Secondary

Since January 2012, Jon Coles has been Group Chief Executive of United Learning.

Ben Antell is the recently appointed Director of Secondary Academies in United Learning. Before taking up this role, Ben was a Regional Director in the trust and previous to that an Executive Principal with a responsibility for schools in Bournemouth and London. Ben is passionate about school improvement and the belief that education is the key to social mobility and future success. Ben also works as an Ofsted inspector in the south-west and counts himself fortunate enough to have worked with some of the leading educationalists in the country through both his Regional Director, Executive Principal and Ofsted roles.

Fiona became Director of Independent Schools in September 2022. She originally joined the organisation in 1995 when it was the Church Schools Company; it later became United Learning. She was Head of Guildford High School from 2002 – 2022. Guildford High became a Teaching School in 2013 and Fiona was appointed an NLE, leading the United Learning Teaching School Alliance from 2013 - 2020.

She has a variety of Governance roles; she is an Associate Director of Cumbria University (since 01.06.21), she is on the Governing body of Epsom College (since 01.11.09) and she is a member of the ‘Learning Partners Academy Trust’. Fiona is on the Advisory Board of the School Partnerships Alliance and she has helped to establish the West Surrey Partnership of all the state and independent schools in the Guildford area. She was Chair of HMC in 2019-2020, and on the Advisory Council of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education (IEAIED) (2018 – 2021). In 2023, Fiona was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to education.

Fiona became Director of Independent Schools in September 2022. She originally joined the organisation in 1995 when it was the Church Schools Company; it later became United Learning. She was Head of Guildford High School from 2002 – 2022. Guildford High became a Teaching School in 2013 and Fiona was appointed an NLE, leading the United Learning Teaching School Alliance from 2013 - 2020.

She has a variety of Governance roles; she is an Associate Director of Cumbria University (since 01.06.21), she is on the Governing body of Epsom College (since 01.11.09) and she is a member of the ‘Learning Partners Academy Trust’. Fiona is on the Advisory Board of the School Partnerships Alliance and she has helped to establish the West Surrey Partnership of all the state and independent schools in the Guildford area. She was Chair of HMC in 2019-2020, and on the Advisory Council of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education (IEAIED) (2018 – 2021). In 2023, Fiona was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to education.

Steve taught History in three London academies, including two senior leadership roles. He has now been with United Learning for nearly 10 years, initially leading on curriculum and subject support and now as a Regional Director. Steve is also an Ofsted inspector. Steve has a Master’s in Education Management and has recently gained the National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership.  Steve loves working for United Learning because it provides the chance to visit schools up and down the country and work towards ensuring that all pupils get a great deal when they step through our doors.

Ben has worked in education for over 20 years, as a secondary school science teacher, Advanced Skills Teacher, senior leader and advisor. He joined United Learning as the Science Advisor in January 2016, before becoming Senior Science Advisor in 2018.

Ben has worked in several schools on developing science teaching, both as an AST and as a local authority advisor, as well as leading on teaching and learning across a whole school. Ben also has a MA in Education, with a focus in the impact of feedback on students learning.

Amanda has worked in education for over ten years. After receiving a first-class honour in Mathematics, she joined the Teach First programme. She became a lead practitioner in 2012 and an SLE for United Learning Trust. As Head of Maths Amanda led a large team and then became an Assistant Principal in charge of STEM, line managing Maths, Science and Computing. Amanda is now the Director of Maths for United Learning. Amanda also has a Masters in Education and completed the NPQSL focusing on the development of middle leaders in schools.

Keynote: Leading from the start: building habits that drive impact

Author, speaker, former headteacher, director at the National College for School Leadership, and managing director at United Learning, Andy subsequently founded Leadership Matters, BASIC4schools and Cadogan Press. Andy also chairs the L.E.A.D. Academy Trust. 

A geography teacher by trade, Andy went on to become a headteacher for thirteen years at two schools in east London.  In his second headship, his school was judged outstanding and he was designated a National Leader of Education.  In 2009, he was appointed as a director at the National College for School Leadership and in 2012 was appointed as the managing director of academies at United Learning, one of the largest academy groups in the UK.   

He has written nine books on leadership and coaching, including the best-selling Leadership Matters, BASIC Coaching and BASIC Leadership. In 2018, Andy was invited to become a Founding Fellow of the College of Teaching and in 2019 he established a small independent publishing company, Cadogan Press. 

Tom Bennett was a teacher in the East End of London for thirteen years. Currently he is the Director and founder of researchED, a grass-roots, teacher-led project that aims to make teachers research-literate and pseudo-science proof.

Leon is a part-time Regional Director and part-time Executive Head at The Elms and The Hurlingham Academies. Leon works with schools across London and his strategic priority is Year 11 Standards.

Bruce’s career in educational technology has spanned over 25 years. He used technology in the classroom as a teacher and has led on its deployment as a middle and then senior leader in schools in both the UK and New Zealand. He gained valuable commercial experience whilst working for a leading technology supplier on new school builds and after a brief spell back in school following his period in industry, he joined United Learning 11 years ago. He played a major role in the Group’s ‘Shift to the Cloud’ project, leading on the work to deploy cloud MIS across all the Group’s primary and secondary Academies as well as supporting their moves to Microsoft 365. He has supported community education and sport outside the Group as a Chair of Governors for a local primary school and as head coach and safeguarding lead for his sons’ grass roots rugby club. Bruce is currently Head of Educational Technology and is specifically leading the work to support schools to develop their own digital strategies, including more recently, the strategic use of AI tools in our schools.

Steve taught History in three London academies, including two senior leadership roles. He has now been with United Learning for nearly 10 years, initially leading on curriculum and subject support and now as a Regional Director. Steve is also an Ofsted inspector. Steve has a Master’s in Education Management and has recently gained the National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership.  Steve loves working for United Learning because it provides the chance to visit schools up and down the country and work towards ensuring that all pupils get a great deal when they step through our doors.

Suzanne joined United Learning in 2012, having previously worked at the Department for Education. She is passionate about creating development opportunities for all staff in schools, and nurturing an inclusive environment, where diverse teams can flourish.