Paul has a vast experience with governance of Catholic schools and has been a Governor and Director for almost 30 years.  He is currently the Chair of the Pope Francis MAC.  

In his paid role he is a senior Director in a Pharmaceutical Company.  

Paul Armstrong became a Director of the Pope Francis MAC in 2023. He has lived with his wife in Oxford for over a decade, and has three young children. Paul has been a trustee and treasurer of a local Oxfordshire charity since 2015. Professionally, Paul is an economic consultant and advises his clients on a range of competition, regulation, policy and strategic matters. He regularly advises senior decision-makers in a range of organisations including private sector firms, government departments, regulators, NHS Trusts, and providers of social care services 

Lorraine is a Foundation Director within the Pope Francis MAC and is the Deputy Director of Finance for the NHS - South East Region.

Tony has been a Governor of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Banbury since 2004 and a Director of the Pope Francis MAC since its inception. He comes from a family of teachers, his father having been a Catholic primary school head, and is married to a retired assistant secondary headteacher.  

Tony’s grown-up children both attended St John’s primary school and BGN secondary school. Professionally, Tony is a chartered civil engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts. He has a long career in infrastructure construction, business management and innovation management.

He has worked for two of the U.K.’s largest construction companies in the rail, highways, water and energy sectors. He is now a self-employed consultant in this field. Professional skills include business strategy, project management, design management, change management, staff mentoring and development, HR and Health and Safety management.

He and his family have lived in Banbury for over 30 years, and know the area and local community well.   

James has worked in education for nearly sixty years, beginning as a secondary science teacher and later leading a successful science department, teaching biology to A Level. He taught in state schools in Sheffield, Chelsea, and Bexleyheath, and served as Deputy Headteacher at All Saints’ RC Comprehensive School in Mansfield from 1987 to 1993.

He went on to become Principal of Carmel College, Darlington, a role he held for 17 years until 2009. During this time, he led the school to an Ofsted Outstanding rating and secured over £13 million in Department for Education funding for major rebuilding and refurbishment projects. He was also appointed a National Leader of Education, supporting schools in challenging circumstances, and contributed nationally through roles with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and the Department for Education’s Secondary Heads’ Reference Group.

Following retirement, James continued to play a significant role in education through consultancy and governance. He worked as a School Improvement Partner (SIP) for County Durham, served as a trustee and governor for several educational and diocesan bodies including a Trustee for the Diocese of Middlesbrough.

He held senior leadership roles with the Future Leaders Trust (now Ambition), including Regional Director for the North East. He also chaired an academy trust in Darlington and served as a trustee or governor for a number of schools and trusts up to the present day.

Born in Washington DC to a diplomat father, Judith eventually returned to the UK by way of Berlin and Paris at the age of eight.  Judith obtained a 2.1 degree in law at Oxford University, married a medievalist and subsequently worked as the business manager for a leading journal of medieval studies  and also edited medieval books for publishers.  

Judith was a magistrate on the Oxford City Bench for twenty five years and chaired both family and criminal courts, also chairing the Bench Training and Development Committee.  

Following that, Judith trained as a marriage counsellor with Marriage Care, working as a counsellor in Oxford for many years and became chair of the local centre before moving on to chair the National Board of Marriage Care where she gained valuable experience of governance in a charitable company as well as negotiating with government departments over grants and finance. 

Sean and his family have lived in Bicester since 2006, having moved to Oxfordshire for work. He has a background in the manufacturing industry, predominantly in quality-related roles, and currently works for Jaguar Land Rover within the Enterprise Performance and Quality function. His work at JLR has focused on improving vehicle quality by applying strong governance to development and manufacturing processes, ensuring they are effective, efficient, and continuously improved.

Sean has long been interested in supporting his local school community. He first became involved through St Mary’s Catholic Primary School PTA from 2012 to 2015, before being elected as a Parent Governor in 2015. Over the past eight years, he has undertaken a range of governance roles, developing a strong understanding of school leadership and the complexities of running a modern primary school. This commitment culminated in his election as Chair of Governors at St Mary’s in May 2023.

As local Catholic primary schools begin the journey of joining the Pope Francis MAC, Sean recognises the growing importance of multi-academy companies in delivering high-quality education. This led him to apply for the role of Director of the PFMAC, where he hopes to support the organisation in delivering its vision and strategic goals.

Coming soon