College Websites

My name is Gary Headland and I was proud to be appointed as the CEO of Activate Learning and co-chair of the Activate Learning Education Trust on 1 April 2022.

Prior to this appointment, I was CEO of the Lincoln College Group for seven and a half years, responsible for colleges in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as well as international operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China.

I hold voluntary offices as a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County of Lincolnshire and President of the Royal British Legion in Lincolnshire. I am also a non-executive director and chair of a cyber security company called KryptoKloud Ltd.

Prior to joining the education sector, I was a Director of Northgate Public Services for three and a half years, a Director at Norfolk Constabulary for over two years and a senior Royal Air Force officer for 23 years serving in locations throughout the UK and overseas in Germany, Italy and the Middle East.

I believe that lifelong learning is vitally important and so I have underpinned my public and private sector career spanning over 35 years with high-quality education and training. I hold an MA from Kings College London, an MBA from the Open University Business School and a Level 7 qualification from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). I am in the final throes of becoming a Chartered Director which is a Level 7 qualification awarded by the Institute of Directors (IoD).

I am a Fellow of the IoD and qualified previously as a Fellow of both the CIPD and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Transforming lives through the delivery of exceptional and highly-relevant education, and meeting the needs of our local communities, are my passions.

Sally has held senior posts in both secondary schools and further education for many years and is a tireless campaigner and advocate for the learning and skills sector. She is a board member of the Education and Training Foundation, Pearson’s board and deputy chair of the LEP skills board. She use to chair the Women’s Leadership Network and was the chair of the Employment Committee of the Association of Colleges. She is a member of the Oxfordshire Management Club, All Souls Group and is a leading thinker for the National Education Trust. Sally was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Honours list in July 2013.

Her main area of interest is in how people learn, mindfulness and how to develop more entrepreneurial innovative individuals.

She became Principal at Milton Keynes College in 1996, and in 2003 became the first Principal of Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. In 2013 she became the first Chief Executive of Activate Learning, bringing together in one group, three FE Colleges, three UTCs, two 11-18 secondary schools, a studio school, a training provider delivering apprentices, training and consulting in the workplace, and a specialist engineering training provider.

In her free time, Sally enjoys travel, cycling, Zumba and spending time with her partner and daughter.