Ms. Cheryl Boughton

Ms. Cheryl Boughton grew up in Dundas, Ontario, graduating from Queen’s University’s Concurrent Education program with both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. As well, she earned a Professional Master of Education degree, also from Queen's University. She has taught in a range of schools and educational systems—both in Canada and the United Kingdom—coeducational and single-gender, both all-boys and all-girls, as well as public and independent school systems. She has experience delivering the local curriculum in two countries including preparing students for external examinations such as General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), A-Levels, and the International Baccalaureate.

Prior to joining SJK, Ms. Boughton served as the Head of Elmwood School, an IB Continuum School in Ottawa, Ontario from 2008-2019. Before joining Elmwood, she held the role of Deputy Head at Bedford Preparatory School in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, an independent boarding and day school for 1,100 boys. Previous to Bedford, Ms. Boughton spent eight years working in three all-girls’ independent schools in the United Kingdom. She began her career teaching English and history in the Ontario public school system in Hamilton, Ontario.

Ms. Boughton participates actively in her educational community as Chair of the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario (CIS Ontario) Board of Governors. In the past, she has also been a member of the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) Standards Council, chaired various CAIS accreditation visiting committees, and has also been a member of the Board of Directors for the eLearning Consortium Canada as well as the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools. 

Queen’s University’s Faculty of Education recently named Ms. Boughton one of the members of their 50 Influential in 50 for her leadership in independent education.  The 50 Influential in 50 celebrates the leadership and accomplishment of Queen’s Faculty of Education alumni across the globe.