NEW BOARD MEMBERS

New Board Members

It was announced on 14 February that three new members have been appointed to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Board. An existing Board member is also being reappointed.

The new members are:

John Mitchell
A secondary school teacher who has held a number of posts in schools in the Strathclyde area since 1968. He is currently headteacher of Kilsyth Academy and is due to retire during 2005. Mr Mitchell is also currently a board member of Learning and Teaching Scotland.

Professor Alex MacLennan
Currently Principal and Chief Executive of Ayr College. He worked as a research chemist before joining Paisley College as a lecturer in organic chemistry in 1985. At Paisley University he rose to Assistant Principal in 2002 with particular responsibility for external affairs and lifelong learning, and in 2004 joined Ayr College as its Principal.

Professor John Simmons
Vice-Principal of Heriot-Watt University where he has been Professor of Mechanical Engineering since 1992. He is the Chair of the Academic Standards Committee of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a member of its Qualifications and Membership Board. He is a member of the SQA's Engineering Advisory Group and of its HN Review Group (Engineering).

Judith Gillespie has been reappointed for a second term. Mrs Gilliespie has been heavily involved in the Scottish Parent Teacher Council since the late 1980s and now its development manager. She has represented the parental perspective on a range of policy bodies including the Higher Still Development Group, the National Qualifications Steering Group and the Curriculum review Group. She regularly writes for the educational press and was first appointed to the SQA Board in 2001.

The new appointments are for four years and run from 14 February 2005 to 13 February 2009. Mrs Gillespie has been reappointed for a second four-year term from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2008. The posts are part-time and attract a remuneration of £4,119 for a time commitment of 23 days per year.

The SQA is an executive non-departmental public body established under the Education (Scotland) Act 1996, as amended by the Scottish Qualifications Authority Act 2002. It is responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees in Scotland.

This Ministerial public appointment was made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland.

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.

John Mitchell has distributed election material on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. None of the other appointees have played any political role in the last five years.