Rachel de Souza
Dame Rachel Mary de Souza is a British educationalist, and former head teacher. Since 2012, she has been the chief executive of the Inspiration Trust. Rachel de Souza was appointed a Dame in the 2014 New Year Honours for her services to education.Personal life
Born in Scunthorpe in 1968, she was the middle child among three brothers. Her father was a steelworker, her mother an Austro-Hungarian refugee. She attended a local Catholic comprehensive school and earned a BA in Philosophy and Theology at Heythrop College, University of London. She later completed a PGCE at King's College London before moving with her husband to Oxford, where he studied at Jesus College.Career
De Souza taught in Oxfordshire and Luton, later served as deputy head at Denbigh High School, Luton. Her first headship was at Barnfield West academy in Luton, before being appointed principal of Ormiston Victory Academy in Costessey, Norwich.
In 2012 she co-founded the Inspiration Trust, a multi academy trust based in Norwich. The Trust opened with a single school in Great Yarmouth but has since grown to include 14 schools across Norfolk and Suffolk. The Trust includes sponsor academies, converter academies, and free schools, with age range from nursery to sixth form.
