Only six candidates are standing in the election for an influential committee that helps to make crucial decisions about schools and academies across the north of England.
The Department for Education today released the list of candidates standing in elections for the eight headteacher boards (HTBs) in England.
They advise the increasingly powerful regional schools commissioners (RSCs) about key decisions about schools in their area, including approving new free schools and academies, deciding whether underperforming maintained schools have to convert, and deciding whether failing academies should be given to new sponsors.
The six people on the ballot paper in the North of England represent less than half the number standing in the next lowest area, north-west London and south-central England, where there are 14 candidates.
The largest number of candidates is in the South West, where 25 people are standing.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “As there are fewer academies in the North, we would expect there to be fewer academy leaders eligible to stand in the elections than in other regions.
“We are confident that the quality of the candidates in the North will deliver an excellent headteacher board with the skills and expertise required to support school improvement in the region.”
Only current or recent headteachers of outstanding academies, or those judged good with outstanding leadership, are eligible to stand in the elections, and only leaders of academies are eligible to vote.
Voting will take place between 8 September and 21 September, with the results due before the autumn half term.
Four members of each HTB are elected, while others can be appointed by RSCs, or co-opted by the HTB itself.
The boards have been criticised for a lack of transparency about how they operate.
Here is the full list of candidates:
East Midlands and the Humber
Peter Bell
Adam Cooper
Ged Fitzpatrick
Pauline Hagen OBE
Sian Hampton
Lee Hessey
Anne Martin
Chris Mulqueen
Adrian O’Malley
Roisin Paul
Carolyn Robson
Inderjit Sandhu
Paul Stone
Cathy Taylor
Andrew Truby
East of England and north-east London
Shahina Ahmad
Andrew Berry
Tom Canning
Susannah Connell
Brian Conway
Caroline Derbyshire
Jodh Dhesi
Iain Michael Erskine
Joseph Figg
Simon Gilbert-Barnham
Rich Green
Justin James
Karen Kerridge
Rachel Macfarlane
Helena Marsh
Rebecca Newman
Diane Rochford
Jonathan Taylor
Angela Tempany
Lancashire and West Yorkshire
Richard Ballantine
Julie Bradley
Karen Bramwell
Jane Chambers
Farhat Choudry
Michael Gosling
Pauline Hagen OBE
Royston Halford
David Horn
Tuesday Humby
Duncan Jacques
Deborah Mason
Jo Morgan
Louise Smith
Michael Tonge
David Watson
Jon Wright
North of England
Debi Bailey
Zoe Carr
Chris Clarke
Nick Hurn
Dean Judson
Lesley Powell
North-west London and south-central England
Sarah Bennett
Dame Sue Bourne DBE
Jamie Clarke
Gill Labrum
Nikki Lamond
Frances Manning
Andrew Markham
Terry Molloy
Vicky Parsey
Tom Rees
Claire Robins
Andy Squires
Teresa Tunnadine CBE
Michelle Willett
South-East England and south London
David Boyle
Sir Andrew Carter OBE
Jon Chaloner
Graham Chisnell
Alex Clark
Llyn Codling
Paula Farrow
Beverley Gardner
David Harris
Declan Jones
Lee Mason-Ellis
Alex Russell
Nardeep Sharma
Rebecca Stacey
Marie Sweetlove
Annemarie Whittle
South-West England
Sally Apps
Lynn Atkinson
Jonathan Bishop
Neil Blundell
Martin Brook
Gary Chown
Ian Cload
Clare Crowle
George Croxford
Barbara Daykin
Suzanne Flack
Robert Gasson
Catherine Hughes
Paul Jones
Catriona Mangham
Siobhan Meredith
Will Morgan
Jo Perry
Antus Phillips
Paul Rushforth
David Sammels
Steve Savory
Simon Spry
Liz West
Jan Woodhouse
West Midlands
Michael Barratt
Dame Mo Brennan
Christopher Brislen
Nicola Clay
David Coaché
Rebecca Cox
Steve Docking
Mike Donoghue
Stephen Dunster
Jane Edgerton
Catherine Lewis
Jo Morgan
Martin Murphy
Hazel Pulley
Richard Redgate
Geraint Roberts
Kevin Simpson
Sinead Smith
Dan Thomas
Elizabeth Threlkeld
Darren Turner
Margaret Yates
