Central Team
Nick Cross
Chief Executive Officer
Nick is CEO of King’s Group Academies, a fifteen school multi-academy trust. Nick has worked in three MATs and has experience of building capacity and developing high performing teams across organisations. He has introduced systems and procedures which have had a direct impact on outcomes, simultaneously developing the trust’s leadership capacity.
Nick was a National Leader of Education and served as an Ofsted Inspector for over four years.
He is a former Head of an ‘Outstanding’ school. He was written to four times by Ministers of State and the Deputy Prime Minister, congratulating the school on the standards the pupils had achieved; it was regularly the top performing school in the borough at GCSE and A level and it was twice the highest performing school in the country in its category.
He led PiXL6, a national school improvement network of over 600 schools and FE colleges for five years. At these meetings he regularly gave keynote speeches as well as running workshops for Headteachers.
Nick is married to Jane and they have two children.
Sue Collins
Deputy CEO (Finance)
Sue is a Chartered Management Accountant who has been a financial leader in schools since 2000, and in academies since 2011. She joined King's Group Academies in 2017 since when the Trust has grown from two academies to fifteen.
As well as finance, Sue's role encompasses corporate and company secretarial responsibilities and she leads on the Trust's sustainability agenda.
Outside work Sue is involved in music and arts organisations locally, and is a volunteer recording engineer for a talking newspaper.
Sarah Brinkley
Deputy CEO (Education)
Sarah Brinkley is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Education) at King’s Group Academies. She has worked across several multi-academy trusts with substantial experience of senior leadership, including two headships, executive headship and as Director of Secondary Education.
Sarah has served as a local authority advisor for East Sussex, school improvement partner for primary and secondary phases in Derbyshire, Portsmouth, Berkshire, Hampshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, and consultant for creativity in the classroom with the SSAT. She is a serving Ofsted Inspector.
Sarah has a Master’s degree in educational leadership and has extensive experience of coaching headteachers and developing leaders.
Sarah is married to Kevin, and they have three children.
Paul Marks
Estates Director
Paul is currently the Estates Director. He was born in Portsmouth, and gained a qualified trade before moving into management. He has worked in different areas of the country and now has 24 years experience of working within the Education sector, primarily in Further Education. He has been a member of Senior Leadership Teams throughout this time and has overseen and managed estates teams through change over this period.
He has worked on several Estates Capital Projects, predominantly being the client representative and ranging in value from £10K to £10million. The latest being the complete refurbishment of Bournemouth & Poole College
Paul is a married man with three grown up children, who enjoys seeing his children succeed at whatever they do and has been known to participate in the odd game of golf or two.
Lorraine Walsh
Director of People
As Director of People, Lorraine leads on ensuring King’s Group Academies employs, nurtures and retains staff who are passionate about each and every pupil's success. She has worked in HR for 3 decades with 20 years experience of HR leadership in the not-for-profit sector, where she has played an active role in establishing robust safeguarding and pre-employment vetting practices.
In addition to being a chartered member of the Institute of Personnel & Development Lorraine has experience as a governor for an academy in South London that provides specialist education for students with autism and has served as a trustee for a leading safeguarding network for international charities.
Married with three adult sons, she spends most of her spare time cooking and baking with produce grown at the family allotment.
Likhon Muhammad
Director of Secondary Improvement
Likhon Is the Director of Secondary Improvement at King's Group Academies. He has worked across three different multi-academy trusts. As a Headteacher of a variety of challenging secondary schools, he focused on improving outcomes. He received acknowledgement from Ofsted for positively impacting the culture of a large inner London School.
Likhon is a serving Ofsted Inspector. He has experience of working as a leader of the central team of a successful MAT. Before joining KGA, Likhon coached and mentored Headteachers and senior leaders across their secondary schools. He has also served as a school governor. Outside of education, he has taken on roles in the social impact sector, including serving as a non-executive director for a social value organisation.
Likhon has co-chaired longitudinal research on social mobility, conducted by the Employers Social Mobility Alliance. He is a member of the Worshipful Company of Educators and is a Freeman of the City of London.
He is married to Sara, and they have two daughters. In his rare moments away from his family and schools, he's trying to learn golf.
