Who we are

Adrian was appointed Executive Principal of Park View Educational Trust, now CORE Education Trust, in 2014. He became the CEO in 2016 and the Group CEO in 2022.

Prior to this, from 2012, Adrian was the founding Principal of Everton Alternative Provision Free School and 6th Form College.

From 2010, Adrian was part of the founding team of Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA), an arts academy set up in partnership with The BRIT School where Adrian was the Director of Musical Theatre from 1999.

Adrian set up the CORE & Co Foundation in 2020, a charitable organisation which supports children, young people and families through collaborative partnership initiatives.

Adrian is an independent Councillor for the LTA and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

Jo is a co-founder of CORE Education Trust. In 2022, she was appointed as the CEO, having previously served as the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO. Prior to this, Jo had worked as a senior leader at school and trust level, gaining considerable experience working as a Director of Business and Finance in many varied and challenging circumstances. Before working in the education sector, Jo had a successful career as a contract manager within the private sector.

Jo mentors and coaches other leaders and works with national organisations to inform best practice. Her areas of expertise range from governance to people development; change management to complex project delivery. She has a particular interest in curriculum design and resource management.

Jo completed her MBA in Education Management in 2023. She writes articles for education publications and regularly contributes to government policy making.

Jo is a proud Queen’s Guide Award recipient. She is passionate about outdoor learning and spearheaded CORE’s introduction of cadet forces across our schools. She enjoys theatre, music, and crocheting!

Jo’s contributions to the education of children in the West Midlands was acknowledged in 2022 when she was awarded the honour of baton bearer for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Abby Morris started her teaching career as an English teacher sixteen years ago. In this time, Abby has undertaken middle and senior leader roles in schools in the West Midlands. Abby’s last senior leadership post was as Vice Principal in charge of Leadership and Management and Quality of Education at Bristnall Hall Academy, the highest performing secondary provider within its local authority and trust.

Most recently, Abby has worked as an Executive Leader in two large Multi Academy Trusts where she led the establishment of two professional development institutes and supported a number of academies out of category and into good or outstanding judgments. Abby has also undertaken the role of Expert Advisor for the Teacher Development Trust, writing and quality assuring content for the National Professional Qualifications.

Abby’s leadership philosophy is, to be the best we can be for the young people we serve, we must forever be on our own learning journey. In addition to her responsibilities for the professional development of others, Abby has completed a master’s in education degree and an MBA in Education Management.

At CORE, Abby is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the education strategy and its impact on educational outcomes and standards in CORE schools.  Abby firmly believes it is through the development of colleagues that we unlock improvement. Thus, she is also responsible for CORE’s people-powered professional development strategy

Jody Clarke has been a teacher and Senior Leader in Sandwell for the past sixteen years. As Head of English, Jody led the highest performing department in Sandwell and led the LA’s English Hub sharing good practice and raising standards across the authority.

Jody was part of the team that established one of the first one hundred Teaching Schools in the UK. As Director of Teaching School, he led on SLEs, School to School support and CPD which included co-writing and facilitation of the first series of the NPQML and NPQSL.

As a Senior Leader for the past decade, Jody has led achievement, outcomes and standards. Jody is an experienced senior leader and has worked in and supported across outstanding and good schools. Jody’s success and reputation as a school leader is built on his philosophy of nurturing talent and supporting colleagues to become the leaders of tomorrow. Jody has completed a master’s in education degree and the NPQSL and NPQH.

At CORE, Jody leads on quality assurance that will codify what excellence looks like at our schools.  He will further develop the use of data and assessment to drive further improvement and empower school leaders. Jody has strategic oversight of professional development across the trust and the education improvement team.

Samuel has been with CORE Education Trust since 2022, initially joining as Assistant Headteacher for Safeguarding at Jewellery Quarter Academy before transitioning to Assistant Headteacher for Behaviour and Attitudes at City Academy.

Samuel has a wealth of leadership experience within Birmingham schools. Prior to joining CORE he was a Senior Leader for Teaching and Learning, demonstrating a strong commitment to driving educational standards and supporting student development. In this role he also completed the NPQSL and NASENCo qualifications.

Samuel is passionate about shaping effective safeguarding practices within CORE schools. He focuses on developing robust systems and processes that ensure all students are protected, supported and empowered to thrive in a safe and nurturing environment. He is committed to promoting a proactive approach to safeguarding, continuously refining processes and providing strategic leadership to foster a safe learning environment for every child.

In the role of Trust Safeguarding Lead, Samuel is responsible for leading safeguarding across all schools within the Trust, working closely with school leaders to ensure compliance, best practice and safety for students and staff.

