Pepe Di’Iasio has been confirmed as the next general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.
Mr Di’Iasio was nominated by the ASCL Council earlier this year. ASCL members did not nominate any other candidates during a three-week window earlier this month, meaning Mr Di’lasio was elected uncontested.
He will replace current general secretary Geoff Barton when he steps down in April 2024.
The new secretary is a headteacher at Wales High School in Rotherham and was ASCL president from 2021 to 2022. He has also been chair of ASCL’s equality, inclusion and ethics committee.
Mr Di’Iasio said: “It is a huge honour to have been selected as general secretary and to have the opportunity to represent our fantastic members across the UK in their work on behalf of children and young people.
“I will speak truth to power, with the courtesy and respect that is a hallmark of ASCL, but with an absolute determination to produce a better settlement for education. Our schools, colleges and trusts simply must have the funding and staff they need to produce the successful educational outcomes we want to see for all our children and young people.
“I look forward to leading a superb team of highly committed and talented ASCL staff and working alongside our elected members on ASCL Council whose invaluable work ensures that the association is able to represent the voice of leaders accurately and authentically.”
Outgoing secretary Geoff Barton said Mr Di’Iasio is “an outstanding leader” and expressed his confidence in Mr Di’Iasio‘s ability to speak for school leaders.
Mr Di’Iasio started his career in teaching in Doncaster, and then became a deputy head at a school in Sheffield. He was assistant director of education at Rotherham Council and has also been executive headteacher at two schools.
Nominations for other candidates were open from 4 September until 22 September. Geoff Barton was elected in 2016 in a landslide after challenging the then-nominated candidate Chris Kirk.
There was concern from some heads at the time over Mr Barton’s criticisms of academies and grammar schools. But despite this, he was re-elected uncontested in 2021.
Mr Barton announced he would be stepping down in 2024 in September last year.
