In this article, the author shares her experience in setting up a secondary school. Firstly, the author sets the context for the school and describes the initial issues that arose. These issues are examined in the light of contributions from the school's senior management team and from reflecting on both his own experiences as a governor and his knowledge of the educational leadership literature. Lastly, she draws out from the experience issues that may be of practical relevance to practitioners, governors and academics interested in how schools work as organisations, and the relationship of leadership to the whole.