I joined DCHS as Head of PE in 2010 following my early career at Prudhoe High. I made the decision to pursue pastoral leadership when the head of year 9 post became available and have never looked back, holding the posts of Assistant and Deputy Head Teacher with Pastoral responsibility and Designated Safeguarding Lead. I am proud of what we are able to provide for our children and families; having grown up in Northumberland I am acutely aware of the challenges faced when accessing services. 

My career in teaching is down primarily to a member of staff at DCHS. Having grown up in Amble I attended my local high school, however the school did not have a school rugby team. I was given the opportunity by the then Head of Rugby Mr Debbage to come and play for the Duchess’s team. That opportunity led me down an exciting journey, not only into the love of sport, but also a passion to give all children opportunities that may not ordinarily be available for them. This action by a member of DCHS staff is ultimately what took me into teaching, and in 2007, having studied History at Hull University, and subsequently at Worcester University for a PGCE I gained my first position as a History Teacher in Central Birmingham. Having taught across a variety of schools in the Midlands, I fostered a love of teaching, not only of my subject History, but also of teaching Politics and Travel & Tourism. I also reignited my own love of learning in 2016 with the completion of a Masters in Education from Newman University. In 2019, after the birth of my eldest daughter, we relocated to ‘home’ in 2019 pre pandemic, for a Deputy Head role here at DCHS. 

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. 

Living and working within our community for twenty-two years has enabled me to develop and foster positive relationships and develop a strong sense of belonging here within The Duchess' Community High School and our beautiful County.

I love teaching and feel grateful to work with young people and to see them develop academically, personally, socially and emotionally. I have been involved in education, here in Alnwick, since 2002, spending 15 years at The Duke's Middle School before moving to The Duchess' High School in 2017. Whilst at The Duke's Middle School, I enjoyed teaching a variety of subjects and held positions including: K.S. 3 Pastoral and Behaviour Manager, Maths Subject Leader and Federation Middle Phase Maths Development Leader.

At The Duchess' Community High School, I have been fortunate to hold a number of roles, including maths teacher, K.S.3 Head of Standards for Progress and Pastoral, and Head of Year for 5 years. Currently, I am a member of the Senior Leadership Team as the Director of Student Experience. To support the personal development of our students is a joy and I provide strategic direction across several areas, including: attendance, extracurricular opportunities, rewards and transition, as examples. It is important to me to make decisions that are going to make a difference for others.

Improving students' experiences and working with our amazing students and staff is an absolute privilege. I look forward to working with you. 

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.