Judith Sischy Obe

Judith has worked in education and charitable work throughout her career. She is a graduate in modern languages from the universities of Bristol and Toronto, where she began her teaching career. On moving to Edinburgh, she taught French and moved into education management. In 1990 she became the first chief executive of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) and oversaw its successful development until she stepped down in 2010. She served on the Scottish Qualifications Authority Advisory Board, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, the Government’s Curriculum for Excellence Management Board and other public education-related bodies.

For many years, Judith has been a dedicated volunteer, and is a qualified tutor of adult literacy and numeracy, working with disadvantaged Edinburgh communities. She was a member of the Appointments Committee of the General Teaching Council for Scotland until 2014; the Court of Queen Margaret University until September 2016; a public interest member of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants for Scotland until April 2017; and is currently a member of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities in Scotland. She is a mentor for voluntary organisations and works for a number of charitable bodies in Scotland and abroad.