As a company limited by guarantee, Tyne Coast Academy Trust is constituted under a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association and has legal Members who oversee the Trust and its Trustees.

The Trust has five Member positions. 

The Members are responsible for (amongst other things):

• Approving any changes to the Articles of Association;
• Appointment and removal of Trustees; and
• Securing the highest standards of accountability from the Trustees for the provision of all pupils in the Multi Academy Trust (MAT).

All Members can be contacted via Mr Neil Longstaff, Director of Governance. Please complete our Web Form and we will respond as soon as possible.

Our Members' business and pecuniary interests show details of any economic and/or business links and roles in other institutions. 

Meet Our Members

Mr Clive Johnson

Member

• Appointed by Sponsor: 01.08.2022

After gaining a Business Studies degrees in 1981 Clive has spent his career in finance. Initially in banking and then into Local Government, starting off in Tyne and Wear CC, where he qualified as an accountant in 1985, before moving to the Education service at North Tyneside Council. In 1989 he moved to the NHS and worked in several local NHS bodies before finishing his career at the NHS Business Services Authority responsible for the provision of all financial services to a business with a turnover in excess of £36bn.

Throughout his career he has been involved and delivered major change programmes, mergers and consolidations, and developing new accounting and reporting practices. He is a qualified in PRINCE2 project management processes and has continued an intensive leadership development programme. Since retiring in 2019 Clive has been assisting in the strategic planning of a Housing organisation working in the Housing benefit exempt sector.

He is a past president of CIPFA in the North East and a member of the national Technical Information Service. Clive is also a member of the Cramlington LV MAT and Lay Chair of St Marks PCC.

    Mrs Helen Watson

Helen Watson held the position of Corporate Director for Children, Adults and Families at South Tyneside Council for seven years until she left to become Director of Strategy at Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) in September 2015. Her other previous roles include Head of Children’s Services at North Tyneside Council, which she held for over four years, from 2003. Helen has an MBA from the Open University, a Master’s degree in sociology and social policy from the University of Durham, a BA in history from Kings College London, and gained a postgraduate qualification in social work after studying at University College Cardiff. Helen’s volunteer experience and causes cover several areas including animal welfare, children, civil rights and social action, economic empowerment and education.

• Appointed by Members: 04.07.17

Mr Colin Seccombe MBE

Member

Colin is a chartered accountant having qualified with KPMG in London; after a two year secondment to Canada with them he returned to his native Devon and became a partner in their Plymouth office in 1987. The main focus of his work was audit - particularly of financial organisations - and business advisory. In 1997 he left KPMG to become Finance Director of Newcastle Building Society and in 2006 took over as Chief Executive. He retired in 2010.  He was a trustee of the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland
for 9 years being Treasurer for six. Subsequent to that he became a trustee of UK Community Foundations and has been Treasurer for five years. He has been a governor of Tyne Coast College (and one of its predecessors Tyne Metropolitan College) for eight years and is currently the Chair of its Finance Committee.  He was awarded the MBE in 2019 for services to the community and business in the north east.
 

Tyne Coast College