Peter has a wide level of experience as a Trustee. He is also Chair of Medway’s School Forum, which is the vehicle that the authority use to distribute cash from Central Government, and this gives him a very practical insight into the finances of schools as well as the authority. Peter is Chair of Medway Youth Trust, which aims to transform young people’s life chances through IAG and training. As a final note he is Chair of a local Charity called Halpern Charitable Foundation which is focused on the promotion of arts within the community. Peter works as a Business Consultant and as such has excellent financial and auditing skills, HR management and Business Development expertise enabling him to provide robust strategic leadership and challenge.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• Safeguarding

Mark Gedye has worked in the printing and publishing industry for over 30 years in general management, commercial, project management, consultancy and marketing roles. He has experience in all forms of business change, e-commerce, publishing, data and project management. He enjoys developing, testing and implementing solutions, data management and processes to improve profitability, productivity and accountability. Mark provides objective views and advice based upon his commercial and personal experience, on governance, constitutional and procedural matters. He has three adult children, a primary school teacher, another works in procurement for a major retailer and a trainee optician who has ADHD, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia which helps in his understanding at Bradfields Academy and Fortis Trust.

Nick was a Governor at Bradfields Academy for two years before becoming a Member.

He has worked at C Brewers, a decorating merchant, for over 40 years, working as a seller and buyer and as a warehouse supervisor. He brings the following knowledge and skills to the Trust: good commercial awareness, strong work ethic, and ability to understand our apprenticeship scheme and give valuable insight. He holds the board to account and evaluates the effectiveness of their work.

Nick also enjoys photography in his spare time and is passionate about the arts and diversity that we offer at Fortis Trust. He is a fervent supporter of Bradfields Academy’s dramatic endeavours and has been known to act as the photographer during Bradfields Prom.

Elizabeth has been a Parent Governor of Balfour Junior Academy for 4 years, before becoming a Member of the Fortis Trust and is now a co-opted governor as her children have moved on from the school.

She has been a Local Councillor for Medway Council since 2019, representing Strood Rural. Within her role at the council, Elizabeth sits on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Children and Young People. She is the mother of four children. Her youngest son had complex needs and used to attend Abbey Court Special School. Elizabeth is passionate about speaking up for children, especially those that may struggle to have their own voice heard for whatever reason.

In her spare time Elizabeth enjoys country walks, reading, cooking and especially eating a Sunday Roast.

John taught English, History and RE in a Kent high school before becoming a primary teacher. He has been headteacher of five primary schools in Kent and Medway, ranging from a tiny village school in the heart of the North Downs to a large and popular CE Junior school in Rainham. His last headship was of a large Margate primary school, which he led out of special measures and opened a new-build nursery.

Since then he has worked in education consultancy in a number of national contexts. As a headteacher and subsequently, he inspected for Ofsted for 17 years and as an Anglican S48 inspector for 25 years. He is currently responsible for the S48 inspection of the Association of Sikh Schools. He has been involved in initial teacher training since the inception of employment-based routes, including recent work as Senior Primary Tutor for a large ITT provider. He has now stepped down from that role but remains involved in ITT. He is the organisation’s RE lead and an assessor for the RE Quality Mark.

John lives in Maidstone, where he and his wife are governors of a local primary school. He was a Lay Reader in the North Downs and currently assists with aspects of playing music and leading in a local Anglican church.

Marie is CEO of Fortis Trust and Executive Principal overseeing Bradfields Academy and our Specialist Post 16 Institution Forward2Employment.  Marie is also the Trustee for Training & Development and Rights Respecting Schools Award Liaison.

Marie has worked in education for over 15 years, working in both Primary and Secondary mainstream provisions, and providing school improvement support across the South East as SSAT Lead Practitioner before joining the Bradfields Academy family in 2011 as part of the Senior Leadership team. Prior to gaining her teaching qualifications, she worked as a Press & Marketing Officer for Unicorn Children’s Theatre, in London.

Marie feels extremely privileged to lead the Trust as she gets to ensure that the children, young Adults and staff can excel in a fully supportive environment which values all. She passionately believes in ensuring all children and young deserve outstanding education and support and supported on their journeys into adulthood.

Marie is mum to three children, Katie, Adam and Millie. Marie believes in always being a learner and as such is currently studying for her National Professional Executive Leadership Qualification, having already gained a Masters Degree in Effective Learning and the NPQH. These enable her to drive forwards the trust successfully.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• F2E Link
• New Acquisitions

Paul Coyne is a Director and is Chair of the Finance, Staffing and Buildings Committee.

