
Senior Leadership Team
Our Senior
Leadership Team
Our dedicated SLT are here to make sure that students are able to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations during their time at John Leggott College.
At John Leggott College, our Senior Leadership Team plays a key role in shaping the vision, strategy, and daily running of the college. With a focus on student success, high-quality teaching, and a supportive learning environment, they lead by example and are committed to ensuring every learner has the opportunity to thrive. Each member of the team brings a wealth of experience and expertise in education, and together they work to maintain our strong reputation for academic excellence, pastoral care, and innovation.

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Ready to learn more about John Leggott College? Here are some things you might be interested in.

Leon Riley
Principal
As Principal, my role is to ensure that all aspects at John Leggott College are outstanding. I am lucky to be the custodian of one of the oldest and most successful Sixth Form Colleges in the country. I am committed to ensuring that the learners who come to John Leggott College are equipped with the keys to their future success, from strong academic results to providing them with opportunities to develop themselves as individuals.

Claire Haller
Deputy Principal
As the Deputy Principal, my role is to ensure all aspects of the college function in an outstanding manner. I operate an open door policy for staff, students and parents. Student success is of the utmost importance to us and we have made it our mission to ensure all students progress onto positive destinations after college. John Leggott College is an inclusive college and we tailor support to suit individual needs. Within my role I am also the Child Protection Lead and I oversee the safety and well being of all students.

Howard Darwin
Assistant Principal
As Assistant Principal - Special Operations, I have a very varied role working on projects and reports in key and current areas of need for the college. I help to train and mentor emerging managers and also advise on sector issues such as college performance measures or inspection. I enjoy teaching alongside this role, with a specialism in A Level Physics.

Nathan Daniel
Assistant Principal
As the Assistant Principal for Pastoral and Progression, my role is to oversee the personal development, behaviour and attitudes and positive progression of our whole student body. My role oversees the bespoke Personal Tutorial experience, alongside careers advice, work experience, our extended curriculum and learner Progression. Working closely with the Pastoral and Progression teams and my Senior Leadership colleagues enables us to ensure that the individual needs of our learners are understood and provided for, resulting in vibrant college culture and extremely positive progression for our learners.

Jamie Watkinson
Assistant Principal
As Assistant Principal, my role is to support our entire staff body to support students to achieve their full potential whilst studying at JLC. I work closely with our curriculum teams to ensure that the quality of education meets the needs of our students, through utilising data to inform strategy and quality assurance to working with our managers and leaders on our quality improvement strategies. I recognise that a personalised approach to learning is what helps our students progress and succeed, through overseeing our Vocational provision and SEND learners, I work closely with our staff teams to ensure this happens.

Rob Woodgate
Assistant Principal
As Assistant Principal, my role is to work closely with our curriculum teams to ensure the quality of education is outstanding for all of our students. Alongside other members of the Senior Leadership Team, my focus is on ensuring that our teachers across all levels of experience continuously develop to maximise our student outcomes. At JLC we have an open access ethos, welcoming a wide range of students into our college - by overseeing our International provision, I am able to ensure our diverse student body are supported and succeed.

Phill Dalowsky
Director of Academy Development
As Director of Academy Development I lead on partnerships with other schools with a view to them working closely within a network that drives school and community opportunities.
Working across the SLT team partnerships have become wide ranging and have included the local authority, enrichment progression and an elite pathway, curriculum management of subject areas and Turing opportunities for JLC students through international trips.

Katy Adkin
Executive Assistant
As the Executive Assistant primarily to the Principal, I provide high level administrative and organisational support; managing schedules, co-ordinating meetings and events and serving as a vital link between the Principal and internal/external stakeholders. I also assist the Deputy Principal and provide support to the wider senior leadership team as necessary.
I play a critical role in supporting the college’s leadership and strategic initiatives and feel privileged to be in a role that helps to shape young people’s lives.

Mike Hall
Director of Finance
As Director of Finance and Resources, I am responsible for ensuring that the college operates on a strong financial foundation, while also overseeing the strategic management of our estates, IT, and support services. My role is to make sure that every resource we invest in contributes to creating the best possible environment for our students and staff.
I work closely with the Senior Leadership Team to align our financial planning with the college’s long-term goals. Whether it’s developing sustainable budgets, improving our facilities, or enhancing digital infrastructure, my focus is always on supporting student success.