Emily joined the Trust Board in July 2025 and was appointed as Chair Designate following a competitive recruitment process to take over from Sandy Gillett, who stood down as Chair of the Trust Board and as a Trustee at the end of December 2025.

Emily is the newly-appointed Chief Executive of YGAM, a charity dedicated to preventing gaming and gambling harms among young people. She is an experienced non-executive director who has held senior leadership roles across UK government, local government, higher education, the media and global commercial sector. Emily lives in Kent with her family and is also a Trustee of Porchlight and a non-executive director of the British Dietetic Association. You can read about Emily's professional experience here.

At its recent meeting, the Trust Board had the opportunity to thank Sandy Gillett for her long service and contributions, initially as a Wallington governor, then as a Trustee and Chair of the Trust Board. Sandy will remain as a Member of the Girls’ Learning Trust, providing oversight of the Trust’s governance arrangements.

We also said goodbye to one of our founding Trustees, Nigel Pepper, who also stepped down from the Trust Board after a considerable period of service. We thank Nigel for his contributions to the Trust, especially as Chair of Finance Committee and Admissions Committee.