Derek joined us in December 2020 as Regional Education Director for Secondary West and brings to the Trust a wealth of experience in school improvement.
Most recently he was Director of Secondary for Swale Academies Trust in Kent and East Sussex where he oversaw the expansion of the Trust and supporting a number of academies out of category and into good or outstanding judgments.
Before this Derek was Headteacher of Hove Park secondary school in Brighton and Hove, where he transformed the school into being one of the top 1% most improved schools nationally and was spotlighted for a highly successful one-to-one deployment of iPads across the school.
Derek’s first headship was at Mayfield school in Portsmouth, where he led a large secondary school out of special measures. This was also something he did as a deputy in Croydon.
Derek’s route through into school leadership was as a highly passionate head of English and Drama. He is still known to launch into iambic pentameter, at every available opportunity, as he walks the corridors of our academies at ATT!
