Following the merger of Cheshire College – South & West and Macclesfield College on 1 August 2026, governance of the merged College is provided by a single Corporation serving all four campuses.
Governors make a valuable contribution to the success of the College. Their role is to determine the strategic direction of the College, ensure the effective stewardship of public funds and oversee the quality of education and services provided to learners, employers and communities.
The Corporation does not manage the College’s day-to-day operations. Instead, it ensures the College fulfils its responsibilities under the Articles of Government, holds leaders to account for performance and supports the long-term success of the organisation. Governors also play an important ambassadorial role, supporting College events and promoting the College within the wider community.
Please note that any questions or queries relating to the College should, in the first instance, be directed to the appropriate member of staff before being raised with the Corporation. Governors can be contacted via clerk@ccsw.ac.uk.
Chair of the Corporation
External Governor appointed 1st December 2022.
Lesley has worked in the education and training sector for the majority of her career.
Prior roles in the sector include the CEO and Principal for The Trafford College Group, Deputy CEO at the Association of Colleges (AOC) and Senior Vice President and Senior Responsible Officer for Pearson, with responsibility for qualification standards, quality and the awarding of all academic and vocational qualifications. She was also responsible for the development of all vocational qualifications worldwide.
In 2016, Lesley became Chair of the newly formed UK Skills Partnership Board, a network of the UK’s leading education sector organisations and which was established to promote the development of vocational and technical skills internationally. She is also a member of the DIT’s Ministerial Education Sector Advisory Group and British Council’s Education Advisory Board.
In 2015, Lesley was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to education and in 2023, she was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year’s Honours List.
Vice-Chair of Corporation and Chair of Curriculum & Quality Committee
External Governor, appointed 01 October 2024
Len is also a member of the Chairs’ Committee and chairs the Remuneration Committee.
Len has an extensive career in the further and higher education sectors spanning over 40 years. He has recently retired after 11 years as a College Principal and is now engaged in consultancy and interim leadership.
Len has previously been a long-term board trustee of the Skills and Education Group and a governor of an inner-city secondary academy. Most recently he represented FE and Skills on the governing board of a local authority ‘levelling up’ fund. Len is a curriculum and funding specialist who has led programme and course design at colleges in the East and West Midlands and in the Northwest.
With a background in computing and data systems, including a decade as a teacher of computer science, Len has an interest in how the latest technology can be harnessed to support teachers and students to maximise their potential and to ensure that their skills are future-ready.
College Principal/CEO
Chair of Finance and Resources Committee
External Governor appointed 01 October 2025.
Andrew is also a member of the Chairs’ Committee.
Andrew is a qualified CIPFA accountant and has worked on a range of high-profile college recovery plans prior to taking up a Deputy FEC role. As a former finance director and college principal (Walford and North Shropshire College), Andrew has a sound understanding of the FE sector and a particular specialism as an expert adviser on college finance.
From 2015 to 2024 Andrew worked for the FE Commissioner, initially as an FE Adviser before taking on the role of Deputy FE Commissioner from September 2016. As part of his work for the FEC, Andrew was involved in a wide range of interventions, structure and prospect appraisals, post-merger reviews and active support – including the effective practice guides on estates planning, adult skills fund and management accounts.
Previous roles include finance director at Harper Adams University; CFO and company secretary and the Adult Learning Inspectorate; and management consultant for Price Waterhouse. Andrew has an MBA in public services and provides consultancy and advisory services to the FE sector.
Chair of Audit & Risk Committee
External Governor appointed 1st March 2021.
Jerry is also a member of the Chairs’ Committee.
Jerry is a chartered accountant with considerable experience in commercial property. He is now largely retired but has had a career-long interest in education including being a governor at another further education college and sitting on the Advisory Board of Manchester School.
Curriculum and Quality Committee
Associate Governor, appointed 1st October 2023.
Maggie is employed by Liverpool John Moores University as Principal Teaching Fellow Fine Arts and has previously worked at the University of Wolverhampton. She sits on the boards of regional and national arts organisations where she advocates for the value of art education to society, and prior to joining the Board, Maggie worked with the college to develop the BA Art & Design programme currently running on the Crewe Campus. Maggie is passionate about opening opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds to engage in Higher Education. With experience in Higher Education (HE) curriculum design and review, Maggie understands how course design, assessment and the learning environment work together to support student attainment and personal growth.
Curriculum and Quality Committee
Associate Governor, appointed 1st October 2023.
