David Sherlock

David Sherlock was called a ‘walking dictionary’ by his first headmaster and is as well known for his newspaper articles as he is for quality improvement. Raised in suburban London he fled to Newcastle and Nottingham to take undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in industrial design and art history.

He spent 18 years as a college principal or vice principal at Dublin’s National College of Art and Design, Central Saint Martin’s in London and other leading design schools. He joined the Further Education Funding Council in 1993, became chief executive of the Training Standards Council in 1997 and Chief Inspector of Adult Learning for England with the ALI from 2000-2007.

Being now extremely venerable – but active – the Queen made him a CBE in 2006; he is one of only 600 fellows of the City and Guilds of London created since 1880; he is a Board member of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and president of the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education.

• City and Guilds of London
• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
• National Institute for Adult Continuing Education