Lord Lexden New ISA President
The Independent Schools Association is delighted to announce that the Conservative peer Lord Lexden has been appointed as its new President .
Lord Lexden (formerly Alistair Cooke OBE) has made a significant contribution to both politics and education, having previously been both a lecturer and senior political adviser. He has extensive experience of the independent education sector, having served as General Secretary of the Independent Schools Council from 1997 to 2004.
Lord Lexden was created a Conservative working peer in November 2010 and took his seat in the House of Lords in January 2011.
He was installed as ISA President at the Association's Annual Conference in Eastbourne last week.
Accepting his badge of office he said:
"I have long been involved in defending the interests of independent schools. I shall do all I can to assist the growing success of the ISA".
The Independent Schools Association represents over 300 schools across the UK. CEO Neil Roskilly said:
“We are delighted and honoured that Lord Lexden has agreed to be our new President. He is a vigorous advocate of closer partnerships between state and independent schools, and has unrivalled experience in the sector. We are very much looking forward to working with him and ensuring that our schools’ interests are represented at government level.”
During his time as ISC General Secretary Lord Lexden was involved in the creation of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), which now inspects ISC-member schools. He negotiated arrangements for the introduction of a new system of teacher induction in independent schools and also secured acceptance of the case for the retention of charitable status by independent schools in detailed talks with Tony Blair's No 10 Strategy Unit.
Lord Lexden is also a published author, columnist and Official Historian to the Conservative Party and the Carlton Club.
Lord Lexden succeeds the previous ISA Chair Brian Maybee, who served the Association as President for over 12 years.
The ISA provides professional support to its 300 member Head Teachers. Founded in 1878, it is one of the oldest of the independent schools’ associations, and covers a range of schools from prep to secondary to sixth form. Staff of member schools benefit from high quality training opportunities and access to a wide range of membership services, while pupils enjoy an extensive programme of local and national Sporting, Arts and Cultural events.
