I am a retired secondary school headteacher and have lived in the village since 1989.  Two of my children attended Osmotherley Primary School before progressing to Northallerton College.  I have spent my entire professional life working in secondary schools, first in Birmingham and more recently in Stockton and in Redcar and Cleveland.  I am delighted to be able to continue in education through my appointment as a governor of Osmotherldy Primary School.

I have worked in various schools all over the country over the last 20 years but have worked at Osmotherley Primary School since 2007. I have seen many changes within the school during that time. I remain dedicated in helping with the continued success of the school.

Outside of school I run a large Guide unit taking them on many adventures including a trip to Mexico. I am also a keen snowboarder.

I have been the staff governor since 2017.

I feel very fortunate to have lived in Osmotherley since 2016.

I am passionate about education and I started my teaching career working in secondary schools but worked mainly in Higher Education, lecturing in French Studies. During my career, I lived and worked for a number of years in France where I taught English. Later, my work became centred on academic leadership and strategic management.

Towards the end of my career, I took the opportunity to leave Higher Education in order to pursue my interest in dyslexia/ specific learning differences and became a specialist teacher and assessor. I continue to work as a consultant in this field.

Following my retirement, I now volunteer with the charity Darlington Assistance for Refugees, supporting families who are building new lives in the UK. In particular, I am collaborating with Darlington schools to produce a Guide to Inclusive Practice for Welcoming and Supporting EAL Learners and create an EAL Network.

I am an ex-pupil of Osmotherley Primary School and my son started in Reception in 2023.

I have a HND in agriculture and moved away to Shropshire to study. I returned back to the area when leaving agricultural college and now mange our robotic dairy farm. I am faced with daily challenges of managing a business and am always looking for ways to improve productivity and efficiency.

I have young children and I take a keen interest in how they learn. Watching young children learn and develop is fascinating and the knowledge they collect will continue to amaze me.

I feel passionately about the school and am excited to see it succeed.