Stuart Head of House

Alex Hayne

I was delighted to be appointed the new Head of Stuart House at the start of this year,
although I was Head of Hanover House since September 2021 and have been teaching at Churchill Academy since September 2005 as a Geography teacher.

My background

Churchill Academy has provided me with many opportunities to further my career over the years,
and I am proud to have held a number of posts and responsibilities. Through the previous pastoral
structure of the school, I became a senior tutor which is where my love for the pastoral role began.
From here I became a Deputy Head of the Sixth Form, responsible for pastoral care for one of the
year groups in the Sixth Form. This provided me with an insight into the different needs of older
students and I thoroughly enjoyed my role. Following my maternity leave I had the opportunity to
take a leadership role in the academic structure of the school and became Assistant Head of the
Humanities Faculty. This gave a new reflection on the running of a Faculty, and I gained a new set of
skills in leadership. From there I became Leader of Learning of Geography and had several happy
years running a fantastic team and restructuring the geography curriculum. In addition to these roles
I was also a staff governor for 6 years where I was able to truly see the cogs of the school in action,
and I set up the Duke of Edinburgh Award at the Academy over 14 years ago, successfully running
the scheme for many years.
Finally the opportunity to move back into the pastoral setting came up and I grabbed it with both
hands. I have enjoyed all my roles in the academy, but pastoral care has always been the most
important thing to me – ensuring students are happy, feel like they have a support network around
them and want to come to school means that all students can be successful in their studies – and
that’s what I want for all students in Hanover House.

My interests
I love the outdoors, and frequently enjoy hiking in the mountains in this country and I’m also a keen
skier. With geography as my passion I love to travel. I was privileged to be granted a sabbatical back
in 2010 and was able to travel the globe visiting spectacular landscapes, experiencing cultures and
eating amazing food which is another of my favourite things to do! More recently much of my time
is dedicated to my two young children who keep me busy and on my toes!