Adam is our Learning and Development Specialist who, as well as working for Minds Ahead, is Associate Vice Principal: Personal Development at a large (1,800 students) secondary in Barnsley. Adam has done this role two years and as well as leading on Personal Development across the school, he also leads on mental health and charity, two of his major passions. He is also a teacher of history to GCSE and politics at A level.
Adam has a first-class honours degree in History and Politics from Newcastle University where he won the William Laurence Burn Award for outstanding achievement. Whilst at university he started a translating and tutoring business and won both the North East Business Plan and North East Young Entrepreneur Award. Adam was then awarded a fully funded masters in history from the Arts and Humanities Research Council which he completed with distinction. After completing his teaching qualification, he worked his way up to Associate Vice Principal and has worked in Barnsley for 13 years.
Adam recently completed the MA in School Leadership in Mental Health and Wellbeing, which he says is one of his proudest achievements. He was asked to be part of an Expert Research Group for the Department for Education, one of only three school leaders to be asked to do so. He was also incredibly proud of his school being awarded the Gold Award for Mental Health from Leeds Beckett. This has included introducing staff and student wellbeing ambassadors, engaging 27 external agencies and developing an in-depth quality assurance system.
An important aspect of Adam’s educational ethos is enrichment activities both to broaden personal outlook and prepare for future study and working life. Adam has run a number of expeditions abroad including leading a World Challenge trip to Kenya and Uganda and taking 39 students to New York. Adam is a proud supporter of Sheffield Children’s Hospital, having raised over £50,000 for them in the past four years and leading on the school being awarded the Educational Establishment Award.
Adam is a proud dad of two children who are six and nine, a bad but committed runner, a fan of a variety of sports including, to his discredit, being a Sheffield Wednesday fan. He has travelled the world with his wife Katrina, including Asia, Africa, Australasia, North America and Europe. He is an avid reader, film devotee and a fan of indie music. He can often be found running in the Peak District by his Sheffield home, listening to the latest indie music and avoiding news of Sheffield Wednesday’s latest loss!
