Williamson nominates next Office for Students chair

James Wharton picked as preferred candidate by the government

Conservative peer James Wharton has been nominated by education secretary Gavin Williamson to become the next chair of the Office for Students.

If Wharton is approved by prime minister Boris Johnson, he will take over from current chair Michael Barber at the end of March 2021. Barber, who became the OfS’s first chair when the body was established in January 2018, has been leading a review of digital learning at universities before he leaves the job.