Darren Thomas

Darren Thomas is headteacher of Pantysgallog Primary School in Merthyr. He has experience as an Executive Headteacher and also as an Estyn Peer Inspector. Darren is in a fairly unique position within his current role as he lives with his family in the village near his school and he walks to school everyday with the school dog, a cavapoo called Max.  

Darren has a keen interest in professional development. In recent years he has worked with teaching colleagues from the United States to implement a trust based approach to monitoring lessons in his school, this has been very successful, and at the start of 2023 Darren was one of twenty headteachers from the principality who undertook a visit to Australia as part of a Taith project on reciprocal leadership. School leaders from Australia have since visited Pantysgallog. 

“I am really excited to be granted a position on the next cohort of Associates within the National Academy for Educational Leadership. I am looking for to developing links with like minded professionals from across Wales with an aim of making a contribution to the work of the National Academy for Educational Leadership whilst also developing myself professionally.”   

During his University years at the University of Wales College Newport, where Darren studied for a Bachelor of Education, specialising in Physical Education, Darren supplemented his grant funding with a wage from a role as a semi professional rugby player, playing for his home town of Merthyr RFC. Darren is married to Rebecca and he has four sons, Ben, Will, Griff and Ralph. Darren enjoys holidaying with family and friends, socialising and watching sport.