Our People

Andrew was an officer in the Royal Navy and then re-trained as an accountant with a global Pharma company. He subsequently worked as a Director of an international consultancy firm advising banks, investment banks and other financial services companies on transforming their operational performance.

With two children attending local schools, Andrew is passionate about enabling young people from across the area to achieve their potential. Most recently, he was Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Guildford College Group where standards improvement was critical and achieved.

In his spare time, Andrew coaches juniors at Guildford Rowing Club.

Kathy Ashford served on the Governing Body of Guildford County School for many years, latterly as Vice Chair of Governors.  This was a period of significant change, covering the initial bid for Specialist Status in Music, the conversion to academy status, several Ofsted inspections and the recruitment of a Headteacher.  Throughout her time as a Governor, Kathy was employed as manager of a local confederation of schools, and she remains in this role to this day.

Earlier in her career, Kathy worked in the communications sector, notably as Director of Communications at the University of Surrey.  She also has experience in change management and is a published children’s author.  Kathy is a registered psychotherapist, currently working both in private practice and within a university setting.

Dr Jon Cox has been Headmaster of the Royal Grammar School (RGS) since 2007.  Prior to his appointment he held various leadership roles including Second Master, Head of Sixth Form and Assistant Housemaster at Whitgift School.  He was educated at the University of Southampton (PhD Biochemistry, BSc Physiology & Pharmacology) and the Royal College of Music (Certificate of Advanced Performance). 

During Dr Cox’s leadership of the RGS, he has developed and strengthened partnerships with Learning Partners, working closely with George Abbot School and Kings College, Guildford.

Sarah is a qualified accountant with 14 years' experience in Finance working across the UK and internationally, and is currently a Financial Controller for a large defence company.

Sarah has been on the governing body at a Learning Partners Junior School, Northmead, for three years with a focus on Health & Safety and Maths, and is also a Team Leader at the North Guildford Foodbank. Sarah is married with one son and enjoys keeping active.

Jennifer’s professional background is in teaching, education management and school leadership. A qualified teacher, she worked in schools and colleges for 15 years, before joining the examination board AQA, where she is a Head of Curriculum and manages a portfolio of qualifications. 

Jennifer was Chair of the Governing Body at Guildford County School prior to joining Learning Partners Trust.

Andi has lived in the Stoughton area of Guildford for over 20 years. He is married with three boys of secondary-school age.

Andi has worked for British Airways for over 20 years. He currently works in the airline’s Business Transformation team as a Process Effectiveness Manager, managing a team which helps all areas of the airline improve the way they do things whilst being sensitive to the impact these changes have on both colleagues and customers.

Andi previously served as a governor at Stoughton Infant and Nursery School and was Chair of Governors from 2010 to 2018. He was a member of the Children and Learning Committee, Finance and Resources Committee, Strategy Committee and the Headteacher's Performance Management Committee.

Paul Smith is Professor of Composite Materials and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Surrey.  He is an engineer by background and has been working on the mechanical properties of materials for over 30 years.

Paul also has a strong interest in education.  He holds a PGCE, with mathematics as his primary subject.  He also served on the governing bodies of two schools in Guildford (Merrow Infants and Bushy Hill Junior) including a term as chair.

Anne has worked in education as a headteacher, an ofsted inspector and an Education Director. 

Having served as a governor at Kings College Guildford and a trustee, Anne leads our Education Committee. 

• Geoff Wyss, former Trustee
• Joanne Harper, former Trustee
• Fergal Roche, former Chair of Trustees
• Jonathan Coles, former Trustee

Copies of minutes from board and committee meetings can be viewed upon request.  Please contact our clerk Julia Mason for further information on jmason@learningpartners.org

Boxgrove Primary School

Adam Askew

George Abbot

Nicola Mead

Guildford Grove Primary School

Heather Archer

Loseley Fields Primary School

Andrew Shovelton

Pirbright Village School

Julia May Douetil

Shalford Infant & Nursery School

Sarah Hardcastle

Boxgrove Primary School

Since qualifying in 1996, Alison has held a number of positions in Infant, Primary and all-though schools, joining the Senior Leadership Team, at Boxgrove Primary School in 2002 as a Phase Leader and English Lead.  Alison became the Deputy and Safeguarding Lead at Boxgrove in 2005 and completed the NPQH in 2008.   Alison worked closely with Initial Teacher Training institutions as a tutor, interviewing and supporting trainees and contributing to the development of teacher training programmes.  She is passionate about the power of coaching in bringing about school improvement and in improving well-being for the whole community and coaches teachers and leaders in other Surrey schools.  

