The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2019 – Health and Education: Education

Anne-Marie Imafidon
Matt Writtle

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon

Co-founder of STEMettes

At age 11 Imafidon was the youngest girl ever to pass A-Level computing, and was just 20 when she received her Master’s from Oxford. Six years ago she co-founded STEMettes, an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation of young women in the STEM sectors. It has since introduced more than 40,000 young people across Europe to Imafidon’s vision for a more diverse and balanced science and tech community.

Dr Dayo Olukoshi OBE

Executive principal, Brampton Manor
Dr Olukoshi runs a state school in one of the capital’s poorest boroughs, Newham, where 41 students have been offered a place at Oxford and Cambridge next year. Nearly all of those who received offers are from BAME backgrounds, with half of them on free school meals.

Sally-Anne Huang

Headmistress, James Allen’s Girls’ School
Huang is set to become the first female head of St Paul’s School since it was founded more than 500 years ago. She takes up her position as the historic school’s 35th High Master in September next year.

Andrew Ashe

CEO of onebillion
This London tech start-up helps illiterate children teach themselves to read and won part of a $10 million prize in a competition run by Elon Musk. The XPRIZE for global learning competition challenged teams from around the world to develop software for children in Tanzania to teach themselves reading, writing and arithmetic.

Emma Russo

Science teacher, South Hampstead High School
Russo was named as one of the world’s top 50 teachers this year when she was among three Britons to be selected in the long list for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019. She argues more needs to be done to show girls that “science is for them” and sets up Skype calls with prominent global scientists in lessons.

James Handscombe

Principal, Harris Westminster Sixth Form
This sixth form academy, which prioritises disadvantaged children, achieved a haul of 37 Oxbridge offers this year. The college beat some of the country’s top private schools with 16 pupils receiving offers from Oxford and 21 from Cambridge.

Amanda Spielman

PA

Chief inspector, Ofsted
The former accountant set up the successful Ark academy chain and was chair of exams regulator Ofqual before moving to Ofsted.

Tim Barber

Head teacher, Hugh Myddelton Primary School
This Islington school is recorded as having some of the highest levels of pollution in the capital. However, it is hoping to become one of the UK’s first clean air state schools by installing clean air technology in every classroom.

Tara Baig

Head teacher, Miles Coverdale Primary
Pupils at this Shepherd’s Bush primary score top results despite starting with generally low attainment. Most enter the school with low language, literacy and maths skills, but by the time they leave their English and maths scores are significantly above the national average. The school won the outstanding academic achievement award at the Evening Standard School Awards.

Emma Stevens

Music teacher, Norbury Manor Business & Enterprise College
Stevens won the Jack Petchey Foundation Award for Inspirational Teacher of the Year. She is described as a vital member of the music team, leading various choirs, preparing for performances and getting the choirs into venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and going on tour to Barcelona. The alumni of the school choir include Grammy nominee and Coldplay support act Lianne La Havas.

Mike Sheridan

Ofsted’s London director
A former headmaster, he has spoken out about extremism in schools and knife crime, noting in a report earlier this year: “Schools should be fully involved in local knife crime strategies, but too few are brought around the table.” Only just over half of the schools surveyed were aware their borough had a knife crime strategy. Work to be done.

David Benson

Head teacher, Kensington Aldridge Academy
Head of the school at the foot of Grenfell Tower, Cambridge-educated Benson was on the scene of the fire and kept the school running after the tragedy. This year the school was honoured as an “inspiration” at the Evening Standard School Awards. Then-Education Secretary Damian Hinds said the pupils “show what humanity is capable of”.

Mouhssin Ismail

Head teacher, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form
This east London head teacher is trying to even the playing field for his pupils by teaching them how to pronounce their words properly. Ismail, a former City lawyer, has introduced “elocution and etiquette” lessons to teach students how to sound more confident, improve interview skills and even what cutlery to use.

Cheryl Giovannoni

Chief executive, Girls’ Day School Trust
Giovannoni left her job as CEO of marketing agency Ogilvy & Mather to lead the girls’ school organisation. She is determined to defend single-sex education and mentors many young women.

Lady Cobham

Director, The 5% Club
The club is trying to get five per cent of company workforces on apprenticeships or educational training schemes. The initiative launched in 2013 and counts KPMG, the Ministry of Defence, Interserve and Ofcom among its 200 members.

Kimberley Hickman

PTA member, Goose Green Primary School
Mum Kimberley Hickman pushed for air filters and a green screen of ivy on the East Dulwich school’s fences to reduce air pollution. She says her son’s asthma symptoms have improved with the new measures in place.

Sir Daniel Moynihan

Chief executive, Harris Federation
Sir Daniel runs more than 40 schools in and around London. He was head of two highly successful London schools in tough areas before this role. Schools Minister Nick Gibb has described the federation as “leading the way”.

Sir Peter Lampl

Founder and chairman, Sutton Trust
Sir Peter is passionate about closing the education gap between rich and poor children through the Sutton Trust (an educational charity aiming to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage) and the Education Endowment Foundation. A philanthropist, he grew up in Yorkshire and made his money in America at a private equity firm.

Sara Williams

Chair of Pan London Admissions Board
She has the unenviable task of ensuring all London children get a school place by the start of each school year. This year she warned they expect the demand for secondary schools places to grow “considerably” in the years ahead.

George Lamb

Grow, founder | NEW
Take one household name and one big idea to save the planet and the people in it, and you have George Lamb, Grow Farm at Totteridge Academy. Grow is a life skills education programme teaching kids about nature, nutrition and mindfulness. Totteridge Academy, in Barnet, is the project’s first school.

The Progress 1000, in partnership with the global bank Citi, is the Evening Standard’s celebration of the people changing London’s future for the better. #Progress1000

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