Excalibur Academies Trust has announced the appointment of its new CEO, Nick Lewis, who will take up his new position from September.
This news follows the announcement earlier in the year that current CEO Nicky Edmondson will step down from the role this summer, after six successful years of trust growth and development, to spend more time with her family.
Currently working as the Director of Secondary Improvement for the trust, Nick has also been proud to count the Principal role at the Trust’s Fairfield High School in Bristol, as one of his many senior roles on his journey to this appointment.
Senior leadership at the highest level isn’t new to Nick, as last year he took the role of Interim CEO of Gatehouse Green Learning Trust in the critical year leading to a merger with Excalibur Academies Trust in September 2023, growing Excalibur into a family of 20 academies running along the M4 from Bristol to Reading, and providing excellent education to over 10,000 young people.
With leadership experience across all three key stages, Nick has also worked to support school improvement in a range of settings, he is a National Leadership Advisor for The Careers and Enterprise Company, and is Chair of Schools of Tomorrow, among many other activities which Nick supports to promote best practice, equity, and inclusion in education nationally.
Talking about the appointment, the Chair of Trustees, Toby Watson, said, “Nick has been an inspirational leader within our trust for many years. His passionate belief in the value of high quality education for all, with an acute focus on inclusivity, equity, and the pursuit of excellence, means he is perfectly aligned with the values of our trust, and we are confident he will continue to progress the great achievements of the trust in improving the lives of the young people and communities that we serve”.
Nick describes himself as an “unashamedly optimistic and values driven leader”. Following the appointment Nick said, “I am incredibly happy and proud that I will be leading such a wonderful organisation, working with and for so many incredible young people, and with an exceptional team of professionals who are focussed on providing the best opportunities possible for our students.
“As a family of 20 academies, we are already achieving so much and following the recent merger with Gatehouse Green Learning Trust we now have even more opportunity to provide an inspiring and life-changing education for our students, and professional growth for our staff team.
“As a large trust, the communities that we serve have much in common, but also unique needs that our academies must recognise and serve. It is also important to acknowledge that all of our communities are facing a number of unprecedented challenges at this time, and I am committed to listening and working with each academy community to ensure that our trust has an identifiable and positive impact in supporting every community.
“I have personal experience of the transformational power of education, especially for those from marginalised or disadvantaged backgrounds, and I will carry this passion for equity and fairness with me as I lead the trust into the future.”
Nicky Edmondson, current Chief Executive Officer of Excalibur Academies Trust, added, “I am confident I couldn’t be passing the leadership of the trust into a better pair of hands. Nick is a truly inspirational leader, who already has so much knowledge and experience of the sector. The trust has so many opportunities ahead, and I wish Nick and everyone in the trust a very successful and fulfilling future.”