Alison and Rebecca began their acting co-headship in 2013 before becoming substantive in Spring 2015 and continue to enjoy opportunities to work on DFE and Trust programmes supporting women in leadership.  

Rebecca has worked in education for over twenty years and has been headteacher at Boxgrove Primary School for seven years.  Rebecca is passionate about inclusion, having worked as an Inclusion Officer in a previous role.  She is also an advocate for flexible working and the huge benefits that this model can bring to an organisation, having worked with the DfE to produce materials to promote leaders and teachers working in this way. 

Rebecca says that being a headteacher is a massive privilege and she absolutely loves her role and the community she serves.  

Burpham Primary School

Before training to be a teacher, Jo worked in recruitment and then project management. In her 26 year career in Surrey, she has taught across all phases from EYFS to KS2 and is now entering her 10th year of headship at Burpham Primary school.

Jo has supported colleagues as a mentor for the Chartered College of Teaching and the NAHT(National Association of Headteachers) and as a Learning Partner for SaFE (Schools Alliance for Excellence). She is also a member of the Executive Board for Primary Council, representing the views of colleagues across the county.

Jo is passionate about providing an inclusive environment so that every child can experience success and achieve their potential.

After work (and sometimes before) you can find her out walking her cocker spaniel Reggie who joined the Burpham team in 2021.

George Abbot

Kate trained as a secondary music teacher in Birmingham and led two music departments in Warwickshire and Staffordshire before moving on to become a Head of Year in Croydon.

From there Kate moved into senior leadership in Surrey before becoming a headteacher in 2011.  Kate has now been headteacher at two secondary schools within the trust.  

George Abbot is one of the largest schools in the country, so Kate's expertise has developed in all matters personnel, legal, leading change on a large scale and continually improving teaching and learning. 

George Abbot is a longstanding SCITT provider (school-centred initial teacher training), and partners with South Farnham Educational Trust (SFET) in the delivery of the early career framework, specialising in the delivery of the early career teachers secondary framework.

Guildford County School 

Qualifying as a Geography teacher in 2001, Steve spent eight years honing his craft in the classroom.  During this time and as an academic at heart, Steve gained a masters degree in Educational Leadership. 

Away from schools, Steve has held fellowships of the Royal Geographical Society and the College of Teachers and whilst working has led on teacher induction, careers education and served as a governor of three secondary schools. 

Qualifying as a Mountain Leader in 2007, Steve has also led and delivered all three levels of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and he has a passion for learning outside the classroom, 

Guildford Grove School

Bio to follow

Kings College Guildford
Fullbrook School

Alastair started his career as an English teacher in 2003. Prior to moving to whole school leadership roles, he led the English department at George Abbot School and qualified as an Advanced Skills Teacher. During this time he also worked within the Teaching School as a Professional Tutor, enjoying working with trainees to support them as they developed in the classroom.

He joined Kings in 2012 as Vice Principal, before taking on the headship when Mrs Carriett moved to George Abbot in 2016. He has subsequently taken on an Executive role, leading teams at Kings and Fullbrook. Passionate about effective leadership, he developed a course for aspiring Headteachers within and beyond the MAT.

He retains a love of all things literary, as well as enjoying a wide variety of sports.

Loseley Fields

Amanda has been working in the primary sector in Surrey for over 25 years.  Throughout her career, Amanda has had a keen interest in personal development and in particular championing those children disadvantaged and vulnerable.

In her early career she developed an expertise in personal and social education, working with the local authority to write high quality sex and relationship education schemes of work for schools to use across Surrey. She is also an experienced coach and mentor supporting teachers and leaders in developing areas of their practice including leadership development and managing pupil behaviour.  She has been a designated safeguarding lead for two decades and has a wealth of knowledge about safeguarding.

