Standard Education Awards: Professional Leader of the Year

Announced at our first Education Awards ceremony on Friday, July 12, with the help of ITV journalist and broadcaster Lucy Meacock, the Best Professional Leader of the Year celebrates the great work by those who oversee and manage some of the best schools in our area.

Setting the standard and ensuring that everyone is pulling in the same direction to give children across Chester and Ellesmere Port the best possible education is an unenviable task but one that many on our patch make look easy.

We too had a difficult task to choose our winner, but all those who were nominated deserve great credit.

Our finalists for Best Professional Leader of the Year are:

• Julie Clayton, Delamere C of E Academy
• Jennifer Davies, St Winefrides Catholic Primary School
• Tom Kearns, Queen’s Park High School

And our winner for the Best Professional Leader of the Year is:

• Julie Clayton, Delamere C of E Academy

Julie Clayton heads to the stage to collect her award. (Image: Simon Warburton)

Speaking to Lucy Meacock, Julie said: “I’m actually quite shocked and have a little bit of imposter syndrome because I’m a very small part of a great team.

“What makes a good leader is actually having a brilliant team behind you.

“I couldn’t be a good leader if I didn’t have an amazing staff and amazing pupils.”

Delamere C of E Academy were also successful last year, with Flynn Cartwright winning Primary School Pupil of the Year.

Julie added: “We had a pupil last year who won Primary Pupil of the Year and we work incredibly hard as a team to make sure that we do the best we possibly can for the children.”