Sir Michael John Tomlinson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 17 October 1942 in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

) is the chair of the Working Group for 14–19 Reform which has been commissioned by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

to look into reform of the syllabus and qualifications structure for 14- to 19-year-olds in the English education system.

Early life

He passed the 11-plus and attended the Oakwood Technical High School (now the Oakwood Technology College) in

and Bournemouth Boys' School (a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary sch ...

). He studied for a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, propertie ...

at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

before going on to do a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. ...

at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, followed by 12 years in the classroom as a science teacher, including some time on secondment to

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

as a schools liaison officer in 1977.

Career

Teaching

He was a chemistry teacher at the Henry Mellish Grammar School (now called Henry Mellish School and Specialist Sports College) on ''Highbury Road'' in

Bulwell Bulwell is a market town in the City of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the population of Bulwell at 29,771 which amounted to o ...

, Nottingham from 1965 to 1969. From 1969 to 1977, he was head of chemistry at Ashby-de-la-Zouch Grammar School (a comprehensive school and now called Ashby School) in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Education administration

In 1978 he joined Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools (now

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, includ ...

) and, in this capacity, helped to re-establish the education system in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

following the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. In 1989, he became chief inspector (secondary). In November 2000 when

Chris Woodhead Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead (20 October 1946 – 23 June 2015) was a British educationalist. He was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England from 1994 to 2000, and was one of the most controversial figures in debates on the di ...

resigned, he became Chief Inspector of Schools, a post which he held until his retirement in 2002.

Retirement

Shortly after his retirement, he led an enquiry (the Tomlinson Enquiry) into the controversy surrounding A-level grading, and was then appointed chair of the 14–19 Working Group in 2003. He is also a governor of the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

, a member of the boards of the

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In England and Northern Ireland, the QCDA maintained and developed the National C ...

and the National Assessment Agency, a member of the Public Engagement group of the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

, and a fellow and a member of the council of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. Since 2008, he has been chief adviser for London Schools in the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was repla ...

Recognition

In 1997 he was made a

. Tomlinson was made a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

in the

New Year's Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

list of 31 December 2004.

Personal life

In 1965 he married Maureen Janet Tupling in Rotherham. They have a son (born 1968) and a daughter (born 1970). His children initially went to comprehensive schools, but later went to grammar schools.

External links

Working Group on 14–19 Reform

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

The RSA

The Science Museum

Interview with Sir Mike Tomlinson 2008

Honorary doctorate from the University of Wolverhampton

News items

BBC Profile September 2002

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, Mike 1942 births Living people People from Rotherham Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alumni of Durham University People educated at Bournemouth School People associated with the University of Hertfordshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Schoolteachers from Nottinghamshire Civil servants in the Department of Education (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Department for Education and Employment Civil servants in the Department for Education and Skills Civil servants in the Department for Children, Schools and Families English educational theorists People associated with the Science Museum, London Schoolteachers from Leicestershire