Members and Trustees

 Our Members are responsible for setting the vision and direction of the Trust and for appointing the Trustees.

 Members

 

 

 

• Sarah Greer
  Professor
  Sarah Greer

  Professor Sarah Greer became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winchester in January 2022. She is responsible for leading the University's strategy and performance. She has extensive leadership experience in higher education, including most recently as the Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Worcester. She is a National Teaching Fellow and has taught and published in the area of property law for many years.

  A former barrister and chartered accountant, she has also held a series of public appointments including, most recently, as a General Commissioner for the Disabled Students' Commission. Sarah has held public appointments in England and Wales. She has been an independent legal panel member for the Solicitors Regulation Authority and a voluntary chair and panel member for England Netball disciplinary and appeals panels.

  Sarah believes that the Disabled Students' Commission, working across boundaries with providers, regulators and government, will bring a new and independent approach to ensuring that disabled students succeed and flourish in higher education. ￿ She hopes that the Commissioners can identify the excellent practice that already exists in the sector and share and develop it to embed it more consistently and effectively across all higher education providers. She hopes that the Disabled Students' Commission will challenge the sector in a very constructive way to use its creativity and commitment to its students to ensure that disabled students aspire to and succeed in reaching their highest potential.

• Barry Harwood
  Mr
  Barry Harwood

  Barry Harwood is currently Initial Teacher Education Partnership Manager at the University of Winchester. His is the academic lead for the school experience that students training to be teachers have to have. He also teaches science and professional practice, and has a particular interest in learning beyond the classroom and reflective practice. Prior to working in teacher education he spent 24 years working in primary education including 7 years as a deputy headteacher and 9 years as a headteacher. He has also acted as an advisory headteacher and consultant headteacher. He started his working life in personnel research and development with IBM and then moved to industrial engineering with Johnson and Johnson Ltd, before training as a teacher. Barry has also trained as an Ofsted inspector. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Fellow of the College of Teachers, Member of the Management Institute and a holder of the National Professional Qualification for Headship. He has a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Education and is currently studying for his Doctor of Education.

  Barry is a Chair of Governors at a Secondary Academy, Vice Chair of Governors of a Primary Academy School (both graded Good by Ofsted) and is Vice Chair of Governors at an Infant School graded Outstanding by Ofsted.

• John Brackstone
  Mr
  John Brackstone

  John is the Director of Faculty Operations for the Faculty of Education at the University of Winchester. As a part of this he looks after budgets and spend, provides strategic level innovative management for activities across the Faculty, and engages with internal and external stakeholder.

  In addition to his management background John has undertaken a wide variety of research in the areas of health, tourism, travel, events and economic modelling.

  John has been involved with the development of the University of Winchester Academy Trust from its earliest days, and is proud to continue to be a part of it.

 

 

 Trustees

 The Trustees make up the Board of the Trust and are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Academy Trust. The Trustees meet regularly to make decisions on how the Academy Trust is run.

 

 

 

• Tommy Geddes
  MBE
  Tommy Geddes

  Tommy Geddes is retired, having formally been Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Winchester where, over a period of 20 years, he was responsible at various times for all of its non-academic services, including Finance, Estates, HR, Governance, IT, Health and Safety, Marketing, Environment, Legal Affairs and safeguarding. He has been a governor of primary schools, an FE college and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

• Janice de Sousa
  Dr
  Janice de Sousa

  Vice Chair of Trustees

  Janice de Sousa has had a career-long involvement in studying and supporting high quality, values-based primary education. She trained to be an early years teacher at King Alfred's College Winchester, and taught in London and Edinburgh before studying for her doctorate at the University of Oxford. Janice has been employed by the University of Winchester for 23 years; as an Education Studies tutor, Head of Department, Chair of Academic Standards and currently as the Dean of the Faculty of Education. In this role Janice has oversight of all provision for trainee and practising teachers, academic studies in education, and educational research, as well being a member of the University Management Group. Janice has been involved with the development of the University of Winchester Academy Trust from its outset and is proud to have the opportunity to contribute to its continuing success.

• Judith Rutherford
  Judith Rutherford

  Judith is a governance expert who, after a successful career in audit and risk management, now works with schools and their governing bodies to improve outcomes for children.

  Judith is passionate that strong and effective governance is key to ensuring children get the very best from their time in education and has a track record of supporting governing bodies to achieve this.

  Judith is also Chair of Governors for another school, a National Leader of Governance, Consultant for the National Governors Association and has been appointed as an External Educational Expert by the Department for Education. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a BSc in Management Science from the University of Warwick.

