Meet the Senior Leadership Team

Mark Ronan joined Hutchesons’ Grammar School as Rector & CEO in August 2024.

He holds an Economics degree and an MA from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, along with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Moray House, Edinburgh, and a qualification in Headship from the National College for School Leadership.

Mark began his teaching career at Rugby School, where he held positions in boarding and served as a Head of Department. He then moved to Trent College as Deputy Head Academic before taking on the Headship of Pocklington School, an HMC co-educational day and boarding school for ages 3 to 18 in East Yorkshire. In January 2019, he became Principal of The King’s Hospital School in Dublin, an HMC co-educational day and boarding school – 12 to 18.

Mark is married to Fiona, and together they enjoy walking and travelling.

David Campbell brings a wealth of experience from his role as our Depute Rector with responsibility for Careers and Higher Education since 2011, leading all aspects of applications to University as well as Subject Choice decisions. He joined the school as a teacher of English in 1997 after spending two years at Portora Royal School for Boys in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

David was S6 Year Tutor at the school for over five years before joining the Senior Leadership Team. He has an MA from the University of Dundee as well as an MEd and MSc from the University of Glasgow. David is married to Suzanne and has three children, Olivia, Clara, and David, all former pupils.

Colin Bagnall has a History Degree and MA from St John’s College Cambridge, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from Queen’s University Belfast and a Masters in Education Management from the Open University.

Beginning his teaching career in Edinburgh, Colin has held posts in boarding and academic contexts in Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, Leighton Park School, Reading, Dollar Academy, Clackmannanshire and Stewart’s Melville College, Edinburgh, where he was Head of History before taking up the newly created post of Director of Curriculum at Hutchesons’ Grammar School in 2006, responsible for all matters relating to the academic life of the school.

Outside school, having had a parallel ‘career’ as cartoonist, author, actor and a sportsman for all seasons whose enthusiasm never quite compensated for his lack of athleticism, he now lives a quiet family life with a wife and two children in semi-rural Fife.

Gillian Clarke has been Depute Rector in charge of Pastoral Care at Hutchesons’ Grammar School since 2012. She attended the University of Glasgow, where she gained a Master of Arts, followed by a P.G.C.E. and a Diploma in Guidance.

In 2018, Gillian completed her MEd in Educational Leadership with merit at the University of Strathclyde. She has been involved in educational pastoral care since 1993, and is a member of three Scottish Government policy advisory groups which focus on wellbeing and pupil support. She has a son, Tom, who is also a member of the Hutchie family. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys travelling and watching rugby (especially the school teams).

Graham Dunlop started at Hutchesons’ in August 1998 after four years at Heriot-Watt University doing his Bed Hons in Physical Education (PE). Over this time he has been a teacher of PE, Assistant Head of Year, Head of Year and then Head of House. Outside of work, hockey is his passion, having played for Scotland and Great Britain in his playing days gaining nearly 200 international caps and representing Great Britain at the Olympics in Athens in 2004. Graham has coached various youth Scotland squads ever since. Graham is married to Gill who is also a PE teacher and has two children, Ailish 13 and Finlay 11.

Mr Ashley Cornfoot joined Hutchesons’ from Kuala Lumpur – where he was Deputy Head and then Acting Head of Primary.

For the past 20 years, Mr Cornfoot has been involved in International Education, working across the world in successful schools in Doha, Bangkok and Brussels.

As a leadership facilitator for University College London and an accredited school inspector for the Council of International Schools, Ashley has been able to travel to schools across Europe, Asia and Australia.

He has also worked with major tech company Apple on the integration of technology and Google in terms of effective learning platforms.

Mr Cornfoot is married with three children who are all at the school. He enjoys regularly visiting family Moray, Fife and Perthshire, exploring the West of Scotland and watching  football.

Helen Gibson began her career as a P7 class teacher at Hutchesons’ Grammar Primary School. She became a Senior Teacher (Pastoral) in charge of Stuart House in 2006, and continued in this role until 2015, when she was appointed Depute Rector with responsibility for the Upper Primary, P4-7. She has a Bachelor of Education from Jordanhill College in Glasgow.

Mrs Amanda Wilson joined Hutchesons’ as the Depute Rector of the Lower Primary in 2015. She is also the Depute for our Pre-school which opened in 2018.

Prior to this she was a Principal Teacher at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh for three years. She studied Biological Sciences at Napier University in Edinburgh, before completing a PGDE at Craigie College of Education.

Jill Galloway joined Hutchesons’ in August 2023 as Director of People with overall responsibility for HR across the school as well as delivering the Strategic Ambition as it relates to our people.

A graduate of the University of Strathclyde, Jill has worked across the public sector and education for over 20 years. This is Jill’s second time joining Hutchesons’, having worked in the school for 10 years up to 2019 in HR and Operational Management roles. Jill moved on to become Bursar in another Glasgow school before being offered a role in the College sector where she was latterly Vice Principal, People and Transformation. However, a return to the Independent School sector beckoned and Jill is delighted to have re-joined Hutchie.