Mark Taitt

Based in the heart of the diplomatic area of New Delhi, The British School New Delhi is an oversubscribed, self-funded not-for-profit school with a proud 60 year history, serving mostly embassy families and the international community. The current student strength is 1350 from EYFS through to Year 13. The curriculum is based upon an adapted national curriculum for England, Cambridge IGCSEs and the IB Diploma. Successes include:

• IBDP Lead Evaluator
• Successfully leading both Primary and Secondary phases during a turbulent period
• Deemed by the Global Schools Index in 2024 as one of the top three private schools across the whole of India and one of the top five best private schools across South Asia.
• IBDP results moved from 33 to 37, with students regularly achieving the top score of 45 points.
• More than $1 million worth of university scholarships repeatedly achieved
• Regular admissions to Oxbridge and Ivy League universities, including 100% success rate for offers to top three student university choices

IAT has many campuses across the UAE. It was the largest Emirati school in Abu Dhabi providing education to over 1500+ Emirati boys aged 13-19. The campus holds two schools;

• ATHS – An academic AP style curriculum
• STS – A vocation-based curriculum.

Key successes were:

• Improved the quality of teaching from Satisfactory to Very Good as judged by ADEK
• Lead school for Abu Dhabi in national events and cultural programmes
• School success in World Skills 2017 and Emirate Skills 2017.
• Developed a whole school flipped-learning programme.
• Continued improvements in IELTS and SAT scores
• Trained and Proficient in AdvanceED Accreditation

• Challenge Partners supports schools facing significant issues around Leadership, Teaching and Learning, Student Behaviour and staffing issues.
• The secondment was providing opportunity to consider and have exposure to the Executive Headship route through:
• Supporting schools going through academisation
• Offering additional leadership capacity to existing Principals

Since 2009, Prince William School had a legacy of significant underachievement with Value Added scores consistently deemed significantly low and expected level of progress scores well below national expectations. During my time at Prince William School we achieved the following:

• Planning and execution of the move from three tier to two tier in 2015 through working closely with a number of middle and lower primary schools, the local authority and the DfE
• Significantly improved GCSE outcomes and VA to well above national averages
• Reduced an inherited deficit budget to be fiscally sound
• Managed 26 new additional staff and 750 new students new to school as part for two tier transition whilst continuing to improve student outcomes
• Developed a £14mil building works project

As part of my leadership development, I was given the opportunity to support Whitely Academy, an outstanding school, as Associate Principal whilst the main Principal transitioned to Executive Headship. Whitley Academy was an inner-city school in Coventry School with 40% disadvantaged students.

• Continued the school’s improvements in teaching and outcomes, whilst gaining experience in all facets of headship. Key learning was how to develop working relationships rapidly and how to lead a school with many challenging students.

As a National Support School (NSS) I was needed to work as part of a senior team one or two days a week to provide additional capacity in different schools. An important part of this work was the need to develop relationships quickly. During this time I helped two schools in Nuneaton amalgamate to become a single sponsored academy; secured middle leadership for Maths and Science, providing an exit strategy for the Head of Maths; and helped drive systems leadership to achieve some of the best results in the school’s history.

Working with a recognised outstanding SLT and IEB (Ofsted 2008 and TES 2009 Awards), we moved a school of nearly 1200 students and 150 staff, in very challenging circumstances, out of an Ofsted category after nearly seven years, to a good with many outstanding features.

On joining the school, The College High School was federated with Hamstead Hall and an Executive Headteacher put in place. Through a collaborative partnership the school achieved the highest results.

Yardleys Science College was one of the first privately funded developments, through the PPP scheme. I was on the Fast Track Teacher programme and because of this was promoted to Deputy Director for the Science College.

RMAS is a prestigious establishment and has had some of the world’s best leaders through its doors. In completing the 44 week course to gain a commission, a number of highly intensive situations are experienced. The effect of these experiences allowed me to understand the need to have determination, always have a contingency plan, no matter what it may look like on the ground look strategically and live by the motto ‘Serve to Lead’.