Developing headteachers for Yorkshire schools where all children thrive.
The Yorks100 supports aspiring and early headteachers to lead with clarity, confidence and care in complex contexts—rooted in place, sustained by strong relationships, and connected to a national network of peers.
What is the Yorks100?
The Yorks100 is a selective, year-long leadership development programme for aspiring and early headteachers working in, or committed to, schools in Yorkshire.
It is designed to:
Strengthen the regional pipeline into headship
Prepare leaders for the real, lived work of leading in complex contexts
Build a strong cohort of peers who learn and lead together over time
Participants join a carefully curated cohort drawn from across the region, working in schools from all phases and types, and take part in a programme that blends residentials, school visits, workshops, webinars and practical leadership tasks rooted in their own settings.
Why the Yorks100 exists
The Yorks100 exists to support leaders who are holding communities together now, while building the conditions for a different future—honouring Yorkshire’s grit without accepting structural disadvantage as inevitable.
Across Yorkshire, schools are often the most stable institutions left. They sit at the intersection of post-industrial legacy, rural isolation, coastal transience and urban inequality. Headteachers here are asked to do more than run effective organisations: they are asked to act as civic leaders, advocates and anchors for their communities.
This programme exists because that work deserves preparation, support and companionship—not isolation.
How it works
The Yorks100 is shaped by a small number of clear beliefs about leadership. The design of the programme follows these beliefs closely.
-
We believe that you cannot lead a school well without understanding the community it serves—its assets, histories, pressures and possibilities.
This means that the Yorks100 starts with close attention to place: learning how local context shapes children’s experiences, families’ relationships with schools, and the leadership decisions that matter most.
-
We believe that leadership is learned through judgment and action, not through theory alone.
This means that participants practise the real work of headship—making difficult decisions, holding tension, and weighing trade-offs—in supported environments, before those decisions carry the full weight of accountability.
-
We believe that isolation undermines leadership, especially in complex and under-resourced contexts.
This means that the Yorks100 invests heavily in building a trusting cohort, creating a sense of belonging and continuity that extends well beyond the programme year.
-
We believe that there is no single blueprint for a great school or a great leader.
This means that participants visit and learn from a wide range of schools and leaders across the region and beyond, developing practical mental models they can adapt thoughtfully to their own context.
-
We believe that leadership growth is not just about skills and systems, but about who you are as a leader and what you stand for.
This means that the programme creates structured space to reflect on values, identity and moral purpose, supporting leaders to lead with clarity and conviction under pressure.
What it involves
The Yorks100 runs over one academic year. The structure is demanding at times, reflective at others, and designed to be sustainable alongside a senior leadership role in school.
Together, our touchpoints are designed to shift how leaders see their role, how they work with others, and how they lead over time.
Further information about what happens when, can be found here.
-
To build trust, shared purpose and a common language for the year ahead, grounding participants in place, relationships and the realities of headship before focusing on technique or performance.
-
To deepen leaders’ thinking, introduce new perspectives, and create structured opportunities to reflect on practice alongside peers facing similar challenges.
-
To broaden leaders’ mental models of what is possible by seeing excellent practice in context, and to support thoughtful adaptation rather than replication.
-
To provide a shared, ongoing learning space where participants engage with curated content, reflect on practice, and stay connected between live touchpoints, reinforcing insight, relationships and momentum over time.
-
To connect learning directly to lived leadership by supporting participants to practise real decision-making, judgement and prioritisation in their own settings.
-
To consolidate learning, reflect on growth, and support participants to translate insight into sustained leadership action beyond the programme year.
Who the Yorks100 is for
The Yorks100 is designed for school leaders who:
Are aspiring to headship within the next 5 years,
Work in, or are committed to, schools in Yorkshire,
Are committed to leading in complex or under-resourced contexts, and
Want to develop alongside peers, not in isolation.
It is a selective programme. Cohorts are intentionally small to protect depth, trust and quality of experience.
What the Yorks100 asks of you
The Yorks100 requires time, openness and commitment.
We select participants who are committed to:
Showing up fully—for their learning and their cohort
Engaging honestly with challenge and uncertainty
Applying insights directly to their own leadership practice
Supportive and nourishing does not mean easy, but you will not be doing the work alone.
What changes as a result?
When the Yorks100 works well, we see change at three interconnected levels. Together, these changes improve the conditions in which all children in Yorkshire learn and thrive.
Transformative change
Leaders gain clarity about their purpose, confidence in their judgement, and the courage to lead with values in difficult conditions.
Relational change
Trust deepens—with staff, families, peers, and partners—strengthening the social fabric that schools depend on.
Structural change
Leadership pipelines strengthen, practices shift, and schools and trusts become better equipped to sustain improvement over time.
Meet the Yorks100 team
Our partners
The Yorks100 is designed and delivered in partnership with a range of committed school trusts and sector organisations across the region.
Our partners help shape the programme, host school visits, contribute expertise, and support leaders to apply their learning in real contexts. Each partner recognises their responsibility to develop the next generation of headteachers to the benefit of all schools and communities in our region.
-
![]()
Verity Howorth
Programme Lead
Verity leads the Yorks100 with a deep commitment to place-based leadership, relational practice and the power of strong cohorts. She brings intellectual rigour, warmth and a clear belief in Yorkshire’s leaders and communities. -
![]()
Emmett Marsh
SALES MANAGER
Focused, approachable, and driven by results, our sales manager is all about building strong relationships. They help connect people to the right solutions—with clarity and care. -
![]()
Eleanor Parks
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Creative and strategic in equal measure, our marketing director brings fresh ideas to every campaign. They turn insights into action and help our message resonate with the right audience. -
![]()
Karl Holland
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER
Friendly, attentive, and always ready to help, our customer service manager ensures every interaction is a positive one. They keep communication clear, timely, and human.
Stewardship
The Yorks100 belongs to a wider family of “x100s” leadership development programmes.
If you are considering headship in Yorkshire—or supporting future headteachers within your school or trust—it may be the right place to start.