The King Edward VI Foundation is today announcing that Jodh Dhesi will leave his role as Chief Executive Officer at the end of this school year, to take up a new position closer to home.
He will begin his new role – Executive Director of Schools at the Girls’ Day School Trust – in September.
Jodh said: “I have greatly valued working with governors, trustees, staff, partners and, of course, pupils in all parts of our wonderful organisation since I joined in January 2021.
“The Foundation is rich with stories of lives transformed through educational experience and opportunity, and I look back over the last five years with tremendous pride in all that we have achieved together. On a personal note, I have also been proud that my appointment represented something of the diversity of our school communities. My new role will enable me to continue working in a collaborative space, and I will draw on all that I have learned during my time at the Foundation. I will be working much closer to home, which is right for my family at this time. I am grateful for all the support I have received from colleagues and partners, and am honoured to lead the Foundation through the remaining six months of this school year and the conclusion of our current strategy.”
Professor Hywel Thomas, Chair of the Foundation Board, said: “Jodh and his team have much to be proud of from the last five years. Upon joining us in January 2021, Jodh was immediately tasked with developing a strategy for the Foundation, and it was through this that our three strategic pillars – learning with us, working with us, partnering with us – took shape. These pillars, in addition to our ambition to make Birmingham the best place to be educated in the UK, remain at the heart of our next strategy.
The last five years also brought three more schools into the Academy Trust, the achievement of Balaam Wood’s Good Ofsted rating, the transformation of governance arrangements to introduce effective joint-working between the Foundation and Academy Trust Boards, and a suite of collaborative initiatives to benefit pupils and staff, including Foundation Leaders in Education, the Foundation Conference and Foundation Awards.
“Jodh will leave us with the Foundation in good health, ready for its 475th anniversary in 2027 and eager for the next 475 years. Our loss is very much the GDST’s gain, and I have no doubt that Jodh will build on all his Foundation experience as he seeks to strengthen relationships between the GDST’s schools, their communities and the Trust.”
A recruitment process for Jodh's successor will be launched in the coming weeks.
