Proud member of the Dukes Education Family
SCHOOL GOVERNANCE
Governance at ULIS
United Lisbon International School is proud to be part of Dukes Education, a family of schools and educational organisations across the UK and Europe. Each school within Dukes Education maintains its own distinctive identity and ethos, while being united by a shared commitment to delivering outstanding teaching and learning.
Our Governance Structure
Governance at ULIS ensures that the school is well-led, forward-thinking, and focused on the best outcomes for our students. The Governors work strategically with the Head and Senior Leadership Team to guide the long-term strategic goals, vision and priorities of the school. Their role includes supporting and challenging leadership, monitoring educational quality, reviewing progress, and ensuring that statutory duties are fulfilled.
The Governors act as a “critical friend”, a trusted partner who offers constructive challenge while supporting the school’s continued growth and success. Operational responsibilities remain firmly with the Head and Senior Leadership Team. The Governors’ focus is on strategy, oversight, safety, wellbeing, and long-term school improvement, reflecting the governance approach used across the Dukes Education family.
Our Governors
David Fitzgerald
Chair of Governors & CEO at Dukes Education Europe
David.Fitzgerald@dukeseducation.com
David Fitzgerald is an experienced school and system leader with over 30 years of experience in education and having previously worked for the Reserve Bank of Australia. He holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Undergraduate degrees in Education and Business. David joins Dukes from Education in Motion (EiM), the leading Asia based school group that includes the Dulwich and Green School brands. In his role with EiM, he was responsible for the educational outcomes and the quality of education provision for all EiM international curricula schools and is focused on improving education quality.
David has been a successful Head/Principal of five schools across government, private independent and international sectors. He has been involved in international education since 2006 and has worked in IB World Schools, US Curriculum schools, Indian Curriculum schools and NCfE schools. David has system leadership experience with the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong and with GEMS Education in the UAE where he was Senior Vice President, for US and IB Schools. David is an accredited IB, CIS and WASC team visitor and Chair, and an accredited Performance Coach.
Matthew Tompkins
Governor and Director of Dukes Portugal
Matthew.Tompkins@dukeseducation.com
Matt is an experienced educational leader with a rich and diverse portfolio of senior roles within the education sector. He first qualified as a secondary teacher in the UK at Brighton University and holds a Masters in Leadership and Management of Schools from Canterbury Christchurch University and undertook his first teaching position in 1997. In his early career, Matthew was awarded with Advanced Skills Teacher status, recognising his exceptional classroom practice which enabled him to be deployed in the support of teachers across schools in his region. He quickly moved into senior management and in January 2015 moved into his first Principal position. Eighteen months after his appointment, working alongside an excellent team, the school moved to OFSTED Outstanding in all categories.
In 2018, Matt moved to the UAE and in January 2022 took the GEMS school he was Principal / CEO of to Outstanding in all categories following their British School Overseas inspection. Later that year, Matt moved into the GEMS Corporate Team and has joined Dukes from the position of Senior Vice President – Human Resources for the GEMS Group.
Libby Nicholas
Governor & Group Education Director
Libby.nicholas@dukeseducation.com
Having graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in English & Philosophy, Libby realised her true vocation when working with the Prince’s Trust leading a group of young people ‘not in education or employment’.
Wanting to teach and help young people, Libby completed her PGCE and was accepted on the National Fast Track Teaching Programme ranking as one of the ‘Top Ten Nationwide Fast Track Teachers’. Progressing quickly from teaching English to increasingly senior roles, Libby has held positions such as Head of Year, Deputy Head, Headmistress, Deputy Director of Education at the Girls’ Day School Trust, and Regional Director of Education for the South & West at the Academies Enterprise Trust. Most recently Libby founded and was CEO of Astrea Academy Trust– a family of 27 schools across Yorkshire and Cambridge. During her tenure, Astrea had a 100% track record of significant school improvement including over 20 Ofsted inspections many of which jumped from ‘Special Measures’ to ‘Good’. Libby also offered all 17,000 pupils the ‘Astrea Promise’- a range of enrichment experiences including, amongst many others, residential university trips in Year 5, visits abroad, climbing a mountain, and debating, to ensure all pupils benefit from experiences to raise cultural capital and learning.
Libby’s areas of professional expertise include the delivery of school improvement, strategic organisational change, curriculum design, and innovation and all aspects of teaching and learning, thinking, theory, and pedagogy. She has conducted leadership development for middle and senior leaders in primary and secondary education and has also led staff development in the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom.
Most recently co-authoring “Understanding Leadership” and “Stronger Boards, Better Education”, Libby is committed to learning-centred leadership; securing high-quality education through excellent staff development at all levels. To this end, Libby has completed the NPQH and graduated with her MBA (Masters in Business) from Cass Business School with Distinction.
Mark Logan
Governor & Strategic Advisor
Following a number of years in the IT and government outsourcing sectors, Mark held senior management positions in the education sector for over 20 years, with organisations such as Nord Anglia Education and the British Council. During his career, he developed a mix of strategic, operational, business development and executive level skills alongside experience in activities as diverse as government contracting, joint venture development, mergers and acquisitions and operation of premium level international schools.
Now retired, Mark has a portfolio of advisory and governance positions within the state and independent schools’ sector. He has worked with Dukes Education schools in Portugal since September 2024.