The Senior Leadership Team

George McMillan: Executive Principal

Mr McMillan is the Executive Principal of Harris Greenwich, Harris Ockendon, Harris Falconwood and Harris Avery Hill (future opening) and is a National Leader of Education (NLE). Originally from Glasgow, he graduated from Aberdeen University with an MA in English Literature, and then from Edinburgh University with a PGCE and a burning desire to teach.  Mr McMillan taught English for five years at a secondary school in Edinburgh serving one of the most deprived areas in Scotland, latterly having a whole school remit in charge of promoting positive behaviour.  Shortly after moving to London in 2006 he joined the Senior Team at Harris Academy Chafford Hundred and was part of their journey from ‘Requires Improvement’ to Outstanding in every area. 

Mr McMillan took over the leadership of what is now Harris Academy Greenwich in 2011.  Within three years, the school achieved ‘Outstanding’ status from Ofsted.  It has since been awarded Outstanding again in 2022, has been judged ‘World Class’ twice in a row and is consistently in the top 15% of schools in the country for progress.

Although he divides his time between his three schools and other NLE responsibilities, Mr McMillan remains a highly visible and active leader at Greenwich.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack Docherty : Head of School

Originally from South London, Mr Docherty graduated with a First in Biochemistry from the University of Bath. After spending a few years in the medical research field, he realised that his passion lay in the classroom and qualified to teach through the Teach First programme.

Mr Docherty joined Harris Greenwich in 2011 and was part of the team that took the school from ‘Special Measures’ to ‘Outstanding’. He worked as a Lead Practitioner and Head of Science before being appointed to Assistant Principal, where he led teaching, learning and staff development.

He joined Harris Ockendon in September 2020 as Vice Principal where he paid a big part in driving the rapid school improvement there. He returned to Harris Greenwich in June 2022 as Head of School.

 

 

Rachel Sofianos: Vice Principal

Rachel grew up in Manchester before moving to London in 2002 where she studied Vocal Studies at Trinity College of Music. She has worked at Harris Academy Greenwich since 2008, when the school was known as Eltham Green, and has since seen it become the outstanding Academy it is now. She is committed to serving the local community and is passionate about equipping young people with the qualifications and skills they need to thrive after their school careers. Rachel has worked as an Advanced Skills Teacher, Lead Practitioner and Specialist Leader of Education before she began her role as Assistant Principal in September 2017. Currently, Rachel has whole school responsibility for Teaching and Learning, Lead Practitioners, New Staff and Year 6 Transition within the school.

 

      

Si Ali: Associate Vice Principal

Mr Ali grew up in South East London, attending one of Deptford’s most challenging schools and yet graduating with excellent results – he knows the value of hard work and resilience.  After completing a degree in Graphic Design at The University of Central Lancashire and a PGCE at Edge Hill, he returned to London to pursue his passion in Art education.

Mr Ali taught in Croydon for 7 years, before joining Harris Academy Greenwich in January 2013 as Head of Department and then Head of Faculty before being appointed as Assistant Principal. Mr Ali’s remits include overseeing KS5 and Leadership Development. Mr Ali is a certified leadership coach working with individuals and teams throughout the school.An avid supporter of the school’s vision, Mr Ali is delighted to have the opportunity to return to his local community and provide students with opportunities to step into their greatness.

 

 

Ellie Ghazi-Noory: Assistant Principal

Mrs Ghazi-Noory has been with Harris Greenwich since 2012. Originally from York, she graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Geography, Business and The Built Environment from the University of Nottingham. After spending some time working with school children in The Friends’ School, Hobart, Tasmania, she quickly learnt that her passion lies in the classroom and qualified to teach through the Teach First programme where she gained her MA in Leadership.

 

Before her appointment to Associate Assistant Principal, she was Head of Humanities and has thoroughly relished the opportunity to be part of the journey to Outstanding with Harris Greenwich. Mrs Ghazi-Noory is immensely proud to be leading on Low Attainers for the Academy this year, something she is greatly looking forward to.

 

 

 

 

Veejay Miller: Assistant Principal

 

Mr Miller was born and raised in South-East London and continued his early studies here until he attended St Mary’s University, where he graduated with a BA honour in Sport Science. From his experience working at Tower Hamlets Pupil Referral Unit in 2015, Mr Miller found a passion for working with young people. He then moved to Harris Academy East Dulwich Boys where he trained to become a PE teacher and continued teaching for 6 years. Here he had additional responsibilities which included Pastoral Leader, Head of Year and Head of House.Mr Miller moved to Ark Acton Academy as the Director of Sport and was part of the team who took the school from ‘Special Measures’ to graded ‘Good’ by Ofsted in 2023. Realising his passion for developing behaviour, Mr Miller was then promoted to Associate Assistant Principal focusing on behaviour and culture. In 2023, Mr Miller joined Harris Academy Greenwich where he is incredibly proud to be leading Key Stage 4 focusing on behaviour, culture, and outcomes.

 

 

Amy Longley-Cook: Assistant Principal

Originally from the North East, Ms Longley-Cook studied at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Tours and graduated with an MA in French. She discovered her passion for education while living in France and teaching English as a foreign language. She then moved to South London and qualified to teach through the Teach First programme, gaining a PGCE from UCL.  

