I have been at DCHS since September 1999. I have had a number of roles in the school including Head of English and Drama, strategic responsibility for careers and now Director of Post 16 Education and Guidance. 

I take great pride in the potential of the young people within our school to be the best versions of themselves. I work with the wider community in building positive relationships and giving the young people of the area an opportunity to present themselves to the town. I love working with the 6th form student body and the 6th form team in providing educational opportunities to help work with them to prepare young people for the next stage of their lives and truly believe that through building positive relationships success can follow for the students of The Duchess's Community High School. 

Having completed a BSc in Ecology at Durham University and remembering the impact my own teachers had on both my academic and personal development, I decided to embark on a career in teaching. I was fortunate to remain in the North East for my PGCE and moved to Alnwick to begin my teaching career as a science teacher at DCHS over 20 years ago! Over the years I have held a number of different roles and responsibilities as part of our school community. These roles have included; Head of Science, SENDCO and currently as Director of Student Support - SEND. I am privileged to work with our dedicated staff to help develop our student support systems and build staff knowledge and expertise in relation to SEND by effective researched informed practice. My length of time at the school is testament to the very special love I have for our community, the positive relationships between staff and students and the ethos of continued development and improvement. 

Following the completion of my A levels at Bedlington High School (Maths, Biology and Geography) I began a modern apprenticeship in PC support at a pharmaceutical company. After 1 year I decided that University life was for me and attended University of Newcastle Upon Tyne to study Maths & Statistics. I completed a 4 year Master degree and have a MMathStat qualification and then I completed an additional year at the same university to complete my PGCE to become a qualified teacher. Since 2002, I have been part of the Duchess's High School Team. Over the years I have held many different roles and responsibilities as part of our school community including Head of Maths. As well as oversight of the curriculum, reporting and progress across the school, I work with colleagues creating the timetable for all. I'm a parent to two and through these channels I am also a Vice Chair of Governors at a first school in Northumberland. 

Having grown up in the area I left at 18 like many to go off to see the big wide world. I have worked as a HR Professional for the past 25 years. Having a young family we decided to come home and I joined DCHS in January 2015 taking on the newly created role of HR Manager for the Aln Federation. DCHS and the Alnwick Partnership have gone through significant change during this time and I have worked closely with a variety of stakeholders. My area of responsibility in school is for the operational management and day to day running of our school which includes strategic business planning, finance, HR and working closely with our Governing Body and community. I genuinely love my job and take great pride in my role working with our students and their families, the staff and our local community.