Our Story
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Clarity – everything we do has purpose and is made to be straight-forward.
Integrity – we strive to do the right thing, especially when no one is watching.
Kindness – we are consistent, honest and 100% supportive.
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“We aspire to be the best in the world at what we do”.
I believe that every Vision must be measurable. I have an ambition that by September 2028, all our Learning to Lead programmes will be at full capacity and with healthy waiting lists – with no exceptions.
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My personal Mission is to ensure that I never lose the GRJ hands-on touch and personal relationships which I have always thrived on – so this will never, ever change, and it will always remain at the heart of what I do.
Meet Gareth…
Time has flown since I started out with GRJ on September 1st 2020 – and we have grown a little bit since then! My initial plan was to deliver training for Heads of Department in the North East of England, and I now find myself leading programmes across the UK and way beyond, for folk at every stage of their leadership pathway – from aspiring Heads of Department through to experienced Deputy Heads, & everything in between.
I worked and lived a little in Mui Wo (Lantau Island, Hong Kong) between 2017 and 2019 literally building a new international kindergarten from scratch – I loved the local people & culture so have always had ambition to grow GRJ properly in Asia too. In January 2023 we signed up as a full member and partner of FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) – this was a big overseas breakthrough, and I haven’t really looked back since.
I piloted a small GRJ/FOBISIA leadership programme in March 2023 which went well – everything has steadily grown since then and in September 2025 I launched the full range of leadership programmes on a par with the UK. We even have our first ever live international “Away Day” of professional learning scheduled for January 2026 at the wonderful King’s College, Bangkok – with everyone from all our GRJ/FOBISIA programmes invited to come along.
Separately – I am lucky enough to have worked in 16 UK & international schools too, leading specific tailored programmes I write for Middle and Senior Leaders. I love this part of my work since no two schools are the same of course, and every school has its own unique identity and challenges which I always enjoy embracing.
In my previous life I was Maths teacher at The Manchester Grammar School UK, Head of Maths at Millfield School UK by the age of 28 then moved into Senior Leadership at 32 progressing to Senior Deputy Head at Ashville College Harrogate UK before leaving in August 2020 to start the GRJ adventure.
Meet our teammates…
I am blessed to have 24 fantastic GRJ teammates who work alongside me to help lead my programmes. They are all active Middle and Senior Leaders in our UK and International Schools, and the vast majority (22 of them!) are GRJ programme graduates, some dating back to 2020/2021 when I first started out.
We are a proper diverse bunch – as a real example of this during the recent 2025/26 pilot Director of Music leadership programme, my team comprised two Directors of Music, one Director of Sport and one Director of Music turned Head. I love this mix and it’s typical in all our programmes. The breadth and wealth of different aspects of school leadership experiences and responsibilities works so, so well every time.
It’s really important to me that we are a constant throughout every programme, so you will work with us all from start to finish. We get to know everyone we work with very well indeed. This continuity and these relationships are hugely important to me, which is without doubt one of the unique features about what we do.
Put simply – without my teammates I could only achieve a fraction of what I do. They are all brilliant people, and brilliant friends too. To me we are like one big GRJ family and it’s a pretty special family to be a part of!
