Welcome to COYO Headquarters
YOU’D BE AMAZED WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED WORKING HERE – IT’S THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR TEAM TO CREATE THE EXTRAORDINARY!
Welcome to COYO Headquarters
YOU’D BE AMAZED WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED WORKING HERE – IT’S THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR TEAM TO CREATE THE EXTRAORDINARY!
Alison Watson MBE
Founder and Chief Executive
Fiercely passionate with a big heart, Alison is an unshakable optimist, always smiling and approaches everything she does with the same cheerful enthusiasm and pragmatic approach.
Alison is married to a fellow lover of all things ‘great outdoors’. She’s Mum to a music-mad Philosophy graduate, Step-Mum to a horse-mad groom at the Royal Mews and dog-mad-Mum to Peg and Nellie.
She’s a former Land Surveyor and always called it the ‘best job in the world’ – until she started COYO of course! She now ploughs her energy into helping young people discover what they might ordinarily miss.
Alison cares deeply about the future of the construction industry. Her enduring ambition to enable the development of home-grown talent through the Design Engineer Construct! Learning Programme is now being fulfilled globally. This is thanks to her hugely dedicated team and the support of the incredible COYO ‘family’ of like-minded education and industry professionals.
Surveying remains a real passion for Alison. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors and proudly held the position of CICES President from September 2024-5 with an unsurprising theme: “Make Space for Education”.
Alison is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), awarded in 2025 for “work that has had a positive impact on Architectural Technology”. She has served on the Board of the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (now BE-ST) and has represented Youth and Learning for the Construction Industry Training Board Council (CITB) She holds a Doctor of Engineering honorary degree from Heriot-Watt University.
In recognition of her years of commitment, Alison was honoured with an MBE for services to education by HM The Queen in the 2018 New Year Honours.
Daniel McDonagh
Education Director
Enthusiastic and energetic, friendly and outgoing, Dan is a shining example of the positive impact DEC can have on teachers, and indeed that teachers can have on their DEC students.
Teaching since 2008 in the UK, Dan has taught DEC since 2012 at Levels 1, 2 and 3 in an 11-18 Manchester school. His nine-year experience developing and leading DEC made him the ideal candidate to move to COYO in 2019.
Dan is always available to support and develop our family of new and existing DEC teachers and their learners. He is passionate about empowering young people to take control of their own futures through employment-focused learning.
In addition to being awarded the Institution of Civil Engineers “ICE 200 medal” for his outstanding contribution to raising awareness of the sector, Dan is a qualified teacher, a Specialist Leader of Education and holds a Masters in Education with a focus on creativity.
Vicki Irving
Head of Teacher Training
Vicki is an accomplished educator with over 22 years of experience. A former interior designer turned Design and Technology teacher, she advanced to a leadership role, specialising in teaching and learning. She successfully embedded Design Engineer Construct! from Year 7 to Year 13 in her school’s curriculum for over a decade.
Vicki took on the role of Executive Lead for Pennine Lancashire SCITT, a testament to her expertise in developing the next generation of educators. As a Specialist Leader in Education, a role that allows her to share her knowledge and experience with fellow educators, she contributes to the broader enhancement of the educational community.
Her recent completion of the National Professional Qualification (NPQ) in Leading Teacher Development underscores her dedication to staying at the forefront of educational leadership, ensuring she remains a beacon of inspiration and innovation in the field.
She now serves as Head of Teacher Training with Class Of Your Own, contributing to the enhancement of educational programmes and aligning with her commitment to practical, future-focused education.
Alli Adamson
DEC Teaching Coordinator
Passionate about design and the Built Environment, Alli studied Architecture BA (Hons), followed by a Masters in Applied Design in Architecture (RIBA Part 2). Her studies included a specialism in Urban Design and international aid work, designing clean water provisions in the West Bank.
Alli taught English as a Foreign Language throughout, later organising educational and cultural holidays for over 10,000 students before retraining as a Technology teacher in 2017.
The perfect marriage of these interests came with a post at Stratford upon Avon School as a teacher with a specialism in Architecture. Nearly two years on, Alli is delivering DEC Awards, Level 2 and 3 to around 1000 students (Years 7 – 13). She works tirelessly to share her passion for the Built Environment in the classroom and to engage a new generation of AEC professionals.