Thalina Chowdhury is a dedicated educator with a passion for providing life-changing opportunities to students from deprived areas. Born and raised in inner-city Birmingham, Thalina understands the transformative power of a high-quality education and has spent the last 7 years of her career raising the value and importance of geography.

Before teaching, Thalina worked in recruitment, where she was responsible for sourcing and hiring senior candidates within the facilities management sector. She represented and recruited for a roster of well-established clientele. Devoted to raising the profile of geography for pupils from ethnic minorities, she perused a career in teaching.

Her love for geography led her to study at The University of Leicester, where she was part of the Ambassador programme run by The Royal Geographical Society. During her ITT year at The University of Birmingham, she was awarded The Royal Geographical Society Scholarship and was part of the first cohort to receive this honour. Furthermore, she has worked in a range of curriculum focused leadership roles such as Director of Studies for an international ESOL summer school, Primary to Year 7 Transitional Summer School Lead and coordinated a short course in BTEC Travel and Tourism. Within these roles she was responsible for designing the curriculum, leading large teams of teachers with various levels of experience, and ensuring a high quality education for all students.

At CORE, Thalina is responsible for the strategic leadership of geography across CORE Education Trust academies. She will further develop the quality of education and she will lead on professional development and coaching within the subject to support colleagues in our commitment to deliver excellence across the academies.

Nicola Evitts began her career as an English teacher in 2002. Since then, she has worked in two schools with different needs and contexts and has supported both leaders and teachers in schools in Solihull, Sandwell, Worcester, and Staffordshire.

Nicola has undertaken a range of departmental and whole school roles during her career. Within English departments, she has led on curriculum design, developing teaching, and improving student achievement. At whole school level, she has designed and implemented a competency-based curriculum, cultivated cross-curricular opportunities and provided professional development to strengthen the provision of revision strategies.

Most recently, as Lead Practitioner, Nicola has transformed the provision of literacy, led on professional development of ITTs and coached staff across departments for the quality of teaching and learning. In addition to developing others professionally, Nicola has completed the NPQLTD.

At CORE, Nicola is responsible for the strategic leadership of English and Literacy across all CORE Education Trust academies. She evaluates Literacy provision across subjects and leads on professional development and coaching within English to support colleagues in our commitment to deliver excellence across the academies. As Trust Professional Development Programmes Lead, Nicola oversees CORE staff’s engagement in the DfE’s ‘Golden Thread’ of teacher development programmes – ITT, ECT and NPQs – to ensure that CORE colleagues can engage in high-quality professional development that supports their career progression.

Rula Kanona is a Civil Engineering graduate with 13 years’ experience in education. After qualifying as a maths teacher, and developing through a series of roles within schools in Birmingham, she was appointed Assistant Headteacher at King Edwards VI Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy. Throughout her career, she has taken great pleasure in supporting young people from challenging backgrounds to secure places on competitive STEM courses at some of the country’s leading universities.

Rula is an advocate of research-informed practice and is committed to ensuring that all young people within Birmingham receive the highest quality learning experience. She has led many Initial Teacher Trainees (ITTs) and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) through their learning journeys and is proud of the subsequent success they have gone on to achieve. As a senior leader of a school within a large Birmingham trust, she successfully developed and implemented a unique professional learning programme for a wide range of colleagues. Her work in maths education has also extended to supporting partner schools as both a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) and a Local Leader of Mathematics Education (LLME) for the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM).

She is studying for an MA in Educational Leadership, through which she will continue to develop her knowledge and relationships with sector leads for the benefit of the students she serves.

At CORE, Rula will use her knowledge and experience to codify teaching and learning, and deliver high-quality professional development to support colleagues across all four schools to develop excellence in their teaching practice.

Sharmin started her career in Education 11 years ago as a teacher of science and has since, taken on several roles specific to the development of high-quality teaching and learning. Most recently, she has been working as a Lead Practitioner at a large inner-city academy serving 1700 pupils where she has been leading on the professional development of over 130 teaching staff. This involves strategically designing, delivering, and embedding a CPD curriculum across the academy; identifying areas for development and taking steps to ensure appropriate training opportunities are put in place. Over the past 2 years, Sharmin has developed comprehensive proficiency of a professional development package, rooted in research informed practice, and is currently disseminating this expertise across the Trust.

Sharmin has also served as an expert coach in her previous setting, with a particular focus on instructional coaching and implementing this school wide. She has worked on training leaders to be effective coaches and had much success in developing a culture of continual improvement.

Sharmin was a key driver of a DfE pilot in 2018, where she paved the way for evidence-informed practice by piecing together a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum within the Science faculty and eventually school-wide. This involved strategic redesigning of the curriculum and upskilling the team in its delivery, which saw transformational change and recognition from Ofsted during a subsequent Section 8 inspection.

