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Meet the Team

Astra is a partnership of schools across Buckinghamshire and beyond. The core team are often to be found visiting and working alongside trainees in school or leading elements of our Professional Studies course and you can meet them at one our recruitment events.

We have over one hundred mentors, lead mentors, subject specialists, tutors and trainers involved in different ways. Almost all are based in our partner schools, and all are fully qualified teachers. Astra trainees also benefit from expert input from Bath Spa University lecturers.

Lead Headteacher

Aa 26Mr David Atkinson

Headteacher of Dr Challoner's Grammar School

David joined Challoner’s as a Geography teacher in 1996, straight after Oxford University, having completed a degree in Geography and a PGCE. He went on to become Geography Subject Leader, then Director of Sixth Form, Deputy Headteacher and, since 2016, has been Headteacher.   

David takes a keen interest in Astra's work as part of the wider educational landscape, and has also facilitated both the NPQSL and the NPQH for the Astra Teaching School Hub.

More widely, he spearheads an active involvement in the International Boys’ Schools Coalition and was appointed vice president of the Royal Geographical Society in recognition of his work in education.

David is a keen cricketer, enjoys travel and has lived locally for many years

Co-Principal

Aa 28Mr Andrew Millar

Astra Co-Principal

With over twenty five years in the classroom, Andrew has been a Head of English and Drama in two schools and taught in schools in Manchester, Kent and Buckinghamshire. He’s been involved in teacher training in different ways almost all of his career and has been a mentor, Initial Teacher Training Co-ordinator and Assistant Headteacher with a focus on professional development.

For almost ten years he has been part of the Astra SCITT team. While Lead Tutor, he developed the subject specific training that is a hallmark of Astra's secondary course. As Co-Principal, he oversees the overall running of the SCITT, and teaches on the main Professional Studies programme followed by all Astra trainees.

He is also one of the English and Drama Subject Tutors. He holds a BA(Hons) and an MA in English Literature, a PGCE, and an MEd in Educational Research from the University of Cambridge where his research focused on dialogic approaches to the teaching of A level English Literature.

Andrew worked as a GCSE English Literature examiner for AQA for ten years and helped write Key Stage 3 English Reading and Writing tests.  He continues as a part time classroom teacher at Dr Challoner's Grammar School, and, on a professional level, is particularly interested in the roles of oracy in learning across the curriculum and drama and creativity in English teaching. He has been involved in directing co-curricular drama productions throughout his career.

Primary Lead

Aa 21Ms Carol Brookes

Lead Primary Tutor

 

Carol has over thirty years of experience in the classroom both in Derbyshire and Buckinghamshire and has worked in urban, suburnan and rural schools. She holds a B.Ed(Hons) in Primary Education and National Professional Qualifications in Senior Leadership and Leading Teacher Development.

Over the last ten years she has worked with schools large and small on school improvement especially in maths, behaviour management and assessment, and she has extensive experience across the primary age range: she has been a key stage lead, maths co-ordinator, teacher training co-ordinator, mentor to new and beginning teachers and led on assessment and SEND.

Her role in Astra as Primary Lead includes a focus on the development of the primary training curriculum, and leading maths where she has a passion to build the confidence of new entrants to teaching, as well as working closely with trainees in their placement schools.

SCITT Secondary Course Director

DINMr David Ingledew

Secondary Course Director

David has over twenty years’ experience in secondary schools and higher education. He holds a degree in Economics and History and a MA in History from Oxford Brookes University, and completed his History PGCE at the University of Oxford. Currently, David is undertaking a Doctorate of Education and working towards the completion of his research titled The use and rationale of educational talk by secondary history teachers.

He taught history, economics and politics in schools in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, was head of department, head of faculty and head of year, as well as a mentor and ITTCo, working with trainee teachers.

From 2017, David worked in teacher education at the University of Hertfordshire, and in 2019 became Programme Lead for secondary teacher training, before joining Astra in March 2024. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and an active member of the Historical Association (HA). In July 2024 he was made an honorary Fellow of the Historical Association (FHA). David has also presented at education conferences in the UK, Europe and the USA on talk, dialogue, oracy, history education, transitions from school to undergraduate history, and educational research methods.

As Secondary Course Director, he oversees Astra's provision for secondary trainees, and works closely with our team of subject tutors to develop the overall course. He also leads on training for new and existing mentors.

David spends his spare time tending an unruly allotment, making homemade jam, and listening to Northern Soul music. 

Recruitment, Compliance and Service Delivery (QTS) Manager

Aa 34Miss Sue Lewis

Recruitment, Compliance and Service Delivery (QTS) Manager 

Sue has worked with Astra for five years.  Sue joined us having worked as an Operational Manager in the Heritage sector for six years and then as an HR Manager/Senior Business Partner for seventeen years, the majority working for the Royal Household and the last five years of which were working in secondary schools.  She holds an MA in Personnel and Development from the University of Westminster. This coupled with her extensive generalist experience in HR is of huge benefit to her work within the Astra Team.

SCITT Officer & Data Analyst

Aa 1 3Mrs Amanda Mauro

SCITT Officer & Data Analyst

Amanda has been part of Astra since September 2015 and worked with almost six hundred trainees in that time! She oversees the day to day administration of many elements of the Astra course. She has a background in procurement in the oil and gas industries and holds a degree in Italian and Psychology.

Astra Events, Logistics & Communications Officer

Aa 36Mrs Jules Montgomery-McCullagh

Astra Events, Logistics & Communications Officer

Jules has been working in education for the last ten years and brings a wealth of experience from her previous career in marketing, both client-side and advertising agency-side, to her marketing role in Astra.

Assessment Only and SCITT Recruitment Officer

Thahera Raazi KonkaderMrs Thahera Konkader

Assessment Only and SCITT Recruitment Officer

Thahera Konkader, an MBA and CIPD Level 7-certified professional, has fifteen years of experience in business operations and HR across IT, education, and real estate sectors. With a career spanning India and the UK, she has worked with multinational firms and as an independent consultant. As the Assessment Only and SCITT Officer at Astra, she is the primary contact for Assessment Only and supports ITT recruitment and assessment, ensuring compliance and operational efficiency.