  Member of C&S Committee

• Anne Weir
  Anne Weir

  Chair of Audit & Risk Committee

  A local ￿ community volunteer and charity trustee with a background in brokering partnerships between the public, private and third sectors, Anne brings expertise and passion for building sustainable communities and empowering individuals to lead fulfilling lives.

  After studying agricultural economics and business administration she worked for some years in central government. Subsequently Anne worked in collaboration with business pioneers to develop and promote standards for sustainable food production and to bring clean water and safe sanitation systems to people on low incomes living in high growth urban areas.

  Conscious of the need to cut her own carbon footprint, Anne is now focused on ensuring her local community has access to great resources - schools and learning hubs, community energy schemes, sports, leisure and cultural facilities, bus services, and safe footpaths and cycle ways.

• Bill Lucas
  Professor
  Bill Lucas

  Chair of Curriculum & Standards

  Professor Bill Lucas is Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning (CRL) and Professor of Learning at the University of Winchester. Bill founded CRL with Guy Claxton in 2008. In addition to his work with CRL, Bill is a member of the Health Foundation Improvement Science Development Group, an International Adviser for GEMS Education, Trustee of The English Project, and Chairman of TLO Ltd (publisher of Building Learning Power). He is also, with Philip Pullman, a Patron of the Pegasus Theatre in Oxford.

  Bill is known internationally as a speaker on the subjects of learning, change, creativity, and leadership. He travels extensively to present keynotes, most recently in Sydney, Philadelphia, Helskinki, Qatar, Melbourne, Auckland, Belfast, and Dubai. He is a prolific writer, and has authored and co-authored over forty books. With Guy Claxton he is the creator of one of the biggest teacher researcher groups in the world: the Expansive Education Network.

• Richard Webster
  Richard Webster

  Richard was formally Project manager for The University of Winchester within the estates and facilities management department. He ￿ was responsible for

  Typical project management duties included the preparation of specifications and tender documents, programme planning, the appointment and management of contractors and design team personnel, client and stakeholder liaison, chairing design team and site progress meetings, preparing budgetary and other management information, fit-out procurement, agreement of variations and final account, and post-occupancy evaluations. Richard is pleased to be able to support school support staff to ensure all academies are safe, secure and well managed sites.

  Member of FAR Committee

• Jonathan de Sausmarez
  Jonathan de Sausmarez

  I have been in education for nearly 38 years of which the last 20 have been in Headteacher roles. In 2000 I was appointed Headteacher of Henry Beaufort School and then in 2011, Executive Headteacher of The Romsey School. Since 2004 I have supported a wide range of schools and academies, starting as a Consultant Headteacher with the Specialist Schools Trust and then from 2011 working as a Regional Director for the Academies Enterprise Trust. (AET). My role at AET meant I could spend 2 days a week working in schools in all phases, primary and secondary but also special schools. In 2011, I also led Romsey School to become an academy and then from April 2019 a Multi Academy Trust working significantly with Oakfield Primary School in Totton. This required a new leadership approach at all levels working with a new style governor and leadership team. I am not only experienced not only in the leadership, teaching and learning aspects of school improvement but also the financial and other backroom services required in running a MAT. I would be happy to support ￿and share my learning with UWinAT as they embark on this exciting journey.

  Member of C&S Committee

• Jonathan Prest
  Jonathan Prest

  Chair of Finance & Resources

  I trained at Oxford University's Department of Education, did my teaching practice in a local 11-18 comprehensive school and decided sixth form ￿teaching was what I wanted to specialise in. I started with English teaching, took a post in pastoral work at Brockenhurst for 5 years, and then had leadership roles including 3 years as Principal at Richard Taunton, before taking over at Barton Peveril in 2008. Barton Peveril has grown in popularity from 2,200 students when I started to 4,000 today. I have loved working with young people, but also with my colleagues in the ￿secondary and primary sector, from whom I learn something every time I meet them, ￿especially in terms of pedagogy. I have had experience of governance in a University, colleges, charities and a national membership organisation. My beliefs about education could be summarised by concepts such as: opportunity; equality; excellence; kindness; good health; happiness.

  Member of C&S Committee

• Jane Stokes
  Jane Stokes

  Jane read English at Cardiff University and holds a PGCE in post-compulsory education. She has significant experience of teaching in the FE sector and a particular interest in supporting students whose disadvantaged backgrounds, or learning difficulties and disabilities, can lead to behaviour that challenges.

