Members

Dan graduated from the University of Birmingham with a first-class honours degree in Music in 2001. His specialisms are jazz vocal performance, musicology, and composition.

After gaining his PGCE in 2002, Dan took up his first music teaching post as part of a large music department at Bournville School in Birmingham. He was made Head of Department in his second year, and after liaising outreach with local primary schools, he was made Director of Specialism in his third year. After five years at Bournville, Dan moved to King’s Hawford in Worcestershire as Director of Music & Performance, where he was promoted to Deputy Head. Prior to taking up the role of Member of the Heart of Mercia MAT, Dan was a governor of Worcester Sixth Form College for over five years.

Dan has an MA in Educational Leadership from the University of Exeter, and ARSM Diplomas in Piano, Clarinet, Saxophone and Voice.

A Cambridge-educated Professor of Economics, he has led Worcester to become a highly successful institution, which has gained a strong reputation inclusive, quality education. Graduates from Worcester are consistently right at or very near the top in the UK for sustained employment.

David was made a CBE in the 2019 Queen’s New Year’s Honours in recognition of services to higher education and the county of Worcestershire. A passion for educational inclusion combined with quality and professionalism has characterised his career. Worcester was the first university to develop a joint public and university library and created the UK’s first indoor sports arena designed for wheelchair athletes.

Toby was appointed a Circuit Judge for Hereford and Worcester in 2007 until his retirement in 2016. Toby is a Bencher of his Inn of Court (Inner Temple), an Honorary Fellow of the University of Worcester and an Honorary Freeman of the city of Hereford.

Ken holds degrees in English and Theology, a Doctorate in English and a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Supervision. He was formerly the Chair of the Hereford Sixth Form College Governing Body.

He was the Governor representative for the West Midlands Region on the Council of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum (SFCF) for many years and served as Treasurer of the SFCF for ten years. He willingly gave huge amounts of time to these voluntary roles, which were entirely unremunerated. Within the SFCF he contributed to the promotion of a very successful sector of post-16 education. His national role gave him a huge amount of knowledge and experience of the sector which he brought to bear in his role as Chair of the Governing Body.

Tom previously worked for the District Audit Service, where he was a Senior Manager, having worked with them for 36 years. He is a CIPFA qualified accountant and has excellent knowledge of public finance and its workings in local Councils, schools, colleges, health authorities and police authorities.

He was a member of the Employers Forum Pension Review Group from November 1999 and has considerable experience of public sector working conditions and Performance Related Pay systems.