Patrons
Rt Rev Richard Inwood
Bishop of Bedford
Patron since: 2006
Richard Inwood is the Bishop of Bedford and has oversight of 150 parishes in Luton and Bedfordshire, under the direction of the Bishop of St Albans.
Married with three grown-up daughters, he has been ordained for 35 years. He served in Sheffield, London, Bath and Yeovil, before becoming Archdeacon of Halifax in 1995. His wife, Liz is a Principal Examiner for GCSE Maths. Bishop Richard read Chemistry at University College, Oxford, and later, theology at Nottingham University. Before ordination, Richard spent a year teaching in north-west Uganda and worked as a research and development chemist with ICI in Manchester for nearly two years.
As Patron for LCET, Bishop Richard takes a close interest in the work, visiting the project regularly, leading staff retreats and speaking at special events.
Rev Stephen Gaukroger
Clarion Trust International
Patron since: 2008
Stephen Gaukroger is the Director of Clarion Trust International. He is a senior church leader in the UK, having pastored two large churches and served as President of the Baptist Union. He serves on the boards & councils of a number of christian organisations including the chairmanship of the Council of Reference for Open Doors and the chairmanship of the Spring Harvest Charitable Trust. He is the senior biblical advisor for the ‘Friends & Heroes’ animated children’s series, recently shown on the BBC.
Over the last 10 years he has spoken to leaders and been involved in events in over 25 countries around the world. He is a prolific author (over 20 books) whose writing has been widely translated. He is married to Janet and they have 3 adult children.
As Patron for LCET, Stephen promotes LCET's work and speaks at special events as well as visiting the work regularly.
Prof. Les Ebdon
Vice-Chanecellor, University of Bedfordshire
Patron since: 2009
Professor Les EbdonProfessor Les Ebdon obtained both his BSc and PhD at Imperial College, London. After lectureships at Makerere University, Kampala and Sheffield City Polytechnic, he joined what is now the University of Plymouth in 1981 as Reader in Analytical Chemistry. He was promoted to a personal chair in 1986 and to Head of Department of Environmental Sciences in 1989. Later that year he was promoted to Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development). In 2006 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire.
Professor Ebdon has served, or is serving on eleven editorial boards including the Journal Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Journal of Automated Methods & Management in Chemistry and ICP Information Newsletter. He is currently Chair of Chemistry World Editorial Board and a Member of the Publications Board of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
His wide knowledge of education and the academic context bring a wealth of wisdom and experience to LCET's work. He is closely involved in our current development of a new Level 3 Certificate in Schools (Voluntary Support) Work in partnership with EdExcel.
