Senior Leadership Team

I am incredibly proud to be Headteacher of Weston Secondary School and excited about leading our amazing school on its journey ahead. Having grown up in the local area, the community holds a special place in my heart. Therefore, I am committed to celebrating the diversity of our students, nurturing their many talents and inspiring them to achieve beyond their expectations.

In 2005 I graduated from Chichester University with a BSc (Hons) in Sports Physiotherapy. I then qualified as a teacher in 2006. I began my teaching career as a PE teacher at an outstanding school in Southampton, later becoming a Head of Year. After 6 great years I gained promotion to Assistant Headteacher at a good Hampshire school. Over 13 years of senior leadership including 5 years as a Deputy Headteacher, I successfully led the school in key areas such as pastoral support, curriculum, and teaching and learning. By far the pinnacle of my career was becoming Headteacher at Weston in 2024. I feel truly blessed and grateful that I am able lead this caring and aspirational school.

Education is the key to every child’s future; therefore, it is our responsibility to encourage our students to aspire, believe and achieve through a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum that provides them with the platform to later thrive in further education, apprenticeships, or the workplace.  I wish for our students to leave us at the end of Year 11 being kind, considerate and responsible citizens.

Aside from my role as Headteacher, I am a proud husband and father to two amazing children. I like to spend my spare time watching my daughter horse ride and coaching my son’s football team.

I have been teaching since 1999, having graduated from Goldsmiths’ College (London) with a BA (Hons) in French in 1998. Coming from a very humble background, I have always been proud of being a teacher, and believe that education and literacy is a key to a bright future. That I have helped to shape those futures for children now for a quarter of a century gives me no end of satisfaction. I also believe that providing opportunities outside of the classroom, be that sport, trips, performing arts productions among other extra-curricular opportunities is of equal importance to in-class learning. One of the things I am most proud of in my career are the trips I have taken abroad; now over 30, including ski trips and places like Barcelona and Paris. This is because of the difference a trip made to me and my future now over 30 years ago.

Formerly a Head of MFL and then a Lead Practitioner, I have been a school leader since 2015, firstly as an Assistant Headteacher in my previous school overseeing Teaching & Learning, and now as a Deputy Headteacher here at Weston. Developing teaching, learning and the way the curriculum is planned and delivered at Weston is something that I am exceptionally excited about. I am passionate in my belief that my key role at our school is develop this aspect so that our students have the very best chances, and importantly equal chances to students who attend other schools. To this end, I am looking forward to the developments in the resources we are working together to improve, along with the forward-thinking approaches that our teaching staff will be developing over the coming years.

I am most proud of the temporary role I took as Interim Head of School during the academic year 2023-24 prior to Mr Butterworth’s arrival, helping to draw together our staff through the motto ‘#weareoneteam’, which represented the way the staff and students came together to do our very best to move our school forward, and we remain united. Like Mr Butterworth, I believe that every child can achieve success when they put their minds to it and should always aspire to be their very best. As Henry Ford famously said: “If you believe you can or can’t, you’re probably right.”

I am very privileged to be Deputy Headteacher at Weston Secondary School. I am passionate about working with all staff, students and parents to ensure we nurture talent, celebrate diversity and provide opportunities for excellence within our community. It is my aspiration to inspire our students to be the best version of themselves, to celebrate their achievements and to help them flourish both academically and personally.

I graduated from the University of Plymouth with a BA (Hons) in International Business and French and then went on to complete my PGCE in Modern Foreign Languages at the University of Portsmouth. In my time within the profession, I have been fortunate to have been part of 2 good secondary schools in Hampshire, most recently as Acting Deputy Headteacher and Senior Assistant Headteacher at a school in Fareham. Prior to this I spent 13 years at a school near Waterlooville, where I began my teaching career. During my time at this school, I was quickly promoted through Middle Leadership positions to Assistant Headteacher. I am proud to have been part of the journeys of these schools and to have successfully led in key areas such as Behaviour, Safeguarding, Pastoral Care, Attendance, Raising Standards and Teaching and Learning.

I am a firm believer that all students deserve the best possible education. I am very committed to ensuring Weston Secondary School is an establishment where students feel safe, supported to achieve their full potential, and encouraged to believe anything is possible.

It is an absolute privilege to have been working at Weston Secondary School (formerly Chamberlayne College and before that Chamberlayne Park) since 2003. Serving this community has given me a huge amount of job satisfaction and unforgettable experiences. Every day I strive to provide the best I can for the students here because they absolutely deserve it. I am immensely proud to have seen so many students over the years aspire to do great things and then to know that I have played a small part in firstly, helping them believe in themselves and secondly, going on to achieve their ambitions.

I grew up in Bitterne and attended Bitterne Park School. Even at such a young age (I am still young now of course) I aspired to be a teacher. I took inspiration from the education I received and like most teachers, wished to inspire future generations in return and so my educational pathway was mapped (bad Geography joke!) out for me already. I attended Itchen College between 1997 and 1999 before studying my Geography degree at Portsmouth University until 2002. I then completed a PGCE in Secondary Education at Southampton University in 2003.

Opportunities for career progression and have a wider school impact along with my love for this community have made it an easy choice to serve Weston students for so long. After a few years as a teacher, I became a Head of Year before becoming the Key Stage 4 Progress Manager. This role developed into me becoming the school’s Raising Standards Leader regularly working with the Senior Leadership Team for many years before I joined the SLT permanently in 2022. Within my role I have a particular passion for analysing performance and progress data and then working alongside our amazing staff to improve each student’s academic outcomes so they can keep the doors open that will enable them to achieve their dreams.

Away from school I am married to an amazing primary school teacher and have two wonderful children. My daughter is football mad, and we are both Saints season ticket holders whilst my son takes great pleasure in supporting whoever they are playing against because he finds it funny. He also loves video games and visiting zoos, farms and safari parks.

I have been extremely fortunate to have a range of experience working as a Business Manager within the Education Sector which spans 15 years. I have worked in a BESD School, Infant and Primary Schools. My previous role was Executive Business Manager for six Primary Schools.

I was appointed as Business Manager at Weston Secondary School in September 2022, and I am very proud to see the changes that have happened across the school site during my tenure. There has been a £5.5 million investment in the building completed, along with a brand-new sports hall. We have ambitious plans to improve Weston Secondary School site further and continue to be on an exciting journey. My commitment and passion are to ensure every child receives their right to an excellent education, through quality first teaching, within buildings that are fit for purpose and stimulating resources that help them engage with the curriculum.

My role as Business Manager is to ensure the budget supports the school’s priorities and it is financially sustainable moving forward.

I am proud to have been a member of staff at Weston Secondary School for over 18 years and am fully committed to supporting our pupils and their families to enable them to lead safe and successful lives in my role as Designated Safeguarding and Attendance Lead.

I embrace the opportunity to promote strong attendance rates and encourage safe behaviours amongst our pupils, and I feel privileged to carry out this role.

I graduated from the University of Southampton with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, and then went on to complete a Masters Degree in Education and later achieved a Doctorate of Education with a focus on the role of support staff in schools.

In my personal life, I am a keen runner, which supports both my physical and mental wellbeing. I have two little people and take an active role in their educational journeys – promoting attendance and a strong work ethic – just as my mum did for me!