North East education chief and former Hartlepool headteacher calls time on 50-year career
A well-known former Hartlepool headteacher has called time on a career spanning over 50 years.
Andy Brown OBE has taught in schools across the region including 21 years as headteacher of West View Primary School in Hartlepool.
He is the currently CEO of Ad Astra Academy Trust which he founded in 2015 and has ten primary schools across Hartlepool, Teesside, County Durham, all of which are rated “good” by Ofsted.
He has helped to shape education policy at a national level including as chair of the Government’s Primary Headteacher’s Reference Group.
But Mr Brown has announced he is to retire next year.
The married father of two children and four grandchildren said: “I am very fortunate to have worked for such a long time, and I’ve met many wonderful people over the years.
“Being a teacher and working in education provides an opportunity to influence young people and set them on the right pathway in life and this is what has given me the most satisfaction.
“I’m very proud of all of the schools I have been involved with over the years; the people, the children and communities that they serve, and I am going to miss this incredibly, but I am looking forward to supporting my successor as they start their role.”
Born in Darlington, Mr Brown’s teaching career started in Leeds in 1975. He then taught in Marske, Guisborough, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.
Accredited as a National Leader of Education and former Ofsted Inspector, he has been a regular visitor to Downing Street.
In 2015, he received a Silver Award at the Teaching Awards Headteacher of the Year in England and Wales.
Mr Brown will retire next August, and the process to find his successor is already under way. Richenda Broad, chair of Ad Astra Academy Trust, said: “He will be missed by not just Ad Astra, and on a personal basis by me, but the whole school community in the North-East and Teesside in particular.”
In retirement Mr Brown, an avid Darlington FC supporter, said that he is looking forward to spending more time with his family and playing more golf and tennis.