Amanda successfully achieved her national professional qualification for headship (NPQH), in 2003 whilst working as a deputy in another school within the trust.  She has worked as headteacher of Loseley Fields since October 2018 where she has helped stabilise staffing and drive improvement across the school through rigorous curriculum development.

Northmead Junior School

Sarah qualified as a primary teacher in 2002 and spent 16 years at the same school undertaking a variety of roles from subject leadership, Assistant Headteacher with responsibility of Key Stage 2 and in the latter years she was the school’s SENCO and Deputy Headteacher. 

Sarah also worked as a specialist leader in education (SLE), supporting schools with initial teaching training and provision for special education needs.  The SLE role progressed into two secondments as an Interim Headteacher which was a fantastic professional development, alongside the national professional qualification for headship (NPQH), for her current role as Headteacher at Stoughton Infant and Nursery School and Northmead Junior School.

Pirbright School

Gavin grew up in Surrey and spent his entire teaching career in the local area.  He has a passion for creative learning and ensuring that primary aged children receive experience led learning which is purposeful and physically active.

When not in school he can be found either at the rugby or the theatre and these two passions influence his activities at school.  He became the headteacher at Pirbright in 2015.

Sandfield Primary School

Kate has enjoyed a varied teaching career working across many different settings; from 5-form entry junior schools to three-form entry primary schools located in Tower Hamlets, Dorset and Surrey.  She has taught from reception to year 6. 

Maths has always been an area of specialism, with Kate attaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Mathematical Education from Brunel University, as well as being a lead maths teacher across Surrey, leading training in schools on both maths and assessment.

Kate achieved her national professional qualification for headship (NPQH), in 2014 and used these leadership skills in her deputy headteacher role at Boxgrove Primary School and, since February 2019, as the headteacher of Sandfield Primary School. 

Kate's vision for education is to inspire children to love learning, through a rich, engaging, creative and broad curriculum.

Shalford Infant School

Michelle has worked in the primary sector for over 25 years, including 11 years of headship experience. She has spent her entire teaching career in various parts of Surrey working both in some very large primary and very small infant schools. She is passionate about good quality Early Years education, which she believes is the foundation for a child’s future development and successes.

Michelle achieved her national qualification for headship (NPQH) in 2012 and has since been the headteacher at Shalford Infant & Nursery School. She loves reading and spends much of her spare time with her head in a book, something that she also enjoys doing in school, Storytime Club in the library is always the highlight of her week!

Stoughton Infant and Nursery School 

Sarah qualified as a primary teacher in 2002 and spent 16 years at the same school undertaking a variety of roles from subject leadership, Assistant Headteacher with responsibility of Key Stage 2 and in the latter years she was the school’s SENCO and Deputy Headteacher. 

Sarah also worked as a specialist leader in education (SLE), supporting schools with initial teaching training and provision for special education needs.  The SLE role progressed into two secondments as an Interim Headteacher which was a fantastic professional development, alongside the national professional qualification for headship (NPQH), for her current role as Headteacher at Stoughton Infant and Nursery School. 

Jack Mayhew brings significant experience of school leadership from both the secondary and primary sectors to his CEO role at Learning Partners.  Jack founded Athena Schools Trust, as Executive Headteacher, and led the merger with the 7 schools of Guildford Education Partnership in 2021, forming Learning Partners Academy Trust.  A teacher for more than 20 years, involved in school leadership for over half that time and a head, of one description or another, for almost 8 years, across three different schools, he is pleased to lead the trust with like-minded individuals and schools seeking a collaborative multi-academy trust model.

Jack has experience of school leadership in a variety of contexts and varying educational stages. He has experience of forming a multi-academy trust team before joining Guildford County – a school he led to outstanding Ofsted status in 2017.

Leading schools where children thrive is Jack's modus operandi for Learning Partners, where schools have a shared vision for education of being ‘better together’. The best way to face the challenges facing schools in the current climate is through collaboration, honesty and high expectations.

Patrick is the Chief Operations Officer for the trust. Patrick was previously School Business Manager for Guildford County School and brings a wealth of knowledge to the trust from previous roles, including as an Operations Manager within the electronics industry and, as a volunteer, as the vice-chair of a national youth organisation. Patrick trained as a Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineer.

