Dr Lawrence Foley

Dr Lawrence Foley, Future Academies chief executive, is the former executive principal of Harris Academy Tottenham, where he led the transformation of the school that resulted in it being awarded Outstanding status by Ofsted. At Future Academies, Dr Foley leads a multi-academy trust made up of 10 schools located throughout London and Hertfordshire. He coordinates the work of the Curriculum Centre, leads on organisational development and oversees work in the areas of school finance, operations and improvement.

Dr Foley is active in his support of the charities RNIB and AMMF and has run half-marathons in support of these organisations. AMMF, which supports those with a rare form of cancer, is of particular personal relevance: Mr Foley tragically lost his mother-in-law to this disease in 2023. For Dr Foley, youth violence reduction is an extremely important issue, and to this end he was keen to foster partnerships with local charities to deliver violence reduction work to Harris Academy Tottenham while in his former post.

An alumnus of the Teach First programme, which he completed in 2013, Dr Foley is one of many ambassadors that have gone on to become headteachers. Teach First is the UK’s largest teacher training and leadership programme, established in 2003. The organisation is committed to improving the life chances and choices for children experiencing poverty. Bringing an end to educational inequality is Teach First’s overarching mission. Coming from a free-school-meals background himself, Dr Foley viewed his participation in this programme as an important part of increasing representation within the field of education.