Claire-Louise West
Director of Primary Improvement
Claire-Louise is the Director of Primary Improvement at King's Group Academies and has 30 years experience within education. She has worked in two other MATs, both with Teaching School Hubs in the South East as Regional Director (Primary), Executive Head and Head with experience across Primary, Secondary and Higher Education establishments. Claire-Louise has extensive experience within ITE in two Teaching School Hubs, an HE provider, and as a member of SCITT Quality Assurance Boards. She is most passionate about developing and coaching school leaders, and school improvement.
Claire-Louise is a Trustee Director for another large MAT, chairing their Education Committee. Previously, she was part of a Clinical Commissioning Group in Surrey and a Food Poverty steering party for a Borough Council. She proudly maintains links with the Royal Academy of Dance as staff alumni, and as a member of the Faculty of Education’s Partnership Management Committee.
Claire-Louise is married to Gregory and they have three adult sons.
Laura Phillips
Safeguarding Lead
Laura started teaching in Surrey in 2006 and since then has carried out a range of pastoral leadership roles. Prior to joining KGA, she was a SENCO at a secondary school in Surrey. Laura has worked as a Senior Leader and DSL at King’s Academy Binfield and Oakwood since its opening in 2018. Laura thoroughly enjoys working to support and develop staff; she facilitates the best practice network NPQML and NPQSL courses.
Laura lives in Hampshire with her two children and husband. In her spare time, she enjoys fitness, reading and travelling.
Louisa Loney
Teaching and Learning Lead
Louisa has worked as a Senior Leader at King’s Academy Ringmer since 2017. Previously, she was a Senior Leader at a school in Worthing and has been a Subject Leader for English in schools in both West and East Sussex. Louisa has extensive experience of working in underperforming schools and improving the quality of education and leadership and management. Louisa works as a Specialist Leader of Education across East Sussex supporting schools.
Louisa lives on the coast in East Sussex with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, being outside in nature and travelling.
Sarah Lee
Teaching and Learning Lead
Sarah was Assistant Principal in charge of curriculum and teaching & learning at King’s Academy Binfield and Oakwood. Also, she has served as Director of Communications, overseeing English, Humanities and MFL, and has worked as Subject Leader for MFL in both Berkshire and Leicestershire. Sarah’s passion for languages stems from childhood holidays to France, and was the driving force behind entering the world of education, with the aim to pass on the same love of languages to her students. Sarah is passionate about the development of both students and staff, and has extensive experience working to raise teaching standards and develop curricula.
Living with her husband and two cats, Sarah spends her spare time gardening, reading and spending time with friends. She also enjoys cooking and is an avid watcher of Masterchef, the Bake Off and anything food related.
Louisa Perkins
International Director
As an educator with 20 years experience both in the UK and overseas, Louisa comes to the role of International Director with a passion for enriching curriculums in ways that enable pupils to become truly global citizens. Following 7 years teaching in London and Surrey, she embarked on a solo around the world trip, which culminated in securing the role as School Development Leader at a British International School in Bangkok, Thailand. The 11 years spent in Asia gave Louisa the perfect breadth of experience required to spearhead KGA’s ambitious programme designed to prepare pupils for living and working in a diverse, multicultural world.
After returning to the UK to be close to family, Louisa worked with the wonderful children and dedicated staff at King’s Academy Northern Parade. She is now excited to be joining the central team to provide pupils across all KGA schools with opportunity and success on a global stage.
Since moving to Portsmouth, Louisa has abseiled the Spinnaker Tower and taken up a new hobby - roller skating. She is a mother to two young daughters and a big, fluffy rescue dog from Thailand called Zephyr.
Fiona Stanton
Lead Governance Professional
Fiona has over 12 years experience as a clerk and governance professional in various schools. She has worked with the LA Governing Services Team in developing support and training for local governors. Over the years, she has been a mentor to local clerks and has been an advocate for the continued professional development of the role.
Fiona lives in Bracknell with her husband and three children.
Headteachers
Chris Harvey
Principal, King's Academy Ringmer
Chris is the Principal of King’s Academy Ringmer, having worked previously as Deputy Headteacher in two Outstanding secondary schools. Chris believes that we have a moral imperative to improve the life chances of all our students, developing the whole child academically, personally and socially. He sees nurturing relationships as being at the heart of school culture, to ensure that the children, staff, parents and the wider community work together to produce well rounded characters.
