Annie trained as a primary teacher in the 1980s and has since taught in a range of community and church schools in the UK, Germany and Cyprus before settling in Kent. She has taught the full age range from 3-18 and TEFL. She was a Headteacher for 10 years. During this time she became a Director of Shepway Teaching School, one of the first cohort of Teaching Schools, with responsibility for leading Initial Teacher Training. She was also an LLE before being seconded to the Diocese of Canterbury part-time during the final 18 months of Headship. Initially, this was to oversee school improvement for the 103 church schools across the Diocese but the role changed to become one of developing the Multi-Academy Trust. Annie was appointed as full-time CEO of the Trust in September 2015.

Marian was our first appointment and joined the trust in November 2014. Marian has over twenty years’ experience of finance and business within education at both primary and secondary level. She was involved in the strategic implementation of academy status in her previous role and was seconded to the Kent Catholic Schools’ Partnership as Interim Business Director to help set up the infrastructure of their multi-academy trust. Marian was a School Business Manager Advocate for the National College for four years and supported schools and individuals across the South East of England. She has spoken at national conferences and delivered training sessions in financial matters to aspirant school leaders and business managers. She became a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) in 2012 and continues to support individual leaders and schools in their business and financial needs, particularly exploring different models of financial sustainability and staffing structures.

Jenny is a highly motivated and experienced school leader who is able to work as an effective partner with all our academies, building on the excellent progress that the trust has made to date across our successful schools, and supporting those schools who have further challenges to overcome. She has many years of experience as a headteacher and executive headteacher as well as wider experience leading school improvement beyond her own school. This has included working as an LA specialist maths teacher, leading cohorts of ‘Every Lesson Counts’ (designed to move teachers from good or better). More recently, she worked as a Kent Leader of Education and has supported leadership teams in non-Aquila schools through this role. Jenny also works as an OFSTED inspector and can bring her experience and the associated ongoing training from this role to identify areas for improvement within Aquila schools, supporting the development of strategic planning and providing consultation on their journey to further improving the quality of education within the school.

Claire joined the trust in 2015 as a Deputy Headteacher. Since this time she has had a focus on driving up standards by ensuring consistent high quality teaching through an engaging, relevant and progressive curriculum. Claire has worked to develop ECTs throughout the Aquila Trust and is currently a lead practitioner for the DfE Behaviour Hubs program, supporting schools across London and the South East. Claire has a passion for a values-led approach to raising school standards and is committed to supporting schools across the Aquila Trust to be the best that they can be specifically for the children in their care. 

Theresa joined Aquila in 2024 as the Lead SENCO. She works collaboratively with SENCOs to oversee support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, ensuring a joined-up approach across the Trust. 

Theresa has over 25 years teaching experience across the primary age range. She has been a SENCO and Inclusion Lead since 2017.  Throughout her career she has been involved in mentoring and leading training for colleagues, including acting as a facilitator for Aquila’s Early Career Teachers.  

Theresa is passionate about creating inclusive learning environments where every child has the support they need to succeed. With high expectations and a love for teaching and learning, she takes a child-centred approach, focusing on patience, collaboration, and individualised attention. 

Information to follow.

Tracey joined the Trust in February 2017 and brings over 35 years’ experience in administration and business support roles across a range of highly pressurised environments. Her career has been built on strong organisational skills, effective time management, and a consistent focus on meeting complex deadlines and objectives.

Prior to joining the Trust, Tracey established and worked as Office Manager for the Shepway Teaching School Alliance for five years. In 2018, she was appointed as the Trust’s Data Protection Officer, with responsibility for overseeing data protection compliance across 16 schools.

Tracey has since completed a Data Protection and Information Governance qualification and, in recognition of her expertise and leadership, was promoted to Head of Compliance and Administration in 2022. In this role, she leads Trust-wide compliance activity, supports schools and senior leaders to meet statutory responsibilities, and plays a key role in strengthening assurance, and risk management across the Trust.

Jessica joined the trust in October 2023, bringing a wealth of experience in administration with her. A highly organised individual, Jessica has worked in many industries from corporate business, to the hospitality and event industry. Often working in high-pressure environments, she is used to working to tight deadlines and using her keen attention to detail.

Abbie has worked within the Estates and Facilities sector for over 26 years. She began her career as a Maintenance Administrator and progressed through a range of associated roles, gaining experience while studying part-time.

