Aonghus Gordon was born in 1955 and spent his formative years in Venice. He attended Rudolf Steiner schools and then completed his BA in Ceramics and Art History which was followed by a teachers' training. He travelled extensively before renovating Ruskin Mill in 1982 and developed Ruskin Mill Arts and Crafts Centre. He founded the Living Earth Training Course in 1984, which developed into Ruskin Mill Educational Trust in 1996. He co-founded Hiram Trust in 1994, Waldorf College in 1999 and Makhad Trust for endangered nomadic tribes in Sinai and Tibet in 2003. He established the Glasshouse College, Stourbridge, in 2000 and the Freeman College, Sheffield in 2005. He was given the award Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005. He is currently in the process of establishing Clervaux Trust in Darlington for excluded children.