Chris holds both a Masters in Teaching and the NPQH, and is currently studying for a PhD in Education. Chris is also an advocate of coaching to improve performance, and is also working towards the ILM Level 7 Senior Executive Coaching qualification.
Chris has a strong interest in sport, both as a participator and an observer. He has a desire to explore new countries and cultures, and is hoping to build on the forty two countries visited already. Chris lives in Surrey with his wife and two daughters.
David Littlemore
Executive Principal, King's Academy Prospect and King's Academy Easthampstead Park
David is the Executive Principal of King's Academy Easthampstead Park and King's Academy Prospect.
David is an experienced senior leader and after leaving the health and music industries for education, has always worked in schools facing challenging circumstances, where he has been instrumental in securing rapid and sustained improvements.
Appointed permanent Headteacher at Prospect in January 2020, he has been leading the school on a journey of challenge, renewal and significant positive change, following the school’s mantra of ‘Aspire, Believe, Achieve’. It is David’s firm belief and ambition that King's Academy Prospect will be the number one school within the local community, in terms of attainment, standards and parental choice. He is a strong advocate of partnership working and collaboration with a range of community leaders.
Easthampstead Park joined King’s Group Academies in November 2022 and, following the retirement of the Headteacher, David was successfully appointed to his new role of Executive Principal of both schools from September 2025.
Originally from Cheshire, David now lives in South West London with his family, from where he follows the (mis) fortunes of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
Kathryn Wilden
Headteacher, King's Academy Northern Parade
Kathryn is the Headteacher of School of King’s Academy Northern Parade. She grew up in Portsmouth and has worked in the education sector for over 12 years taking on a variety of roles including Maths Lead, Phase Lead, Deputy Head and the more recent challenge of Head of School.
Kathryn initially graduated from the University of Chichester and worked a sports physiotherapist for a number of years before finding her true calling in education. She started her teaching career in Hampshire before returning home to Portsmouth in 2021.
Kathryn is extremely passionate about creating an inclusive curriculum where all children are valued for their individualities and differences. She believes that facilitating opportunities for children to learn through creativity, including the outdoor environment is pivotal to their success.
Kathryn is a mum to two young boys who keep her on her toes. In the very small amount of spare time she has she enjoys visiting the gym, paddle boarding and running.
Rachel Carlisle
Headteacher, King's Academy College Park
Rachel grew up in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire before moving to Devon where she studied at The University of the South West. She began her teaching career in Hampshire before moving into Portsmouth. After having her family Rachel took a step away from Leadership roles focusing on her children and being the best classroom practitioner she could be.
In September 2020 Rachel became Head of School for Northern Parade infants. After her success in this role, Rachel was appointed as Headteacher at KACP. Exciting times ahead.
Rachel is a keen runner and trains daily with Portsmouth Outdoor Fitness regardless of weather! Living by the sea has also allowed her to enjoy her new found passion - paddle boarding.
Kerri-Anne Leavy
Executive Principal, King's Academy Binfield and King's Academy Oakwood
Kerri-Anne is the Executive Principal of King’s Academy Binfield, a thriving all-through school, and King’s Academy Oakwood, an outstanding primary school. She brings over 14 years of senior leadership experience, including a successful role as a Headteacher, to her role within King’s Group Academies.
Her leadership journey spans all key aspects of school life, including Teaching and Learning, Post-16 education, Curriculum Development, Attendance, Behaviour and Safeguarding. Experience across these areas equips her with a comprehensive and strategic understanding of school improvement and student outcomes.
Kerri-Anne is a principled and authentic leader, guided by a strong moral purpose and a commitment to excellence. Her approach is rooted in high standards, kindness, and compassion. She has been recognised for her outstanding leadership and management, and for creating a positive, inclusive culture where staff and students are supported to thrive. With a BA (Hons) and PGCE in Physical Education, she brings both discipline and enthusiasm to her work, leading by example and fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
She is passionate about nurturing inclusive and aspirational school communities, where students feel safe, valued, and inspired to reach their full potential. A strong advocate for partnership, Kerri-Anne works closely with staff, families, and wider stakeholders to build a shared vision and collective responsibility for success.
