Curriculum Leaders

Director of Character –  Mr S Jackson

Mr Jackson studied at Manchester Metropolitan University where he graduated with his Bsc.(Hons) degree in Geography and Environmental Studies, and subsequently took his Geography PGCE. He is an Earthwatch Fellow and through the Earthwatch Institute won sponsorship to investigate the Cretaceous – Tertiary extinction event and the demise of the dinosaurs. Through this, Mr Jackson spent some time as a field researcher in Montana, USA. Mr Jackson is also an Alumni of the Ambition School Leadership programme and Droylsden Academy’s Staff Governor.

Curriculum Leader – English – Mrs H Abel

Mrs Abel read English Language and Linguistics at The University of Sheffield where she gained a BA Honours degree, followed by a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education in English at the University of Manchester. She is currently in the final stages of completing a National Professional Qualification (NPQ) in Leading Teaching. Previously holding the post of Assistant Curriculum Leader, Mrs Abel has served at Droylsden Academy and the predecessor school for twenty years and is a very experienced practitioner and leader.

Curriculum Leader  – Maths – Mrs C Egan

Mrs Egan completed her post graduate in secondary Mathematics education at the Manchester Metropolitan university. She completed her Bsc(hons) in Business Management with accounting at the University of Salford. Mrs Egan has served at Droylsden Academy and the predecessor school for over ten years and is a very experienced practitioner.

Curriculum Leader  – Humanities – Miss L Bugler

Mrs Bugler completed her degree in History (BA Hons) at Durham University, where she stayed to complete her PGCE. After completing her post graduate studies, she relocated to the North-West where she took up a post to teach History and Religious Studies. Since 2015, Mrs Bugler has worked at Droylsden Academy as the Head of History and after 4 years in this role, she was promoted to Curriculum Leader for Humanities. In her time at the Academy, Mrs Bugler has completed a middle leaders qualification with the Ambition Leadership Institute, she has worked as an AQA examiner for History GCSE and she continues to work on the teaching and learning to help develop, train and coach staff from a range of curriculum areas.  

Curriculum Leader  – Science and Computing – Rachael Sandiford

Miss Sandiford completed her first degree in Business with Quantitative Analysis at the University of Salford in 2002, before starting a career in the recruitment industry. After volunteering with the Air Cadets as an instructor for a number of years, she decided to embark upon her teaching career, studying Physics and Maths at the Open University, before completing her PGCE. She has now been at the Academy for almost 10 years, is an experienced mentor for recently qualified teachers and is also an external AQA examiner for all three Science disciplines. 

Curriculum Leader  – Technology and Art – Mr C Jones

Mr Jones completed a HND in Aeronautical Engineering at Stockport College and a degree in Design and Technology for Industry BSc (Hons) at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Mr Jones has taught in schools across greater Manchester for the past 8 years and has been working as a Curriculum Leader for the past 3 and a half. Mr Jones has been a mentor for training teachers and newly qualified teachers.

Assistant Curriculum Leader – PE & Dance (Maternity Cover) – Miss E Irlam 

Ms Irlam graduated with a BA (Hons) in Dance Practices from Edge Hill University in 2020, and after that completed her PGCE in Secondary Education at Liverpool John Moores University. Since then, Ms Irlam gained her QTS at the Academy, before travelling to Australia where she worked as an educator in a mixture of school settings. Ms Irlam has now returned to the Academy as the Assistant Curriculum lead in Sport and Performing Arts. 

Curriculum Leader – Music and Drama – Miss A Burgess 

Ms Burgess studied at the University of Salford, graduating with a BA(hons) in Music, having also received classical training in singing. She went on to complete her PGCE through Manchester Metropolitan University. 

She has been an external examiner for both Compostion and Performing GCSE music components and has taught Music, Music Technolgy and Performing Arts to 11-18 year olds across various schools.

Ms Burgess currently produces the Academy’s annual production, and has brought to our stage performances such as West Side Story, Footloose, Matilda and now Les Miserables. In addition, she has led on much of the Performing Arts co-curricular offering, including annual London residentials, singing competitions and Christmas Carol performances.

Curriculum Leader – MFL – Mr A Fitzpatrick

Mr Fitzpatrick studied Modern & Medieval Languages (Spanish & Italian) at Cambridge University and obtained his PGCE in MFL from the University of Manchester. He began his career at Cambridge University working to increase applications from students from underrepresented backgrounds. He subsequently worked in schools in East and South London as a Pastoral Leader, Careers and Higher Education Lead and Director of Learning for Sixth Form. Mr Fitzpatrick teaches Spanish and French, and in his previous role as Assistant Curriculum Leader he managed the MFL department’s Cultural Capital and Independent Learning strategies, in addition to organising and leading educational visits to Spain. Alongside this he has acted as an examiner for AQA GCSE Spanish Speaking.

Curriculum Leader of Learning Support/SENCO – Ms E Preston

Ms Preston studied French and Italian at Salford University. where she left with a BA Honours in Languages, specializing in Linguistics. Having taught as a languages teacher for ten years teaching French and German, she moved to Nigeria to teach French and Spanish in a private boarding school.  Ms Preston has served at Droylsden Academy for eight years. She achieved her PGCERT in Special Educational Needs (SENCO Award) at Edge Hill University in 2022.