The recruitment and retention of senior school leaders is high on the UK Government's agenda with much attention currently being given to succession planning. Future Leaders and other fast track leadership development programmes are, in part, a response to this "crisis" brought about by demographic change--many headteachers are due to retire in the next few years--and by the unappealing nature of headship as a career option. This paper considers the origins of the leadership development programme "Future Leaders" against this policy backcloth before discussing the programme itself and its component parts, drawing on data collected for the NCSL-funded two-year evaluation. The experiences of the first two cohorts will be elaborated on with reference to the various components of the programme. Finally, the future of headship will be discussed with reference to issues of sustainability, well-being, recruitment and retention, and whether Future Leaders is the way forward. (Contains 1 table.)