  Jane designs and delivers contextualised learning provision to offenders in Winchester prison. Her current role includes working with the prison's management to develop processes for evidencing the skills and attributes offenders are acquiring in vocational areas. This includes teaching about equalities and raising awareness of the need to understand and support difference.

  She has a particular interest in how adverse childhood experiences impact individuals and how they can be supported with protective and compensatory experiences to overcome disadvantage and make positive choices that enable them to lead fulfilling lives. She takes a lead responsibility for safeguarding across the Trust.

  Member of C&S

• Marnie Seymour
  Dr
  Marnie Seymour

  Marnie is Co-Director of the Institute of Education. The Institute of Education is home to over 1000 full-time students and 500 part-time students who are involved with a range of courses from within the Institute's portfolio. Marnie is jointly responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the Initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in the department; post-graduate courses and CPD; as well as research and knowledge exchange. She is the subject lead for Primary Foreign Languages (PFL) across all of our Primary ITE provision. She is also the Academic Lead for Quality through Leadership (QTL), the lead provider for the National Professional Qualifications for Executive Leadership, Headship, Senior and Middle Leadership across the south of the region.

  Marnie actively works to form collaborative partnerships with colleagues from other HEIs, local schools, Hampshire Local Authority and other professional bodies in order to explore ways in which the University can support school-based research e.g. through formal accreditation and through CPD. She has a successful track record for attracting funding to provide CPD for teachers.

  Prior to working in higher education, Marnie worked as a Headteacher in two junior schools in Hampshire. She is also the Chair of Governors for a large Infant School in the New Forest.

  Marnie's research interests lie principally in the field of sociolinguistics. She is particularly interested in early foreign language teaching and learning and exploring the influence of social contexts and policy on the beliefs and practices of teachers. She is active within her discipline, is a member of a number of national professional associations for language learning and teaching and has co-convened and contributed to conferences focusing on early foreign language learning.

  Member of C&S Committee

• John Elsworth
  John Elsworth

  I work for the University of Winchester as their Deputy Director of Finance (Management Accounts) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2001. I have been at the University for 23 years and in that time have seen it grow and evolve from King Alfred's College to the university it is today. It gives me great pleasure to feel I am contributing to our students outcomes even though indirectly.

  I have two sons, Matt, who is now working in finance, and James who is in his third year at university. I enjoy walking and have a keen interest in British history. I am also learning German.

• Carolyn Clarke
  Carolyn Clarke

  Originally from Coventry Carolyn trained ￿ in Sheffield ￿ and gained a Masters in Education at Southampton University. During ￿her career Carolyn has held a variety of teaching and leadership roles in Junior, Primary, Middle and Secondary education. ￿Having taught in Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire and ￿ a Headteacher in Hampshire for 25 Years. In the last 17 years Carolyn lead Harrison Primary School and latterly the Pioneer Teaching Alliance and the Fareham and Gosport SCITT. ￿This provided many opportunities to work with amazing leaders and innovators in Education both locally and nationally. This ￿included Chairing and being a Lead Facilitator for Quality Through Leadership (QTL) the National Licenced Provision based at the University. Carolyn helped to support schools in difficulty, helping many ￿map their way forward to success. This work and much more, has supported a belief that schools are rich with talents ready to be unleashed.

  Since retirement, Carolyn has been able to continue this work both as a Consultant and in a voluntary capacity, delivering national programmes to improve pedagogy across the country, undertaking reviews for the Department of Education, continuing to Chair the QTL Board and represent Winchester University until its completion. ￿A ￿mentor and ￿appraisal reviewer for Headteachers and offered leadership support, Carolyn wishes to continue support education in anyway she can, in the belief every child deserves the very best of opportunities in well led caring schools.

• Claire Lorrain
  Claire Lorrain

  I work for the University of Winchester as the Head of the Continuous Improvement Unit (CIU). With 15 years of experience working in the Higher Education Sector, I have been the Head of CIU since its inception in January 2014. A key element I enjoy about my role is continuously striving to improve our processes. I have been responsible for achieving Global recognition of 'Excellent Customer Experience' (2019). I am passionate about education and enjoy working in an environment where children and students can flourish.

  Outside of work, I am busy with my 5-year-old daughter, who is horse mad, and in my spare time, I enjoy swimming and cooking.

 

 Historic Member and Trustee Resignations can be found below:

 

• Member and Trustee Resignations 21 23

 

 Local Academy Committees

Details of membership, interests and attendance at each LAC, can be found on the Governance pages of each school website.