Abbie has worked across Local Government, Housing Associations, and the NHS, building a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing diverse property portfolios, health and safety, and IT systems.

Abbie joined the Trust in October 2023, bringing extensive estates and facilities expertise to support the Trust’s operational objectives.

Naomi joined the trust in March 2016. Before working in education, she gained wide financial experience in various roles supporting finance operations in the private sector. She developed significant experience over 8 years in a variety of school settings. Just prior to joining the Trust team she was employed by Kennington CE Junior Academy as a Bursar supporting their financial and business management. Her experience and skills in understanding Academy finances at the front line, particularly during the transitional period of becoming a member of Aquila, has added significant strength to the team. She now supports all of our Academies with a multitude of business and finance matters.

Ian has had extensive experience working in the education sector both as a qualified secondary teacher of Mathematics and working within the finance operations for both an independent school and a state school.  Prior to this, Ian ran a successful children’s holiday camp for seven years. Ian joined Aquila in November 2020 as a Payroll and Finance Assistant and currently provides financial support for one of our schools and supports payroll for the wider trust.  Ian is currently completing an AAT Level 4 apprenticeship which he will complete in July 2022. Ian was promoted to Assistant Payroll Manager in 2023.

Emma began her career in the Civil Service over 20 years ago and has extensive experience in a range of IT- and finance-related roles within the public sector, most recently with Kent County Council (KCC).

Following a career break to focus on her young family, Emma joined the Trust in January 2022 as Payroll Administrator. She provides daily support to the Payroll Manager and the wider central team, bringing valuable public sector experience to the Trust’s payroll function.

Angela is a CIPD qualified HR professional, with over 25 years' generalist experience gained in the private, public and charity sectors.  She joined Aquila in March 2024.  Her previous role of nearly 18 years was working in an operational and strategic HR Director role for a company that were involved in professional education, further education and higher education, working over 3 UK sites and 2 international offices in the UAE & Singapore.  As a HR generalist she managed the full employee lifecycle and specialised in recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, organisational developments and employee wellbeing & experience. 

Sarah is a seasoned professional with an extensive background in retail and hospitality. With over 20 years of experience, she has honed her expertise in training and developing teams, and Sarah's exceptional contributions to a prominent restaurant chain's HR department consistently drove growth and success. In 2019, Sarah embarked on a new journey at an Aquila school, where she utilised her skills to elevate the school's presence through captivating social media content and forging strong local partnerships. Sarah played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the school's office, witnessing a doubling of pupils during her four-year tenure. In 2023, Sarah joined the central team as a Finance and Personnel Assistant, expanding her proficiency in financial management. Driven by an unwavering passion for growth and learning, Sarah is dedicated to expanding her skill set in the realm of finance. 

Julie has been involved in education since 1995, when she qualified as a teacher. Her school-based experience includes class teaching across the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2, as well as holding the role of Head of Pre-Prep in two local independent schools.

Julie later became an Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspector and moved away from teaching in 2015. In 2016, she trained as a Reporting Inspector, further developing her expertise in school inspection and quality assurance.

Alongside her professional roles, Julie has also served as a School Governor for a Kent-based independent school, where she was a member of the Curriculum Committee and the named SEND Governor.

Julie joined the Trust in January 2024, bringing with her extensive experience in teaching, leadership, inspection, and governance.

Kerry started her career in Barclays Bank progressing through all roles ending in securities and investments. She moved onto a sales role within a large manufacturing company supporting aerospace and defence clients across the country.  After starting a family she decided to find a career compatible with family life and found herself in Reculver Primary school, eventually playing a key role in the transfer to academy status on 1 July 2015.  Kerry advanced to the role of School Business Manager and in 2018 gained her Level 4 Diploma in School Business Management which has further enhanced her skills and knowledge.  Kerry joined the Central Team in September 2021 to assist the Trust in the implementation, development and training on the new finance system, along with offering support to the CFO on a daily basis.

Daisy joined Aquila in April 2019 to complete a business administration apprenticeship. She used the experience to learn about working environments and adapting to the needs of the central teams varied workload. Since then Daisy has completed her business administration apprenticeship, a level 3 AAT apprenticeship and is going on to AAT level 4. Using these skills Daisy provides financial service support to a school and helps to support all the members of the finance department.