Bev was a senior HMI for FE provision with Ofsted for several years, managing the quality of inspections across the Northwest, training inspectors, and inspecting across the range of post-16 providers, before retiring in March 2022. She continues to work as an Ofsted inspector and consultant to providers in the sector. Before joining Ofsted, Bev had several senior leadership roles including deputy principal for curriculum and quality. Prior to management roles, Bev taught in colleges and schools.
Finance & Resources Committee
Finance & Resources Committee
Audit and Risk Committee
External Governor appointed 1st January 2024.
Claire works as a Training & Development Business Partner for United Utilities, a FTSE100 company providing essential water and wastewater services to the North West of England.
A previous member of the Digital Skills Partnership board for Cheshire & Warrington, Claire has a keen interest in the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and learning, and is committed to advocating for policies that promote the integration of digital skills into education, foster community engagement, and harness the potential of AI to transform learning.
Claire is keen to learn more about the students and community that our College supports and to leverage her extensive corporate experience to bridge the gap between technology and learning.
Audit and Risk Committee
Associate Governor appointed 01 September 2025.
Peter Crowcroft is a former student of South Cheshire College, and studied Economics, Sociology and Psychology. During his time at the College, he developed lifelong friendships and took the opportunity to broaden his interests. The education, and advice, he gained at the College, gave him the qualifications to study law in Sheffield.
Peter has never forgotten the positive experience he had at the College, and this set him off on his career and life journey. Peter has recently retired as Assistant Chief Constable, serving with Cheshire Police, where he had responsibility for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability.
Peter had responsibility for major and critical incidents and provided gold command cover for the force, providing leadership over high profile criminal investigations.
He is looking forward to sharing his personal and professional experience and training with learners, college staff and fellow governors.
Curriculum & Quality Committee
Curriculum and Quality Committee
Academic Staff Governor, appointed 14th May 2022.
Shane is an inspirational and multi-award-winning chef, lecturer and digital innovator with a dynamic, vibrant and innovative teaching approach on courses of all levels. Shane has 17 years’ experience within the further education sector. He is extremely passionate about his achievements in the hospitality sector, and has a burning passion for educational technology. He enjoys sharing his extensive experience with his students, his teaching team and other colleagues and is now an influential educator and leading ambassador in the use of educational technology across the UK. Shane is a Pearson’s Silver Award winner for FE Lecturer of the Year and TES Teacher of the Year finalist.
This is Shane’s first appointment as a governor, and he is keen to learn about all aspects of college leadership and management and contribute to their impact for all students at the College.
Curriculum and Quality Committee
Non-Academic Staff Governor, appointed 10th September 2021.
Sean has worked in the Quality department at Cheshire College – South & West since 2007, supporting colleagues with the use of technology and data to enhance learning. Sean has an interest in data analytics and how the use of data and automation can be used to improve learner outcomes. Outside of work, Sean regularly volunteers at motor sport events across the country as a chief flag marshal.
Director of Governance
Michelle has worked as a Governance Professional for 13 years. Michelle has extensive business and HR management experience having worked within the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years and having run her own HR Management Consultancy business for 6 years.
As Director of Governance, Michelle is responsible for ensuring corporate governance and risk management arrangements contribute meaningfully to the strategic development of the College, and that the College becomes an exemplar of best practice in its corporate governance and risk management arrangements.
Michelle provides independent, high-quality guidance on statutory, constitutional, operational, procedural and ethical issues as they affect the Board, its committees, and its subsidiaries.
Finance and Resources Committee
External Governor appointed 1st April 2022.
John is a chartered accountant with over 30 years’ experience in financial services and manufacturing industries. John has worked in several roles for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Heineken, The Cheese Company and Glanbia plc, and has experience of commercial strategy, capital projects, human resources, supply chain management, and IT, as well as financial systems and analysis. John has a particular interest in education and governance having started his training in a technical college and has been a Trustee and Board member for several companies.
Audit and Risk Committee
Finance and Resources Committee
Finance & Resources Committee
Finance and Resources Committee
Associate Governor appointed 1st May 2022.
Clive is a chartered accountant with over 30 years’ experience gained in several sectors including financial services, retail and technology. His expertise includes strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, business performance improvement, risk management and governance. Clive has nearly 20 years’ board experience.
Curriculum & Quality Committee
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Get in touch with admissions@ccsw.ac.uk if you’d like anymore information.
