Education principal collects Royal honour

The head of the education partnership which runs Sunderland College has collected her Royal honour at Windsor Castle.

Ellen Th inn es en, chief executive of Education Partnership NorthEast, was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, and was presented with it by the Duke of Cambridge.

She received the honour for her outstanding contribution to education and her work with the partnership – which includes Sunderland College, Northumberland College and Hartlepool Sixth Form.

Ms Th inn es en took over at the partnership in 2019 and also chairs the NorthEast Local Enterprise Partnership Skills Advisory Panel.

She said :“The investiture at Windsor Castle was a lovely day. Being among so many dedicated and remarkable people who have had such a significant impact on their communities was a truly memorable and humbling experience. I would like to thank the inspirational people that I am privileged to work with everyday who have made this a reality.

“The award of my OBE is attributable to my supportive family, but most importantly, to those colleagues, past and present, who have shown tremendous dedication to the service of others. I am continually grateful for this.”

Rob Lawson, former chair of governors at Education Partnership North East, said: “On behalf of the board and all of the staff and students at Education PartnershipNorthEast I would like to congratulate Ellen on her investiture at Windsor Castle. We’ re delighted her inspirationalleadership and positive impact within the sector has been formally recognised.”