Patrick is an accredited School Resource Management Advisor and provides support to schools on behalf of the Department for Education to assist them in making the most effective possible use of resources.

Patrick’s role is to ensure that the trust provides effective support to our schools, enabling them to offer the best possible learning experiences for children and young people.

Kathryn has worked as a classroom teacher in the primary sector teaching for all ages between Nursery and Year 6.  Alongside her role as Director of Education, Kathryn is also a serving headteacher with 11 years headship experience, she has extensive experience of school academy trusts and school leadership.

Kathryn is an accredited NLE and has had the privilege of working with a variety of schools across the South East region in supporting them with varying aspects of school improvement.

Kathryn works to support governing bodies within both the maintained local authority and academy sector cross phase to include primary and secondary.

Kathryn has worked as part of the school improvement team since 2020 and has been able to visit all the schools within the trust, to work with leaders, teachers and staff teams to help them develop the curriculum offer for the trust’s learners.

Alongside her school improvement team colleagues, they aim to support the trust’s schools with providing the very best education they can, for the children they serve.  They do this via bespoke school improvement work and professional development.

Andrew is the Director of Education for the trust. Andrew has significant experience of secondary school leadership including a number of years as a Senior Deputy Headteacher in a large north London comprehensive.  In addition, he has been a facilitator for the National College of School Leadership delivering LfTM, Leadership Pathways through the Institute of Education and most recently as Lead Facilitator for STSN’s NPQSL programme. He is also an on-line facilitator supporting the NPQ suite of courses.  Andrew is currently delivering the ECF in George Abbot School’s role as a Regional Delivery Partner on behalf of South Farnham Teaching School hub and acting as the Appropriate Body for all secondary ECTs.

He has been a Leadership Development Advisor of the Fast Track and the Accelerate to Headship programmes.  Between 2016-21, he was employed as the Director of the Teaching School alongside his role as Director of Education.

Areas of expertise: Provision and delivery of school-based and external training. bespoke workshops and training programmes.  Coaching support, career consultations and interview support for Deputy Headteachers and Headteachers.

Kathryn has worked as a classroom teacher in the primary sector teaching for all ages between Nursery and Year 6.  Alongside her role as Director of Education, Kathryn is also a serving headteacher with 11 years headship experience, she has extensive experience of school academy trusts and school leadership.

Kathryn is an accredited NLE and has had the privilege of working with a variety of schools across the South East region in supporting them with varying aspects of school improvement.

Kathryn works to support governing bodies within both the maintained local authority and academy sector cross phase to include primary and secondary.

Kathryn has worked as part of the school improvement team since 2020 and has been able to visit all the schools within the trust, to work with leaders, teachers and staff teams to help them develop the curriculum offer for the trust’s learners.

Alongside her school improvement team colleagues, they aim to support the trust’s schools with providing the very best education they can, for the children they serve.  They do this via bespoke school improvement work and professional development.

Michele is an Education Consultant who believes that every child deserves to benefit from the very best we can offer in our schools. She works with school leaders across the South East to maximise the learning experiences and outcomes of students.

Michele has worked in a variety of schools as teacher, subject leader, and senior leader, and has written and delivered professional learning to teachers across the country, and is the leadership and learning consultant for the Schools Alliance for Excellence.

Michele works with Learning Partners in the ongoing review and development of teaching, learning, and leadership in our secondary schools. Her approach is to work in close partnership and collaboration, with a curious approach so that we can explore how to continually strive to be better today than we were yesterday.

Rachel has worked for the trust since 2016 in her role as Primary Practice Development Lead.  She has over 20 years of experience working in education as a teacher and acting Deputy Head.

Rachel is passionate about improving teaching and learning and improving standards of attainment within our schools.  She provides strategic support for senior leadership teams as well as providing support for teaching and learning across both our primary and secondary schools.  As part of her role, Rachel also delivers CPD to both teachers and trainees.

Graham supports the trust as a School Improvement Partner. Graham has had thirty years experience teaching and leading in secondary schools, including five years as a Head of English and ten years of successful secondary headship. Graham was also a School Improvement Partner and National Challenge Advisor and worked in school improvement for various local authorities. Graham was a lead inspector for Ofsted for a number of years before moving to the Oasis multi-academy where he worked as a National Director responsible for strategy and innovation.

