Judges

A university chief, former college boss and one of Cumbria’s top police officers will judge this year’s Golden Apples.

Peter Strike, Ed Elvish and Michelle Skeer will be among the panel faced with some difficult decisions in the CN Group education awards.

The publisher of The Cumberland News is, with the backing of Britain’s Energy Coast Campus and Active Travel, once again highlighting excellence in education throughout the county.

There are 19 categories in which awards will be given.

The judging panel will be chaired by Marie Whitehead, director of events at CN Group.

She will be joined by University of Cumbria vice chancellor, Professor Peter Strike.

He is one of the key players in education in the county, as the university’s most senior employee – a job he took on last year after a string of other top positions.

Professor Strike was one of the judges for last year’s awards. Another panel member is Ed Elvish, former principal of Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College, a post he held from 1992 until 2005.

During that time he represented Furness education on various local and regional groups, and north west sixth form college principals on a number of national committees and organisations.

Before coming to Cumbria, Mr Elvish had 15 years of teaching and management experience in grammar and comprehensive schools in County Durham followed by nine years as part of the senior management team which set up and ran the first tertiary college in the north east of England.

Since retiring he has continued to live in Furness and has worked as an educational consultant.

Helping them will be Cumbria police’s Assistant Chief Constable, Michelle Skeer.

Born and raised in Cumbria, the mum of three joined the county’s police force in 1990 having completed a degree in history and media in Leeds.

She has worked at every rank in uniform and detective roles in her career and is currently responsible for all operational policing issues in the county.

On top of her day job, Mrs Skeer holds three national unpaid roles – as lead for the management of sexual and violent offenders, chairman of the Police National Database (PND) business assurance group and is the national police lead on gambling, ensuring links between police forces and the Gambling Commission.

As well as being a judge, Mrs Skeer will be a speaker at the awards evening.

A representative from CN Group’s editorial team will complete the judging line-up.

The Golden Apples ceremony will be held at Rheged, near Penrith, on October 4.