Sharmin has a keen interest in Cognitive Science and has set up reading communities, working parties and many other initiatives to encourage engagement in research around Education. She is an advocate for females in STEM careers and within education and is an active member of groups such as WomenEd and ResearchEd. Sharmin also takes enjoyment from her own professional growth and has recently completed a National Professional Qualification in Leading Teacher Development.

Sharmin has collaborated with a number of organisations including Birmingham Education Partnership, Royal Society of Chemistry and the British Council in order to create opportunities for students and colleagues alike. She is also a serving member of the alumni to the University of Birmingham where she carried out her undergraduate degree.

At CORE, Sharmin will continue to pursue her passion in prioritising teacher development to drive excellence amongst science teams within the Trust, through our CORE Communities of Practice.

Hazel is the Trust Lead Practitioner for History. She has worked in schools across Sandwell and Birmingham for a number of years and has great experience in supporting the development of teachers within her various roles. She believes that teachers who create positive learning environments whilst holding their students to the highest of expectations, have the most significant impact on a young person’s ability to realise their full potential.

As a Curriculum Leader, Hazel has led on the design and development of challenging and diverse curriculums and implemented robust systems of quality assurance. Additionally, she has strategically developed the quality of assessment and feedback across History departments, which has enabled improvements in outcomes for students.

Hazel strives to create change by empowering others to make meaningful impact. She has led on the professional development of colleagues, through supporting and coaching, to develop teaching and learning on both departmental and whole school levels. Her prioritisation of collaboration between colleagues enables dynamic working relationships, which are student focused. She is also committed to her own professional development and has completed the NPQML.

At CORE, Hazel is responsible for the strategic leadership of History across academies within CORE Education Trust. She works with colleagues to build upon research driven teaching and learning, ensuring excellence across the Trust.

Grant is the Trust Lead Practitioner for Mathematics. He is a passionate mathematician and teacher with a strong belief that everyone can succeed in maths. He began teaching in 2014 and has taught in schools in Birmingham and Staffordshire, having mentored several ITT students for various providers during that time. He has been heavily involved in the development of curricula, focussing on the interconnected nature of mathematics as a basis to sequentially build upon topics and enable students to become mathematically fluent.

Earlier on in his teaching career, Grant became involved in lesson study, a Japanese approach to curriculum development, helping to plan and deliver incredibly detailed lessons in collaboration with several colleagues and academics. In his next school, he designed bespoke catch-up programmes for non-secondary ready students. This led to a greater interest in primary transition, resulting in him working alongside primary schools to prepare pupils for secondary education. In his previous school, he worked across the multi-academy trust to provide support for primary teachers and enrichment for pupils.

He has a particular interest in using technology to enhance the teaching of mathematics, as a bridge between concrete and pictorial representations to enable a deeper understanding. He has delivered whole school CPD on the effective use of technology and will strive to develop using technology to enhance teaching and learning within CORE.

Emily Preece began her teaching career as a primary teacher eleven years ago. In this time she has taught in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Russia. As well as a Primary PGCE, she has a BA Honours degree in Philosophy and is TEFL qualified.

During her time in teaching, Emily has been Head of English at the British School Dhahran and an independent school in Birmingham. In both roles, she has worked with colleagues to develop the curriculum and a model of assessment, tailored to the needs of EAL learners. Emily has facilitated the professional development of staff, with an emphasis on the use of evidence-based practice.

Emily has also directed and staged a number of plays and musical productions throughout her work in schools, as well as preparing and taking students to perform in Birmingham’s Young Voices. Emily is passionate about learning outside of the classroom, and this is one of the reasons she is excited to work for CORE, with their commitment to the arts and to seek experiences beyond the ordinary.

Her most recent post was with Barnardo’s and included working alongside the British Red Cross to support refugee children in education. Another project involved working collaboratively with Birmingham Children’s Trust to support children affected by exploitation and deliver training on this topic to relevant professionals across Birmingham. Whilst working for Barnardo’s, Emily completed a Level 4 Accredited Qualification in Against Child Sexual Exploitation.

As Director of CORE Hello, Emily will work passionately to develop this excellent provision for our EAL learners. With high expectations, exciting learning opportunities and a drive for the extraordinary, students will be challenged and nurtured to reach their highest potential and thrive in school and beyond.

Max has worked for a decade in Birmingham schools, holding multiple middle leadership roles and including as part of a team that saw two improve to achieve outstanding Ofsted grades.

