Central Team
The Central Team running the Hurst Education Trust are:
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Tim Manly – Chief Executive (CEO) and Accounting Officer
Darren Carpenter – Deputy Chief Executive (Strategy & Growth)
Karen Underwood – Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Michelle Zeidler – Director of Education
Janneke Blokland – Chaplain
Sue Atkinson – Director of HR
Steve Miles – Senior Business Manager
Hannah Harvey – Projects Officer
Jen Dring - Administrator
Wendy Loft – Governance Professional
Tim Manly
Chief Executive and Accounting Officer
Until recently, Tim Manly was the Headmaster of Hurstpierpoint College where after 19 years, he pivoted to the Trust in January 2024.
Tim has previously been Housemaster and Head of Department at Sevenoaks School and Deputy Head at Oakham School. He graduated from Oriel College, Oxford, completed an MSc at LSE and gained his PGCE from Cambridge University.
He worked in a number of management consultancy roles before moving into education.
Tim is a current Board member of the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust (DCAT) as well as being a Governor of various Prep Schools. He was also a non-executive Director of the Harris Federation for several years.
During his tenure, the College doubled in size, became financially one of the strongest Independent Schools in Country and implemented a widescale Campus Development Programme with a value in excess of £40m but without resort to significant debt requirement.
Darren Carpenter
Deputy Chief Executive
Darren is both the Deputy Chief Executive (Strategy and Growth) for the Trust and the Chief Financial Officer for Hurstpierpoint College.
Prior to joining the College in 2021, Darren worked predominantly within the maintained school sector in a variety of school leadership positions including Business Manager and Director of Resources roles in both primary, secondary and special education environments, principally specialising in overseeing significant financial turnaround.
Most recently he has worked in a number of positions including, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and latterly Deputy Chief Executive for a mid-sized academy trust in the south east.
Darren has a degree in Business Management with Law. As the Chief Financial Officer, Darren is responsible for all non-educational areas of the Trust and leads the finance, HR and other administrative teams, reporting to the Chief Executive.
Karen Underwood
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Karen Underwood (BSc ACA) has worked within Academies since her return to work following a career break. Karen was Finance Manager at a standalone Academy before joining Hurstpierpoint College to join the Finance team and then provided financial support to the Hurst Education Trust.
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She has a wealth of experience as a financial controller, covering all aspects of financial management, policy and control as well as audit liaison across a broad range of companies. Additional experience was gained when she was part of the finance teams taking companies to IPO and being involved in implementing and rolling out financial systems globally.
During her career break she was self-employed and did voluntary work including being Treasurer of the PTA and helping run the cross country club at her children’s primary school.
Michelle Zeidler
Director of Education
Michelle Zeidler joined Hurstpierpoint College in 2015 as the Head of Teaching and Learning and a member of the Senior Management Team.
During her time there she has developed an academic teaching programme for the staff through a Performance Review System and the innovative Teach Hurst teacher training scheme.
She is currently working with the Deputy Head at Sir Robert Woodard Academy to build links between schools and offer support and expertise to staff and pupils across both institutions.
Michelle has a B.Ed. Hons from Homerton College, Cambridge and a Masters in Education from the O.U. She has worked in a variety of maintained schools including Hatch End High School, Islington Green (Head of Year), as Head of Teaching and Learning at Hazelwick School in Crawley from 2009 - 2014 and recently was Interim Headteacher at Ditchling (St Margaret’s) C of E Primary School. Michelle is responsible for the educational performance of the schools within the Trust, reporting to the Chief Executive.
Janneke Blokland
Chaplain
More information coming soon.
Sue Atkinson
Director of HR
Sue Atkinson is the Human Resources Director for the Trust and has also been HR Director at Hurstpierpoint College since joining in 2021.
Sue has a Business Management degree and is an FCIPD Level 7 qualified Senior HR professional with experience across a range of commercial organisations.
She is an experienced HR strategic and operational lead in colleges and multi academy trusts, most recently at London South East Colleges and Warrington and Vale Royal College.
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Sue is responsible for working collaboratively with leaders, staff and governors, to achieve organisational goals and create positive working environments where individuals can thrive.
Steve Miles
Senior Business Manager
Steve Miles started at Barclays Bank, where he worked at branch, regional and head office levels for over a decade, latterly working in Corporate Planning and Electronic Banking. Whilst there, he obtained three chartered qualifications (Banking, Accountancy and Corporate Treasury).
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He then moved to East Sussex County Council, undertaking financial modelling for a £1bn Waste Management PFI contract, and subsequently provided financial consultancy to a number of local authorities in this area, including the City of Edinburgh and Kent County Council.
Latterly, Steve has worked more locally, as the School Business Manager for St Wilfrid’s CE Primary school, whilst also onboarding schools joining the Trust, with a focus on HR and Payroll data migration, and training schools on the new finance and budget systems. Steve moves to a full-time role with Trust from January 2025.
Hannah Harvey
Projects Officer
Hannah Harvey joined Hurstpierpoint College in October 2022 as Executive Assistant to the CFO and COO. Shortly after, she assumed the role of Project Officer for the Hurst Education Trust (HET), where she supports major projects, events, and daily administrative tasks, including diary management for the CEO, CFO and Director of Education.
Prior to joining Hurstpierpoint College, Hannah held various roles in Project Management and as an Executive Assistant. While new to the education sector, she is enjoying the role’s versatility and the opportunity for continued learning.
Jen Dring
Administrator
More information coming soon.
Wendy Loft
Governance Professional
More information coming soon.