Governance

Johanne is an experienced communications and marketing professional of over 15 years, working predominantly within housing and regeneration industry, across both the public and private sector.

With a degree in Public Relations with Law, Johanne has overseen communications on some of the Midlands' largest housing and regeneration projects when working for the government's Homes England agency, and prior to that led the communications and engagement team for the government's New Deal for Communities programme in North East Coventry, where she also set up the regions first communications social enterprise.

Now with strategic land developer Urban&Civic, Joh leads the engagement of local business partners and communities in the development of Rugby's urban extension Houlton, as well as overseeing the communications, communities and partnerships function across several of the business's portfolio of largescale sites.

Johanne is also a Director on the Houlton Multi Academy Trust, which runs the new St Gabriel's Academy in Rugby.

Liz retired from teaching in August 2021 having worked at Ashlawn School (formerly Dunsmore Boys’ School) for forty two years. During her time at Ashlawn, Liz held various positions as Teacher of Mathematics, Head of Year, Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. Liz is our Designated Partner for Safeguarding.

Having been a member of senior leadership teams for over thirty years, Liz has had responsibility for many areas in school. These include Safeguarding, Behaviour and Attendance, Pupil Premium, Admissions and Appeals, Examinations, and Parental Consultation. Liz also has experience of coaching other Senior Leaders, Pastoral Staff and Heads of Department as well as Newly Qualified Teachers.

Liz is passionate in her belief that all pupils should achieve success and is keen to continue to be involved in the educational future of young people. Having lived and worked in the area since 1979, Liz has extensive local knowledge. She is very involved in local netball being the co-founder of the Rugby Area Netball Association in 1983 and is still participating as an umpire and President of the Association and also with the Rugby Junior netball section. Liz enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking, watching Rugby, reading and solving Sudoku problems.

Sue was a Primary teacher for 20 years teaching across Key Stage 1 and 2. The latter part of her professional career was as an Associate Tutor, Teaching Fellow and Senior Teaching Fellow at WIE/CPE University of Warwick. She has extensive experience of Initial Teacher Education, including undergraduate, Teach First, School Direct and PGCE Core programmes.

Sue has detailed knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the current primary and early years teaching and learning landscape, including current research in teaching and learning and the Ofsted framework.

In addition to her professional role, Sue has been Chair of Board of Trustees of charity based in Rugby for the last two years, following five years participation in governance of the charity via the Board.

Sue is the Safeguarding Trustee and link Trustee for Houlton School's Local Governing Board.

Lisa is a teacher of Mathematics. Although she retired from full-time teaching in August 2022 she found it hard to leave the classroom behind and now teaches 'A' level part-time at two local schools in Coventry. She previously taught in Rugby at a local secondary school before moving to an independent school in Coventry where she worked for 15 years. She has held roles as Second in Mathematics, Head of Year for Key Stage 4 and Assistant Headteacher. In these roles she line managed departments, tracked pupil progress and monitored pupil behaviour. She was also an Assistant Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Lisa is very much looking forward to being a part of the Houlton family as we move into Key Stage 4 and 5 and is keen to use her experience and energy to support our growth and development.

Lisa has three children, two of whom are also mathematics teachers. She is also a lifelong West Ham fan!

Dr Lewis Gooch is a project manager within the pharmaceutical industry and holds a PhD in Chemistry. Dr Gooch is a first-generation student with a passion for science and social mobility looking to support the next generation of scientists and leaders. Dr Gooch is from Rugby and attended a secondary school within the TLET family himself and is happy to now be supporting the governance of Houlton School.

Dr Gooch has a wealth of experience in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, having worked as a synthetic chemist for a childhood cancer research charity, a development consultant for the personal hygiene industry, and a project manager for various drug discovery and development projects. Dr Gooch has worked on several clinical trials within oncology, Alzheimer’s and supported clinical trial efforts towards COVID-19. He has also published some of this work in peer-reviewed journals and presented this work at international conferences. 

Dr Gooch is proud to be a part of the school community and he is committed to supporting and developing the school’s vision and values. He believes that education is the key to unlocking the potential of every child, and he hopes to contribute to the school’s excellence and innovation.  

Tricia has enjoyed a career in blue chip and private business, leading change and aspiring for continuous improvement; she has a passion for coaching team culture, creating strategies for facilitating success.

More recently, Tricia has brought her transferable skills to the education sector.  Previously Tricia worked in the independent education sector, helping schools provide exemplary customer service in their admissions processes. Currently Tricia works as part of a world class status multi academy trust providing pivotal guidance and support to facilitate streamlining processes within a school office function. 

As part of her passion for continuous improvement, Tricia is undertaking her School Business Professional Qualification.

Tricia enjoys being an active part of her community; she has previously served as secretary for Friends of Bilton Grange and is currently a founding member of Friends of Houlton School.

