Martin Rainsford

Founder & Director

Martin has been a headteacher in London secondary schools for 19 years.  He led a London Challenge school out of special measures.  He has been a member of the Education Commission of the Diocese of Westminster and was a founding director of The Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust, one of the highest performing trusts in the country. 

Together with Sir John Rowling, Martin founded PiXL International in 2014.  Since then, the network of schools in the PiXL International family has grown from 5 schools in one country to more than 1400 schools in five countries.  Martin leads the PiXL International team in delivering the key objective of the charity: to give students a better future and a brighter hope.

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Charlotte Beckett

Head of Product & Operations

Charlotte qualified as a commercial lawyer in the City of London before moving to Boston, US, and joining nonprofit startup Barakat Bundle at the Harvard Innovation Lab.  She led the operations of the infant and maternal health charity for 4 years, working with local communities to design life-saving care bundles and a health education program for families in need in South Asia.  

Charlotte leads the development of PiXL International’s app, oversees the design of in-app learning materials and manages PiXL International’s operations.  

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Alison Burrowes

Tanzania Lead

Alison has just completed 20 years as a Senior Leader in Secondary schools in the North West, with 11 years as Headteacher of a large 11-18 secondary school. She is now enjoying a variety of roles which are combining her passion for Catholic education with her opportunity to work alongside schools as a School Improvement Partner, supporting Headteachers and Senior Leaders through coaching, strategic planning and reviewing the quality of education.

Alison has worked in partnership with Headteachers and teachers in Tanzania since 2009 and has visited the country many times. She now has a strong partnership with schools in Tanzania and has trained hundreds of Headteachers and Education Officers across the country as a member of Pixl International. When in the UK she maintains constant contact with the networks that have developed in Tanzania supporting them remotely with leadership development and teaching, learning and assessment.

John Catron

Primary School Lead

John currently works as an independent education consultant. His commissions are with Partners in Excellence ‘PiXL’ as Primary, Secondary, Post-16 and International associate; FFT Literacy, leading conferences on literacy and supporting action research programmes funded by EEF and DfE; and as a consultant leader with RTAG, an academy trust supporting alternative provision in the north of England.

Prior to this, John was the Deputy Director, Achievement in Middlesbrough LA; Principal Adviser in York LA; and, before that, a consultant with the National Strategies. He has served on the national management group for National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE); series editor for Hodder & Stoughton’s Key Stage 3 English programme; and is the author of a range of textbooks and resources to support the teaching of English and drama. 

Angela Finch

South Africa Lead

Angela is Deputy Headteacher at Byrchall High School in Ashton-in-Makerfield near Wigan, which is a PiXL Club school. She has been a teacher at the school for 34 years. In 2019 the school celebrated its 10th anniversary of international partnership with Smiling Valley Intermediate School in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Angela has developed and maintained this effective partnership, working on collaborative educational projects and expanding its links with educational professionals in the UK. 

Angela and Chris Sydenham have been collaborating on a PiXL International partnership in the Amatole Region in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with Smiling Valley Intermediate School and 20 other schools in the area. The first PiXL International conference was scheduled for April 2020.

Phil Hawkins

Brazil Lead

Phil has 20 years’ teaching experience in the UK in secondary schools in the London area where he saw that quality education makes a huge difference in the lives of young people. He relocated to Goiânia, Brazil in 2010 with his family where he worked with Aprender, a UK charity, and was introduced to PiXL International who supported the development of PiXL in Brazil. Aprender went on to become one of PiXL International's partners.

Phil gained significant experience in school development in disadvantaged communities forming a model based on a mixture of best practice in pedagogy and leadership together with different elements of PiXL strategies. He continues to work internationally with PiXL International, developing activities in Brazil and Jamaica. 

Jonathan Kamya

Uganda Lead

Jonathan is a Deputy Headteacher in a UK Secondary school. He has over 10 years’ experience working as a senior school leader. He is a trained Inspector of International schools with Cambridge Education. He is a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management. Jonathan is a founder member of City of Refuge Foundation, a UK based charity organisation that has set up a Primary school in Uganda and supports various youth initiatives in London and abroad.

Jonathan founded PiXL International in Uganda in 2018, working with local secondary schools in Kampala district. The number of secondary schools working with PiXL International in Uganda continues to grow and will soon include primary schools.

Barbara Luckhurst

Tanzania Lead

Barbara worked as a training coordinator with international NGOs and UK community organisations for 15 years. She has been involved with PiXL International since running the first exploratory workshop with education staff in Rukwa, Tanzania in 2013.

A member of the Executive Team in the UK, Barbara is also a founder member of PiXL International (Tanzania). Learning Swahili at SOAS and gaining a photography qualification from UAL have enabled her to contribute to communicating and building relationships with our partners in East Africa and our supporters in the UK. 

Betsan Williams

Ghana Lead

Betsan Williams has been a school leader for more than 20 years, working to lead school improvement across a range of secondary schools from underperforming, ‘coasting’ to very high achieving schools.  She was appointed to set up and open new schools in London in 2000 and 2014, and supported the opening of a new secondary school in West Africa in 2006. 

Betsan has worked with PiXL International since 2017, developing collaborative overseas partnerships. Her specialisms include curriculum and data analysis and bespoke resource creation to support improving outcomes for final year students. She leads our PiXL International projects in Ghana. 

Richard Ford

Richard started his teaching career in 1970 in Sunderland, before moving to Sackville School, East Grinstead, as Head of English, and on to a deputy-headship at St George’s C.E. School, Gravesend. He then held the position of Headteacher from 1988-2005 at Archbishop Tenison's C.E. High School, Croydon, a high-achieving comprehensive.

In 2004, the school was invited to join the London Challenge pilot scheme, which evolved into The PiXL Club. On taking early retirement to train as an Anglican priest, Richard continued working for PiXL, serving for some years as Deputy Chair, before downsizing. He is now an Associate for 8 schools, a Voting Member and Chair of the Directors' Remuneration Committee.

Richard serves as Trustee for PiXL International. 

Barbara Rhymaun

Barbara was Executive Head Teacher of Darrick Wood School for 15 years. The School was highly regarded in the community and examination results were excellent both at GCSE and at Advanced Level.  In the last Ofsted Inspection the School was graded as “Outstanding” in every category.

Barbara supported schools in the London area and beyond for over 18 years.  She has worked as a Local and National Leader of Education assisting Leadership teams and other staff to implement school improvement strategies in order to raise standards. She has mentored several head teachers new to the role of headship giving support and guidance.

Barbara worked for the London Leadership Strategy and was on the Board of Challenge Partners. She was one of the original members of PiXL and has supported the organisation in a variety of ways. Currently she is a PiXL leader, a member of the Voting Members Group and a Trustee.  She has taken a leading role establishing projects in Tanzania for PiXL International.