changes for rural professionals in the future. Is there a resilience in rural domains that may offer lessons for more urban/ suburban settings? What does the rural head suggest about the importance of rural spaces and their long-term sustainability?

Bagley, C., & S. Hillyard. 2011. “Village Schools in England: At the Heart of Their Community?” Australian Journal of Education 55 (1): 37–49 Goffman, E 1963: Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall. Roberts, D. & McKee, A (2015) Exploring barriers to community land based activities. Report for the Scottish Government Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Group The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen Published by the Scottish Government PPDAS56179 (09/15)