Outside of her professional life, Kerri-Anne is a proud mother of two. Much of her time is spent supporting her children in their busy sporting lives — most often on the sidelines of a football pitch, where her energy and enthusiasm continue to shine. She is a lifelong sports enthusiast and a devoted Manchester United fan, with a passion for the game that mirrors her dedication to education and teamwork.
Chris Willis
Head, King's Academy Bay House
Chris is the new Headteacher of King’s Academy Bay House. Chris has worked in several large, successful London schools. He believes we have a moral duty to enhance the life opportunities of all our pupils by fostering their academic, personal, and social development. Chris views building a strong sense of community through positive relationships as the cornerstone of school culture, ensuring that children, staff, parents, and the wider community collaborate to cultivate well-rounded individuals.
In 2022, Chris was awarded 'Income Innovator of the Year' for securing nearly a million pounds in investment for Gosport and Fareham, leading to the development of the Gosport Community Hub, which was inaugurated by HRH Princess Royal.
A family man with a passion for the great outdoors, Chris is an active member of his local church and has a particular love for Spain, enjoying its rich culture and heritage. He lives in Gosport with his wife and two children, both of whom attend KGA schools.
Georgina Mulhall
Executive Head, King's Academy Gomer & King's Academy Rowner
Georgina is the Executive Headteacher for King’s Academy Gomer and King’s Academy Rowner, bringing over two decades of educational leadership experience across a wide range of settings. With nearly 12 years of Headship and 8 years as an Executive Headteacher, she has a proven track record of school improvement, fostering inclusive learning environments, and delivering high-quality, values-driven education. Notable achievements include Rowner’s journey to an Ofsted 'Good' rating, with elements of 'Outstanding', in October 2022. KA Gomer received two 'outstanding' judgements in their 2025 Ofsted inspection. Their KS2 2025 SATs results were significantly above national average.
Passionate about teaching and learning, Georgina prioritises creativity and academic excellence within a rich, balanced curriculum, equipping children with the skills and confidence to excel. She is also an advocate of active research and has been published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, sharing her team's innovative work in STEM education. Under her leadership, King’s Academy Gomer has gained national recognition, including winning the prestigious TES Team of the Year Award for STEM. Georgina holds a deep appreciation for the arts, as demonstrated by King’s Academy Rowner’s success in Dance Live, with multiple wins over recent years.
Living and working in Gosport, Georgina is deeply connected to her community and enjoys daily walks along Stokes Bay. She balances her professional role with family life as a mum to two active school-aged children involved in sailing and football.
Nige Matthias
Head, King's Academy Lord Wilson
Dr. Nige Matthias is a passionate educator with over two decades of experience in teaching English and school leadership. He holds not only a Masters degree with Distinction in Education, but also a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Southampton.
Committed to furthering educational excellence, he is the only non-university member of the University of Southampton's Leadership, Effective Education and Policy (LEEP) group. He also holds the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers (NPQH) and National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL). He is a regular contributor to the Times Educational Supplement (TES), sharing his insights and experiences with a wider audience.
Away from the classroom, he enjoys spending time with his two teenage sons. This passion for education and nurturing young minds extends to his family life as well.
Kerry Payne
Head, King's Academy Brune Park
Kerry is the proud Headteacher of King’s Academy Brune Park and has been permanently in post since January 2023. When Kerry joined the Hampshire cluster of schools, she was the Headteacher of King's Academy Rowner. She has worked in Education since 2001, working part-time as a class teacher while studying for her Masters in Education. Following ten years working in Kent and Medway as both a member of school leadership teams and Acting Deputy Headteacher, Kerry returned to her home town of Gosport to be a Deputy Head and then Headteacher. In her (very limited!) spare time, Kerry enjoys being a Mum of two, is an avid reader and can often be found searching for treasure when searching for geo-caches.
Catherine Forrester
Head, King's Academy Meadow Vale
Catherine has been the headteacher at King's Academy Meadow Vale since 2018 and has led 2 other primary schools since 2008. Throughout her career, she has worked in London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire as a primary teacher, as well as supporting Bracknell Forest Council as an Executive Headteacher in two schools.
Catherine is passionate about all aspects of primary education, with a particular interest in curriculum development, and is committed to ensuring that every child gets what they need at school to succeed.
Away from work, Catherine enjoys long walks, travelling, music festivals and quality time with family and friends.