Meet the judges

Durell is Head of Governance and Compliance at RSAcademics, assisting governors in the UK and overseas with reviewing their performance and professional development. He spent 11 years at the Independent Schools Inspectorate liaising with heads, governors, members of the public, local authorities, the press, ISC Associations, Ofsted and the DfE about safeguarding and quality assurance. Before this he spent 20 years in schools, mostly as deputy head. From 2018-2022 he was Chair of the Independent Schools Examinations Board. He is a Specialist Partner at Alder, who offer schools advice about PR, litigation and crisis handling, speaks at conferences and writes about educational leadership issues.

James is the Director of Policy at NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers). He provides the strategic lead for NAHT on key policy areas including funding, assessment, accountability and curriculum. He also leads the NAHT’s middle leader section, NAHT Edge. He is the former headteacher of an ‘outstanding’ junior school in Hampshire and has held a number of other leadership positions in schools, including deputy headteacher, SENCO and subject leader. He is a regular education blogger and often appears on television and radio as an NAHT spokesperson.

Gwen has a wealth of educational experience after more than 20 years of teaching and leading in boarding and day, single sex and co-educational, maintained and independent schools in the UK. She has led teams in some of the UK’s most prestigious schools, including Roedean School and The Cheltenham Ladies’ College. From 2011-2018, Gwen led Loughborough High School, a girls’ school in the UK East Midlands. She was president of the Girls’ Schools Association in 2018, and since September 2019 has been the Director of Education Strategy for North London Collegiate School International, responsible for the NLCS international group of schools.

Lucy is Director of Education (Learning) at Shakespeare’s Globe. Her career spans professional theatre and school drama education with 20+ years’ experience as a Head of Drama in state schools, lead practitioner and drama director across a MAT of 13 schools. Trained in acting at The Poor School, she has extensive experience as a director with professional, youth and student theatre. For the Globe she directed the family show, Midsummer Mechanicals, with Splendid Productions, nominated for an Olivier Award. She is an advocate for arts in education, drama on the curriculum and young people’s access to quality, live theatre.

A former secondary school headteacher, Christine was Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted from 2006-2011. She has substantial local authority experience as both director of education and chief executive. An Honorary Fellow at UCL and visiting professor at UCL Centre for Educational Leadership, she is involved in a range of education projects. Christine has a keen interest in place-based education partnerships and is currently working with several to develop a new model of accountability. She chairs Camden Learning, a schools’ partnership and co-chairs the national organisation (AEPA).  Christine is a Trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation.

David has worked in independent schools for over 20 years. He is Deputy Head at Lady Eleanor Holles School in south west London, where he also teaches English. David is author of several study guides for A level, GCSE and IB English, and has edited The Tempest and Macbeth for Cambridge Schools Shakespeare series. He is a contributor to The Times, Tes, CapX and the Critic. He co-edited The State of Independence, a collection of essays on independent schools and is currently writing Schools of Thought, which explores schools with distinctive approaches, for Bloomsbury. David is an experienced school inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Simon is the Head of St Paul’s Cathedral School. He has enjoyed a varied career in the performing arts, the commercial world of marketing in the technology sector and now education. He has worked in the independent schools’ sector for 15 years, with experience in senior residential, specialist vocational schools and prep. Simon writes occasionally on educational matters in related media, is a trustee of the Choir Schools Association and is a qualified executive coach supporting IAPS leaders. He is the Principal elect for Tring Park School for Performing Arts, taking up the post in September 2023.

Eunice is the Professor of Child Advocacy and the Head of Childhood Youth and Families at the University of Northampton. She has considerable experience advising on Early Childhood policy, workforce qualifications and is a member of the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Qualifications, Education and Childcare Route Panel. She has received awards for her ‘Changemaking’ work and research in the early years and child welfare and her book on child protection was shortlisted as the best professional book of the year in 2018. Eunice led the development of the Early Childhood Graduate Competencies for the Early Childhood Studies Network.  

Sinéad is CEO at Education Support, the mental health and wellbeing charity for the education workforce across the UK. She advocates for a systemic approach to wellbeing for the education workforce, attending to the individual, the workplace and the wider policy environment. Sinéad began her career at KPMG before moving to leadership roles in the not-for-profit sector. She has worked as an organisational development consultant and a lecturer and has been a trustee at a number of charities including Kaleidoscope Trust and Groundswell. She is a currently a governor of a south London primary school.

