Excalibur Academies Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of its new CEO – Nick Lewis, who will take up his new position from September. This news follows the announcement earlier in the year that current CEO Nicky Edmondson will step down from the role this summer. Currently working as the Director of Secondary Improvement for the Trust, Nick was formerly Principal at the Trust’s Fairfield High School in Bristol.
Last year Nick took on the role of Interim CEO of Gatehouse Green Learning Trust in the critical year leading to a merger with Excalibur Academies Trust in September 2023. This merger welcomed five more schools to Excalibur. Excalibur now serves 10,000 young people, age 2 to 18 across five local authorities.
Nick has worked to support school improvement in a range of settings. He is a National Leadership Advisor for The Careers and Enterprise Company and is Chair of Schools of Tomorrow.
Chair of Excalibur Trustees, Toby Watson, said, “Nick has been an inspirational leader within our trust for many years. His passionate belief in the value of high quality education for all, with an acute focus on inclusivity, equity, and the pursuit of excellence, means he is perfectly aligned with the values of our trust, and we are confident he will continue to progress the great achievements of the trust in improving the lives of the young people and communities that we serve”.
Describing himself as “unashamedly optimistic and a values driven leader,” Nick said, “I am incredibly happy and proud that I will be leading such a wonderful organisation, working with and for so many incredible young people, and with an exceptional team of professionals who are focussed on providing the best opportunities possible for our students. As a family of 20 academies we are already achieving so much and following the recent merger with Gatehouse Green Learning Trust we now have even more opportunity to provide an inspiring and life-changing education for our students, and professional growth for our staff team.”
“As a large trust, the communities that we serve have much in common, but also unique needs that our academies must recognise and serve. It is also important to acknowledge that all of our communities are facing a number of unprecedented challenges at this time, and I am committed to listening and working with each academy community to ensure that our trust has an identifiable and positive impact in supporting every community.”
“I have personal experience of the transformational power of education, especially for those from marginalised or disadvantaged backgrounds, and I will carry this passion for equity and fairness with me as I lead the trust into the future.”
Nicky Edmondson, current Chief Executive Officer of Excalibur Academies Trust added, “I am confident I couldn’t be passing the leadership of the trust into a better pair of hands. Nick is a truly inspirational leader, who already has so much knowledge and experience of the sector. The trust has so many opportunities ahead, and I wish Nick and everyone in the trust a very successful and fulfilling future.”