Colonel Ross Cleland appointed as new Chief Operating Officer

Mrs Anne Wakefield, Head of St Mary’s Calne and St Margaret’s Prep said, ‘I am delighted that Ross is joining the team at Calne after a thorough recruitment process involving governors, the leadership team and staff across the two schools and Sports Club. The experience Ross brings will help us continue to provide an outstanding education to our whole school community from our 2-year-olds in Nursery through to our 18-year-olds in Upper Sixth.’

Ross added, ‘I am deeply honoured to have been selected by the Head and Board of Governors to be the Chief Operating Officer at St Mary’s Calne and St Margaret’s Prep. Visiting the schools and meeting the team through the selection process, it was clear why parents say Calne is such a special place and I was immediately drawn to the warm, inclusive, welcoming environment and the personal values-based approach to the development of pupils. I am genuinely excited to join such a high performing team and really looking forward to serving the pupils, parents, staff and Governors of Calne, and playing a part in the development of such brilliant young people.’

Biography Colonel Ross Cleland

Ross grew up in Zimbabwe, studied law in South Africa, and has served in the British Army for the last 23 years. An HR professional by trade, he commissioned into the Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) in 2003 and has led teams in the UK and on operations across a broad range of HR, training, plans, policy, commercial and recruiting roles and has worked on strategic change and efficiency programmes in the Army’s Headquarters.

Ross has a BA and LLB from Rhodes University in South Africa, is finance trained and has an MBA from Warwick Business School and is an empathetic leader and Fellow of the Forward Institute. Motivated by developing people, he has always been drawn to the sense of purpose in the educational environment and has been a hostel master at a boarding school and lectured law in South Africa before joining the Army. He has held a variety of training appointments in the Army including instructing Officer Cadets at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commanding an Army Training Regiment in Pirbright where he was responsible for delivering soldier basic training, including through the COVID pandemic.

Ross is married to Trini and they have a son, James, who is reading law at Cardiff University. They also have a golden retriever called Kenzo.