Gillian Keegan’s special adviser Mark Lehain will leave the role to head up a two-school academy trust in September.
Lehain will join the Wootton Academy Trust, in Bedfordshire, as executive headteacher in September.
It marks a return to Wootton Upper School, which forms part of the trust he will lead, where Lehain worked for seven years before setting up Bedford Free School.
He then moved into politics, standing as the Conservative candidate for Newcastle North in the 2019 election.
The former maths teacher has since served both Nadhim Zahawi and then Keegan as a special adviser. Lehain will continue in the role until the autumn, he told Schools Week.
In a tweet, Lehain added: “Breaking my Twitter silence to say how chuffed I am to join Wootton Trust in the autumn.
“It’s long had a place in my heart: I started teaching there in 2003 & my girls attend/will attend STEM College [one of the two schools the trust runs].
“Until then: lots still to do at DfE!”
Lehain has been a trustee at the trust since February.
