Annette Montague and Sarah Mills are chief education officers at the 37-school Greenwood Academies Trust in the East Midlands, looking after primaries and special schools, and secondaries, respectively.

With more than 55 years of experience between them, they speak to Tes about why they work in education, what they are proudest of and why they both think the former general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, has made a difference.

1. Who was your most memorable teacher and why?

Ms Montague: I loved everything about school, probably because I was good at it, although I didn’t know that at the time. My secondary education was memorable because of the teachers who went above and beyond for us all because they cared.

Ms Mills: Tony Corrigan, my A-level English teacher, because he really invested in me and made me see what I could achieve. He also introduced me to a range of literature, which cemented my decision to study literature at university and then teach it.

2. What were the best and worst aspects of school?

Ms Montague: I loved PE, particularly extracurricular team sports, and the maturity, independence and teamwork that brings, alongside the camaraderie with peers and staff. I remember a teacher giving me a black eye with a hockey ball, which I thought was cool. The worst thing was poor teaching by individuals who didn’t care.

Ms Mills: I went to a truly comprehensive school in the 1980s in quite a challenging area. It was really mixed. On one hand, there was a lot of working in groups and copying out of books and dictation, but I also had a very positive experience with teachers who recognised I worked hard and invested in me.

3. Why do you work in education?

Ms Montague: I didn’t ever think about going into any other sector. I may have been influenced by my mum being a teacher, although I’d have hated that thought as a young person. I used to really enjoy helping my peers when I was at school, so I had a natural ability to make things simple and understand concepts.

Ms Mills: At the start, it was partly because I got to teach books all day, and being able to do for others what people had done for me. I’ve always worked in more challenging communities that are similar to the ones I grew up in, as that’s where the rewards are for me.

4. What are you proudest of in your career and what do you regret?

Ms Montague: I’m proud of our work with the Youth Sport Trust developing world-leading ways of using PE and sport to contribute to raising standards and school improvement. And I’m always proud when I see people I’ve hired doing great things - it’s a beautiful chemistry when you get the right person at the right place and time. I don’t have any regrets. I look back at my career and feel very proud and privileged to have had so many great opportunities.

Ms Mills: I’m proud of becoming a trust leader and feel privileged to be able to lead a team working in really challenging communities, supporting each other to ensure our pupils achieve. I prefer seeing things as learning opportunities rather than wasting energy on regrets.

5. What do you think are the best and worst aspects of our school system?

Ms Montague: The sector’s understanding of teaching quality is in a very good place. I think the national strategies started this, even though they were controversial. However, teachers are exhausted and overwhelmed by everything else they’re expected to do.

Ms Mills: The best aspect is that schools aren’t expected to work in isolation anymore as multi-academy trusts can provide the infrastructure, systems and support networks for leaders and staff. The worst is that we don’t have the resources to further support pupils and staff because of the reduced capacity of external agencies and structures, in addition to low school funding.

6. What will our schools be like in 30 years?

Ms Montague: Disappointingly I don’t think they’ll be much different. Of course, technology will help, but the sophistication of pedagogy right now is such that I still can’t picture how it will help a teacher do all their planning, for example, because of needing to understand how different children respond when they’re hungry or cold or whatever.

Ms Mills: Technology will have an ever-increasing role in how teaching is delivered, particularly using artificial intelligence systems and processes. I think this will help to reduce workload, support teacher development and engage learners, but I hope we don’t lose the personal touch in schools. And we need to make sure we’re matching the education and skills that we’re teaching pupils to those new technological demands, too.

7. Your own teachers aside, who has influenced you the most?

Ms Montague: Sue Campbell, former chair of Youth Sport Trust. She was an incredibly inspirational person and leader, and I feel very privileged to have worked with her.

Ms Mills: I’ve worked with some fantastic leaders who’ve taught me an awful lot. I’ve learned as much from the ones who haven’t been as successful as the ones that have.

8. Who would you have in your dream staffroom?

Ms Montague: Anybody who cares about children, and anybody who can be patient and listen to people and make a sensible decision. I genuinely think that everybody has something to offer, and I think you need staff rooms full of lots of different people.

Ms Mills: I’d go back to my days of being a middle leader when I worked alongside a group of women of the same age who were all heads of departments. It was a very enjoyable period in my career because we worked closely and supported each other, and it has shaped how I lead now in terms of prioritising collaboration and community.

9. If you became education secretary tomorrow, what would be the first thing that you would do?

Ms Montague: I can be very productive in a day. First thing in the morning I would get everybody in the Department for Education together and tell them to cut every bit of guidance to three sides of A4 unless they could give a good reason not to. In the afternoon, I’d have someone look at all funding and make difficult decisions about what the department funds, so schools receive a higher proportion.

Ms Mills: I’d put the best interests of children at the heart of education, rather than any political agenda. As a system, we really need to truly acknowledge that we’re not lacking in ambition by giving pupils different opportunities and recognising they naturally have different talents and interests.

10. Who’s made the biggest difference to education in the past 12 months?

Ms Montague: I’d pick Geoff Barton [former ASCL general secretary] for successfully communicating the challenges in the sector to the wider public and for steering union activity and action to resolution.

Ms Mills: Geoff Barton made a positive difference by clearly articulating what needed to change in the system in a very measured and level-headed way, that also put children first.

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