Independent Schools Conference

David Woodgate was appointed Chief Executive of the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association in May 2016.  Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants from 2007 to 2015 after which he spent a year as the Strategy Consultant to the Institute of Public Accountants in Australia.

David qualified as a Barrister in 1982 following a first degree in Languages (French and Russian), Law and Linguistics.  He moved from the law into the City, holding several senior management and executive positions in the National Westminster Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland – in Strategic Planning, Corporate Finance and latterly as Director of e-Commerce for the corporate bank. He ran an outsourcing business and a specialist internal consultancy providing market intelligence and competitor analysis.

He completed an MBA at Warwick University Business School in 1992 with distinction.  A former Chief Executive of the Institute of Administrative Management, he also holds a postgraduate diploma in Charity Management from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and South Bank University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Banker, a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights. David is also a former Chairman of Governors of an HMC Independent school and is currently a Governor of the City of London School.

Leanne is an accomplished Commercial Director with over eighteen years of proven success in developing and implementing commercial strategies that drive profitability and strengthen value propositions within the independent education sector.

Her career in education began at Repton School, where she established and led a thriving enterprises function, successfully doubling revenue under her leadership. During her 15 years at Repton and drawing on her experience as a former international basketball player and full scholarship athlete in South Carolina, USA, Leanne has also championed widening access to sport for young people from diverse backgrounds, forging impactful partnerships at both local and national levels.

In 2022, Leanne joined Denstone College as Head of Commercial Enterprises, quickly making her mark by driving growth and innovation. Eighteen months later, she was promoted to Director of Operations, where she has led the development of a fresh commercial strategy closely aligned with admissions and marketing. This integrated approach has delivered exceptional results, contributing to both commercial growth and admissions success over the past year.

Dominic is Chief Executive Officer of IAPS, the largest Heads’ association in the
independent prep sector, serving schools in the UK and globally. Prior to this, he was
Chief Operating Officer at United Learning, with responsibilities spanning digital, HR
and marketing for their then 90+ independent and state schools, his experience
leading them through the pandemic capping a decade spent working at scale to
create education-focused services to support school effectiveness. He began his
career as a Year 5 teacher before moving into school leadership roles and time
spent in the private sector.

Liz is co-President Elect of the Chartered College of Teaching and chairs the Finance Risk and Audit Committee. She has been involved with the Chartered College since 2019 as a Fellow and then Trustee. She has taught economics for over 20 years in both maintained and independent sector schools and has an MEd in Educational Leadership and Management. She has been Head of The Maynard since 2022, an all-though girls’ school in Exeter. Previously she has held senior deputy roles with a particular interest in professional development, coaching and evidence-informed practice. She is an accredited Leadership Coach and ISI inspector. Liz has been safeguarding governor for a MAT in the South West since 2019 and has also held leadership positions as a Principal Examiner.

AMCIS is the leading organisation supporting marketing, communications, and admissions professionals in independent schools. With approximately 600 member schools in the UK and internationally, the team provide support through training, events, and connecting members with peers. A powerful community of passionate professionals, driven by wanting to support their schools to thrive – AMCIS provides the space and encouragement for the networking to happen.

Oliver is an alumnus of Pocklington School, in East Yorkshire, and took the role of CEO in June 2025 having worked in the membership sector for ten years.

Dr Spence joined the School Partnerships Alliance as CEO in January 2025. Joe was Master of Dulwich College from 2009 to 2024.  In June 2024 he was awarded Tes Headteacher of the Year (Independent) with his long-standing commitment to partnerships being at the heart of the citation. Under Joe’s leadership, Dulwich developed a number of mutually-beneficial school partnerships, promoted national SCITT programmes and supported Saturday Schools for primary school children in Science, the Arts and Mathematics. Joe has been a governor of more than a dozen state and independent schools and has been a director of the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership since 2015.

A practising teacher, Jonnie Noakes has since 2015 been the Director of a Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning (CIRL) at Eton College. CIRL’s work focuses on pedagogical excellence, evidence-informed practice, research into teaching, learning and leadership in education, and innovation in cross-sector partnerships. He is an expert in character education, with two decades of experience in teaching emotional intelligence and a deep knowledge of boarding education, having been a boarding housemaster for twelve years. As an English teacher, he led two departments concurrently at Eton and at the London Academy of Excellence, a high performing state sixth form, and has published fourteen texts on contemporary novels for A-Level and undergraduate level, designed to cultivate intellectual independence. As the Director of Teaching and Learning at Eton he played a strategic role in developing Eton’s approach to pedagogy for over a decade, promoting a culture of evidence-informed practice and innovation through a rich programme of Professional Development. He is a director of Neuroscience for Education; an editorial board member of the UK Chartered College of Teaching’s journal Impact; and an advisory board member of Rethinking Assessment, a coalition of educators, researchers and business leaders who argue for innovative and fairer assessment for young people. He has been a governor of a number of state and independent schools and a Trustee of the cross-sector United Westminster and Grey Coat Foundation. For five years he was Chair of Governors at Queen Anne’s School in Caversham. Jonnie is a regular speaker and trainer on innovation, evidence-informed practice and the future of education at conferences internationally.

Melissa Farnham is Chief Executive of ASDAN, an education charity and awarding organisation dedicated to helping young people develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to thrive in learning, work, and life. Prior to joining ASDAN, she spent 16 years as an Executive Head across the independent school sector, leading innovation in curriculum design, pastoral development, and whole-school culture. She is passionate about learning that connects academic rigour with real-world purpose and leads ASDAN’s vision for Curriculum DNA, a framework that builds purposeful futures and aligns with the values and freedoms central to independent education.