It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of my friend and colleague Chris James on the 17 January 2025.
Chris was Emeritus Professor of Educational Leadership and Management at the University of Bath. He joined the university in 1993, teaching and supervising many teachers and school leaders from around the world as they developed their understanding of leadership and management theory and its relation to the improvement of practice. His commitment to the importance of research informing practice was exemplified by his role as a school governor and then Chair of Trustees at a Multi-Academy Trust. Chris’ commitment to the work of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) was recognised through their Distinguished Service Award.
I first met Chris in 2006 when he undertook a research study of school governance for me. The School Governance Study examined the effectiveness of school governance and the roles and responsibilities of school governing bodies. It found that although school governing is an essential aspect of education in England, the role of the governor and the process of governing was in Chris’ words: “overloaded, overcomplicated, and overlooked”. The findings of that study were used as the basis of the report I wrote: ‘Governing our Schools’ which was presented to the Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2008. Its recommendations included clarifying and simplifying the purpose of school governing boards, enhancing their status, and reducing the range of their responsibilities to allow them to concentrate on scrutiny and strategic development. The report led to a number of changes in school governance and Chris, who presented evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee, deserves much of the credit for this.
I found his advice, support and guidance in helping to set up the charity in 2009 invaluable. He was a founding member of our research group and contributed to many of our research conferences. He played a key role in helping to set up our free online research library which provides an extensive repository of effective approaches to employer engagement and careers education . He wrote this article marking the library’s 10th anniversary in 2020.
Here is a video clip of Chris speaking so eloquently at one of our conferences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPWkJTJFvvI
Professor Mary Hayden a colleague at Bath summed it up well: “Chris will be remembered fondly not only by colleagues at Bath but also by teachers, school leaders and academic staff around the world for his hard work, high-quality research and prolific writing, as well as for his kindness, encouragement and support. As a significant figure in his field, his professional legacy will be the major contribution he has made to the understanding and improvement of school management, leadership and governance.”
Chris was a brilliant academic but also very self-effacing about his many achievements. He always found time to help researchers in the early stages of their careers and this continued after his retirement in 2020. He was a firm believer in fairness and tolerance, supporting those who had fewer advantages in life and had a wonderful sense of humour. As a gifted writer and an ace proof-reader, he would have been the first person I would have asked to check this piece for me.
Chris and his wife Jane came to stay with me before Christmas and despite his cancer diagnosis he remained as cheerful as ever and we stayed up late into the night talking about education and the ingrained social inequalities in our country. I will miss him a greatly and I know so will many others.
Chris’s funeral will take place next Friday, 14th February in Bath and will be live-streamed. If you would like details or to pass on a message of condolence to his family please do email me.
Nick Chambers
CEO
Education and Employers
