Speakers | HMC Spring Conference 2025

Jaideep has been Headmaster of Bristol Grammar School (The Times Parent Power’s Southwest Independent School of the Year 2024) since September 2018. Prior to this he was Deputy Head (Academic) at Marlborough College (2014-2018), Head of Science at The Godolphin & Latymer School (2008-2013), and Head of Physics at Westminster School, where he started his teaching career (in 1998), after a spell in the city with Goldman Sachs.

As a beneficiary of financial assistance to join the Manchester Grammar School as a boy, Jaideep is a passionate advocate of widening access to the life-enhancing opportunities provided by excellent schooling. He was one of the small group of independent and state-sector Heads that set up the Bristol Education Partnership – a cross-city initiative of what is now 17 schools, universities and the city council, working together to improve educational outcomes for pupils across the city.
Jaideep was Chair of HMC’s South West division in 2021-22, and has been their representative on the HMC Communications Subcommittee since 2019. He was, from 2021-2023, HMC’s representative on ASCL Council, during which he was elected onto the selection committee to nominate ASCL Council’s candidate to succeed Geoff Barton as General Secretary.

Jaideep is an inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate, a governor on the boards of the Manchester Grammar School, Bishop Cotton School in India (and from September 2024, St Paul’s School in London). Since March 2023, he has been a Member for the Futura Learning Partnership, a sizeable MAT spanning Bristol and the South West, for whom he was previously a Trustee. He will be HMC Chair in the academic year 2024-25.

Away from education, Jaideep is a microlight pilot, a PADI divemaster, a keen but very mediocre musician and sportsman, and a long-suffering Liverpool fan. He is married to Kerry, and they have two school-aged children, both boys.

Melvyn Roffe is the inaugural Chief Executive of the Clifton College Education Group, based at Clifton College in Bristol. He has twenty-five years’ experience in school leadership roles in England, Wales and Scotland, including Headships of both state and independent schools, leadership of an Academy Trust and a range of governance roles in schools, academies and the FE sector.
Melvyn began his teaching career in the English Department at Oundle School (1986-93) before moving to Monmouth School, first as Head of English (1993-97) and subsequently as Director of Studies (1997- 2001). He was appointed Headmaster of Old Swinford Hospital in 2001 serving for six years before moving to Norfolk as Principal of Wymondham College in 2007. Melvyn was Principal of George Watson’s College in Edinburgh for ten years between 2014 and 2024. Melvyn is one of few school leaders to have been elected to chair both the Boarding Schools’ Association (2008-09) and HMC – The Heads’ Conference (2022-23). He now chairs the HMC Public Benefit and Partnerships Committee.
In September 2025, Melvyn will move back to Wales as Executive Head of Haberdashers’ Monmouth School.

Ali Henderson has been the Chief Executive of Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation (RNCSF) – the UK’s largest bursary charity – since March 2020, having previously led their approach to impact and learning since late 2018. A graduate in Economics from the University of Cambridge, she has twenty years of experience of leading programmes and policies to address social inequality across roles in national charities, central and local government.

Having graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bristol, Marcus undertook the Teach First training programme in 2011 where he trained as a Maths teacher in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Marcus became subject leader before moving to a challenging inner-city school in Derby where he became an Assistant Principal and then Principal in 2016. Having successfully led the school out of special measures, Marcus then became the founding Principal of The Wells Academy in January 2019 where he led the successful demerge from a larger school and led a rapid positive transformation in behaviour, culture and outcomes at the academy, with the academy’s progress score making significant improvements in 2022. Marcus became an Education Director for E-ACT in December 2022 and has a real passion for educational equality and providing the very best platform for students from all backgrounds.

Gordon’s work in cross-sector partnership has been featured in the TES, an All-Party Parliamentary Group report, in national newspapers and has been referenced in both the House of Lords and by Lee Barron MP (Lab) in the House of Commons within the last year. A regular speaker and proponent of mutually beneficial partnerships whose work draws on the expertise of both independent and state school colleagues, Gordon is a respected advocate across both sectors and with local politicians.

