Meet the Schools Week Team | Editors & Journalists

Our Team

The Schools Week team is made up of experienced journalists and sector specialists who are deeply connected to schools and education. Our work is led by editor Freddie Whittaker, whose leadership ensures our reporting remains focused, independent and rooted in the realities of the sector. Together, the team is committed to producing journalism that informs, challenges and supports those working across schools and education.

Our team of journalists are passionate about providing our readers with the latest schools and education news.

Freddie Whittaker, editor

Freddie whittaker

Editor

Freddie has been writing about public policy for most of his career, initially as a senior reporter for the Gloucester Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo, and then as the Oxford Mail’s political and local government reporter.

He joined our sister paper, FE Week, in January 2014, and moved to the Schools Week team in August 2015, becoming the paper’s political reporter in January 2016.

Appointed chief reporter in August 2017, Freddie still covers the politics beat, and can often be found tweeting furiously from windowless press rooms at political party and trade union conferences.

He is also a regular contributor to the New Statesman on education policy and political issues.

Freddie lives in south–east London but retains strong ties with his home town of Stroud, Gloucestershire, where he helps run the annual Stroud Fringe festival.

Samantha Booth

Deputy editor

Samantha joined Schools Week in February 2020. Her reporting beat includes SEND, mental health and exams.

In 2025, she was awarded Specialist Journalist of the Year at the The Press Awards for her reporting on the SEND crisis. She has also been longlisted for The Paul Foot Award 2022 and highly commended at the British Journalism Awards 2023.

Prior to this, she worked at award-winning local newspapers the Camden New Journal and the Croydon Advertiser.

Jack Dyson

Senior reporter

Jack joined Schools Week as a senior reporter in April 2023, and has a particular focus on the academy sector.

Beforehand he was working for KentOnline, where he spent more than five years.

During his time there he uncovered a £100 million black market blighting Canterbury’s high street, shortcomings in the gambling industry and how rogue Airbnb owners broke Covid restrictions to earn a quick buck.

He was a joint winner of the young journalist of the year prize at the 2019 Regional Press Awards and has been given Kent print and feature journalist of the year awards.

Jack spends most of his spare time watching Arsenal, rugby union, cricket and films.

Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Senior reporter

Lydia joined Schools Week as a senior reporter in December 2024, and has a particular focus on Ofsted, as well as the teacher workforce.

Before that, she spent two-and-a-half years as a news reporter for the Evening Standard. Prior to that, she spent five years as a local news reporter at KentOnline.

She has won multiple awards for her journalism, including her investigations and features.

Ruth Lucas

Reporter

Ruth joined Schools Week as a Reporter in June 2025 after working as a Local Democracy Reporter in Berkshire. During this time, she covered the general election, led coverage of Bracknell’s SEND crisis, the delayed rebuild of two local hospitals, and exposed awful social housing conditions.

Her beat includes behaviour and attendance, online safety and AI in schools.

When she’s not working she loves reading and cooking, and spending time with her family’s three dogs.

Esme Kenney

Reporter

Esme joined Schools Week in March 2026. She is particularly interested in covering the curriculum, assessment, the use of AI in schools, post-16 and early years.

She previously worked as a Local Democracy Reporter in Oxfordshire, where she covered council restructures, SEND, major planning decisions, and Oxford’s housing crisis. Prior to this, she gained an MA in Journalism at the University of Sheffield, and studied History at the University of Cambridge.

Outside of work, she enjoys art, reading and visiting museums.