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Annette became Chair of the Trust in January 2020. Annette brings extensive experience of senior leadership in education together with Board experience at Trustee and Chair level in Multi Academy Trusts, and director-level experience in the university sector.

Annette has extensive experience in education in both executive and trustee roles. Formerly Executive Principal of two challenging schools and CEO of a three-school secondary academy trust in Leeds, Annette has also served as a Director at Leeds Metropolitan University and a trustee/interim chair for a Tameside based trust. She currently chairs the West Yorkshire based Resilience Multi Academy Trust. 

From a background in teaching English and leading high-achieving English teams at Secondary level, Annette went on to broaden her experience as the English and Literacy Adviser for North Yorkshire County Council where she gained valuable insight into primary education. Subsequently as Deputy Head Annette led an exciting school improvement project at a high-achieving school in Stockton, moving the school to outstanding. Taking on the challenge of a Special Measures school in Leeds as a new Headteacher in Leeds Annette moved into a different field of significant school improvement in a very complex context. Managing a £29.6m new school build alongside the school achieving a Good rating from Ofsted with Outstanding for leadership and becoming heavily over-subscribed meant Annette gained an additional range of skills and experience. She now brings those skills into her work for Academy Trust Boards as a committee chair at Halliard Trust, a member at GEAT, and Chair at RMAT.  

Annette’s passion for education and the impact it has on the life-chances of children remains as strong as it was as an idealistic English teacher in the 1980s. Now living in Cheshire Annette continues to pursue her interests in all forms of art and performance and is always particularly keen to see schools providing a rich and diverse curriculum in the arts, culture and sport as well as a strongly performing and well-structured core curriculum.