Alli brings together her academic and teaching experiences to support other DEC schools and teachers around the country.
Rob Lloyd
DEC Teaching Coordinator (London Region)
Passionate about design process, Rob’s interests range from architecture and urbanism to product and theatrical design. A dedicated teacher and budding project coordinator he is keen to widen the delivery of built environment education across London and beyond.
Rob graduated with a first Three-Dimensional Design BA (Hons) at Leeds College of Art (now Leeds Arts University) in 2009. He then became a teacher working in range of settings from secondary education to teaching training centres.
He began working at Sir George Monoux Sixth form College in 2014 as an Art and Design teacher and started delivering the DEC Level 3 course in 2018.
Recently joining COYO in 2023 as Teaching Coordinator for the London Region, he now splits his working week between his sixth form teaching and supporting London DEC schools and their industry adopters, as well as delivering DEC workshops in and around London.
Sayyam Rabbani
Digital Infrastructure Learning and Training Intern /
Global Coordinator for DEC Ambassadors
Sayyam has a strong foundation in architectural design and a passion for digital construction. A former DEC student at King Ecgbert School, and qualifying as a Part 1 Architecture graduate from Sheffield Hallam University in 2025, Sayyam has experienced the full journey from learner to trainer.
His digital skills and dedication to innovation earned him a place in the top 16 at the 2024 WorldSkills UK Digital Construction competition. In his role, Sayyam works closely with our education team and global industry partners to help design and deliver high-impact training experiences, making Bentley Systems technologies more accessible to teachers and students across the country.
Kicking off his internship at the Cesium Developer Conference in Philadelphia, Sayyam is already proving to be an invaluable member of the team, inspiring the next generation of digital built environment professionals.
Now, as Global Coordinator for DEC Ambassadors, the proud former DEC students now working in or on their way to industry, he is proud to support and champion students worldwide as they gain the skills and confidence to shape a more sustainable and innovative built environment future.
Simon Owen
Early Careers Strategist
Simon spent 27 years at the sharp end of recruitment consultancy, building links, asking questions and exploring options to help companies find people and build careers within the Building Services sector.
Over the years, he’s become known for his combination of commercial instincts, desire for social impact and ability to make things happen.
His mission at COYO is to help employer partners develop their early careers recruitment strategy, and build links across their social value, marketing and recruitment teams to deliver it. By linking ESG and commercial wins, everyone benefits as employers reduce hiring cost, time and risk while students get a clearer, more supported route into the industry.
Away from COYO, Simon is a qualified cycle coach supporting nervous riders and a regular volunteer at his local parkrun (that’s on the basis he can go for a run anytime, but there is only one day a week he can help c. 500 people do the same!).
He’s also progressed from volunteering behind the bar at Guiseley Theatre, to being the oldest trainee Barista in Yorkshire and earning the nickname “The Butler” due to his confident “leave it with me” approach to everything!
Angela Whitwell
Finance Officer
Friendly, approachable and always happy to help, Angela has been Finance Officer at COYO since startup. Another down–to–earth Lancastrian, she is known for being a straight-talking, well-organised problem solver.
COYO benefits from her wealth of experience in banking, bookkeeping, accounts, and her continued role as Honorary Treasurer for many community groups.
Away from COYO, Angela loves nothing more than being busy. She helps to run the family’s dairy farm, is very involved in the local community, and is a key member of the local council. On top of all that, she is also Vice President of the Young Farmers’ Club for young people aged 10-26 who have an interest in all things rural.
Angela’s favourite phrase is ‘from small acorns grow mighty oaks’. She believes this is true in all walks of life, and no more so than at COYO, where she has a desire to see the organisation grow to help more young people realise their potential and ambitions.
Yvonne Cox
Business Development & Projects Co-ordinator
Yvonne brings extensive experience in education administration and operations, with a background spanning secondary schools, teacher training and higher education. She has a strong understanding of compliance, safeguarding, recruitment and people focused systems, and is known for her calm, methodical approach to complex processes.
Alongside her professional roles, Yvonne has led a successful community regeneration project, securing funding and overseeing delivery in partnership with local stakeholders.
At Class Of Your Own, she supports the smooth running of programmes and operations, ensuring teams are well supported and systems work effectively to deliver positive outcomes for young people.
Away from the office, she’s an avid football fan and enjoys watching Manchester United at Old Trafford.