Ms Longley-Cook has worked for the Harris Federation for ten years. Before becoming an Assistant Principal, she was Head of Languages and is proud of how she has led the department from strength to strength, ensuring consistently excellent student outcomes. Ms Longley-Cook believes in the power of education to change lives for the better and is excited to be leading Curriculum, Assessment and Homework this year.  

 

 

 

 

Abi McKay: Assistant Principal

Ms. McKay graduated from Queen Mary’s, University of London with a degree in English. After discovering her passion for working with young people, she joined the Teach First Leadership Development Programme in 2013, teaching English, and completed a Masters in Educational Leadership at The Institute of Education, University of London. Her passion and enthusiasm for English and equipping students with academic and social behaviours lead her down the pastoral care and behaviour pathway in three inner-London schools. 

Ms. McKay has a wealth of experience in pastoral care and leading behaviour initiatives in schools following a career that has seen her lead key stage 4 cohorts as a head of year and whole-school classroom behaviour as a Lead Practioner, prior to becoming Assistant Principal at Harris Academy Greenwich. 

Ms. McKay currently oversees student behaviour and pastoral care across the academy and is passionate about equipping young people with the academic and social behaviours they need to excel both in and after school life. 

 

 

Hannah Thorncroft:  Assistant Principal

Originally from West Yorkshire, Ms Thornton graduated from the University of Manchester with a First Class Honours degree in English. She found her passion for teaching working with children in South East Asia and later qualified to teach through the Teach First programme. Ms Thornton taught in Salford and East London prior to joining Harris Academy Greenwich. During this time, she gained her MA in Leadership in Education with a specific focus on curriculum design and the power of knowledge. Before becoming an Assistant Principal, she was Head of English, leading the department and students to success through adversity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ms Thornton is a firm believer in the power of education for social change and is determined in her commitment to work towards ending educational inequality. 

 

 

Lucy Lawrence:  Assistant Principal

Ms Lawrence began her career as a print journalist and spent 15 years working on national newspapers and magazines, travelling the world and covering some of the most important stories of the day. After becoming disillusioned with the politics of the media industry, she decided to use her writing and research skills, curiosity and experience to help others so went back to university for a year to study for her PGCE.  

In the past seven years with Harris Greenwich, Ms Lawrence, an English specialist, has worked as a Lead Practitioner, leading the school’s literacy drive and training the next generation of teaching leaders on the academy’s two-year Lead Practitioner course. She was recently awarded a Distinction for her MA in Shakespeare Studies at King’s College London in conjunction with The Globe Theatre. 

 

 

Kim Barclay:  Assistant Principal

Growing up in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Kim graduated from Queens University with a degree in Sociology, Cultural & Media Studies. After spending a number of years being an events organiser, she ended up travelling for two years before eventually coming back to Northern Ireland where she started working with Alternative Provisions. It was during these years that Kim found her passion for working with teenagers and their families.  Kim made the move to London in 2015 where she started working in Harris Academy Greenwich. Alongside her role as Pastoral Manager for the past eight years, Kim has also ran our Alternative Provision and LAC remits working successfully alongside many different provisions, schools, social workers and other external agencies ensuring every child has the best chance at being successful. Kim is passionate about behaviour and looks forward to leading the school in this.

 

 

Harry Bailey: Assistant Principal

From the local community, Mr Bailey grew up in Middle Park and went to Eltham Green School.

He studied at the Royal Veterinary College whilst working in a veterinary practice and taught in a Land Based College as Head of Department before moving to Harris Greenwich in 2015. From here he gained a BA (Hons) in Education and Professional Training.Mr Bailey has vast experience in pastoral care and is a teacher of Science. Mr Bailey’s main passion is the welfare of students and to ensure they feel safe in order for them to reach their full potential within education.

Mr Bailey is currently the Designated Safeguarding Lead and oversees Provision and line manages the SEND team.   

 

 

Nick McNeil: Assistant Principal

Mr McNeil was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica before migrating to London age 12. Growing up in South-East London, he attended one of Lewisham’s most challenging secondary schools and sixth form college. He attended the University of East London where he graduated with a degree in Sports & Exercise Science.

He discovered his passion for teaching and nurturing students whilst supporting students in alternative provision schools in Brixton and Croydon. Mr McNeil joined Harris Academy Greenwich as a PE Teacher in 2015, and soon became part of the sixth form team as Assistant Head of Sixth Form, then Head of Sixth Form in 2020, with a focus on Personal Development and Behaviour. In 2023, he became an Assistant Principal, overseeing Personal Development and Key Stage 3.Mr McNeil is committed to instilling self-belief and positive values in students to enable them to achieve their potential.

 

Hollie Dunn:  Assistant Principal

Miss Dunn, originally from East Yorkshire, graduated from the University of Hull Business School with a degree in Business and Marketing. She then went on to successfully complete a graduate trainee programme in the retail industry before deciding to follow her heart into teaching.

In 2012, Miss Dunn qualified to teach through the Teach First programme in a secondary school in West London, and then gained her Post Graduate Certificate in Leadership from University College London. Before becoming Associate Assistant Principal in 2022, and completing her NPQSL alongside this, Miss Dunn has been the Head of Business and Economics, Key Stage 4 Co-ordinator, and Head of Faculty for Enterprise.

Most recently, Miss Dunn has taken on the role of Assistant Principal, where she is excited and enthusiastic about leading personal development, trips, and careers, helping to create opportunities for all students to thrive!