Alan Evans has services to Education honoured with OBE

Alan Evans, a longstanding partner of the School of Social Sciences, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

A Senior Research, Training and Evaluation Consultant who leads the Learning Development Unit associated with the School of Social Sciences, Alan was awarded the honour for his services to Education.

Throughout a long career in education, Alan has made a very significant contribution to key developments in school education in England and Wales, particularly in the areas of professional development of teachers, countering underachievement, mentoring and coaching, and school improvement. From 1974 to 1989 he was head of the Education and Equal Opportunities Department of the NUT. Since leaving the NUT he has been a Senior Research, Training and Evaluation Consultant working in association with the School of Social Sciences, on a number of major projects. Alan has played a significant role in the way primary and secondary education in England and Wales has been reformed and developed over the period from the late 1960s to the present day.

Alan is the former National Coordinator of the National Mentoring Pilot Project, the National Mentoring Scheme and the Aimhigher Associates Scheme, 1999-2011, and also coordinated the mentoring project related to the First Campus Reaching Higher Reaching Wider project in South East Wales, deploying more than 5,000 undergraduates from 32 universities across England and Wales who mentored over 20,000 pupils during the life of the projects.  He was also the Module Leader for the Mentoring Module of the Learning Coach qualification for First Campus, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

As an expert consultant on countering underachievement, especially in boys; school management; performance management; school improvement; mentoring and coaching, he has undertaken consultancy in these fields in Australia, India, New Zealand, Thailand and United States of America and several countries in the European Union.

Outside his professional roles, he has contributed more widely to education through serving on a range of public bodies since the 1970s; more recently in the role of Chair of the Governing Body of Kitchener Primary School for the last 14 years, Executive Chair of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth (2011-2013) and since 2014 Chair of Cardiff Governors Association.

Alan said of his accolade: "It has been a long journey of educational reform during which I have had the privilege of working with stimulating and exciting colleagues on a wide range of initiatives and programmes.  I owe many debts of honour to a number of remarkable innovators and pioneers: this award is as much a recognition of them and their endeavours as it is of the challenging and stimulating professional and civic work in which I have been involved and which I have found enriching and fulfilling."   

Professor Amanda Coffey, Head of School, said: "The School of Social Sciences (and formerly the School of Education) has enjoyed a long association with Alan over many years, including working with him on research projects and programmes to improve education practice. I speak on behalf of all of my colleagues when I congratulate Alan on being awarded this OBE."