I am privileged to be the Chair of Governors of Highlands School, a position I have held for 16 years, having been involved as a Governor from the very first days when the school opened in 2000.

Highlands is an outstanding school, in so many ways, not simply because OFSTED tells us so, but because of the wonderfully vibrant teaching and learning environment that we have. I am also very proud of the community spirit which runs through the heart of the school with everyone being made to feel welcome and having a sense of belonging. 

Preparing our young people for the challenges and opportunities of modern day society is at the heart of what we set out to achieve and so naturally we have high ambitions for all our pupils irrespective of their backgrounds and academic abilities. I am always so heartened when I walk around school and talk to the students about what their aspirations are for the future and how positive they are towards their education.

Outside of Highlands I am the Strategic Lead for Governance in Enfield which is a role I enjoy enormously. We have around 1,200 governors in Enfield and whilst I cannot claim to know everyone of them, I see first-hand the contribution they make to schools in our Borough. Schools working collaboratively is a feature of the modern day educational landscape and I am very proud of the work we do at Highlands with other local schools, particularly through the Pan Enfield Alliance. Sharing good practice in terms of teaching and learning is a key to driving school improvement and the tightening of financial belts will make sharing resources even more important. Similarly, the fact that a number of my colleagues on the governing body at Highlands have taken up key positions as governors at other schools is extremely gratifying. As a National Leader of Governance, I am involved in supporting governing bodies across the country and this gives me an invaluable insight into what works well elsewhere. Having been appointed by the Secretary of State to Chair an Interim Executive Board in another London Borough I have gained invaluable experience in knowing what it takes to drive a school forward and this experience provides even greater opportunity for me to work even closer with Vin in our efforts to make sure Highlands remains at the forefront of educational success.

I felt immensely proud to be awarded the MBE in the Queen's 90th Birthday Honours List, an honour which reflects well on the school as a whole. I was also very honoured to be awarded the title of Enfield Governor of the Year for 2012. Although I am the recipient of this award, it serves equally as an acknowledgement of the hardworking colleagues I am proud to lead on our Governing Body. My message has always been the same – “It takes all of us to make a school successful” so a big thank you to everybody who plays a part in making Highlands the wonderful school it is, especially our pupils, parents and carers and of course, all of our staff.