Teaching Staff

All teaching staff have been CRB checked, have an ‘interest’ in Harrogate Town AFC, and have wide ranging qualifications and experiences.

Tad Nowakowski

Tad has a Bachelor of Education degree from University of Bradford where he specialised in Mathematics.    After graduation, he spent 2 years teaching in a comprehensive school and then decided to have a complete change in his career by becoming a police officer, joining North Yorkshire Police.   He became Craven District Commander, and has particular ‘expertise’ in the management of major/critical incidents having played a key role in a number of high profile incidents including Dunkeswick Air crash, Rudding Park Helicopter Crash, Demonstrations at Covance, Menwith Hill and Drax Power Station.    He has facilitated courses at the National Emergency College at Easingwold.   He later requalified as a Mathematics Teacher, having attended a Return to Teaching Course at York University, and after retirement from the police went on to teach at Rossett High School and then Nidderdale High School, both in the Harrogate area.  He currently provides private mathematics tuition to both gifted and less able students.

Tad has a serious and active interest in sport, particularly squash, where he has been involved in coaching and mentoring younger players.  In his youth, he gained honours in football at county and national level.  He is closely involved in developing the club in his role as director, leading on community matters, and as Trustee on the recently formed Harrogate Town Community Foundation.  His son Adam is a popular and important player, now in his third season with the club.

Alan Tootill

Kath Lancaster – MSc Advanced Nursing Practice, BSc (Hons) Community Health Nursing, SCPHN, DIP, RN.

Kath qualified as nurse in 1982 and worked for 6 years in general nursing within the Halifax area.  In 1988 she specialised in Paediatrics and spent the next 9 years working in Bradford hospitals caring for children with medical conditions.  Kath has since worked out in the Community, both as a School Nurse Practitioner and Community Practice Teacher directing and delivering public health information and services. She has also worked as a Senior University Lecturer in Public Health and as a Pathway Leader for the discipline of School Nursing, developing and delivering training modules. More recently, strategic working for the Department of Health has enabled her to direct and influence community nursing and public health practice nationally, whilst maintaining strong links at practice level. Kath presently owns and directs her own Nursing Consultancy Company, with contracts across the UK and recognition at a global level for the creation of models and frameworks to support NHS workforce redesign and development. Kath is enthusiastic and passionate about providing healthy lifestyle information to children, young people and their families to enable them to make informed healthier choices.

John Gray

Tim Ralph

Tim was a former fire officer having served in the fire service in Hertfordshire, London & later in North Yorkshire.   He played a key role in a number of high profile incidents including the Selby Train disaster and the Northern Gas Supplies fire in Bedale.  He was the Brigade’s Emergency Planning Officer and spent his final years as Commander for the Craven area.    Following his retirement, he did support work for Henshaws Society for Blind People where he became actively involved in fund raising for the charity.    Tim is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute, a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers and was a Fire Services examiner for nine years.

Tim has always had an active and serious interest in sport where he has played rugby, badminton, squash & white water kayaking.

However his main passion has been climbing and on retirement from the Fire Service he entered the arena of mountaineering. Tim summitted Everest in May 2010 to conclude his quest to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven Continents. One of a very few to have done so, he is believed to be the oldest UK Seven Summiteer and one of only a handful to have climbed all on their first attempt. Having recently returned from Nepal with a research expedition, he continues to climb high mountains in the Himalayas and elsewhere around the world.

Tim is actively involved in promoting mountaineering and ethical climbing. He is a ‘team player’ who expounds the importance of respect and friendship.