John Holman

Sir John Holman is Emeritus Professor in the Chemistry Department, University of York, UK and adviser in Education at the Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Foundation. He was Director of the National Science Learning Centre from 2004 until September 2010, and adviser to the English government as National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Director from 2006 until September 2010.

John has taught learners of science at all levels from 11 year olds to undergraduates. He has created curricula and written books for science learners of most ages in the UK and overseas. After studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge, John taught in a range of secondary schools and in 1994 he became principal of Watford Grammar School for Boys, an all-ability, multi-ethnic state school. From 2000 to 2004 he was Salters’ Professor of Chemical Education at the University of York. He was appointed Chairman of the Salters’ Institute Board in 2013 and has been a Trustee of the Natural History Museum since 2011. John was knighted in 2010, for services to education.