Sir Clive Booth

Sir Clive Booth "took a science degree with first class honours from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in public finance from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a senior civil servant in the Department for Education until 1981 and Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State (1975-77).

"He became successively Deputy Director of Plymouth Polytechnic (1981-84), associate HM Inspector of Schools (1984-86), Director of Oxford Polytechnic (1986-92) and Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Oxford Brookes University (1992-97).

"Since 2004 he has been Chair of the Big Lottery Fund. He is also working with the National Offender Management Service on reducing re-offending. He was previously Chair of Centrex, the national police training body (2002-2007), chair of the Teacher Training Agency (1997-2003), chair of the Nurses Pay Review Body (1997-2004) and deputy chair of the South East England Development Agency (1998-2004).

"He has been a senior education adviser to the World Bank and British Council and he conducted a major review for the Home Office of police pay negotiations in 2007. He is an editorial board member of the Oxford Review of Education. He struggles with an allotment, plays indifferent bridge and takes consolation in opera."