Laura is a highly skilled and detail orientated Management Accountant with extensive experience in the automotive industry. With a Bachelor of Science in Economics and AAT Level4 NVQ in Accounting, Laura has a strong foundation in financial management, reconciliation, and reporting. Laura has held key accounting roles outside of the education industry, overseeing management accounts, financial reporting, budgeting and audit preparation. Ready for a new challenge, Laura joined the Trust in January 2024 as a Finance Officer and provides daily support to headteachers and the central finance team.

Melissa has worked in Education in a Finance Role since 2004 after qualifying as a Fellow of the Association of Accounts Technicians (AAT).  In 2016 Melissa joined the Aquila Trust School Kingsnorth CEP, and has worked within several of the Trust schools as a Financial Officer. In February Mel moved to the Central Team to continue offering financial support in a centralised capacity.

Kellie joined the Trust in November 2022 as a Finance Administrator, supporting the wider finance team. She was quickly promoted to Finance and Business Administrator in recognition of the skills and knowledge she brought from previous roles, including finance and payroll, and office management.

Kellie later moved into the Senior Finance Administrator role, where she played a key part in helping to develop and support the Finance Administration team. In January 2026, she progressed into the role of Finance Officer, continuing to build on her strong operational and financial expertise.

Kellie has achieved AAT Level 3 and is looking to begin Level 4 in the near future.

Emma worked in the hospitality industry for 17 years with Whitbread before deciding to change career. She completed a Level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship within a nursery, alongside an online AAT Accounting Level 2 course.

Emma then moved into the education sector, working in a local secondary school in both the student office and finance department while completing a Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship. Known for her love of problem-solving and taking on new challenges, Emma joined the Trust in October 2023.

In January 2026, Emma was promoted to Senior Finance Administrator, where she now leads a small team of Finance Administrators and continues to develop her skills and experience within the Trust’s finance function.

Kerry joined the Trust in February 2021.  Kerry had an extensive career in Sales and Purchasing within the Publishing and Print industry, and holds many industry related qualifications including CIPs accreditation.  After leaving full time employment following the arrival of her youngest daughter, Kerry joined St Georges Primary School as Clerk in December 2018.  She is currently studying for the NGA Development for Clerks qualification, and also works for a local Charitable Trust.    

Lynne joined the Trust in 2023, after four years being employed by Kent Police organising and monitoring the  MARAC meetings for victims of Domestic Abuse across Ashford, Canterbury and Folkestone.  Lynne’s background prior to Kent Police is predominately within Education and she  worked within this sector for over 30 years.  During this time her employment ranged from Education Welfare Officer through to Student Welfare Officer/Designated Safeguarding Lead in a Further Education College.  Lynne has gained many qualifications during her employment and is also a qualified lecturer

Jessica helps public, private and third sector clients from across the education and culture sectors to raise their public profile, manage their reputation, formulate their communications strategy, optimise their content for SEO and successfully influence their stakeholders. She also trains leaders for media interviews and difficult stakeholder meetings and will carry out reputation audits and write speeches, opinion pieces, articles and reports.
She has worked with some of the leading universities in the UK, high-profile independent and state schools, global education technology firms, household brands with education programmes and some of our most loved national cultural organisations.
She is the Guardian's former Education Correspondent and has worked in communications at the Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She has also been Head of Communications (Education and Student Affairs) at University College London and Head of Communications and Campaigns at national youth charity The Challenge.

Victoria Hodgkinson is an experienced Human Resources professional with over twenty‑six years’ expertise in HR operations, employee relations, recruitment, and systems transformation. Known for her strategic mindset and strong interpersonal skills, she has delivered high‑quality HR services, strengthened processes, and built trusted relationships across education, higher‑education, corporate, and global outsourcing environments in both the UK and Australia. Her senior roles—including Employee Relations Operations Leader at the University of Essex—have seen her lead multidisciplinary teams, implement system and process improvements, and support organisational change. Skilled in HR systems such as iTrent, Confluence, and Arbor, and trained in Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt), she has successfully driven projects that enhance data integrity, reduce errors, and improve onboarding and HR administration. Victoria is recognised for her people‑focused leadership, ability to navigate complex HR challenges, and commitment to professional development, including safeguarding, safer recruitment, wellbeing, GDPR, and inclusion, and she is also a Menopause Ambassador promoting supportive workplace practices.