Sir David Robert Bell Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath is Vice-Chancellor of the.
Education
Bell studied history and philosophy at Glasgow University and obtained his Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Jordanhill College of Education. He also has a Master of Education degree in management and administration from Glasgow University.
Career
He was previously Permanent Secretary at the English Department for Education and at its predecessor departments from 3 January 2006 until 2012, and before that he was Chief Inspector of Schools at the Office for Standards in Education from 2002. Bell then held teaching posts at primary schools in Glasgow, moving on to become a deputy head, and then a headteacher at Kingston Primary School, in Thundersley, Essex. In 1990, Bell became assistant director of education at Newcastle City Council.
During this time he spent a year as a Harkness Fellow at Georgia State University, Atlanta, studying education and local government reform across the United States of America.
Bell trained as an Ofsted team inspector in 1993. He became a Registered Inspector in 1994 and carried out inspections in primary schools.
He was promoted to director of education and libraries at Newcastle City Council in 1995 and became chief executive of Bedfordshire County Council in 2000. Bell took up his post as Her Majesty"s Chief Inspector of Schools on 1 May 2002.
He was Chief Inspector for over three years and, in January 2006, he became Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education and Skills, named the Department for Children, Schools and Families from June 2007, and then the Department for Education from May 2010.
In 2012, Sir David left the civil service to become the Vice Chancellor of the, succeeding Gordon Marshall. Reading Controversy
Public opinion swayed against Sir David in March 2016 with many calling for a vote of no confidence against him. This was following his decision to spend £36 million on a consultation with PwC in a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University.
lieutenant is suggested as many as 1700 jobs have been put at risk, and these moves were decided without disclosure or consultation with staff or students.
Bell was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath) in the 2011 Birthday Honours.