ISA Awards 2023

Amanda Kirby

Amanda Kirby was the Headmistress at Cundall Manor School until her retirement in 2022.

Education is much more than academic learning within a classroom and Amanda passionately believes that the ‘soft skills’ and character development that comes from an enriching programme is vital, not only in school, but also in the world that lies beyond education.

Amanda inspects with ISI as both a Team and Compliance Inspector and uses these skills as part of the ISA Inspection committee.   

With 3 adult children, now all following their passions, Amanda understands how encouraging our pupils to try new experiences and to push themselves beyond their comfort zone will open a whole new world of opportunity.

Angie Shatford

Angie is a communications expert with over 25 years’ experience in marketing and public relations.

As a Senior Press Officer with the Metropolitan Police Service, Angie worked on some of the biggest news stories of the last three decades, including the inquest into the death of Princess Diana and the Millennium Dome Diamond Robbery.

In 2011, Angie joined the Independent Schools Association as Marketing and Communications Manager, working with ISA schools across the UK. Angie supported ISA’s member schools with marketing and PR, wrote and edited the newsletter and magazine and worked closely with stakeholders including ISC and DfE.

Angie established Inkstream PR in 2015 to help schools, universities and education companies communicate more effectively. Working with creative agencies, Angie is a conceptual copywriter for leading brands and was recently appointed Communications Lead for EDI training consultancy Radius Networks.

Barry Huggett OBE

Principal Advisor for SEND, ISA

Barry was Headmaster of More House School for 22 years and is now Principal of the More House Foundation, giving support to schools and parents and working to open other SEND schools and departments in the UK and abroad.

Durell Barnes

Durell Barnes is Head of Governance and Compliance at RSAcademics, assisting governors in the UK and overseas with reviewing their performance and professional development. He spent eleven years at the Independent Schools Inspectorate where he was responsible for liaising with heads, governors, members of the public, local authorities, the press, ISC Associations, Ofsted and the DfE about safeguarding and quality assurance. Before this he spent twenty years in schools, mostly as deputy head. From 2018-2022 he was Chair of the Independent Schools Examinations Board.  He is also a Specialist Partner at Alder, who offer schools advice about PR, litigation and crisis handling. He is a Trustee of the Emmott Foundation and sits on the advisory boards of Ivy House and the Wellbeing Hub. Durell regularly speaks at conferences and writes about educational leadership issues. He has been a governor of seven schools in maintained, independent and international sectors.

Mark Whalley

Mark Whalley has spent his career in education and has experience at every level from early years through to postgraduate teaching. During the last 25 years or so Mark has held just about every role in school and has been the Headteacher of several schools. He has also worked as a senior manager in a third-sector organisation and a senior lecturer in Educational Leadership in a university. During this time he has developed countless teachers and school leaders and has devised his own methods for doing so. His interests are wide ranging, from physics education through to school leadership, teacher retention, and mental health. Mark is a Fellow of The Institute of Leadership and Management, The Institute of Physics, and The Royal Astronomical Society.

Nick Dennis

Nick has taught History and Politics at state and independent schools and is an Honorary Fellow of the Schools History Project. He is Deputy Head Academic at Kellett School, The British International School in Hong Kong, which on the Spears/Carfax index is ranked as one of the top 100 schools in the world. He is a co-presenter of a series of documentary films for the World History Project and serves as a board member for a variety of international and national education organisations. Nick’s work has been published widely, including contributions to academic books, resources for students and literary magazines.

Paul Bevis

Paul Bevis (FFCCT) has more than fifty year’s experience as a teacher and school leader in the independent sector. Paul retired as Headteacher of Claires Court Girls and Co-Ed Sixth form in 2017.  Since then he has led many ISA courses and national conferences and worked as a school improvement partner for multi-academy trusts and individual schools. Paul has been an A Level Chief Examiner, is the co-author of three academic text books and teacher guides and is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (FFCCT).