James has worked for over 30 years in state education, 16 of these as a secondary school Head teacher at both St Laurence School Bradford on Avon and Cotham School in Bristol. He is a Fellow of the Centre for Social Policy (Dartington Social Research Unit), which he previously chaired; his publications include ‘Urban Village Schools’ and a Channel 4 Dispatches programme, ‘The Children left behind’; he is the co- founder of the Consortium for Emotional Wellbeing in Schools. Until recently James was a Trustee of the Bristol Music Trust (Colston Hall) and Chair of the Trust’s Education and Community Engagement Committee; he also served on the board of Bristol University from 2010 to 2017. James was instrumental in the creation of the Wiltshire Music Centre and was its first Chair; he returned in 2016 to steer the transformation of the organisation into its third decade.