Former Chichester College Group principal receives lifetime achievement award for her contribution to further education in Sussex and across the UK

She left the college when she was appointed by the government as Further Education Commissioner in 2021, for a set term, and is due to retire from that role when Ellen Thinnesen takes the reins from in January.

Having worked in a London university, colleges across West Sussex and the Department for Education, Shelagh was presented with the Lord David Puttnam Award for Lifetime Achievement in Education at the 2025 Pearson Teaching Awards on November 29.

Awarded by trustees of the Teaching Awards Trust, the special recognition honours people who have had an impact across a whole region or nation and it is rare for it to go to further education.

Shelagh, who lives in Midhurst, said: "It was an absolute joy. I was astonished that I was recognised because most of the evening is focused on schools, although there is FE Team of the Year and Lecturer of the Year."

Although she was aware she had been nominated for a lifetime achievement award, she believed she had not won as she saw Lynn Griffiths from Caerphilly recognised as the Gold Winner of the Award for Lifetime Achievement on BBC's The One Show on November 28.

But at the end of the awards evening the following day, after prizes had been presented in the 16 main categories, Shelagh was presented with the special recognition award by Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education.

Shelagh said: "I love the sector, it is a fantastic sector to work in. It absolutely changes lives for so many younger and older people."

Perhaps surprisingly, Shelagh had no background in education when she first worked in the sector, as director of finances at Roehampton University in London. She quickly developed a passion for further education, recognising how it can help all different types of people but understanding how important it is to get the figures right.

She said: "Finances are important and running any educational establishment, you need to be numerate. The Chichester College Group has a turnover of £120million, it was £70 to 80million when I was there - it is a big organisation. It now has seven colleges – it was five when I left."

Over the years, Shelagh has drawn on her time in the army, where leadership is defined by service. She was enrolled in the Women’s Royal Army Corps in the early 1980s and then worked in investment banking, qualifying as an accountant.

Shelagh explained: "I was an army officer for six years and then I was working in the city. They wanted someone to run their switchboard and that was something I had done in the army."

Her skill with numbers was recognised and she was sponsored for her qualification as an accountant. But then she met Paul Legrave and family life changed her direction.

Shelagh said: "When I got married, working in the city was never going to work. I went to the University of Roehampton as finance director."

Shelagh and Paul moved to Midhurst when they had their son, Edmund. She joined Chichester College as chief financial officer in 2003, then became chief operating officer and was appointed principal in 2010.

She said: "I was very fortunate in that the principal at the time, Dr Richard Parker, saw some potential in me and he gave me some responsibility in curriculum, so I got to know it and what great teaching looks like.

"You have to understand the basis of teaching and learning. The other great thing for me is I really like people and I wanted to make sure everybody who worked there really wanted to be there. I love the challenge. I had to make redundancies and efficiencies but at the same time, developing world class education."

When she became principal, Shelagh had the ambition to achieve an outstanding rating from Ofsted. The college received that in 2014, and again in 2019 as part of the larger Chichester College Group.

Shelagh said: "It is never about you, we achieved it as a team."

She feels her greatest achievement was not only the Outstanding from Ofsted, but retaining it.

She said: "It is running an Outstanding Ofsted college inspite of merging and opening another, and still maintaining it at an Outstanding Ofsted grade.

"The other acheivement is all about the students, the people who have been helped, supported and had life-changing achievements going through colleges."

As Further Education Commissioner, Shelagh has travelled across the country, sharing effective best practice with establishments that are in difficulty and supporting them to improve.

Shelagh will continue to play a key role in the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education. She is also a Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex and was recently appointed chair of trustees at Sussex Cricket Foundation.