Margaret is SEND and Inclusion Policy Specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL). She is a strong advocate for the role schools play in improving understanding of inclusive leadership and teaching. She led the recent EEF Project for Whole School SEND and sits on several inclusion advisory boards including the States of Jersey and the OCR Examination Board. Margaret is an Honorary Norham Fellow at the University of Oxford Department of Education and writes a research column for Tes.  

Vijita is Principal of Swiss Cottage School Development and Research Centre, a special school for 260 pupils in London. The school is an Apple Distinguished School and has six Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ Inspection outcomes. Vijita advocates empowering educators as leaders of learning design. She trains teachers on the neuroscience of learning and SEN/D. She supports school leaders, governors and policymakers on SEN/D priorities as a NLE.  Vijita is a Trustee for Special Olympics Great Britain, Challenge Partners and Artists in Residence charities. She is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teachers and part of a DfE expert advisory group.

Dame Alison is Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, a new Professional Body that seeks to raise our status through celebrating, supporting and connecting teachers to provide expert teaching and leadership. She was previously Executive Headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire. Her career has spanned primary, secondary and advisory roles. She is an Honorary Fellow of Queens College Cambridge, Hughes Hall Cambridge and UCL, a Visiting Professor of the University of Hertfordshire and Glyndŵr University, and a trustee for Big Change. Her research is published in a series of books about learning without limits offering an alternative approach to inclusive school improvement.

Tara is a clinical psychologist and writer. She worked in the NHS for over 25 years in child and adolescent mental health and has her own successful private practice. She is the author of the Sunday Times Best Selling You Don’t Understand Me: The Young Woman’s guide to Life which has also been translated into 17 other languages.  She writes articles about mental health in journals and the mainstream media. Tara is an Associate Tutor on the doctorate programme for Clinical Psychologists at UCL.  

John is Director of Product and Engineering at Oak National Academy. He was previously a teacher and senior leader in the north west. John has worked with a wide range of organisations across education from start-ups to school trusts, and established companies and charities, including Teach Your Monster (Usborne Foundation). John is also chair at Edapt, having co-founded the organisation in 2011.

Julie was a teacher and head before working for IAPS and then the Independent Schools Council (ISC). ISC’s data analysis informs advocacy of the independent education sector and Julie has appeared in the national media regularly. The ISC is a representative body for 1,300 schools across the UK, working with a range of other organisations. It brings together 11 independent school associations across three priority areas of activity: research, communications and policy. Julie advocates working together for the benefit of children in all kinds of schools. She is a governor at an academy and an independent school.

Samantha is the Director of Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University, Vice President (External) of the Chartered College of Teaching and Deputy Chair of Opportunity Area Partnership Board. She uses her research and practice in the progression of teacher expertise, and curriculum design to improve school-embedded approaches to teacher development. Sam is the Chair of the DfE ITT Framework Group, a member of the DfE Teacher Recruitment and Retention Advisory Group, the specialist NPQs Group, the Carter Review of ITT and Expert Behaviour Management Panel, and the Ofsted Curriculum Review Panel. She recently received an OBE for services to Higher Education.

Amanda is a headteacher at a 1FE primary school in Greenwich and has over 20 years’ experience in the education sector. She has a passion for supporting teachers and as a qualified coach uses her experience to help individuals become more aware of their abilities and move forward in their careers. Amanda is the founder of the First 100 Days Headteachers Conference, an annual conference aimed at new and aspiring headteachers. She is a contributor to Tes, delivers training on the Teach First NPQ courses and sits on a number of education committees within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

After an early career in journalism, Caroline lead communications in a number of UK government departments including the DfE and Ofsted before joining the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) in 2012. Caroline represents BESA on a range of government and sector advisory boards including the Department for International Trade and the DfE. She is a Trustee of the Education Media Centre and judges a number of prestigious industry awards. Caroline has received the Education Investor’s Outstanding Contribution to Education award and undertakes charitable educational activities including roles as a school governor and an educational and careers speaker.