SKINNERS' KENT ACADEMY - Key Persons
David was educated at Shrewsbury School, Magdalene College, Cambridge and Stanford University. He had a wide-ranging career at BP from 1978 to 2004, followed by four years as CEO of Novera Energy, a UK renewable energy company. He is currently a director of Dana Petroleum, Permasense Limited and Photonomi Limited. He is also Chairman of Locate in Kent, the county's inward investment agency and a Trustee of the charity Dig Deep, which helps communities in Kenya improve their access to clean water and sanitation. He lives in Tunbridge Wells.
Job Titles:
- Foundation Governor & Partnership Lead
Grant is a chartered occupational psychologist and managing director of Omada, a company that works globally with CEOs and senior executives on organisational development initiatives, with a particular focus on top team effectiveness. He serves as a Justice of the Peace, is a liveryman of The Skinners' Company, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. Grant attended Tonbridge School, before going on to study psychology at Lancaster University, and then at the University of Sheffield. He lives in Bristol.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Civil Engineer
- Governor
Jeremy Stanyard qualified as a civil engineer before embarking on a 30 year career with PA Consulting, in which he specialised in project management in the finance and government sectors. Educated at Whitgift School, Nottingham University and Imperial College, he is now undertaking a number of pro bono roles in education and sport.
Julian is Headteacher at Dartford Grammar School, an IB World School in North West Kent. Prior to that, he was Deputy Head at The Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells, Julian has also worked as UK Manager for the International Baccalaureate, supporting the four IB schools' programmes (PYP, MYP, DP and IBCP), and as Programme Lead for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust where he first worked with The Skinners' Kent Academy. He has a B.A. in History and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Leeds, completed his P.G.C.E. at King's College, London, and has completed his National Professional Qualification for Headteachers (NPQH) through the Institute of Education.
Job Titles:
- Foundation Governor
- Member of the Skinners' Company
Lynda Myers is a Member of the Skinners' Company, Vice Chairman of Governors at the Skinners' School, and a governor of her local primary school. Having lived in the Tunbridge Wells area all her life, and as a mother of three children, she is very aware of what Skinners' Kent Primary School needs to bring to the community. Lynda is "proud to be actively involved in this exciting journey of transformation in the lives of the students."
Job Titles:
- Foundation Governor
- Member of the Skinners' Company
Mark is a member of the Skinners' Company, is a Chartered Accountant and was educated at Tonbridge School. He has lived and worked in the area for most of his life. For many years he was responsible for the recruitment and training of accountancy students and takes a keen interest in student development. He lives in Rotherfield with his wife and son and his interests include motor racing, music and art.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal of the Skinners
Hannah Knowles is Principal of The Skinners' Kent Academy (SKA),and first joined the Academy in 2018 as Vice Principal for Curriculum Progress and Learning. She is passionate about SKA's values and the community the Academy serves, having taught over the past 16 years within all-ability settings in Kent.
Hannah holds a Masters in Education from the University of Brighton and sits on the Council for Chartered College of Teaching alongside being an Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Council Representative for the South East
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Head of Obama House
Job Titles:
- Vice Principal, Standards & Inclusion
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Inclusion ( SENDCO )
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Head of Hadid House
Job Titles:
- Associate Assistant Principal, Standards & in.
Job Titles:
- Vice Principal, Curriculum Progress & Learning
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Modern Foreign Languages
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Director of Post 16 Educa
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Head of Malala House
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal, Head of Attenborough House
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Governors
- Chairman of SKA LGB, Associate Governor
Neil was educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton and Lincoln College, Oxford. He also has an Executive MBA from The London Business School. Neil has worked in fund management for over 30 years and is currently Head of Soros UK. In addition, he is a co-opted governor at Broadwater Down Primary School and a committee member of the charity The October Club. He lives in Tunbridge Wells.
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Associate
- Governor
Victoria Manser is an architect who has run her own her private practice since 1985. She has a particular interest in school buildings and education more broadly having served as school architect for Godolphin and Latymer school between 1994 and 2010, and as governor to a voluntary aided London school from 2014 to 2020. Her son is a lawyer and her daughter a teacher, both of whom stimulate her interest in other fields, and she has three small grandchildren who continually refresh her fascination in child development. She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School, Bristol University, and the Architectural Association.