none of us, as they say, is as good as all of us

Dr Kate Webb is the Managing Director of The KWP Ltd, providing strategic consultancy for the skills and education sector.  In the last twelve months The KWP Ltd has worked with partners such as the AoC to deliver an innovative sector-led consultancy service- ‘The College Collective'; supported over twenty-five colleges in a variety of projects; and worked with the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce to deliver Local Skills Improvement Plans for Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

She has worked in Further Education for over 30 years and was a College CEO and Principal for 12 years, leading a complex and successful college merger that gained an Ofsted ‘Good’ judgement for its first inspection in 2020, a ‘high confidence’ rating from QAA for Higher Education and 'outstanding' financial health (2021).

Her doctoral thesis examined the impact of GCSE retakes on 16-18 year old vocational students.

She was born in Birmingham and moved south on a narrowboat in 1996 but now lives in Berkshire with three dogs, two children and a husband.

Graham Try is a Director of The KWP Ltd, providing consultancy and financial services for the skills and education sector.    

Graham has held Deputy Chief Executive roles in 2 further education colleges in London and Berkshire spanning 23 years. 

Prior to this he spent 16 years in 2 London Borough Councils, including for 5 years as Education Financial Services Manager at the London Borough of Harrow, where he led financial and support services to the Borough’s 70 schools. He is a Chartered Public Finance Accountant (CIPFA).   

Graham has substantial experience in leading multi-disciplinary support teams and supporting and delivering policies and strategies in collaboration with elected Members and Boards of Governors. Most recently, he served as Interim COO for Bournemouth & Poole College. 

Until 2022, Graham was Deputy Chief Executive for 16 years at a college group and during this time the college’s financial health was rated mostly “outstanding” and at least “good” in 15 of these years.  In his role he deputised for the Principal and CEO and he also acted as Principal and CEO during a period of maternity leave.  

He has led the planning and successful delivery of a £31 million transformation of estate which included several capital grant funding applications for circa £10m. He has played a key role in  complex and successful college mergers.

Simon has 25 years of experience in the further education sector, 15 of them in senior leadership positions. He has led colleges through major change management programmes, mergers, and quality improvement journeys. He has particular specialisms in project management, digital education, coaching & mentoring, and new business development. 

 After head of department and faculty roles in a number of Hampshire colleges, he went on to the Deputy Principal and Principal roles at Portsmouth College. Whilst there he helped move the college from requires improvement to good, oversaw the introduction of iPads for all staff and students, and the establishment of an international student programme. Student numbers grew by over 50% during this period.   

He taught history and politics for the first 10 years of his career and retains an absolute belief in the power of good education to change lives.