Carol has been supporting the trust since September 2018, adding a wealth of educational leadership experience to the team.  Her passion is to support school leaders, including governors, to be the best they can be; continually improving the provision they offer their children so that they thrive.

Carol’s experience includes being a teacher across the entire age range (Nursery through to Secondary), Headteacher, Service Leader for Education Standards within a local authority, School Improvement Partner, a National Leader of Governance, a Trainer delivering National School Leadership Programmes and a Trainer in Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Tanya has recently joined the team and we are delighted to welcome her. Further details on Tanya will be available soon.

Joanna is the Director for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and since joining the trust has supported graduates into the teaching profession.

Joanna has twenty-five years of experience teaching and leading primary schools in London and Surrey.

In more recent years she has also worked as an NPQH assessor and facilitated the work of Surrey’s Primary Headteachers’ Phase Council.

Richard is the Secondary Cohort Lead for the George Abbot SCITT and works closely with the trainee teachers through the training programme. He also visits the trainees in their placement schools to observe lessons and liaise with mentors and professional tutors.

Richard leads the mentoring programme to ensure mentors offer the necessary advice and support for the trainees. Richard has taught for 24 years in three secondary schools in Hampshire and Surrey, most recently as an Assistant Headteacher.

Gerry joined George Abbot School in 2010 as the Teaching School Administrator and moved into the SCITT Team in 2014. 

In her role as Secondary Course Facilitator, she is responsible for the organisation of the Secondary SCITT Programme and provide pastoral support for the Secondary Trainees.

Suzy has worked for the trust since February 2019.  She has over 15 years of administration experience and has worked within the education sector since 2014.  Suzy has a BA Hons in Business Administration.

In her role as SCITT Recruitment Administrator, Suzy provides a first point of contact for teacher training enquiries, organises interview days and information events and has designed various marketing materials.

Nicola is a Chartered Member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management.

She joined the trust in September 2023, having previously worked in Human Resources in both state and independent schools, as well over 14 years’ HR experience in the hospitality industry.

Nicola believes that people are at the heart of any organisation and having the right people doing the things in the right places is crucial to securing the best outcomes for children in our schools.

Lynsey joined the HR team in September 2022 as HR Advisor moving from the role of SCITT Rectruitment Facilitator for George Abbot SCITT.

Her role in HR is to oversee the Management Information System and provides professional advice and guidance to senior leaders and staff. Previously, Lynsey worked within the field of Human Resources for the private and public sector and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She also holds a Business Studies and Social Policy degree.

Sarah is a qualified accountant who joined the trust as Finance Officer following four and a half years as School Business Manager at Shalford Infant School. Prior to this she worked as a Financial Controller and has over 15 years of commercial finance experience gained in the private sector.

Sarah believes great financial management can help the trust deliver the best outcomes for its children.

Helána is a qualified accountant who joined the trust as School Business Manager at Pirbright Village Primary School in April 2018. She moved to the Central Operations Team in September 2023 as School Business Advisor. Prior to this she worked as Financial Controller in the private sector for over 10 years in a variety of industries. She took a career break when her children were little, during which time she volunteered at Pirbright Village Primary School as Treasurer of the PTA and also served as Governor at the school.

Becky has worked for the trust since September 2022, having previously worked for another trust for six years in a central finance role. She is the finance manager in the central finance team and her role is to oversee the day to day finance function of the central team, whilst providing support to finance staff within our schools. She is currently working towards completing her AAT exams.

Becky believes strongly that every child should be given the gift of an education that encompasses learning with emotional and physical wellbeing.

Katy has recently joined the trust in September 2022 in a new role as a Finance Analyst in the central team.

Previously Katy has worked in both the education and corporate sectors with her previous role being a Finance Officer in another school in Guildford. She holds a degree in Business Information Systems and has recently completed her AAT level 3.

