Stephen Packham Start of Service – 1 September 2018 Stephen is a Trustee of the Alpha Academies Trust and member of the Standards Committee and the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee. Following a BSc in mathematics at Imperial College London, Stephen trained as a chartered accountant with KPMG before undertaking financial management roles with Mercedes-Benz,…

Clare Thomas Start of Service – 1 September 2018 Clare is a Trustee of the Alpha Academies Trust and is a member of Audit, Finance and Risk Committee. She has wide ranging experience in a number of areas, including commercial risk management, corporate governance, corporate ethics, compliance management and employment law and practice and is…

Diane Thompson Start of Service – 3 April 2020 Diane is a Trustee of the Alpha Academies Trust, Vice Chair, Chair of Inclusion, Community and Engagement Committee and a member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. Diane is an authentic leader with an interest in the development and growth of people and businesses. She…

Jamie Smith Start of Service -1 September 2020 Jamie is a Trustee of the Alpha Academies Trust and also a member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. He is Co-Owner of C-Learning Ltd, a Google Premier Education Partner and growing cloud specialist. C-Learning Ltd was a DEA finalist for most outstanding contribution to education…

Chair of Trustees

Kate Townshend Start of Service: July 2013 Kate is Chair of the Alpha Academies Trust, a member of the Standards Committee, Trust Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and Trust Inclusion and Community Engagement Committee. She has extensive experience in school improvement and leadership and management and was formerly the Strategic Manager for school improvement 0-19…

Mark White CBE DL Start of Service: March 2017 Mark is a member of the Alpha Academies Trust. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, and with close links to the area Mark is chair of the Association of Colleges Charitable Trust. He retired in 2022 as chair of a large college group in Teesside and he retired in…

Paul Richards Start of Service: 7 October 2016 Paul is a member of the Alpha Academies Trust and was previously a member of the Stoke on Trent College Corporation and its Finance and Resources Committee. Before his retirement Paul held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University and was heavily involved in the partnership…

John Patino Start of Service: 14 December 2016 John is a member of the Alpha Academies Trust. Prior to his move to Spain, where he held the position of Deputy Headteacher at Laude Newton College for several years, he was Executive Principal at the Discovery Academy, as well as Headteacher at Holden Lane High School…

(Chair) Member

Carol Jones Start of Service: July 2013 Carol is the Chair of Members of the Alpha Academies Trust (AAT), having previously been Chair of Trustees from July 2013 to October 2018. She ran her own business consultancy company for over 12 years, working with education and training providers and charities, to raise quality standards and…

Anna Steele

Principal Excel Academy

A Whitehouse

Recruitment/Administration Manager

Sharon Shaw

Executive Assistant / Deputy Clerk

M Bagshaw

Governor Clerk

M Kerrigan

Hospitality Manager

S Goodwin

Facilities Manager

G Clarke

Facilities Manager

C Owen

Operations Manager / Health and Safety Officer

Mr A Lynch

Digital Systems & Marketing Manager

A Anthony

Head of Finance

D Daniels

Executive Business Manager

R Lee

Principal Sneyd Academy

R Kelsall

Executive Achievement Trust Lead

D Bishop

Executive Secondary School Improvement Lead

Lucy Bourne

Head of Maple Court Academy

Jessica Bell

Head of Eaton Park Academy

L Brammer

Executive Primary School Improvement Lead

Ann Marie Lucy

Alpha Academies Trust COO

Alpha Academies Trust CEO

S French Start of Service: September 2019 Simon is the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Principal of the Alpha Academies Trust. He is a Trustee of the Board, member of the Standards Committee, the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and Trust Inclusion and Community Engagement Committee. Since taking on the role in 2019 Simon has implemented a…