This week’s movers and shakers include a former apprentice footballer, an amateur musical performer (by accident) and someone with a wedding conundrum.
This column is our fortnightly guide to who is moving where in the schools community.
We are keen to hear about appointments at a senior level. Please send submissions for this section to news@schoolsweek.co.uk with ‘Movers and shakers’ in the subject line.
Gareth Harris

Education director for the North, Ormiston Academies Trust
Start date: September
Previous role: Principal of Beamont Collegiate Academy, Warrington
Interesting fact: Before beginning his career in education, Gareth was an apprentice footballer with Swansea City FC. When his aspirations in professional sport came to an end at the age of 19, he chose to pursue a career in teaching.
Reza Schwitzer

Director of assessment reform, AQA
Start date: September
Previous role: Director of external affairs, AQA
Interesting fact: Reza’s wife would not take his surname after she found out it literally translates as “sweaty one” in Yiddish
Kenji Batchelor

Partner in Stone King’s education team
Start date: September
Previous role: Partner at VWV law firm
Interesting fact: Kenji once accidentally landed a solo part in an amateur musical after misunderstanding an invitation to “join the company” – he thought it meant to be a backing singer off-stage (his missed vocation), not in the cast, and felt too embarrassed to pull out.

FEATURED: Teacher pay review board welcomes new additions
A former trust CEO is among four new appointees to the influential body that makes recommendations on teacher pay.
Dr Tim Gilson, a former secondary school head who lead the Athelstan Trust (pictured right), has been appointed to the school teachers’ review body – which provides the government with proposals on teacher pay and conditions each year.
Gilson has also served as a school improvement adviser and Ofsted inspector, and has mentored other heads.
He is joined on the board by Alison MacLeod, a trustee at the Anthem Schools Trust and a member of the Education Development Trust (pictured below left).

The other two new appointees are Josephine Grunwell, chair of Minstead Trust – a charity for adults with learning disabilities – and Lena Levy, head of public health and healthcare covid inquiry lead at the British Medical Association.
The quartet will all serve on the board for three years.
In its remit letter sent in July, the government asked the board to make a multi-year recommendation, advise on whether to reduce salary safeguarding and allow maintained schools to pay bonuses.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson also ordered a review of directed time, which she said is “potentially creating a constraint on schools’ deployment of teachers”.
Your thoughts