Governors

Lynn Parker, Chair of Governors

Lynn Parker joined Teesside University in 2004 and currently works as the Director of Educational Partnerships. Lynn also sits as a member of the University’s Corporate Executive Team. With almost twenty years of experience in Further Education and experience in running her own company, Lynn has a wealth of experience in further education. She is particularly interested in strategic partnership, governance and management and has recently undertaken research as a Leadership Foundation Fellow into the issues of governance in partnerships.  Passionate about education for all ages, Lynn is also a governor at Thornaby Academy in Stockton and at Oakfields Community College in Middlesbrough. Lynn is a keen gardener and enjoys time spent in the Yorkshire countryside and in France.

Stephen Whitehead, Vice Chairman of Governors

Stephen’s retirement in 2009 brought an end to a long career in teaching and educational management in various parts of England. For the last fourteen years Stephen has served as Principal of Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough, the sixth form college to which so many East Cleveland students have successfully transferred over the years. Because of this, Stephen helped inaugurate and became chairman of the East Cleveland Education Action Zone which, in addition to encouraging work in local primary and secondary schools, developed the educational vision which culminated in the amalgamation of the three secondary schools into one fine new building and, more recently, into our Academy. Thanks to Stephen’s history of support for local education, he is well placed to support the growth of Freebrough Academy as it enters a new, exciting but challenging phase.

Andrea Back

Andrea originally trained as a genetic toxicologist and has worked as a research scientist in academia and industry for 10 years before entering teaching. Andrea became a teacher governor for 4 years before becoming a Secondary National Strategy Science consultant for Redcar & Cleveland in 2002. Here, Andrea developed teaching approaches and materials now published by the Secondary National Strategy and has also taken part in national pilot studies to improve teaching and learning. Andrea, with her wealth of experience now works as a senior secondary adviser for Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys reading and gardening and has a keen interest in industrial archaeology and geology.

Professor Cliff Hardcastle

Professor Cliff Hardcastle joined Teesside University as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) in 2007 having previously been Dean and Assistant Principal at Glasgow Caledonian University with responsibility for knowledge transfer and commercial development.  Professor Hardcastle has an international research track record and has carried out funded research with colleagues in the USA, South Africa, Australia, Brazil and Hong Kong.

As Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise), Professor Hardcastle is responsible for leading the development of the University’s research and business engagement strategies.  He also leads work on DigitalCity, the major regional regeneration project, and is also responsible for the University’s strategies on higher level skills (workforce development).

Heather Ashton

Currently employed as Director of Finance at Teesside University, Heather is a CIMA qualified Accountant and she also holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.

She is a Parent Governor at Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College, a Director on the North Eastern Universities Procurement Consortium and is an Independent Director on the Shadow Group Board for two Social Housing Providers in the North East (Housing Hartlepool and Tristar).

Heather is married with 2 sons and lives in Guisborough, where she and her family are involved in the local Swimming and Rugby clubs. Her favourite pastime has to be walking the dogs along the beach at Marske as she believes the North East coast is the best in the Country.

James Innerd

James Innerd is a Principal Lecturer at Teesside University in Business Operations and Business Information Systems & Technology and is also a Director of Programmes for the Business School. James joined the University in September 1986 from Industry with a wealth of experience. He is a qualified Information Technology Practitioner being a Chartered member of the British Computer Society and a Fellow of the Institute of System Analysis. James has an academic background in Quality Management, Operations, Information Systems, System Methodologies and Knowledge/Technological Management. His main research interests concern the Knowledge management and its application in a business environment.

Judy Burton

Judy is the Principal of Prior Pursglove sixth form College, in Guisborough which boasts 1550 students aged between 16-18 and over two thousand part-time adult students. Judy has made a significant contribution to attaining the academic quality and achievements of Prior Pursglove’s students. Judy has a wealth of experience in sixth form studies particularly working in partnership with the voluntary, private and public sectors to deliver various types of teaching and learning. Judy is also a Director and Governor of the Redcar Trust, a collaboration of schools and colleges which service the Redcar area. The purpose of the Trust is to work together in partnership to pursue excellence in all areas of educational endeavour and to better meet the learning needs of the community.

Pat White

Pat presently is presently the Deputy Director of Marketing & Student Recruitment at Teesside University and has served at the University, or Polytechnic as it was then, for thirty years.

Pat was given the responsibility of developing a Schools & Colleges Liaison team in 1992 and today this team is an integral part of the Marketing and Student Recruitment Department.

Over the past fifteen years Pat has been directly involved in overseeing the delivery of widening participation projects within the region which has involved many agencies and institutions across the North East such as Aimhigher and partner Universities.  These collaborations have enjoyed a great deal of success, having raised aspirations and driven up demand in areas such as Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics.

Pats hobbies include gardening, reading and dog walking. Pat spends most of her spare time with her family who live in East Cleveland.

Gary Groom

Gary is the Principal of Redcar & Cleveland College, he has spent 22 years in Further Education, of which 20 years have been in management, 16 of those being in senior posts.

In the last six years as Principal in Redcar Gary has initiated and redeveloped the College with the development of the new build single campus, Higher education & Conference centre, an investment totalling over £40M. The College was graded ‘Good’ overall by Ofsted in its most recent inspection in 2009.

Locally Gary is Chair of the Board for FE Plus (Tees Valley FE Colleges group), recently Chair of the Local Learning Partnership for Redcar & Cleveland and a member of the Redcar & Marske Specialist Schools Trust.

Regionally he is the FE Sector representative for the 14-19 commission, Regional Employment and Skills partnership and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Board.

Nationally he is a member of the Learning & Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) Council, a Non Departmental Public Body responding to Government to improve the quality of teaching & learning in the FE Sector.

In his leisure time Gary is a keen gardener, enjoys reading Biographies, surfing the Internet, hosting murder mystery dinner parties and travelling to new places worldwide whenever he can.

Clare Parker

Clare is the Director of Learning for Performing and Creative Arts here at the academy.

Jonathan Easby

Jonathan is the Senior Technician for Design and Technology in the academy.