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Chief Executive Officer Central Foundation Schools of London

We are looking for an effective and influential leader, who can motivate and deliver impactful change, and develop our networks and connections for the benefit of our schools.

• Location: Old Street, London (0.8 FTE four days a week, at least three days a week on site)

Who we are

The Central Foundation Schools of London charity was established in 1863. The original vision – to provide an extended education for all students in the community – remains at the heart of the Foundation’s purpose.

Today, we’re proud to support two fabulous schools: Central Foundation Boys’ School in Islington and Central Foundation Girls’ School in Tower Hamlets.

Over the past decade, we have helped both our schools fund a significant redevelopment of their sites, ensuring that their students benefit from exceptional facilities and that the schools can take on more learners.

We have also undertaken an NCVO Governance review and hired our first-ever Chief Executive Officer (CEO). We are currently investing in a new student opportunities programme to widen our students’ access to the support and connections they need to make informed study choices and kick-start their careers.

About the role

As we have grown, our ambitions to support our schools have also grown, and we know that there is so much more we can still do and develop to support our two schools. We are exploring the idea of further and deeper collaboration with our two schools to help provide greater opportunities for students and more cost-effective services benefiting our schools.

We need a CEO who can take the Board and Schools through this significant strategic journey, including leading on the feasibility mapping of this process, providing the business planning and turning any agreed plans into reality.

We’re poised at a pivotal moment in our journey and seek a CEO who can catalyse our next phase of growth and impact.

You will be an inspirational and collaborative leader with the vision and experience to expand our charitable activities, explore new services and operations for our schools, and deepen the value we offer beyond funding alone.

Who we are looking for

You will be:

• Visionary and strategic – able to translate ambition into a clear roadmap for transformation, setting bold goals and guiding colleagues through change.
• Inspirational and collaborative – a people-focused leader who unites staff, governors and partners around a shared mission, building trust, enthusiasm and accountability.
• Educationally minded – experienced in developing or scaling services in schools or related settings, with a creative approach to meeting evolving needs.
• Impact-driven – relentless about measuring outcomes, learning from data, and continuously refining our offer for maximum benefit to young people and communities.
• Network-builder – skilled at forging and nurturing relationships across the public, private and third sectors to unlock new opportunities and resources.
• Commercially aware – comfortable with budgeting, income diversification and social enterprise models to underpin sustainable growth.
• Values-led – committed to operating with integrity, transparency and care, and to championing equity and inclusion in every aspect of our work.

If you’re ready to motivate a high-performing team, deliver transformative change and build on our proven success, we would love to hear from you. We wish you every success with your application.

For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

If you would like to know more about this role please contact Bill Yuksel

Thank you for your interest in becoming the Central Foundation Schools of London’s next Chief Executive Officer. We are delighted that you are considering joining us at what is an exciting and pivotal time for our charity.

The Foundation supports two state schools in inner London – the Central Foundation Girl’s School at Bow Road and the Boy’s School based at Old Street. The ethos of both schools, which has persisted since our founding in 1863, is the provision of an excellent education for all, regardless of background.

Over the last five years, we have been through a major transition covering our processes, our people, our investment approach and the development of our board and governance processes, all whilst overseeing significant investments in the infrastructure of both schools. Led by Sarah Gosling, our first Chief Executive Officer, we established a formal 3-year strategy and have developed new, stronger relationships with both schools. Eighteen months in, we are making progress at a rate faster than we had imagined possible.

We are now at a critical point in this journey, and – building on Sarah’s achievements – we are looking for a new Chief Executive Officer to lead the next stage of our strategic transformation.

We need someone who will bring inspirational and collaborative leadership; someone who possesses the experience to lead the development of our charitable activities, potentially including the provision of new services and operations to our schools. We know we have more to offer than funding, and the success of our first strategy has given us the confidence to stretch ourselves.

In short, we are looking for an effective and influential leader who can motivate and deliver impactful change, and develop our networks and connections for the benefit of our schools. If this excites you, we would love to hear from you and wish you every success in your application.

Stephen Brown
Chair, Board of Trustees

About Central Foundation Schools of London

Our Vision

‘Through an exceptional Central Foundation education, every student learns, develops, and grows so they can reach their full potential.’

Central Foundation Schools of London (CFSL) is an educational charity established by Rev. William Rogers in the City of London in 1863. Today, the Foundation supports two London schools, Central Foundation Boys’ School in Islington and Central Foundation Girls’ School in Tower Hamlets.

Both Central Foundation Boys’ School and Central Foundation Girls’ School are voluntary-aided schools. This means they are state-funded and that a foundation or trust, in our case The Central Foundation, makes a financial contribution to certain aspects of the school’s running (for example, the building costs) and has a role in strengthening the education provision and outcomes of the schools.

Our mission

We believe that the structure of a voluntary school gives us a framework to deliver a uniquely brilliant education, working in partnership with our schools’ staff and governing body, generous donors, local companies, supporters and the relevant local authorities. By leveraging our skills, funding and influence, we will collaborate with our schools and partners to strengthen their education provision and outcomes, their governance, funding, and infrastructure.

How we support the schools

The Foundation works closely with both schools to help all students thrive. As the owners of the school estates, the Foundation is a careful custodian of the schools’ physical spaces. We have supported major building projects on both school sites to create sensitively designed environments in collaboration with students and staff that encourage students’ creativity and passion for learning.

The bursaries and grants we’re able to make have a huge impact in preparing our students for future working life. Alongside initiatives like mentoring and work experience, this means that students benefit from a fully rounded education that stretches far beyond the classroom.

We are equally passionate about the support we give to activities beyond the curriculum, including the recently launched Central Baccalaureate at the Boys’ School, and the extensive Central Plus programme for the Girls’ School. Funding through the Foundation supports a range of experiences from musical instruments, sports opportunities, access to a wide range of visits and events, and funding to ensure all students have access to a rich, creative and cultural life.

