Co-opted Trustee – Link Trustee for SEND 

Carol worked as a teacher in both primary and secondary schools in London for 16 years, before moving to Kingston in 1989 as the Advisory Teacher for Special Educational Needs (SEN). Carol became the Inspector for SEN in West Sussex and then returned to Kingston into the same position and went on to become the Strategic Lead for Inclusion in both Kingston and Richmond. This leadership role incorporated SEND, vulnerable pupils at risk of exclusion, Looked After Children as well as pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Carol has also been a School Improvement Partner for many years, in Primary/ Secondary and Special Schools. This role required Carol to provide support and challenge to schools, senior leaders and governing bodies to raise standards.

Carol has now retired, but remains an external School Improvement Partner at a pupil referral unit and works as an Educational Consultant from time to time. Carol is a member of the Curriculum, Performance and Standards Committee and has oversight of the school’s provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Looked after Children, as the lead trustee in these areas.

Community Trustee - Vice Chair and Safeguarding Link Trustee

Sue has lived in the Kingston area for 20 years and spent 8 years as a Parent Governor in a local outstanding Primary School. During this time she held the positions of Vice Chair and Chair, she joined the Kingston Educational Trust as a Community Trustee in October 2013.

Sue has spent the majority of her career working within the Marketing area and is currently Senior Marketing Manager at Kingston College (now known as South Thames Colleges Group).

Sue is Vice Chair of the Trust board and the link Trustee for safeguarding. Sue is also the Vice Chair of the TKA Local Academy Committee

Co-opted Trust Associate

Niraja has lived in North Kingston for many years and has twins studying at The Kingston Academy.

She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and currently works for bp as a senior tax manager.  She has experience in risk management, tax policy and tax transparency reporting as well as working closely with businesses on their commercial projects.  At bp she has volunteered for the Career Ready programme which seeks to tackle social mobility challenges in the UK and is engaged in the DE&I and wellbeing agenda.

As a state school educated, Cambridge Natural Sciences graduate, she is passionate about education and is looking forward to using her skills and experience to support TKA in maintaining its high standards and helping children in the community to thrive.

In her spare time Niraja enjoys gardening, reading, travelling in her campervan and spending time with family and friends.

Community Trustee - Chair

Andy was born in Birmingham, England, and educated at Five Ways Grammar School, University of Wales and Institute of Education University of London. He lives in East London. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Freeman of the City of London.

Andy was most recently Associate Dean for Education Partnerships in the Faculty of Health Social Care and Education at Kingston University (2014-2017) and has worked all his professional life in Education.

Andy retired in 2017 after a career spanning over 40 years, as a school teacher, an author and editor of educational materials, as a researcher into International policies for children and as  a teacher educator for over 20 years.

He worked initially as a secondary school teacher in Hackney, rising to become Head of the large Humanities Faculty at Haverstock School in Camden and then following a period in educational publishing and international consultancy Andy moved into teacher education in 1990 securing a senior position at the Institute of Education at the University of London.

From 1993 Andy co-directed the largest secondary teacher education programme in the country at that time. This was followed by a period leading the education team at Greenwich University and then a move to become Head of the School of Education at Kingston in 2004. The School gained ‘Outstanding’ from OFSTED in respect of its Primary education work and achieved and held a top 5 Guardian League table position.

Andy has always worked on innovation with pre-service and serving teachers at home and abroad, has lectured widely and written extensively on educational issues. He is a passionate educationalist. The Kingston Academy offers an opportunity to bring so much of this ambition together in one glorious project of benefit to children and the local community.

Andy loves travel, music, theatre and film, wild gardens and fine wine. He is pleased to be able to offer support to the arts and humanities in the new school.

Any states that: “This is the most exciting project I have been lucky enough to be involved in so far, and there have been many. The opportunity to bring together the resources of the University, the College, and Royal Borough of Kingston, is a wonderful opportunity for this community and our children that I am so proud to be a part of.” 

Staff Trust Associate

Sasha graduated from Loughborough University in 2010 with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science. Before embarking on her teaching career she worked as a Horse Riding Instructor in Wimbledon, whilst also competing in Eventing competitions, allowing her to combine her love of horses with her passion for teaching.

After completing a PGCE at St Mary’s University, Sasha taught Physical Education for 7 years in Lambeth. In this job, Sasha was second in charge PE, Whole School Wellbeing Coordinator and Head of Year.

