Dr Tony Sewell CBE
chair, Generating Genius; chairman, The Sewell Report; former chair, Race and Ethnic Disparities Commission

Tony is chair of the leading science and technology charity Generating Genius. He was born in London of Jamaican immigrants. He worked as a secondary-school teacher in some of London’s most challenging schools.

During this period, he worked on his PhD, which looked at the link between black masculinities in the UK and school achievement. This became a seminal work, and led to several key publications. He helped with the transformation of education in Hackney as part of the team that set up the Learning Trust and the iconic Mossbourne school. The work in Hackney had national significance, given that it was the flagship of the Academy movement which was transformed the education landscape.

It was after this that Tony set up his ground-breaking charity Generating Genuis, which has successfully given thousands of young people from poor backgrounds the opportunity toto study science and technology at top universities. Recently, he led former Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s inquiry into London education. This resulted in the London Schools Excellence Fund, a programme that helped London schools to achieve the top grades for London students. He was awarded a CBE for his work in education.

This year he finished The Sewell Report, where he chaired the Race and Ethnic Disparities Commission. Tony has published widely and hopes to finish his great ambition to be a farmer and an expert in Scottish Medieval poetry.

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Saturday 31 July, 15:00 Assembly Hall, Church House
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