Mirela joined Learning Partners Academy Trust in Feb 2023. After receiving her BA(Hons) degree in Management in Commerce and Tourism, Mirela worked in the Travel Industry for 18 years in various roles, including finance and operations. In 2017, Mirela trained to become a Teaching Assistant and thoroughly enjoyed her role in a primary school for 6 years, helping children to be the best they can be. Mirela has found working in the education sector very fulfilling and is delighted in her current role to be able to bring her experience in finance to education./p>

Sandra joined the trust in January 2023. Her role is to support schools who are looking to join The Trust and to assist those schools in the Academisation process.

She has 25 years’ experience as a School Business Manager and currently works in a large primary academy.

Ben Sayers is the IT Director at Learning Partners Academy Trust. His team's strategic goal is to "improve teaching and learning through better ICT". The Learning Partners Network Team supports our schools in all aspects of IT, providing tailored support to meet the requirements that our schools face. Our technical staff are skilled in their areas of expertise, with an ICT Apprentice programme to ensure that the team has continuity for the future.

The Learning Partners Network Team is purpose-built to grow as our community and school numbers grow. Our structure is designed to meet schools' needs with IT Technicians onsite, the Service Desk providing remote support and a Development & Infrastructure Team to lead on projects. This structure combines on-site and centralised support staff to better co-ordinate helpdesk tickets and projects for each one of our schools, with our projects being planned together so our schools get the benefits of group purchasing.

Sam joined the trust in December 2022, having previously worked as an Estates Partner in the central services team of large Surrey based MAT, and as a School Business Manager of a Special school.  In these roles, she gained extensive practical experience in project management, policy development, school governance and compliance in various educational settings. 

Prior to working in the education sector in 2017, Sam had a career in banking for over 20 years as a finance analyst, concluding in a senior supervisory role at the Bank of England, focussing on compliance and Board governance. 

Sam’s role within the trust is to ensure trust governance adheres to good practice and meets all statutory and regulatory requirements.  In addition, Sam provides strategic oversight of the development and maintenance of estates by leading the trust estates function.  Sam aims to deliver pragmatic, strategic support in all areas of compliance, governance and estates to enable school leaders to deliver the trust’s vision in a collaborative and transparent way. 

Julia first joined the Trust in 2020 as clerk to the Trust Board. Julia has a background in both the education and corporate sectors. She has worked in a variety of school roles, both classroom-based and administrative, for many years. She has provided clerking support for a range of governing bodies, from small infant schools to large secondaries, and at trust board level. Julia strongly believes in the importance of good governance to ensure positive outcomes for all children. Julia is also currently clerk to the local governing bodies of two Learning Partners Academy Trust schools: Guildford County School and Loseley Fields Primary School.

Gaby first joined the trust as a Food Technology Technician at George Abbot School in 2014 before taking the role as administrator within the central team.  She holds an honours degree in French and Italian and prior to a career break she was a Sales, PR and Marketing executive.

Gaby is now PA to the CEO and also responsible for the communications and marketing of the trust.  Gaby loves visiting the schools and is always delighted to support them in their marketing and communications strategies.  As well as supporting Jack, Gaby ensures the trust office is organised and efficient to enable the team to provide a high service to all of our schools.

Ashley joined the trust in March 2022, as the Operations Coordinator in the Central Operations Team and has recently taken on the new role of Compliance and Projects Officer. She has a background in both the education and corporate sectors, and has worked in a variety of industries, including IT and Pharmaceuticals. Her role is to support the trust’s schools by providing School Business Managers and Leadership Teams with systems, processes and information that enable them to do their roles efficiently, therefore providing a strong platform for the children and adults in their school. 

Prior to joining the trust Ashley was a frequent volunteer at her local primary school and is also co-founder of the Guildford Baby Bank, a networking group that she has grown from scratch to over 4,000 members, established to support all parents and carers within Guildford & its environs. She believes strongly in the value of education and lifelong learning for all children.  

Doug is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Building. He has a university honours degree in Building Construction & Management.

Doug joined the trust in 2022 having previously worked as a project manager in the construction industry for 25 years. He has a wealth of experience in delivering complex construction projects on time and within budget.

Jodie joined the trust in September '23, as an Operations Coordinator in the Central Operations Team. She has a background in Operations and Learning Development within a range of industries, including education, and she holds an honours degree in Sociology with Criminology.

Jodie is a staunch believer in the importance of education and is excited to be able to support the schools that are part of the Learning Partners Trust, and the wider community too.