Geoff Barton was most recently General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, a trade union representing more than 25,000 educational leaders from all types of schools and colleges across the UK. He held this post for seven years. Prior to this, for 15 years he was headteacher at King Edward VI School in Suffolk, an 11-18 comprehensive school of 1,600 students.

Geoff attended Walton Comprehensive School, in Stafford (1974-81); read English and Linguistics at Lancaster University (1981-84); then trained as a teacher at Leicester University (1984-5). He has taught in Leeds, York, and Suffolk. Geoff has written and edited more than 100 books on literature, grammar and literacy. He is a writer for many publications, and a regular commentator in the media on educational matters.

He is patron of the English & Media Centre, a Founding Fellow of the English Association, and for seven years was a trustee of the National Teaching Awards, celebrating the work of teachers and other staff working in education.

He was recently appointed as chair of the independent Commission on Oracy in Education.