Within the role of Parent Governor, Tricia aspires to support Houlton with becoming a successful, leading school within Rugby.

Principal McCulley is the Headteacher Governor and joined TLET in September 2020 before founding our Houlton family from its inception in September 2021.

Houlton School is fully aligned with TLET's vision for transformational education. Principal McCulley has had the privilege of leading the creation of this £40m, 20-acre landmark academy in Warwickshire, blending the heritage of the Grade II-listed Rugby Radio Station with cutting-edge, purpose-built teaching facilities. Launched in 2021, Houlton has rapidly become the school of choice for local families—heavily oversubscribed and nationally recognised for its excellence.

As we look ahead to opening our Sixth Form and primary phase in 2026, Houlton continues to grow as a 4–19 beacon of educational ambition. Fully accredited as a World Class School (WCSQM) and rated ‘Good’ across all areas in our first Ofsted inspection (2024), we are committed to academic success, inclusion, and life-readiness for every pupil. Our vision was further validated through a recent Challenge Partners review, rating the school ‘Leading’ in all categories.

Beyond school leadership, Principal McCulley is an experienced system leader—representing Rugby secondary headteachers on the Warwickshire Education Partnership Board and supporting Warwickshire Legal Services as a panel member for Independent Review Panels; he has also worked as a school improvement consultant with schools in some of the most challenging circumstances to improve the life chances of young people.

Nationally, Principal McCulley has previously held senior roles with the DfE, STA, and QCA, influencing key aspects of English education and assessment policy. His work included leading the development of the KS2 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling tests (SATs) from their inception, Level 6 Reading assessments, and contributing to significant national curriculum and qualification reform. He has authored and led multiple national projects—ranging from Functional Skills and A-level reviews to EAL resources and Shakespeare learning materials.

With a passion for system-wide impact, Principal McCulley combines strategic leadership with curriculum expertise to create high-quality, inclusive learning experiences that transform life chances. In short, he is passionate about education leadership, curriculum innovation, or building world-class schools.

Mr Raffy is a staff governor and joined the Houlton family as a founding member of staff in September 2021.

Born and bred in the South of France, Mr Raffy is an indefatigable languages teacher, striving to unlock a wealth of opportunities for his pupils through languages. He is a graduate of the University of Toulon, France, and spent his Erasmus year abroad at Exeter University, where he fell in love with Great Britain and its beautiful countryside. Giving up the French riviera for the English one, he remotely completed his Research Master’s Degree in French Literature, focussing on myth and utopia; he then went on to complete his DELE Diploma in Spanish with the Cervantes Institute, while working as a Foreign Language Assistant in Dawlish, Devon. This is where Mr Raffy developed a passion for teaching languages in secondary schools in England, prompting him to complete his teacher training at the University of Oxford. During his training, he focused on Content and Languages Integrated Learning (CLIL), as an approach to teaching foreign cultures, arts and civilisations through the lens of languages. He has since shared his cross-curricular practice with PGCE tutors and trainee teachers at the University of Oxford.

Before joining the Houlton family, Mr Raffy worked as a languages teacher in a large, successful secondary school in Oxfordshire. Not only does he strive to get the best out of his pupils, he is also committed to the training of new entrants to the profession, having previously worked with Oxfordshire’s SCITT training programme as a mentor and visiting tutor, and joining the interviewing panel for the University of Oxford’s PGCE courses.

Mr Raffy values highly co-curricular visits, which he sees as life-changing opportunities, as he first visited England on a school trip himself. He has organised and run several trips abroad during his career, ranging from day trips to the University of Oxford, to foreign exchanges with a school in Brittany, and trips to Spain and France. He aspires to give his pupils the chance to learn and use languages beyond the classroom. 

"I am very excited to join Houlton School, to be at the foundation of a world-class, international school, and I can’t wait to share my passion for languages with our first year group, inside and beyond the languages classroom… À bientôt ! ¡Hasta prunto!"

Jo is a staff governor.

Jo studied at the University of East Anglia during which gained valuable work experience abroad. Subsequently, she went on to work in a variety of sectors, including retail and accountancy before she found her real passion within education.

Having worked in a specialist educational setting for nine years prior to Houlton, she is highly experienced having supported pupils with various challenges. She has personal experience with complex needs and a sound understanding of the barriers to learning this presents. She brings with her a proven track record of positive outcomes with students who have struggled to integrate into an educational setting.

Jo is passionate about inclusivity and overcoming perceived barriers to learning and supporting pupils in a pastoral, holistic approach. She is a great believer that by modelling positive behaviours, leading by example and once trust and a positive relationship is built pupils are then able to believe in themselves and build on their confidence emotionally and academically.

She is extremely happy to be joining the Houlton family and looks forward to having a positive, successful impact on pupils' experience in education.