HMC Chair, Vice Chair & Chair Elect

Sue has been Principal of The Grammar School at Leeds since April 2016, having been Principal of the British School of Brussels for five years prior to that. Sue always wanted to teach and, after graduating from Liverpool in English, she studied for her PGCE at Durham, with the NPQH from the IoE and MEd from Buckingham following later. She began her career in the North East, the place of her birth, at Westfield School in Newcastle. She was then approached to join the founding staff at Emmanuel College in Gateshead, one of eight City Technology Colleges established by the government in the late 1980s, where she set up the library and was second in the English department before becoming Head of Year. From there, Sue moved to Sutton Grammar School for Boys where she became Head of Key Stage Three, moving to The Holy Trinity CE School as Deputy Head Pastoral in 1998. The family move to Brussels saw Sue appointed to The British School of Brussels, first as a Deputy Head Academic, before moving to Vice Principal and Head of Senior School and then, in 2011, to Principal. Sue is an experienced school governor, involved in several Leeds partnership projects and has served in various roles in the churches she has attended. She was also involved in national politics in her youth and still maintains an (unhealthy?) interest. More edifying - she is an avid reader and loves the theatre, from the toughest dramas to grand opera. She is married to Martin, has two adult children and is also a doting grandma.

Melvyn has been Principal of George Watson’s College in Edinburgh since August 2014. Melvyn graduated in English from the University of York and trained to be a teacher at the University of Durham. He began his career in Northamptonshire, teaching at Oundle School and enjoying a short and not massively successful political career which culminated in being elected Mayor of Oundle in 1993. He also served very briefly as an election observer for the Council of Europe before moving to Monmouth School as Head of English and being promoted as Director of Studies there in 1997. In 2001 he transferred into the state sector as Headmaster of Old Swinford Hospital in Stourbridge, serving for six years and subsequently moving to Norfolk as Principal of Wymondham College. Melvyn was a member of the National Executive of the Boarding Schools’ Association (2004-2010) and was Chair of the Association in 2008-09. He has undertaken a number of governance roles in schools, academies and the FE sector. He has served as a Director of the Scottish Council for Independent Schools (SCIS) and of Connect - the Scottish Parent Teacher Council. He is currently a member of the Council of School Leaders Scotland. Melvyn is a Burgess of the City of Edinburgh and also an Honorary Life Fellow of the College of Optometrists, a distinction awarded in recognition of his service to the profession as a Lay Member of College Council. Melvyn is married to Catherine Stratford and they have two adult children. Melvyn retains a personal interest in politics as well as cultural pursuits and vintage transport. His articles on educational and related themes are published from time to time in the TES Scotland and elsewhere.

Jaideep Barot has been Headmaster of Bristol Grammar School since September 2018. Prior to this he was Deputy Head (Academic) at Marlborough College (2014-2018), Head of Science at The Godolphin & Latymer School (2008-2013), and Head of Physics at Westminster School, where he started his teaching career (in 1998), after a spell in the city with Goldman Sachs. As a beneficiary of financial assistance to join the Manchester Grammar School as a boy, Jaideep is a passionate advocate of widening access to the life-enhancing opportunities provided by excellent schooling. He was one of the small group of independent and state-sector Heads that set up the Bristol Education Partnership – a cross-city initiative of what is now 17 schools, universities and the city council, working together to improve educational outcomes for pupils across the city. Jaideep was Chair of HMC’s South West Division in 2021-22, and has been their representative on the HMC Communications Committee since 2019. He is currently HMC’s representative on ASCL Council, and he was elected onto the selection committee to nominate ASCL Council’s candidate to succeed Geoff Barton as General Secretary. Jaideep is an inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate, a governor on the boards of the Manchester Grammar School, Sandroyd School and Bishop Cotton School in India.  Since March 2023, he has been a Member for the Futura Learning Partnership, a sizeable MAT spanning Bristol and the South West, for whom he was previously a Trustee. He will be HMC Chair in the academic year 2024-25. Away from education, Jaideep is a microlight pilot, a PADI divemaster, a keen but very mediocre musician and sportsman, and a long-suffering Liverpool fan. He is married to Kerry, and they have two school-aged children, both boys.