He joined CORE Education Trust in 2019, as a Senior Leader at Jewellery Quarter Academy. It was here he consolidated his pastoral skills leading behaviour and attitudes, helping the school achieve a ‘Good’ Ofsted grade in May 2022. Shortly after, Max moved to City Academy to add capacity to leadership as Deputy Headteacher, where he diversified into line managing the following educational areas: behaviour and attitudes, quality of education, safeguarding and personal development. During his time at City, Max contributed to rapid improvement within the school and significantly enhanced GCSE results.

Max’s first passion remains pastoral care, and his philosophy can be summarised in the following strap line: ‘Would this be good enough for my child’!

He has been a notable speaker during seminars at the School’s and Academy Show and looks forward to using his expertise to support other schools in CORE’s family.

Jemima is an award-winning creative producer, specialising in enrichment and creative education. A business graduate from Aston University, she has over 23 years of experience in developing, delivering, funding and evaluating programmes that support disadvantaged young people to gain new skills, broaden their horizons and develop career pathways.

Jemima has had a varied career, starting out at Hi8us Midlands Ltd; a youth focused, not for profit arts, film and media organisation, where she worked for 7 years, employed as Deputy Director for the last 2.

In 2008, she set up as a creative business and project management consultant, working with a host of regional and national youth arts and media focused organisations. She has advised and run projects with Into Film (previously First Light), BFI, Bright Space, Maverick TV, Rural Media, Arts Connect and the RSA and for 2 years was a visiting lecturer at BCU, delivering a module on Media Enterprise.

For the past 7 years she has led on school-based enrichment programmes and partnerships. Creating and delivering award-winning enrichment programmes.

She was a director and chair of the board for Autin Dance Company, was Chair of Governors for a Primary school in Smethwick and an Ormiston Academies Trust Governor for Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy and Brownhills Ormiston Academy.  She is currently a Governor for Ormiston Shelfield Academy.

In her spare time, she mentors young people, freelancers and creative start-ups and is particularly keen to support their business and professional development. Jemima is passionate about supporting youth talent development and broadening access to knowledge of opportunity.

Jemima is Director of Enrichment Programmes and Partnerships. If you are interested in working with our schools and students, please contact her on JWA@core-education.co.uk

Prior to joining the education sector Raj worked in IT as a computer programmer and computer network manager.

Before being appointed as Headteacher of Arena Academy in April 2020, Raj spent over a decade as a senior leader in one of the most nationally deprived schools in Birmingham.  He was an integral part of the leadership team which gained the school ‘outstanding’ status. Raj has supported many schools in the Midlands, both primary and secondary, with Teaching & Learning and school improvement initiatives resulting in them improving their ofsted gradings from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

Raj has a passionate belief that a pupil’s socio-economic background should not be a barrier to achieving success. Combining his love of music and a healthy lifestyle & fitness he ensures that pupils develop into well-rounded individuals equipped with the tools to achieve their goals.

Rebecca is the Headteacher of School at City Academy, based at Langley Walk. She has spent her entire career working with and for students in Birmingham, particularly enjoying working within the communities in inner-city Birmingham.

Prior to joining City Academy, Rebecca has worked in a number of school leadership teams and has seen success in all roles. Her leadership has meant that students have realised there is no limit to their success.

Rebecca’s drive and determination to ensure all students have equal access to all opportunities is unwavering. She believes barriers should be broken down and all young people should approach every challenge with confidence, the confidence that they can overcome a challenge because there is a team of people working with them and for them to ensure their success.

Jamie has worked in education for 20 years, leading in a variety of secondary schools across the Midlands and North Yorkshire. He brings extensive experience, having held Executive Headship positions in two local authorities and serving as a director on two academy trust boards.

Supporting communities is at the heart of Jamie’s approach and he has an excellent track record in driving improvement and in leading his teams to deliver a quality first education to the young people at his schools.

He instils a sense of ambition in his schools and is passionate in his belief that every student can achieve, and that education is the key to success.

Richard is a highly experienced school leader, who loves working in schools that are at the centre of the community.

Having grown up in the local area, Richard started his career at neighbouring Great Barr School 20 years ago.  He has held senior positions at a number of schools in the West Midlands, including George Salter Academy and Kenilworth School, but has also been a leader in schools as far south as Suffolk and north as Manchester. He joined the CORE family in Spring 2024 from Buile Hill Academy in Manchester, where he was Headteacher.

Richard is passionate about the role education plays in broadening a young person’s horizons, opening the doors to new worlds of knowledge, ideas and experiences that they may not have realised existed.  At Rockwood Academy, he is focused on setting students on pathways towards a life of fulfilment, both professionally in their careers and personally throughout their lives.