Mark Woods

Mark began his teaching career as an English teacher at the Deacon’s School in Peterborough. He then moved to become the Second in English at the Jack Hunt School, Peterborough. Mark was then promoted to Head of English at Sawtry Community College in Cambridgeshire. In January 2003, he was appointed as the Vice Principal of Swavesey VC.

From the outset, Mark has demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and continually developing his practice. This was particularly evident in his regular work for the SSAT both as a presenter and a school improvement consultant through the National Challenge and Gaining Ground projects.

It was through the Gaining Ground project that in Easter 2010, Mark was asked by Peterborough City Council and CMET to take on the Interim Headship of the troubled Orton Longueville School (OLS) in Peterborough. A team of Swavesey VC joined Mark at OLS and after four terms of continual, rapid improvement, the rebranded Nene Park Academy became CMAT’s first sponsored academy with Mark as the Principal.

After the tragic loss of his close friend, professional mentor and CEO of CMAT, Martin Bacon, Mark was appointed as the CEO of the Trust to deliver the vision they had established together. Under Mark’s leadership, the Trust has grown from 2 academies to its present size.

Mark has been a member of both the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Schools Forums for several years. He was the Peterborough Secondary Heads’ representative on the board of the Peterborough Pupil Referral Unit for three years. Mark is a trustee of the Peterborough United Foundation which delivers across the 4 themes identified by the Football League Trust and the Premier League of Sports participation, Education, Social Inclusion/Community Cohesion and Health.

Mark is a governor of Woodston Primary School, Peterborough. He is a member of the Whole Education Steering Committee and a qualified peer reviewer. Mark is also CMAT’s representative on the board of the Cambridge Primary Education Trust.

Recently, at the request of the DFE, Mark has supported a number of events for newly founded multi-academy trusts – enthusiastically sharing all of the mistakes he hopes never to make again.