My background is in Psychology, and I hold a BSc from the University of York as well as an M.Ed from the University of Bristol. Post university, I worked for both the Medical Research Council in London and the Department of Psychiatry in Cambridge, researching the impact of transition to community rather than hospital-based care upon the lifestyle and wellbeing of adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour.
I joined the newly-formed research department in January 1994, and have worked on a wide variety of projects including extensive comparability work, surveys of centres and candidates and detailed evaluation of individual specifications. I lead the comparability strand of our research programme, and have been involved for more than 20 years with the Aspects of Writing research, which examines elements of 16+ candidates’ writing at various points in time.
As Deputy Director in the Research Division, I have close involvement in the management and oversight of the division alongside my own project work.
My research role at work is reflected, at home, in an ongoing fascination with family archives and genealogy.