In 2018, Gordon became Founding Chair of the OPEN Learning Partnership, a cross-sector partnership in the East Midlands that has grown swiftly to provide over 12,000 opportunities annually. His approach to partnerships has led to formal links with Imperial College London, Swansea University Engineering and the Royal College of Music and is soon to become part of a nationwide Computer Science partnership project. In 2021 he founded ExpertEdLive which has already connected expert speakers with more than 50,000 young people. He has been Chair of Governors of a Primary School, a COBIS and CIS accreditation visitor and an ISI inspector. He is a keen sportsman and Trustee of social mobility charity The Brightside Trust.

Richard started his teaching career in 2001 in Spain and has taught Spanish at Secondary level ever since. He led the MFL Department at Northampton School for Boys before joining United Learning on the Senior Leadership team at Kettering Buccleuch Academy in 2014, first as Assistant Principal and then Deputy Principal in 2016. He took on the position of Interim Principal for a year and a half at Coleridge Community College, Cambridge and returned to KBA as Interim Principal in September 2023. Richard is a founding member of the OPEN Learning Partnership (Oundle, Peterborough and East Northants Learning Partnership). Since its inception in 2018, the partnership has brought together people who share the same motivations for being in education. The core aims are to create opportunities and experiences that challenge students, to raise aspiration and outcomes for all and to share best practice with like-minded professionals. Richard is a keen road cyclist and guitarist.

Emily Gaunt is Principal at Thomas Deacon Academy (TDA), a Year 3 to Year 13 academy with 2400 pupils in central Peterborough. A graduate from Sheffield Hallam University she has worked at TDA since it opened in 2017 following the merger of three local secondary schools. During this time, she has held a wide range of academic, pastoral and STEM focused responsibilities.

Emily is a strong believer that broad and diverse experiences support the development of all children to become the citizens of the future. The best of these experiences is enabled through collaboration and partnerships with other schools and organisations who share the same values and passion.

Thomas Deacon Academy is proud to be one of the founding members of OPEN (Oundle, Peterborough and East Northants) Learning Partnership.

Dr Simon Hyde became HMC’s General Secretary (CEO) in September 2020 following nine years as Head of the King’s School in Macclesfield. Much of Dr Hyde’s career has involved transformational change, not least his leadership of the King’s School’s 2020 vision to relocate the split-site diamond school in one of the country’s largest school improvement projects.

At HMC, Dr Hyde’s tenure has seen root and branch reform of the association’s governance as well as significant structural changes such as the introduction of an education team, the creation of HMC networks for senior leaders, new committees (including Pastoral and Safeguarding and for Public Benefit), a corporate partnership programme and substantial investment in member support. The international division has almost doubled in size and new membership categories have been introduced reflecting the changing nature of HMC’s schools.

The association’s 2030 strategy will build further on these achievements whilst continuing to modernise HMC and improve its offer to Heads and schools. The General Secretary’s vision is for a global community of heads embedded in an association for schools committed to children and young people from all backgrounds.

Dr Hyde read history at Christ Church, Oxford before completing a doctorate on mid-nineteenth-century Prussia. He serves on a number of educational boards including the Independent Schools Council.

Aatif Hassan founded Dukes Education in 2015 and holds positions as Chairman of Cavendish Education and trustee of St James Independent Schools.
He holds a British Army officer commission and was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 2019 for his contributions to education. He is also Chair of Dukes Foundation, trustee of the British Asian Trust and founding trustee of The Queen’s Reading Room.

Munira Wilson is the MP for Twickenham and the Liberal Democrats’ Spokesperson on Education, Children and Families. After a decade working for health and children’s charities, the NHS and global science companies, she was elected to Parliament in 2019.

She is passionate about ensuring children and young people’s needs are at the heart of government policy, and that they are seen as an investment not a cost. Since her election, Munira has campaigned for improvements to children’s mental health services. Her other priorities include widening free school meals eligibility, narrowing the attainment gap and ensuring kinship carers are properly supported.