Meet the team
Emma Parfitt
BG6 Achievement Lead
Emma joined the BG6 Team in September 2024, in addition to her role at Batley Girls' High School teaching Art and Photography, which she's done since 2021. Emma began her teaching career in London in 2018, after graduating with her PGCE from the Institute of Education at UCL (University College London).
Teaching was a career change for Emma. She studied a BA in Fine Art and an MA in Contemporary Art Theory before working in various roles in galleries such as Tate, Southbank Centre and Hayward Gallery, the Barbican Centre and the Royal Albert Hall.
Emma believes education provides access to opportunities and independence, and that nothing should be a barrier to education as it unquestionably shapes the future for young people. She appreciates that education should be holistic and that young people's needs and experiences extend beyond the classroom.
Emma strongly believes giving back is an important aspect of both teaching and life, which is also demonstrated by the fact she is a fellow at Ambition Institute and facilitates ECT (Early Career Teacher) training with them.
Sanam Ali
BG6 Pastoral Leader
Sanam joined Batley Girls' High School in 2004, working in classroom based support roles in Art and Design, Fine Art and Photography before moving to a pastoral role in post-16 in 2007.
Sanam is a strong advocate of learner voice and of creating every opportunity for learners to explore their hopes and dreams. Her extensive knowledge and expertise in pastoral care, alongside her vested interest in each individual, means she is focused on promoting learner personal growth and wellbeing.
She is passionate about the importance of establishing open communication and a strong partnership between learners, parents/carers and school, and her role is centered around this.
Her current role focuses on learner leadership and development, and community engagement. When combined with her understanding of pastoral issues and its impact on progress and wellbeing, means she is able to inspire and engage with BG6 learners to help them to reach their full potential.
Sanam is also an alumni of Batley Girls', which she attended from age 11-18. before going on to study Moving Image and Design at the University of Huddersfield.
Stacey Lister
BG6 Administrative Assistant
Stacey joined the BG6 team in 2022 after working in various roles at Batley Girls' High School since 2010. She was also a learner here 2003-2010, so has got to know the staff team and learner community well over the years.
Studying IT, Media, English Language and Photography at A Level has provided her with the ideal combined skill set to support both the BG6 learners and her BG6 colleagues; and her passion for ICT enhances how she is able to apply these skills.
Her role involves learner wellbeing and supervised study, essentially acting as Learner Services for BG6, as well as recruitment support.
Laura Sawyer
Wider Curriculum Opportunities & Learner Engagement
In my role at bg6 College, I am proud to lead on a range of initiatives that extend learning beyond the classroom and help shape well-rounded, future-ready learners. I coordinate wider curriculum opportunities that enrich our learners’ academic journey, including impactful university trips, career-linked experiences, and a dynamic enrichment programme. Central to my work is raising aspirations—ensuring every bg6 learner sees their potential and has the tools and confidence to achieve it.
I also champion literacy across the college, fostering a culture of reading and communication. A key initiative involves empowering bg6 students to become peer mentors for KS3 learners and struggling readers—building leadership skills while supporting others in the wider school community.
Everything we do is rooted in our shared vision: Respect Yourself, Respect Your Community, Respect Your Environment—values that guide our efforts in building a compassionate, ambitious, and responsible college culture.
Katie Spence
Enrichment Lead
Katie’s passion about enrichment lies in her belief that what happens outside of the classroom is equally as important as what happens inside the classroom.
Through the delivery of a varied programme, Katie aims to deepen and enrich academic learning as well as engage and excite our young people at BG6 to create motivated lifelong learners. In doing so, we are able to prepare our young people for life after their time here, through instilling confidence in themselves and allowing them to explore what drives them.
By building on existing knowledge and developing specific skills, including critical thinking, Katie's vision is to open up new and exciting opportunities for BG6 learners. This empowers them to be the best version of themselves, gaining attributes such as; self-regulation, collaboration, security, employability, high aspirations and resilience.
Katie began her teaching career in 2013 and has been at Batley Girls’ High School since 2014. She is also part of the Year 7 Transition team and has therefore gained a deeper understanding of the evolution of learner development, which means she has greater insight into young people’s needs during periods of change.
What sits at the heart of everything, is her core belief that enrichment is about breaking down barriers to learning, building self-confidence and self-belief, and developing skills that can be applied to every aspect of life.
Heather Green
UCAS Coordinator, BG6 Form Tutor
With a career that spans over 30 years, Heather continues to live by her principles of helping young people to achieve their goals.
She has worked at BG6 since 2013 and, during this time, she has led the learners themselves, as well as an experienced team of tutors in supporting our young people in their UCAS applications.
Heather advises both BG6 learners and staff on all aspects of the UCAS process, from arranging for learners to attend the UCAS Discovery Events, where they have access to over 300 Higher Education providers, to support with personal statements and making their final choices.
In addition to her work with university applications, Heather leads the Social Science team in providing a range of courses available to study at Key Stage 5 as well as being a BG6 Form Tutor.