Dear Carers, Parents and Guardians,

At our Governing Board meeting last Wednesday I was honoured to be elected by my fellow governors to Chair the Governing Board of the Leathersellers' Federation of Schools.  I was equally delighted that Kate Ward, one of our new parent governors, was elected to Vice-Chair. 

I have been very fortunate in my life largely through the support of my mum, my stepdad and my education. My stepdad was a market trader on Deptford High St and both my parents always emphasised the importance of doing well at school. Thanks to financial support from the Leathersellers' Company, I stayed on to do A-Levels and then to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at St Catherine’s College, Oxford.  After graduating, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant and had a 27 year career as a partner at Deloitte from which I retired a couple of years ago.  

I have benefitted hugely from education and I know its power to transform the lives of young people in Lewisham. I am very committed to social mobility. I will ensure we support every student to make the most of their potential in whichever field it lies and to be confident in themselves and with the highest ambition for their future.

The elections followed the decisions of both Christopher Barrow and Paul Rossi, our previous Chair and Vice-Chair, to stand down following a combined 21 years of service to our Governing Board due to their growing commitments outside the Federation. I would like to offer my deep gratitude to them both and acknowledge their huge contribution and commitment to shaping the Federation of Schools that we have today. They and the other governors and senior leadership team have worked incredibly hard to provide the platform of improvement for all our schools. Each school has its own unique character but each is very committed to their students' education and enabling  our young people to confidently take their place in the world.

I hope to build on the platform we have and deliver on our ambition for each school to be outstanding and in the top 10% of inclusive schools nationally. As someone who was born and lives in Lewisham, I am very proud of our borough and the Leathersellers' Federation of schools.  

I hope to get to know as many of you as I can and will always be open and accessible to you all. I strongly believe that schools are part of their local community and it is only by us working closely together with our families and other local agencies that we will do the very best by the young people whose education each of you have entrusted us with.

I am conscious that we are in a challenging time in education both nationally and in Lewisham but I am confident that if all of us involved in our schools work together for the best outcomes for the young people in our charge, we will not only navigate through it, we will succeed and transform lives in the process.  I am very proud of all of our students and staff and I am committed to making them and our community proud of our schools and the governing board I am now fortunate enough to be leading.

With very best regards

Andy Rothery
Chair of Governors