Diana Barnsley

Diana graduated from the University of Lancaster with a degree in Philosophy and Music, specialising in singing. She then qualified as a teacher and worked in both the private and the state sectors for the next 22 years. During this time, she taught reading to individuals who had got behind their peers and set up and ran a newly built school library.

Diana now works as a singing teacher and for the Workers’ Educational Association. This nationwide charity provides education for adults who might not otherwise have access, by keeping fees low and reaching out to communities of all backgrounds. Diana both teaches and has the role of Teaching, Learning and Assessment Observer, checking the quality of the teaching provision in wide-ranging subjects such as English for Speakers of Other Languages, Functional Skills Maths, the stories of Chekhov and dance and singing lessons for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Diana shared a flat with a Kenyan girl in the 1990s and first visited East Africa then, developing a life-long interest in the area. Her father founded a scholarship for Ukrainian school students in the 1990s, who came to boarding school in Britin, with Diana often hosting the students in the school holidays. Beacon has proved a way to combine those two interests.
In her spare time, Diana enjoys singing in a local choir, cycling and travelling.