During his career Paul has had various roles both in the UK and overseas working in the publishing, technology and learning sectors. Currently he is Director of the Integrated Learning and Assessment programme for Cambridge University Press and Assessment, an educational publisher.

Paul has a Master’s in Business, a doctorate from the Swiss Management Centre. He is also a Chartered IT Professional (CITP), a member of the British Computer Society. Paul’s extensive business and IT experience positively impact the board’s ability to oversee the development of Fortis Trust.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• Pupil Premium

During Ian’s business life he has worked for a large national retail company (Halfords) where he became a Branch Manager and worked throughout Kent. He then moved into the car dealership trade becoming an IT Manager before moving to a large Land Rover/Jaguar dealership in London as a parts manager.

Following this Ian became self-employed, owning a retail business of his own. Due to his disability, he had to give this up in 2000.  Since then, he has become a Magistrate and has enjoyed this role immensely.

He has been a Governor for over 28 years within Medway and Kent as Vice Chair or Chair at several primary and secondary and SEN schools, including the role of Chair during the creation of a new school.  Currently, as well as Fortis Trust, Ian is also Vice Chair of Ocmat Trust in Kent, a Director of Hadlow Rural Community School and Vice Chair of St John Fisher School.

Whilst undertaking these roles Ian has been involved in the recruitment of a number of Headteachers and other staff selection panels; he has sat on disciplinary committees and undergone over 20 Ofsted inspections, also mentoring other Chairs through the process.

He also became a Mentor with The Prince’s Trust as well as a Trustee for Compaid in Tonbridge. He is trained in restorative justice and has also undertaken training to resolve family matters, as well as becoming a Counsellor in supporting complex families and challenging situations, such as abuse, financial and drug related matters.

On a personal note, Ian has been married to Jackie for 41 years and they have one daughter who has given them the gift of two beautiful granddaughters. Ian has a number of hobbies which include music, photography, reading, cooking, computer work, watching documentaries, as well as just sitting and reflecting on the day.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• CEO/Executive Principal Performance Management Committee Chair
• Outreach Link
• Trustee Support & Monitoring of the Board

Matthew Hull is a Director.  He currently works for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as a project manager for the delivery of the Youth Investment Fund (YIF). He has worked in DCMS and the Civil Service since 2003, taking up a range of roles including project managing Major Portfolio projects, supporting the Coronation and major sporting events, as well as roles on regional devolution and in HR. Matt is a CMI chartered manager and is a member of the Government Project Delivery Profession as a Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Practitioner. He brings a wealth of skills and experience to the board.​

Trustee Responsibilities:

• SEND

Jane has spent her whole working life within the education sector and has held two Head Teacher positions as well as being a qualified SENCO. She has had lots of experience on a variety of governing bodies within the mainstream sector, as staff, community and Head Teacher governor.

Jane is looking forward to learning more about specialist education provision and the Academy sector in her new role as Trustee.

Since retiring from headship in September 2021, Jane has trained to become a dyslexia specialist teacher and dyslexia assessor which she thoroughly enjoys.

Jane has two grown-up daughters and loves spending time with her two grandsons.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• Link Trustee for Local Governing Committee

Andrya has worked in educational operations and finance across Kent and Medway for over twenty years, starting as the Deputy Bursar of a large secondary school in Medway and culminating as Chief Operations and Finance Officer of a primary phase Multi-Academy Trust in Gravesham, Kent.

In 2019, Andrya completed the Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship, in conjunction with the Chartered Management Institute and the University of Gloucestershire, and was awarded a First-Class Honours Degree in School Business Management, a Distinction for the apprenticeship and Chartered Management status from the CMI.

Following a MAT merger, Andrya transferred to an education support company, providing strategic financial management services to educational leadership teams across all phases and sectors.  In addition, Andrya is responsible for the Internal Scrutiny team and the development of internal audit programmes, identifying the client’s compliance risks, and providing guidance and recommendations to the organisation’s governance and executive leaders based on the findings.

Andrya is keen to share her extensive knowledge and experience of the education sector to the benefit of her local community and is excited to join the Fortis Trust Board.

In her spare time, Andrya likes walking and swimming, attending music concerts with her daughter and quiz events with her husband and family.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• Health & Safety

Hilary has been involved with education, both as a teacher, adviser, governor and director for over thirty years.  She has strategic experience of all phases of education and has coordinated a Portage service for birth to 5 years of age.  She is passionate about ensuring that all children receive the support that they need to continually progress in both their academic and wider lives.

Trustee Responsibilities:

• Pay Committee Vice Chair
• Training & Development

If you wish to find out more about joining the Board of Trustees or one of our Local Governing Committees, then please express your interest via the form below.