Sunday 24 march 10-11 am

  Hans van Mourik Broekman is the Principal of Liverpool College, a 4-19 heavily oversubscribed, state-funded, mixed ability, academy day and boarding school in the heart of Liverpool. 

Hans is a native of the Netherlands. He attended high school in the USA and then gained his Masters Degree with Honours in Classics from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Following teaching positions in the UK, Hans returned to the USA where he served as a deputy headmaster, headmaster and Principal in Washington DC, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

He was appointed the 17th Principal of Liverpool College in July 2007 and took up the appointment in June 2008. Since he arrived at the College, Hans has pursued an ambitious development programme which has included major College-wide refurbishment and restructuring programmes and the re-introduction of boarding at the school. In June 2012, Liverpool College announced that the Secretary of State for Education had accepted its submission to transition the College to Academy status (an academy is an independent school funded directly by the central government). This followed a comprehensive and strategic review of the future options for developing Liverpool College, led by Hans and the governing body. The Times of London described this development as “the Berlin Wall in education coming down.”

Since conversion, the College has expanded its facilities and curriculum to cater to substantial demand for places. From serving primarily wealthy citizens of Liverpool, the school now reflects in its student body every ethnic background, every advantage and disadvantage, every faith tradition, and every country of origin found in inner city Liverpool. The National School Inspectorate awarded the school an Outstanding rating in all areas in November 2019.

Hans is committed to improving social mobility and life chances and creating a culture of learning that ensures that every young person has the potential to excel regardless of their background or any disadvantage. He is the author of three books which seek to inspire educators, parents and students to explore their deepest desires for what a school could and should be..

 Carlo Corradini is a Professor of Regional Economics at Henley Business School (University of Reading), where he is also Director of the Centre for Real Estate and Planning and an RREF Board Member. Before joining Henley Business School, Carlo worked as an Associate Professor in Regional Economics at Birmingham Business School. He holds a PhD from Nottingham University Business School and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Carlo is actively engaged in the scholarly debate on several topics ranging from regional economics to technological change and industry dynamics, as well as regional industrial and innovation policy. His research has been published in several top-ranked journals including the Journal of Economic Geography, Regional Studies, Research Policy, Environment and Planning A, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Small Business Economics and Industrial and Corporate Change. He also serves as Associate Editor for the journal Regional Studies.

Over the last few years, he has been particularly active in research and public debates addressing the important levelling-up agenda of the British government. He has also advised public bodies and policymakers on issues related to his research and beyond.