Speakers

Christine Cunniffe began her teaching career as a second career teacher following a successful first career as a professional pianist in London. She has taught in both state comprehensive and grammar schools before joining LVS Ascot in 2003 as Director of Music. Arriving to find no student choir or vocal participation, she rapidly transformed the musical culture of the school. Within six months, her newly formed choir was performing Vivaldi’s Gloria at Eton College Chapel - a launchpad for further ambitious works including Mozart’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, and Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man.

Christine has spent over 15 years leading LVS Ascot through academic and cultural transformation. A passionate advocate for inclusive education, her personal journey includes being expelled from school at 14 - an experience that fuels her belief that all children can achieve when given the right environment. Music became the vehicle for her own success, and that conviction continues to shape her leadership and ethos today.

She is the author of Transforming School Culture Through Lesson Observation (Routledge, 2021) and has delivered lectures on learning culture and emotional environments for success, including at the Eton College Tony Little Lecture Series and the Wellington Festival of Education.

Christine holds a BA Hons in Music and History, a Master’s in Performance, and an MBA from the University of Leicester. She is a reporting inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), a panellist for the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), and a Director of The Society of Heads, where she has served as honorary treasurer since 2020 and will be chair for the 2025/26 academic year. She has also chaired the Professional Development Committee and served on the Boarding Schools’ Association Committee.

As a respected media commentator, Christine has made numerous appearances since 2015 on ITV’s This Morning, Sky News, Channel 4, GB News, Times Radio, LBC, and TalkRadio - most notably during a televised exchange with the then Secretary of State for Education in the wake of the Centre Assessed Grades controversy in 2020. She is also a strong and vocal opponent of VAT on school fees, frequently advocating for the wider implications on families and educational access. Her insight is widely respected across the education sector.