A senior Human Resources professional with over 20 years’ experience working in both Advisory and Strategic capacities and with extensive experience in Change Management, Management Development and Employee Relations.

Merlyn is a Trustee and Committee Chair for the Quartet Community Foundation and continues to work as a board member on a community trust board as well as being a Trustee for Cathedral Schools Trust and a Governor for Bristol Cathedral Choir School.

Andrew Wright BA (Hons) FCA is a Chartered Accountant and an Audit Partner with Deloitte LLP and has over 21 years’ experience of working with and advising dynamic organisations experiencing significant change.  He leads the Bristol Audit practice consisting of a team of over 150 people and he also has a National responsibility for quality and transformation. He has significant experience of working alongside Boards and providing strategic advice and he is well versed in risk assessment and financial due diligence.  He has a strong history of supporting local charities having participated in the 1625 Independent People sleep out in November and previously cycled 960 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End in nine days.

Through posts in six schools in five different Local Authorities, as SW Region Senior School Improvement Adviser (SSIA),  as Senior Director: National Challenge with National Strategies and now as Education Adviser with DfE Anne has gained breadth and depth of experience working both directly with students and in system change. Anne is an experienced Headteacher and Principal with experience, knowledge and understanding of school improvement, raising standards, educational policies and practice from leading a school as well as a regional and national role supporting and challenging other leaders.

Eiron previously held the post of Director of Music Specialism and Assistant Principal at BCCS and was a Senior Education Adviser to Bristol Plays Music.  He chairs the Heads of Music forum for Bristol and has been a keynote speaker at a number of conferences and training events. He has worked in five very different schools across the UK and is also a very busy music conductor and performer.  Eiron was appointed as Musical Director of the Bristol Youth Orchestra in 2013.

Caroline works for the NHS as a Registered Physiotherapist, providing rehabilitation for adults who have experienced a brain injury.  In this role, she has gained wide ranging experience of assessing and managing complex safeguarding risks and supporting people who have experienced trauma.  In addition, she does competence and conduct standards work in healthcare regulation and is a trustee for a charity that supports some of the poorest communities in the Dominican Republic.

I am a senior Lecturer in Accounting & Finance at the University of the West of England (UWE) where I have been working for the last 11 years.  Prior to this I worked at the University of Derby in a similar capacity.. I have also taught in further education colleges in London before I joined the higher education sector. Before my teaching career, I worked as an accountant and auditor. Teaching is my full-time job, although I also run an accountancy practice part-time to stay in touch with the accountancy profession which also enriches my teaching.

I am a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and The Higher Education Advance (HEA). I have completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from UWE and a Diploma in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) from City & Guild. I completed my BSc (Hons) from Oxford Brookes University.

I have written a few books on accounting, finance and business and I write short articles which are published on my firm’s website. I also run a YouTube Channel where I make videos on accountancy and tax-related matters. I am a DIY enthusiast and like gardening in the summer.

Sally currently works for Natural England in a Talent Management and Learning & Development role and has a keen interest in education. She has worked extensively in Secondary Education, leading as both Head of Dance and PSHE Lead at St Gregory’s in Bath, as well as a secondment onto the Senior Leadership Team, so has an understanding and experience of the broader issues facing education, including Ofsted and the National Curriculum, both from a teaching and parental perspective. It is an honour to represent as parent governor and support Trinity Academy as it takes the next steps forward in its exciting journey.

Laurie Stewart is the Head of Creative Learning at Bristol Beacon, leading on the creative programme of the education portfolio. Laurie trained as a classical soprano at the Royal College of Music (BMus) and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (MMus). She also has a British Sign Language Level 3 qualification. She has taught in schools and community settings and trained teachers and music leaders nationally, working for the Glasshouse in Gateshead as part of Sing Up and Welsh National Opera.

Laurie is passionate about placing singing at the heart of musical learning.