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North East Educators receive New Year’s Honours

For the first time, King Charles’ New Year’s Honours list has been announced. The 2022 Honours list recognises many from the North East including academy trust leaders, teachers, lecturers and community workers.

Schools North East would like to wish a big congratulations to all those honoured this year as well as those ‘unsung’ heroes who aren’t.

North East Honours 

Those receiving awards in the North East working in Education and with young people include:

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Chris Day, Vice Chancellor and President of Newcastle University, for services to health research and treatment
• Rob Tarn, Chief Executive Officer of Northern Education Trust, for services to education

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

• Smajo Beso, lecturer at Newcastle University, for services to genocide education and commemoration
• Maureen Colquhoun Morris, Lately Co-Chair of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums, for services to parent carers of children and young people with special education needs and disabilities
• Kim Reynolds, Author and Emerita Professor of Children’s Literature at Newcastle University, for services to literature
• Simon Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Three Rivers Learning Trust, for services to education

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

• Syed Samad Ali, lately teacher at Thornhill Academy in Sunderland, for services to education
• Susan Elizabeth Ghulam, manager of Barndale Short Break in Alnwick, for services to children with special education needs and disabilities
• Dr Janice Victoria Gorlach, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at North East Learning Trust, for services to education
• Sally Ingram, Director of Student Health and Wellbeing at Newcastle University, for services to student mental health and wellbeing

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

• Joanne Barber, Head Coach at North East Disability Swimming Club, for services to community
• Jean Devlin, Group Scout Leader, for services to young people in south tyneside and sunderland

Simon Taylor OBE 

Simon Taylor has worked in schools for nearly 38 years in Gateshead, Newcastle and Northumberland. Since 2018 Simon has held the post of Chief Executive Officer at the Three Rivers Learning Trust in Northumberland. The trust was established in 2011 and now consists of 8 schools in total, with 4 First Schools, 3 Middle Schools and a High School and is based in the Morpeth and Rothbury areas of Northumberland.

Simon told Schools North East:

“I am very proud and humbled to receive this honour. Throughout my career I have worked with wonderful students and so many dedicated and talented colleagues. I have received great support and learned so much over the years, and dedicate the award to those I have worked with.  Schools thrive on very many acts of generosity and kindness from the immediate and wider community, and it is a privilege to witness this work every day, and see the positive impact it has on children and young people.”  

Syed Samad Ali MBE

Syed Samad Ali, who was working in Thornhill Academy in Sunderland until last summer, has been recognised for his work in the city’s Bengali community. Syed produced his own Bengali text books, and his work teaching GCSE languages has been recognised by Durham University, which invited him and his pupils to participate in the 2022 North East Festival of Languages.

Sue Hamilton, Headteacher at Thornhill Academy commented: 

“It is fantastic to see Samad receive this award for the hours of tireless service he provides for the local Bengali community. He has always quietly gone about this support and never seeks self-recognition for anything he does. There are so many people in our local and school community who have much to thank him for. A well-deserved award for a truly committed citizen in our local area.”

Dr Janice Victoria Gorlach MBE

Janice began her career in education as a maths teacher in 1996. Janice joined North East Learning Trust (NELT) as the Deputy CEO in September 2016. Prior to this Janice was the Head of Standards and School Improvement, Director of a teaching school and senior lead of a national maths hub. As well as working as Deputy CEO ay NELT, she is also currently working as Executive Head Teacher at Teesdale School.

Janice commented:

“It was quite a shock I can say and I feel very honoured! As with all things, none of us are islands and we are only able to do what we do, because everyone is working together for the children. Our children are our greatest strength and it has always been a great joy to work with them and see them develop. I am so glad to have been able to be a part of this for so many years! It is even more lovely to see them grow from nursery all the way through to sixth form.”

Rob Tarn CBE

Rob took up his first headship in 2009 and led a number of schools from special measures to good or outstanding. In September 2017, he was appointed as chief executive of Northern Education Trust. Since Rob’s appointment, the trust has undertaken a radical transformation, the scale of which should not be underestimated.

NET academies are now high performing, and in 2022, the percentage of students who achieved strong passes in English and maths at grade 5+ was 54%, compared with 50% nationally. Standard passes at grade 4+ was 72%, compared with 69% nationally. Set against the background of the pandemic, and the fact that many of the trust’s academies are located in areas of high deprivation, with 48% of secondary students eligible for free school meals, this is an exceptional achievement.

In addition, within five years of Rob’s appointment, 19 inspected academies are now judged as good or outstanding. Rob’s leadership has had a significant impact on the lives of thousands of students and their families.

Rob commented:

“I cannot describe how I felt when I received the letter notifying me of this prestigious award, which I accept with immense gratitude on behalf of our dedicated staff and the 15,000 children and young people the trust now serves. Every day, I feel humbled to observe our students overcome significant personal challenges and barriers to learning in some of the most  disadvantaged communities. They show enormous resilience and determination and I will never become complacent in supporting their development, focusing on their wellbeing whilst enabling them to succeed. I feel extremely privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead the trust since 2017 and witness the transformation. It is down to the sheer hard work and commitment of our students and staff that together we have been able to achieve our success. Without the support of our parents and carers, governors and trustees, who give their time freely, we would not have been able to succeed in our journey in such a short space of time. I want to thank everyone involved, particularly our staff who work tirelessly to support

our students every single day”

Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East said:

“A huge congratulations to Nick, Simon, Syed, Janice and all those who received honours this year. We are so proud to see some of our region’s many talented educators recognised nationally. ” 

Three Rivers Learning Trust and Northern Education Trust are both Schools North East Partner trusts. If you’d like to find out more about our Partner School Programme click here: https://schoolsnortheast.org/partner-school/

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