The Team

Qona Rankin is the Dyslexia Co-ordinator at the Royal College of Art, and has been since 2002 when the post was created. She has degrees in Three Dimensional Design from Kingston University and in Design Education from the RCA. Before retraining in Adult Dyslexia Support at Southbank University in 1997, she was a Senior Lecturer on the Product Design Degree course at the University of Hertfordshire and a freelance jewellery designer-maker. The idea behind Creative Mentors came when 4 thoughts collided simultaneously

• The way that many dyslexic and dyspraxic people think seems to give them creative advantages
• Unless you teach creative subjects in ways that make sense to dyslexic and dyspraxic children, you may well deny them access to the material
• Dyslexic and dyspraxic people seem to be rather good at teaching people who learn a bit differently
• 40% of prisoners are dyslexic. Many of them are highly creative.

“If we can do something to help individuals who find learning through conventional teaching methods unrewarding and so enable them to lead fulfilling productive lives rather than perhaps ending up in prison then ‘it,’ is worth doing.”

Alan Cummings has been Pro-Rector of the Royal College of Art since October 2000. In this position, he has overall responsibility for management of the academic affairs of the College and represents the College in major UK initiatives in art and design education. As an Imperial graduate, he has helped to drive collaboration between Imperial College and the RCA at the interface of design, technology and business, which has led to the establishment of InnovationRCA and Design London.

Alongside his Pro-Rector role, Alan acquired the title of Director of Academic Development in 2007. This reflects his role in helping many new initiatives to emerge at the RCA. These include the rapid prototyping unit (RapidformRCA), the educational outreach programme (ReachOutRCA), the professional practice programme (FuelRCA) and the alumni network (AlumniRCA). Motivated by his personal experience as a parent, he has had a particular interest in developing understanding of dyslexia and support for dyslexic students, who constitute about 25% of the student population at the RCA. Alan is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Bart Peerless is a solicitor with the City firm of Charles Russell LLP. He read History at Durham University before qualifying as a solicitor in 1995. He acts for many charities across a broad range of charitable activities - although with a particular focus on education and music - and is a trustee of several of them.