The City of London Academies Trust has appointed the Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation as the new shadow Chair of the Board of Governors at Highbury Grove School.

Mark Boleat will lead the shadow governing body through a period of transition as the school becomes part of The City of London Academies Trust in September 2017.

The City Corporation recently approved plans to sponsor the Islington secondary school subject to an agreement about the school’s future resources.

Mr Boleat will bring with him a wealth of experience as the current Chairman of Policy & Resources, the City of London Corporation’s principal committee.

As well as a broad range of experience in the public sector, Boleat has also had prominent roles in the commercial and voluntary sector.

Catherine McGuinness, Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Education Board said:

“The City of London Corporation is committed to extremely high standards of governance, recruiting governors who are of a high calibre and who bring a range of skills and experience to their roles.

“I am confident that Mark will provide the shadow governing body with confidence and strategic leadership.

“Mark brings great knowledge and experience to the role and his appointment will further strengthen the school’s governance and work with the local community.”

Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation said:

“I look forward to leading the school’s shadow governing body in this period of transition.

“My priority as Chair will be to work with the Board and staff to drive forward further improvements in the school.

“I believe that with strong leadership in place we will be able to implement positive changes in the quality of teaching, learning and outcomes for our future students and staff.”

The City of London Corporation is an experienced academies sponsor already sponsoring, or co-sponsoring, five academies across Hackney, Islington and Southwark.

Across all City academies 77% of students achieved 5A*-C with English and mathematics.

The progress eight scores show that the City Corporation’s Hackney and Islington academies are in the top 15 schools out of 6,300 in the country for student progress.

They are all judged good or outstanding by OFSTED and the group is ranked as the top multi-academy sponsor in the country for pupil progress.

The City of London Academies Trust continues to deliver high-quality education to help enrich and inspire students to reach their full academic and personal potential. It is opening four academies this September in Islington, Hackney and Newham.

The proposed makeup of the governing body is as follows:

Mark Boleat, Mark Boleat is the Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee and holds a portfolio of public sector, commercial and voluntary positions.

Richard Verrall, Professor Richard Verrall is Vice-President (Strategy and Planning) at City, University of London, and Professor of Actuarial Statistics (also a City of London Academy Islington governor).

Helen Curran, Lady Helen Curran is Chair, Curriculum and Community Committee, City University of London, She is an Islington resident and has been a magistrate for several years (also a City of London Academy Islington governor).

Joe Caluori, Joe Caluori is an elected member of Islington Council since 2010, and is the Lead Member for Children and Families (also a City of London Academy Islington governor).

Maggie Elliott, Maggie Elliott is the chair of the existing Highbury Grove School since July 2015. She also chairs several charities committed to alleviating poverty and ill-health in Islington and London

Neale Coleman, Neale Coleman is a parent governor of the existing Highbury Grove School with a child in Year 7.

Clare Verga, Clare Verga has been Principal of the City of London Academy Islington since September 2012, and will be Executive Head for both COLA Islington and Highbury Grove from September 2017.

Aimee Lyall, Aimee Lyall as Acting Headteacher, and Head of Sixth Form at Highbury Grove School, to be the teaching staff member on the governing body.

Sarah Counter, Sarah Counter as School Business Manager at Highbury Grove School to be the non-teacher staff member on the governing body.

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