Staff Spotlight: Sarah Chick
This month we’re spotlighting Sarah, who re-joined Villiers Park in September 2025 after previously working as Programme Director and Director of Education.
With over 20 years’ experience in education and a strong commitment to widening opportunity, she now leads our programmes, helping ensure our work continues to make a real difference for young people from under-represented backgrounds.
How long have you been at Villiers Park, and what first drew you here?
That should be an easy question, but I’ve actually done two stints at Villiers Park! The first was from 2015-2019, initially as a Programme Director, and later as Director of Education. Then I went back into teaching and school leadership for 5 years, before re-joining in September 2025. Both times I have been drawn to Villiers Park with the hope of making a difference to young people from under-represented backgrounds.
I love the fact that as a small organisation we are able to conceive, realise and see the direct impact of ideas and improvements that we see as most beneficial.
What does your role involve, and how does it contribute to Villiers Park’s mission?
My role involves the strategic oversight and leadership of our programmes. This sits at the very core of our mission, but is influenced by feed-in from the whole team. Ultimately, I am acting on what we see and hear from our young people, championing their voices and using this to guide our programmes.
I try to use this information alongside my twenty years' experience in schools to ensure we maximise opportunities for the young-people we work with.
Looking back, what experiences or influences prepared you for the work you do now?
As a child, I had a very unstable family background, but a number of key adults championed me and shaped me into the person I am today. I have always been driven to give this back by providing similar positive influences and opportunities for young people.
I ran a Girl Guide unit for 20 years, have coached gymnastics as a volunteer for 30+ years and now own a not-for-profit gymnastics club in an area of high deprivation.
What’s a project or initiative you’re most proud of, and why does it matter to you?
I have always been proud of what is now Leadership Challenge. When I first joined Villiers Park, I was tasked with making the nebulous idea of student outreach into a programme. This became ‘INVOLVE’, and ran through a portal with awards and several partnerships with similar organisations.
Taking something from conception through to fully functional was really satisfying professionally. I can now see the programme I initiated still leads to amazing achievements and outcomes from participants.
What is a book you always will always recommend?
1984 by George Orwell and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Both offer thought provoking, alternative views on life.
If you could spend a month anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you hope to experience?
The Biologist in me would love to spend a month on the Galapagos Islands, seeing Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ brought to life. I love the idea of being surrounded by wildlife largely unaffected by human interaction.
Song that always lifts your mood?
Bohemian Rhapsody. From the first to the last note, it’s like being on a musical rollercoaster, which is always fun to sing, in my case, incredibly badly.
