Patrons

The role of our Patrons is a purely honorary one of individuals who are willing to support our vision and mission as an innovative, internationally minded, maintained boarding and day College.

Gill Collinson

Gill Collinson is Director of Strategy and Partnerships at STEM Learning Ltd., an organisation which aims to empower young people with the skills and knowledge to thrive through effective teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  STEM Learning provides a range of support across the UK through its flagship National STEM Learning Centre at York and wider Network of high-quality partners.

As a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Gill has many years of experience within the public and private sector in senior leadership and technical management roles. Earlier in her career, she worked in the energy, engineering and manufacturing industries in the UK with companies including Philips, Rolls Royce and Siemens.

Gill is an active Trustee of the Energy Saving Trust Foundation, the charitable arm of Energy Saving Trust which was established in 2014. The Foundation shares Energy Saving Trust’s mission to address the climate emergency, focusing on supporting the UK to meet the 2050 carbon targets recommended by the Committee for Climate Change.

Gill’s key areas of expertise include strategic and operational leadership, stakeholder engagement and business development.

Will Hutton  

Will Hutton is a political economist, author and columnist. He is currently an associate of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, a Non-Executive Director of the Satellite Applications Catapult and writes a fortnightly column for the Observer. 

As one of the leading economics commentators in the country, Will is regularly called on to advise senior political and business figures and comment in the national and international media, recently reviewing pay equality for the BBC. He began his career in the City before moving to the BBC, becoming Economics Editor for Newsnight, then Economics Editor of the Guardian. He spent four years as Editor-in-Chief of The Observer and was Chief Executive of The Work Foundation from 2000 to 2008.

Will has chaired two government Commissions – one on Public Sector Pay for the Coalition government in 2011 and one on the Creative Industries for the Labour government in 2007. He has co-founded or chaired four think tanks (the Employment Policy Institute, the Work Foundation, the Big Innovation Centre and the Purposeful Company). His many best-selling books include ‘The State We’re In’ (1996), ‘Them and Us’ (2011), ‘How Good We Can Be’ (2015) and most recently with Andrew Adonis ‘Saving Britain’ (2018).

Prof René Koglbauer 

René Koglbauer is Professor of Professional Learning and Leadership at Newcastle University, whose scholarly work focuses national and international education policy, with a specific focus on language policy, leadership and professional learning. 

In June 2019, René took up a university-wide leadership role as Dean of Lifelong Learning and Professional Practice. He leads the University’s lifelong learning strategy, including our growing apprenticeships and CPD provision as well as the University’s approach to addressing the skills challenge.

For his work in higher education, he was made a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2017 (SFHEA). In addition, he has been made a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). In Summer 2022, he received a Certificate of Thanks for his commitment and contribution to international language policy from the Internationale German Teacher and Lecturer Association (IDV) at the University of Vienna (René's Alma Marta). 

Externally, René is currently UK's first representative to the Internationale Deutschlehrerinnen und Deutschlehrer Verband (IDV), a member of the British Academy Language Advisory Group, trustee and chair of the management board of the Association for Language Learning, of which he was president from 2014-2016). Furthermore, René is Vice-Chair of the Governing Board at Castle View Enterprise Academy. 

David Lloyd Jones

David is an architect and environmentalist. Global research and findings in the late 1970s alerted him to the negative impact of conventional building design and construction on our environment and climate. David has spent much of his professional career designing green demonstration projects, presenting papers, participating in international research programmes, writing books, proselytising for greater care of our planet, and advocating for a reassessment of priorities and imaginative design. Frustrated by the slow progress towards a regenerative future he looked to those that will be most affected, school children, and to find a way to help them channel their concern for the future through design initiatives into positive proactive activity. He is a founding member and chair of the charity Climate Change All Change.

Linda Lloyd Jones MBE 

Linda was the Head of Exhibitions at Victoria and Albert Museum for 30 years.  She was awarded an MBE for Services to British Culture in 2019.

Linda is the Honorary Officer of the charity Climate Change All Change, assisting with governance and administration. Having had the good fortune to be in the company of artists and designers throughout her career Linda has seen first-hand the impact of ethical and beneficial design on our environment. As today’s children will inherit a world very different to the one her generation knew, it is imperative to equip them to take on the climate challenge in a positive and agentive way.

Professor Daniel Muijs 

Professor Muijs is an expert in quality of teaching and leadership in schools, educational policy, and accountability. He has worked at universities in England, Belgium and the Netherlands, and at Ofsted.

Professor Muijs is an expert in educational effectiveness with research interests on the quality of teaching and leadership in schools, school improvement, educational policy, and accountability.

He joined Queen’s University Belfast as Head of the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work in September 2022.

Previously he has worked at universities in the Netherlands, Belgium and England (Warwick, Exeter, Newcastle, Manchester, Southampton). From 2017 to 2021 he was the head of research and evaluation at Ofsted, so has practical as well as theoretical knowledge of accountability in education.

William Troost-Ekong

William Troost-Ekong was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and a Nigerian father. William followed in his sister Emily’s footsteps, joining Hockerill in 2005 to start year 7. It was their fathers dream for his children to have a British secondary school education.

Whilst adapting to the English language and academic life, William tried out a range of activities and sports. Nothing compared to the passion he felt for football. It became clear that becoming a professional football player was his ultimate dream

Once Williams GCSEs and A-level German were completed, at age 16, receiving offers from several teams, he decided to sign for Tottenham Hotspur’s academy.

His football career took him on a journey through 6 countries before returning to England in the Premier League playing for Hertfordshire based Watford FC. Representing Nigeria on the world stage winning a bronze medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics and 2019 African cup of Nations. Participating in the Russia 2018 World Cup and most recently leading Nigeria to the 2023 African cup of Nations final receiving the silver medal and Player of the Tournament. Accumulating 75 international caps the now Captain of Nigeria continues his club pilgrimage playing in the Saudi Arabian Pro league. A proud father of 3, he is the founder of the Troost-Ekong Foundation whose mission it is to create opportunities for less privileged children in Nigeria through education and sport.