The principal and chief executive of Chichester College Group, Shelagh Legrave, has been appointed as the next further education commissioner today.
She will take up the post in October and will work with 18 deputies and advisers and the Education and Skills Funding Agency to support and strengthen the leadership and governance of colleges, the government said today. The announcement comes as Ms Legrave’s predecessor, Sir Richard Atkins, steps down after over four years in post.
FE commissioner: Who will take over from Richard Atkins?
More: Farewell to the commissioner - but what comes next?
By Shelagh Legrave: Calling the next generation of college leaders
Who is the new FE commissioner?
- Ms Legrave has led Chichester College Group as chief executive since 2010, and was the chief operating officer prior to that. The group is the largest education provider in Sussex and contains five colleges - Chichester College, Brinsbury College, Crawley College, Worthing College and Haywards Heath College - as well as commercial exams and childcare businesses.
- Before working at Chichester, Ms Legrave spent five years as director of finance at the University of Roehampton, London, and before that, 11 and a half years in the City of London with the investment banking arm of NatWest, where her last position was as deputy chief financial officer to the global financial markets division.
- In the Queen’s Birthday Honours June 2015, she received an OBE.
- Ms Legrave studied history and theology at Durham University and served as an officer in the Women’s Royal Army Corps for six years.
- She is also qualified accountant and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
- Ms Legrave also chairs the trustees of Stonepillow, a charity helping the homeless, and is on the boards of Chichester Festival Theatre, Bourne Community College and the Betty Martin Charity.
- She is no stranger to the powers that be: her college is in apprenticeship and skills minister Gillian Keegan‘s consistency, and Ms Keegan has been a regular visitor since becoming an MP.
- The new commissioner was bought up in Leicestershire and has an identical twin sister, Brigid. She is married to Paul and has a son, Edmund.
- Ms Legrave is passionate about sports: she loves to run and is an avid Leicester City FC and Leicester Tigers fan.
- She feels strongly about inspiring the next cohort of college leaders. In a blog for Tes, she wrote: “The challenges facing further education colleges are considerable, but by harnessing the knowledge and skills of experienced FE leaders, and encouraging aspiring leaders to set out a bold and compelling vision for the future of FE, there is reason to believe that the sector will thrive and continue to play a key role in the lives of millions of people across the UK. “
