Armchairs head teacher reupholstered to seat much-respected women (10)
I believe the answer is:
matriarchs
'women' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'armchairs head teacher reupholstered to seat much-respected' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'head' could be 'arch' (synonyms) and 'arch' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for matriarchs that I've seen is " female leaders".)