Former Headteacher Joins Lib Dems After Decades

"I still get called Sir by people in the street!" says former West Berkshire super head Paul Dick. "It is lovely that people still recognise me - but it would be nice if they dropped the Sir bit!"

Paul Dick OBE is a familiar name in Thatcham and Newbury after more than 30 years leading schools. He ran Kennet School, became chief executive of the Kennet School Academies Trust and later moved into local politics.

He was elected as a Conservative councillor for Chieveley and Cold Ash in May 2024 but has since switched to the Liberal Democrats, officially joining them in October 2026. He says he wants a seat at the table to "keep making a difference for young people in West Berkshire" and will assist Lib Dem portfolio holder Heather Codling on West Berkshire Council.

Party switching is often criticised as opportunism, but Dick frames his move as pragmatic. He invokes the old political term for it: "crossing the floor", and even points to Churchill's famous line: "Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat."

On his own politics he says: "Most people would say I have always been in a party of one," and explains his route into public life. "As a head I had no politics as it wouldn't be right. So I thought once I retired, how can I use my experiences? I got elected and most of the Conservative didn't!

"I want to carry on making a contribution. We are not doing as well as we should. "Schools are for children and councils are for residents. "I will challenge people. Nicely but persistently."

Born near Belfast, Dick went to St Malachy's College and studied classics at Exeter University before a PGCE. "If you made a mistake in your Greek homework you got caned!" he said, and later jokes about limited career options: "I never really wanted to be a teacher then, but the choices of a classicist were either that or the diplomatic service, and let's face it, they wouldn't have had me would they?"

His favourite Latin lines include 'Quis custodiet ipsos custodes' - "who guards the guardians" - and the better-known 'Carpe Diem'. He says those ideas sit well with his view that schools should teach students to govern themselves.

On school leadership he is blunt about standards. "I have run lots of schools now and when I went in there - complacency stalked the corridors. There was no ambition. "It took about six years to turn it around. "I was told the bells had been turned off 'because they were threatening'. So I said, excellent, turn them back on. "It was simple things like that, as well as improving staff facilities. I marched the corridors and was out there in the morning and the afternoon to see them off. I was a presence."

He sums up what a head needs: "To be a good head you need enthusiasm, energy and empathy with children," adding: "You can be empathetic but tough as well. Tough love is good."

Dick left the Kennet School Academies Trust in December 2018 but stayed involved as a governor and a founder member of the Newbury Academy Trust, a role that focused on appointing trustees and holding boards to account.

Short bio: Educated in Northern Ireland, Dick took a degree in classics at Exeter University followed by a PGCE. He taught classics and maths in Wokingham (1977-1984), was deputy head at Northwood School in Hillingdon (1984-1988) and became head at Kennet School in January 1989. He led several struggling schools to stronger positions and was chief executive of the trust that runs Kennet and Whitelands Park Primary. He was awarded an OBE in 1999 and won the Leadership Teaching Award in 2000. He was elected to West Berkshire Council in May 2024 and switched to the Lib Dems in October 2026.

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter