Our People

John has worked in Lancashire schools for 32 years, joining the trust as CEO in April 2021. He was Headteacher and then Executive Headteacher at Bowland High, near Clitheroe from 2012 until 2021. The school was judged to be outstanding in all areas following the most recent Ofsted inspection at the end of 2016. Subsequently, John helped form a multi-academy trust, Achievement through Collaboration, serving as Deputy CEO,

From 2018, he worked at the request of the Local Authority, to support schools in challenging circumstances; Most recently, supporting Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School at a time when that school was forced to relocate on a temporary basis to Burnley from Oswaldtwistle.

Oliver joined Pendle Vale College as Headteacher in 2020. An experienced headteacher, with a strong leadership background in schools across central Bradford and Calderdale, he has worked in academies, mutli-academy trusts, and maintained schools, including new schools, sixth forms and all-through schools. 

As well as holding the NPQH and a Master’s degree, he attained the National Qualification for Executive Leaders in August 2025.

Oliver actively supports peer headteachers, Lancashire County Council’s Governor Services and SEND team and demonstrates a deep commitment to inclusive education and collaborative leadership. He is currently a chair for the Schools Forum for Lancashire County Council.

A passionate educationalist, Oliver has delivered nationally recognised qualifications, led outreach initiatives, authored educational resources, and presented at national conferences for organisations including the National Institute of Teaching, The University of Greater Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Huddersfield, and The PiXl Club. He currently serves as a governor for a special school, an independent school and The University of Greater Manchester’s School of Education.

Outside of his professional work, Oliver enjoys spending time with his family and their dog, and is actively involved in supporting local community organisations, including cricket and brass bands.

In his role with Apex, he is excited to help find, train and keep the very best people to serve in our schools.

Gaynor spent much of her childhood playing in orchestras. After studying music at Leeds University, she completed her teacher training and began her teaching career at Laneshaw Bridge Primary School in 1995.

Throughout her time at Laneshaw Bridge, Gaynor’s dedication to education has taken her to America and India on various school exchanges, where she visited schools and delivered CPD. Although her passion lies in early years and early childhood development, her experience spans the entire primary age range.

Gaynor has seen Laneshaw Bridge grow from strength to strength, including its move to a new school building. Her ambition is for Laneshaw Bridge to offer outstanding education from Nursery through to Key Stage 2, ensuring children experience the school’s high standards from their very first steps.

In 2021, Gaynor became Headteacher of Laneshaw Bridge, and in 2025, she took on the role of Primary Partnership Lead for Apex, working across the trust’s primary schools to share expertise and drive excellence.

Martyn Hill has been the Headteacher at South Craven School for the last seven years.

He started his career as a teacher of German and French at Temple High School in Leeds after completing a BA degree in German and PGCE qualification at the University of Leeds.

Martyn moved to South Craven to be Head of German in 1999 and has been at the school ever since. He was Head of Year for five years before becoming an Assistant Headteacher leading on pastoral care and behaviour, Deputy Headteacher, Designated Safeguarding Lead and Head of School before being appointed as Headteacher in April 2018.

It’s been a privilege for Martyn to lead such a fantastic school and he feels very lucky to have a job in such a vibrant comprehensive school where everyone works as a team to give the students the best chances of success in their lives.

 Martyn will be taking on the role of Executive Lead for Secondary Partnerships at the Trust for 2 days per week, in order to support the collaboration and sharing of best practice amongst the secondary schools. In this role, he will also work alongside the Trust leadership to shape the future direction of the trust.

Alan joined the trust as CFO in January 2024. He trained as an accountant with Ulster Bank in Dublin before moving into the education sector when he joined the Learning and Skills Council over 20 years ago. He was Deputy Director of Finance at Blackpool and The Fylde College, before moving into the academy sector as CFO at Abraham Guest Academy, Cidari Multi Academy Trust, and Birchwood Community Academy Trust. He has worked as a School Resource Management Advisor (SRMA) and as a CFO Mentor.

Sarah is the Financial Controller for the trust.  She is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience, working within a wide range of businesses. Sarah joined the trust in April 2025 and this is her first role working within the education sector.  Sarah has been a local councillor and was a school governor for eight years, where she gained an understanding of the need to influence the strategic direction of the school.

Cassie has worked at South Craven School for the last 23 years, initially starting on reception as a temporary member of staff following university and travelling. Cassie moved into a permanent role in Finance soon after and has been Finance Officer since 2007. During her time at South Craven she has successfully completed the ASCL Certificate in School Business Management and assisted with the conversion of South Craven School to a Trust during 2011. Cassie is excited to be taking on her new role as School Business Partner within the Trust Central Team.

Gareth is one of the Trust’s Finance Officers, bringing a strong background in operations, finance, and commercial management. He joined the Trust following over three years as Operations Manager at Park High School, where he played a key role in supporting the school’s strategic and financial planning.

Before moving into the education sector, Gareth spent 14 years in retail and hospitality management, gaining extensive experience in financial oversight, team leadership, and customer-focused service delivery. His career began after earning a degree in Business Management, which laid the foundation for his commercial acumen and operational expertise.

With a well-rounded perspective from both the private and education sectors, Gareth is committed to ensuring financial efficiency and supporting the Trust’s long-term goals.

Jonny started at the Trust in September 2025 as the Finance Assistant having recently completed his Business Admin Level 3 qualification to a distinction level whilst working  in a local nursery school. Previous to this, Jonny worked in Gloucester for a social enterprise working alongside adults with learning disabilities, young people and vulnerable people.

