Jo Watts, the vice principal of Ark Globe Academy, was honoured with the prestigious School Business Leader of the Year award at the National School Awards. This is Jo's second time receiving this award, as she also won it in 2011.
Jo is Vice Principal of Business and Community at Ark Globe and Ark Evelyn Grace Academy. She has worked in education across various settings for more than 31 years. Jo joined the Ark Globe leadership team in 2013 and joined Ark Evelyn Grace Academy in 2021, continuing under the leadership of Matt Jones OBE.
Matt said, “Huge congratulations to Jo on her well-deserved award. Thank you on behalf of the Ark Globe Academy and Ark Schools community. For over a decade, you have contributed so much to our school making it a wonderful place to learn and work.”
Jo is truly passionate about raising the profile of the School Business Leader role to new heights. In 2019, Jo was granted a Fellowship to the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL) for her strategic leadership within education. Jo also became the South London Regional Lead, coordinating other operational leads across six schools in the Ark network to provide many opportunities to share good practices, support, and develop each other.
Stephen Morales, Chief Executive of the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL), said “Jo has been at the forefront of School Business Leadership for well over a decade and many practitioners look to her for support and guidance. Her contribution to Ark Globe and the community it serves is outstanding. The award was both fitting and well deserved for such an accomplished professional.”
Ark Globe is in an area with high levels of economic deprivation, where children face an enormous disadvantage in accessing the best universities. Yet despite this, in 2023, 100% of Ark Globe's sixth-form students received university offers, with 80% being top third universities. This success is a testament to the school's dedicated senior leadership team.
The National School Awards was held at the House of Lords on Thursday, 7 December. It brought together over 250 school and multi-academy trust leaders alongside frontline practitioners to celebrate and reward the amazing work across the education sector over the past year. This year, there were eight different award categories, each specifically designed to reward hard workers, innovators and exceptional school leaders across the education sector.