Chris is an education consultant, and before retiring, worked as a School Improvement Leader with Oxfordshire County Council, with a specialist responsibility for working with leadership teams supporting school improvement. Chris is one of Oxford Spires Academy’s two Local Authority-appointed Governors. He has been associated with Oxford Spires, and its predecessor school, for a number of years. Chris spent many years in teaching and leading schools before joining Oxfordshire County Council as a school’s adviser. In addition, he is the Chair of a locally based charity which grew out of the school partnerships between Oxfordshire schools and schools in Uganda, and prior to the pandemic Chris used to spend much time in Uganda where he works with national and local groups on improving the quality of education. Chris Scrivener can be contacted on:

chairofgovernors@spires.anthemtrust.uk

Siuli has been a home-school community link worker for the past nine years and currently works for Oxford Spires Academy. She has served as a youth worker for the Bangladeshi community in the past and has also worked with various Asian women’s groups in the community.The mother of two beautiful children, Siuli is very involved with the community and at present is supporting an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class at Oxford Spires Academy for our students’ parents who have very limited English.

Originally from Canada, Lucia has lived in Oxford for nearly 25 years. She has had a career in Higher Education in Canada and in the UK, with a long-standing interest in outreach and events for schools and teachers. Her academic subject is Archaeology, and she continues to publish on various aspects of Cretan and other landscapes. Her last post before ‘retirement’ was Senior Tutor and Tutor for Admissions in an Oxford college. Lucia has always enjoyed encouraging students to aspire, and finding ways to set them up for success, whatever they have chosen to do. She likes food, travelling, music, and the St Giles’ Fair.

Fridolin is local to Oxford, living with his partner Katerina and their three kids in Cowley, close to the school. He is a Professor at the Institute of Educational Technology of The Open University of the UK and Director of the Performance Augmentation Lab, which investigates how wearable technology can be used to benefit society to learn, train, and work better. He graduated at the University of Regensburg, Germany, then joined the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria for five years, later the Knowledge Media Institute of the Open University of the UK for seven, before opening his own lab at Oxford Brookes for five. He secretly paints, loves publishing, and plays piano with more enthusiasm then skill.

I have both business and educational experience. I set up and run a local commercial agency department in my previous role as a qualified Chartered Surveyor and I have been teaching for over 10 years, initially in the state sector where I trained. I am a linguist and have a love for all things French. I spent time teaching French and English to refugees in the ‘Calais Jungle’ and have and continue to play a small part in supporting several families who have been re-located to my local community. I am passionate about reading, I write fiction, and have had a couple of articles published in the Educational Press. I am extremely active on the environmental front both in and outside school. I run and am attempting my first Marathon this September where I am raising funds for the ‘Oxford Food Bank’ and ‘The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy’ that helps educate young people who are not ready to live independently, through Horsemanship.

I work as a Policy Researcher for Universities UK and am interested in how education policy develops and is implemented. Universities UK is an organisation that seeks to influence policy conditions for UK universities to maximise their positive impact locally, nationally and globally. Prior to this I worked for Oxford Brookes University as a Widening Participation Evaluation Officer, in this role I undertook research and data analysis to inform the development of student recruitment and widening participation strategies. I have also worked directly with schools and colleges, developed a portfolio of outreach interventions, worked in a university admissions team and coordinated a student marketing campaign.

Born in North Yorkshire, Pamela has spent over 40 years living and working in Oxford. Professionally her experience has been in education and she has taught in various schools initially in the State sector. She was previously a Parent Governor in a local primary school. When teaching she was Head of Learning Development and SENCo and also Head of Philosophy and Religion and a Lay Chaplain. Pamela has also served as a Team Inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate for 16 years.

Since her retirement Pamela has a voluntary position as Independent Listener for pupils in a local school. Her interests include music, art and the performing arts and singing in a Choral Society in Oxford. She has two grown up children and five grandchildren.

Chloe lives in Oxford with her husband Joe and two children, who both attend the academy. She has spent her career working in supportive roles with children and young people, and at one point was based at Oxford Spires working with refugee and migrant children. Chloe is currently Director of a local charity, SAFE!, who provide support for children and families who have experienced crime or abuse. Chloe is passionate about empowering young people to access opportunities, thrive, and to have their voices heard. In her spare time she loves to play roller derby, take long walks and travel as much as possible.

Amer Akbar is a Warwick Business School MBA graduate with a successful track record of running a number of small businesses as well as working on consultancy projects across the public and private sector managing cost efficiencies programmes and developing innovative service and product offerings for a changing customer market. He has developed an expertise in applying systems thinking to complex problems and is a huge advocate of it as a tool in delivering exceptional results. He has held numerous Board positions within both national and local organisations and brings a strategic head with an eye for detail to the role at Oxford Spires Academy.

Being a parent governor is often about nurturing a connection between the school and its community of parents. I hope that my experience in the world of organisational communication will help strengthen the bond the OSA team has with its local community.

Effective communication creates clarity, trust, and confidence. I am a leadership communication specialist. I provide consulting and coaching services for leaders and their teams across the world to help them shape clear dialogue. During the last 25 years, I have led internal communications, executive communications, and change communications for global brands in technology, financial services, and education.

I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Organisation Leadership from Oxford University’s Säid Business School. I am also an executive coach on the Säid EMBA and MBA programmes. I have previously been a Chair of Governors at a local primary school. I live in Oxford with my family and have two children at OSA.