Prof Mark Bailey was educated at Durham University, where he obtained a first-class degree in Economic History, and then went on to the University of Cambridge, where he was awarded a PhD in History. His academic career between 1986 and 1999 included Fellowships at two Cambridge colleges, lecturing in Medieval History, and spells as an Admissions Tutor and Domus Bursar. In 1999 he became Headmaster of Leeds Grammar School and in 2008 oversaw its merger with Leeds Girls’ High School. He has been a headteacher for 18 years.
Mark was the 2018-19 James Ford Lecturer in British History at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Fellow of All Souls, Oxford. He previously played rugby for Wasps and England and captained Suffolk at cricket. He was President of Cambridge University RUFC between 2010 and 2018.
Most recently, Mark Bailey was the High Master of St Paul’s School in London and is a Visiting Professor of Later Medieval History at the University of East Anglia.