Sasha joined TKA in September 2020 after maternity leave and is currently Head of Year 9 and also leads on teacher development for Early Careers Teachers (ECTs) and Initial Teacher Training. Sasha will also be facilitating training for ECTs for Wandle Teaching School Hub and is part of the Kingston University Partnerships Steering Group.

Outside of teaching, Sasha still enjoys Horse Riding and her young daughter is also showing a keen interest in horses!

Co-opted Trust Associate - Careers Lead

Elizabeth has more than twenty years’ experience as a HR professional, working in both the corporate and public sectors.  She recently joined Kingston University as a Strategic Human Resource Business Partner, which involves aligning the University’s Strategic Plan through people to the area she supports, the Science Faculty. 

She works closely with the Faculty Senior Management Team, working on strategic planning activity within the Faculty and providing expert advice to stakeholders.  She also works on key University transformation programmes, in collaboration with HR areas of expertise.

Elizabeth has a passion for education and her skills will help the Board to hold the school to account and help to ensure its ambitions for both its pupils and the school’s place in the local community are met.

Elizabeth is married with one daughter and has lived in the Kingston area for the past eighteen years.  She is a volunteer for the Friends of Richmond Park where she can be found most weekends walking and is a keen theatre and classical concert goer, particularly to concerts arranged by Barnes Music Society of which she is a member.

Parent Trust Associate

Marcia has twins at The Kingston Academy and was elected as a Parent Trust Associate in November 2023.

She works as an Educational Psychologist for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, where she is dedicated to enhancing the educational experiences of students.

Marcia works in close collaboration with teachers, parents, and other professionals, to help create effective learning environments and support students’ wellbeing. Some of her professional responsibilities include developing strategies and interventions to support students with special educational needs or behavioural challenges, conducting psychological assessment, providing emotional support, advocating for the rights and welfare of students, ensuring they receive appropriate support, and offering training to professionals and parents on topics related to child development and learning.

Marcia is looking forward to using her skills and knowledge to support and challenge the school as a member of the Local Academy Committee.

Parent Trust Associate - Lead for Pupil Premium Grant, Children Looked After and Previously Looked After and joint Equality Lead

Nicki has lived in Kingston for over ten years and has a son at The Kingston Academy.  She was appointed as a Parent Trust Associate in January 2022.

Nicki is a founding Managing Partner of an executive search consultancy specialising in senior public sector recruitment, in particular higher education, and leads on all governance, DE&I, HR, operations and communications functions. Prior to establishing Anderson Quigley, she spent her career in children’s and young adult publishing & licensing in the media and entertainment industry.

Nicki strongly believes that all children should be given the opportunity to have an outstanding educational experience and wants to use her skill set and experience to support the Trust in delivering on its vision.

Community Trustee - Joint Equalities Lead

Baljit Kaur Thatti is married and has recently become a mother to a son. She has more than 10 years’ experience working in higher education as an academic in Chemistry. During this time, she has played an active role in reaching out to school and college learners to challenge career stereotypes that exist within STEM subjects. She is a great advocate of inclusion as the thread that should run through everything we do and has been involved in national level projects that ensure diversity is valued.

She has used her passion and her own lived experiences of being the first generation in higher education to ensure that learners are aware of the full range of careers and opportunities of lifelong learning that exist.

Some of her other interests include utilising professional societies and bodies to increase awareness of STEM subjects, and as such Baljit sits on several national and international professional subject knowledge committees.

Co-opted Trust Associate

Lulu is a Financial Service professional with 10+ years of experience in the Investment Banking Industry. She joined the Kingston Academy as a Trust Associate in January 2023.

Being Chinese born and British bred, and a professional 2-year stint in New York – Lulu firmly believes in the value of being a global citizen. She is passionate in positively engaging with different identities and cultures as well as sharing her own, having grown up with ethos from both the East and West. Within her professional experience in Finance, she has been an advocate for multiple diversity & inclusion initiatives – served as committee members for support networks for Women, Asia & Pacific Leaders, and as a mentor for the charity Sponsor for Educational Opportunities (SEO). She appreciates the value of a diverse board and the need for different perspective and angles in decision-making.

Lulu is an avid traveller, Adventure Diver, she’s always happy to exchange travel stories. Her favourite destinations so far are – Urubamba Valley in Peru, Kyoto old town in Japan, Cappadocia in Turkey and Milos in Greece, and underwater in Mauritius. She’s also a Yoga enthusiast, completed RYT 200 training in 2022 in Peru.

Lulu read Accounting and Finance from the University of Southampton, and also was chartered as a Management Accountant in 2015.