Helen brings over 28 years of experience across Business, Finance and Estate Management, with the last 16 years dedicated to the education sector. She has been an integral part of the Trust’s journey since 2009, beginning her career at Blacko Primary School as Bursar. In 2017, Helen was appointed Trust Business Manager, playing a key role in the formation and development of the Multi-Academy Trust. Since 2018, she has served in a number of strategic central roles, including Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development.

In April 2025, Helen took on the role of Head of Estates and Facilities, where she leads the strategic development and management of the Trust’s estate. Her passion for estates and premises management is rooted in her early career in the construction industry, which began when she was 22 and provided her with a strong foundation of practical and technical knowledge.

Helen holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies and completed the Level 7 Diploma in School Financial and Operational Leadership in 2020, further enhancing her leadership and operational expertise.

A committed member of the school community, both of Helen’s children attended Trust schools—Blacko Primary and Park High School—and she served as a Governor at Blacko for over 12 years.

Peter started at South Craven 19 years ago whilst completing his final year studying for a BSc in Computer Science at Bradford University. Prior to this he spent 12 months on placement at Castle Hall School with a fellow computing student, discovering on day 1 that the IT Manager was leaving that week, and they were the new IT Team! Peter recognises that, with hindsight, being thrown in the deep end was the best start to his career and enabled him to progress to Network Manager 4 years later. Peter loves working alongside colleagues in other teams to ensure they have the right ICT tools for the job, streamlining processes to ultimately save everyone time and effort. He is currently finalising a 3-year network project to enable South Craven to achieve Cyber Essentials accreditation and looks forward to working with ICT colleagues to align and integrate solutions together across the Trust.

Alex has been working in educational ICT in the Northwest for over 20 years and has experience in both primary and secondary settings. In his most recent post as Trust ICT Manager, Alex led and implemented the roll-out of Microsoft 365 across all schools. Working alongside the quality of education team, this new technology has ensured quality first teaching and improved provision for students. Alex played a pivotal role in the centralisation of ICT within the Trust, providing strategic oversight and leadership.

Paul joined the Trust in August 2020. Following a career change in the early 90s, he started working in an IT support role in a local school. Since then, he has continued to work in the education sector and in that time has held several different IT related positions across a number of different schools, both primary and secondary.

Katie has over 21 years of experience in education and has remained deeply committed to improving outcomes for children across East Lancashire and beyond since beginning her teaching career in 2004. As a member of Park High School’s Senior Leadership Team for 14 years, Katie has developed extensive expertise in all areas of school leadership, including pastoral care, safeguarding, quality of education, and staff development.

Now part of the Central Team at Apex Collaborative Trust, Katie leads on the professional development of staff, people strategy, and partnership building. She works closely with schools, Trusts, and Training Hubs to enhance the quality of provision across the Trust as it continues to grow and support both staff and student development across the Northwest. Katie also collaborates with the National Institute of Teaching, overseeing the implementation, delivery, and quality assurance of the ITT, ECF, and NPQ programmes across the region.

Outside of work, Katie attempts to be a keen fell runner, loves spending time with her family and is kept super busy supporting her two young children’s busy schedule of sporting and extracurricular activities.

Helen leads on all aspects of governance, complaints, GDPR, and policy development across Apex Collaborative Trust. She is responsible for ensuring that governance practices are both effective and fully compliant with statutory requirements.

With over a decade of experience in governance and more than 20 years in education and training, Helen brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Before joining Apex, she worked with a large multi-academy trust, contributing to its development from inception and playing a key role in shaping its governance framework.

Helen has a proven track record of designing robust systems and driving meaningful change in governance structures. She is also an active Governor at a local primary school, further deepening her connection to the community.

Her core focus is to ensure that the time and talents of Governors and Trustees—as dedicated volunteers—are used to maximum effect, enabling them to champion the Trust’s vision and priorities across its schools.

Karen serves as the Head of HR and Payroll at Apex Collaborative Trust, where she played a pivotal role in its establishment in 2016. With over sixteen years of experience in the education sector, Karen began her career in administrative management at Park High School before transitioning to the central trust team.

While working full-time, Karen earned her HR degree through the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, demonstrating her dedication to professional growth. She is passionate about integrating HR systems and processes that empower school leadership and management, while fostering a trust-wide culture rooted in wellbeing and support.

A proud resident of Colne, Karen attended both Lord Street and Park High School—an educational journey later shared by her two sons. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring historical sites across the UK and is deeply committed to promoting mental health through fitness, exercise, and nutrition.

Tahira is an administrator in our HR department.  She has a legal background being a qualified solicitor and thus applies her legal knowledge and expertise to this role and our HR department.  A mother of four, all her children have attended schools within the trust, giving her a personal connection to our community.

Tahira joined the trust in September 2025 after deciding to embark upon a new challenge.  With her legal background and HR insight, she is passionate about promoting fair, inclusive, and supportive workplaces.

Saima is one of the Administrators for the Trust.  She has over 20 years’ experience, working within administration roles.  Saima worked for the NHS for 20 years then joined the trust in September 2023 at Laneshaw Bridge Primary school in the school office where her children attended school.   This was her first role working within the education sector and she quickly moved onto the Trust as the Central Team Administrator to help with in year admissions, Policy Management and other administration duties. 

Saima hopes to further develop herself and gain experience in HR and Payroll to further support staff within the Central Team.

Joanne has always had a passion for supporting vulnerable people. She went to university at 20 gaining an in-depth knowledge about human rights, social policy and abuse passing with a first class honours degree. Joanne then studied towards an MA in Social Work. For over 10 years she worked within the charitable sector supporting adults, children and families who were vulnerable and/or needed extra support, progressing to management within the sector. Joanne joined the Trust in September 2025 following a discussion to embark on a different career path with the trust.