You can read more about some of the current projects we support here .

How we are funded

The Foundation has a strong financial position and has four distinct income streams. We’ve included a summary of the main sources below.

The Dulwich Estate is a registered charity established by its founder, Edward Alleyn, in 1619 to offer educational opportunities to disadvantaged children. The Foundation’s relationship with the Dulwich Estate was started by Rev William Rogers, about whose work you can read more here.

Today, the funds from the Dulwich Grants are a critical part of the annual funding for both schools.

Some recent examples of how we’ve used this money to enrich our students’ experiences include helping towards the cost of eight music tutors, which has increased the Boys’ School’s already exceptional music provision. At the Girls’ School, we were able to use the Dulwich Grant to onboard two Teach First candidates and provide them with the training necessary to qualify. Recruiting quality staff is increasingly difficult across the education sector, so this initiative has been essential in maintaining our high educational standards.

2. Foundation Endowments and Funding

The Foundation has been fortunate to receive a number of endowments throughout its history. In recent years, we have been given permission to sell land and property owned by the Foundation but no longer used directly by either school. This has enabled us to make major investments in the estate at each school. We set our wider financial strategy for spending the capital, where permitted, and interest from our endowment in accordance with our governing document. We use the income from our prizes and bursaries endowment every year to provide bursaries for individual students and to fund student prizes and awards. Some of the most rewarding moments in the school year include the annual prize giving at the Girls’ School and Founder’s Day at the Boys’ School, where we recognise and celebrate our students, and this is made possible by our endowment.

Major building projects have been a fundamental part of the Foundation’s support to both schools in recent years. We are incredibly proud of the extensive redevelopment and refurbishment of the Boys’ School, and are excited about the planned works at the Girls’ School. You can read more about both these brilliant projects on our news and stories page here.

3. Legacies and Gifts

We’ve been fortunate that some of our past students have left us generous legacies and donations.

These include The Bendy Fund, created in 1999 by a legacy from former Boys’ School student Wilfred Bendy and his wife. Wilfred was passionate about STEM subjects, and this is reflected in how we can use his legacy. To date, some of this has been spent on re-equipping the Boys’ School science labs, and for science prizes at the Boys’ School to where spending the legacy is restricted.

In 2005, former student, governor and trustee of the Girls’ School Irene Buckman, made a generous donation to the Foundation. This now forms an endowment, the income from which is specifically for girls who go on to higher education. Irene, who was an ardent supporter of women’s education, was born in the east end where her parents ran a sweet shop and won a state scholarship to University College London from the Girls’ School.

4. Donations and Grants

Grants from companies and grant makers, and Individual donations allow the Foundation to extend the support available to our two State schools working in the heart of inner London communities. We collaborate with our Schools to raise funds for specific projects, to expand the extra-curricular programmes, further develop the schools’ facilities or support student welfare.

To find out more or donate to our current fundraising appeal to raise £150,000 to transform the Girls’ School’s sixth form outdoor and rooftop spaces, click here.

To get in touch to discuss other support or to make a donation, contact us here .

Our three-year strategy

We are excited and ambitious for the Foundation’s future and that of all the students we support. Over the course of our 2024 – 2026 strategy, we’ve identified five core objectives:

• Enhancing our support to students:
  • To work with the Schools to give students access to more opportunities, funding and support.
• Creating long-term impact:
  • To support the Schools in strengthening their educational outcomes for all students.
• Building a sustainable Foundation:
  • To create a robust plan to ensure the Foundation can continue to benefit the schools and students it supports for the next 50 years.
• Excellence in governance:
  • To create exceptional leadership and performance at Governing Body and Foundation Board level.
• To establish the right people, budgets, process and office requirements to deliver the new strategy.

You can read more about how we are delivering our strategy here .

Learn more about Central Foundation Schools of London

We understand that different members of the community have different access needs and have made some modifications to the way we do business to accommodate people from diverse communities and abilities.

Our accessibility provisions include:

• Step-free access to the building, all key meeting rooms and bathrooms, and an accessible workstation.
• Accessibility dogs are welcome.
• Papers and materials can be presented in different formats.
• Working patterns and locations can be adjusted.

Access: There are lifts between levels enabling navigation to all parts of the building. Note that currently, access to the Foundation office would be via the outside courtyard and the lift. Arrangements would be made with the Premises to ensure access is available at all times when Foundation staff are on the premises

Reasonable Adjustments: Working hours/days are subject to agreement with each staff member. Hybrid working and the provision of a laptop or other adjustments are available. Both current staff members and the clerk to the Board have access to hybrid working options and have agreed on individual working patterns to suit the Foundation’s needs and balance their personal situations. Laptops are provided for all staff to facilitate remote and flexible working.

EDI: People Committee track EDI for the Board. EDI policy in place.

Applicants with a disability are invited to contact us in confidence at any point during the recruitment process to discuss steps that could be taken to overcome operational difficulties presented by the role, or if any adjustments or support are required regarding the recruitment process.

For further information or to organise a conversation, please contact our advising consultantat Peridot Partners:

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For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:

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Timetable

Closing date: 9 a.m. Friday 1st August 2025
Screening interviews: Thursday 7th August and Friday 8th August 2025 (Virtual)
First stage interviews: TBC
Second stage interviews: TBC

We are in the process of confirming interview dates. Once confirmed, we will update the site and contact those who have applied.

Peridot and Central Foundation Schools of London are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions.We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout, and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.

The information will be treated confidentially and anonymously and will help us to support our commitment to fair recruitment practice. All information provided will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with anyone, in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 launched on 25 May 2018.

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