Clare is Head of Academy21, an alternative online provision for vulnerable youngsters, and is passionate about improving the life chances of students for whom mainstream schools are not working. This provision is fully online, focuses on a narrow curriculum comprising of the core subjects and some humanities and ICT courses: it is a key 21st Century area of educational development, particularly since the pandemic. She manages an outstanding team of teachers and liaises with the management team at their online sister school, King’s Interhigh. Her aspiration is to give every Academy21 student a chance for success whatever their life story has been.

Clare has degrees in modern languages, artificial intelligence and TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) and has taught a wide variety of students, both as a secondary school teacher in Derbyshire and Sheffield and as a senior lecturer and teacher trainer at Sheffield Hallam University.