Central Region Schools Trust CEO Guy Shears awarded honorary fellowship by University of Worcester

The Central Region Schools Trust is a family of 13 schools in the West Midlands, across Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Birmingham. Guy has led the Central Region Schools Trust for the past 13 years, since its original founding by the Royal Society of Arts.

He was given the honour in recognition of his outstanding contributions to education.

The accolade was presented to Guy during a ceremony at the historic Worcester Cathedral, where excerpts from the official citation were read by Professor Lisa Stansbie, the university’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education, Culture and Society.

In her speech, Professor Stansbie highlighted Guy’s unwavering commitment to transforming educational experiences for young people and his dedication to ensuring ‘opportunities for all’ within the Trust’s schools.

“Guy’s passion for making a difference to the school experience runs through everything the Trust does, and his drive to ensure ‘opportunities for all’ is reflected in the Trust’s track record in improvement of educational outcomes,” Professor Stansbie remarked. “In Worcestershire alone, Guy has led seven intervention projects, taking ‘inadequate’ and ‘requiring improvement’ schools to ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ Ofsted judgements.”

Commenting on the award, Guy Shears said: “I am truly honoured to receive this recognition from the University of Worcester. This fellowship is a reflection of the incredible efforts of all those within the Central Region Schools Trust who share the same vision and commitment to improving education for all.”

Orla MacSherry, Chair of Trustees at the Central Region Schools Trust, added: “Everyone at the Trust is very proud to see Guy receive this well-deserved recognition. His ability to navigate complex educational challenges with a collaborative and proactive approach has garnered the trust and confidence of pupils, staff and communities alike.

“We’d like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to him – this is a testament to his authentic leadership, commitment to social justice and passion for creating lasting positive change in the lives of young people. Guy’s leadership has been pivotal to the Trust carrying out our mission of supporting social justice through exceptional schools.”