Wyedean Trustees
The Trustees of Wyedean School are proud of the opportunities offered to our young people to develop the values and skills essential for their future. We are determined to appoint highly dedicated teachers to the staff who have the interest of every student at heart. It is our wish that all students achieve their full potential with academic qualifications whilst developing the personal qualities of initiative and self-confidence. Parents and staff are represented on the Board of Trustees, working closely with the Principal and Leadership Team to set the aims and targets for the school and provide a broad and balanced curriculum. We recognise that support at home is an essential part of learning for young people and we are always ready to receive the views of parents and hope some can consider standing for election as Parent Trustees when the situation arises. You are assured of a warm and friendly welcome when visiting the school. You can contact any member of the Board of Trustees via the Trustee Support Officer: Tess Deighton
Our Vision
The pursuit of excellence in all of the school’s activities is demonstrated by an uncompromising and highly successful drive to strongly improve, or maintain, the highest levels of achievement and personal development for all students over a sustained period of time.
All leaders, including those responsible for governance, are highly ambitious for the students and lead by example. They base their actions on a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s performance, and of the staff and students’ skills and attributes.
Andy Lord
Chair of Trustees
Board of Trustees Terms of Office - October 2022
Trustee’s Responsibilities
School trustees make important collective decisions. The board of trustees is responsible to parents and the community. The board of trustees should:
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Ensure that the school achieves high educational standards and encourages every student to reach their potential.
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Contribute to the School Improvement Plan and set priorities.
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Set the school’s policies, aim and targets.
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Appoints senior staff, including the Principal.
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Be involved in the recruitment of all other staff in consultation with the Principal.
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Control the school budget.
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Ensure money is spent wisely.
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Ensure a broad and balanced curriculum which meets National Curriculum Standards.
The Board of Trustees
Membership is drawn from groups who have an interest in the school. Terms of office are normally four years (excluding the Principal). Provided they are eligible, a trustee may serve again. Below are the members who have served on the board over the last 12 months:
Principal
Gwennan Jeremiah
Academy/Community Trustees (appointed by the Board of Trustees):
Andrew Walsh
Andy Lord – Chair
Parent Trustees (elected by parents):
Karina Halford
Sarah Maley
Sarah Mclellan
Co-opted Trustees (appointed by the Board of Trustees):
Kate Burke
Tom Haywood-Pope
Ashley Syms-Rees
Marcus Tester
Hugo Whately
Members
Mark Leeming
Andy Lord
Robin Macharg
Pen Portraits
Kate Burke, Co-opted Trustee
I have 21 years’ experience of teaching including 8 years as a Primary Headteacher. Currently I lead Yorkley Primary School in the Forest of Dean. In 2019 – 2020 I was asked to also be the Executive Headteacher for a neighbouring school requiring sponsorship.
I am Co-chair of West Gloucestershire Schools Partnership (WGSP), a partnership consisting of 41 Primary / Special Schools. Within our partnership we aim to raise the aspirations, attainment and life chances of all pupils by working together to raise standards in education, sharing good practice, commissioning high quality CPD and supporting each other.
I have been a co-opted Trustee at Wyedean since September 2018 and am currently on the TLA committee.
I have 2 children who both attend Wyedean School.
My hobbies involve spending time with my family, walking our rescue dog and running marathons and ultras.
Karina Halford - Parent Trustee
My name is Karina Halford I have 2 children one of which is in year 9 at Wyedean and the other will be joining next September 2023 in year 7. I own and run an entertainment and events business and a theatre group which consists of both children and adults. I also work alongside Monmouthshire council as a licensed child chaperone.
Most of all as a parent I am pleased to be given the opportunity to be involved with Wyedean School. I am here to support the school, staff and other Trustees and to make sure the students of Wyedean receive the highest standard of education.
Tom Haywood-Pope, Co-opted Trustee
Chief Operating Officer - Zero Gravity
Former Wyedean School student (2003-2010)
Tom’s passion lies in using technology to empower students to reach their goals, regardless of geographical or socio economic barriers. His career has been dedicated to technology that facilitates higher education and careers access, reaching thousands of schools and millions of students.
Tom was one of the early team members at Unifrog, the UK’s leading Careers and Higher Education platform, eventually leading the UK arm of the organisation and growing their school partners to 2,000+ - supporting thousands of teachers and millions of students with CEIAG.
Tom is now the COO of Zero Gravity, a social impact technology organisation that propels high potential students from areas of low opportunity into top universities and world class careers via 1:2:1 mentoring.
Andy Lord, Community Trustee, Chair of Board of Trustees
I am a retired Commercial and Compliance director, where I spent 20 years in financial services, 19 years as a business owner. I have a degree in Economics from the University of York (1984)
Since retiring in 2008, I have undertaken the following youth/community voluntary work:
Governor Parkend Primary School 2008-2018, 3 years as Chair
Governor Ellwood Primary School 2021 - ongoing
Governor Wyedean School & Sixth Form Centre - ongoing, current Chair
Chairman Lydney Hockey Club 2010- ongoing
Coach Lydney Hockey Club Academy 2008-2019
Parish Councillor Woolaston 2012- ongoing
Volunteer Panel Member Gloucestershire Youth Support Trust 2008-2018
Committee member The Gaff Youth Club, Sedbury 2008-2017, 4 years As Chair
England Hockey National League Umpire 2014- ongoing
I have lived in the Chepstow area since 1988. I have 2 daughters, one graduated from Durham University in 2020 and the other left Wyedean Year 13 in 2020 to study at the University of Birmingham
Sarah Maley, Parent Trustee
I am a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol, where I have been teaching medical students for 15 years. In particular, I have experience of leading teams to ensure courses are delivered to a high standard using innovative teaching methods. I have taken part in teaching quality assurance reviews and in exam review boards. I have experience in recruitment and line management and I regularly organise and chair meetings with multidisciplinary teams of people. I am passionate about offering high quality education and can offer insights into what skills are required for pupils to transition smoothly into higher education.
Sarah Mclellan, Parent Trustee, Vice Chair of Trustees
The majority of my working career has been in Charity and Voluntary Sector Management. I have been a project manager, Coordinator and Charity Manager in a range of settings involved in community advice and support work. I was the manager of the Forest of Dean Citizens Advice Bureau for 6 years, growing the charity from 3 paid staff and 15 volunteers to 15 paid staff and 40 volunteers, working over 3 core venues and 6 outreach centres in the Forest of Dean. I have overseen and secured annual funding and budgets of up to £500 000. I have a wealth of experience in Human Resources, Financial Management, Strategic Management and successful Service Delivery. Following the arrival of my 2nd and 3rd children I re-trained as a physical therapist and FE teacher of physical therapy and am an MTI Lead Tutor and the Finance Director of a small FE College in Bristol. Alongside this work I have volunteered as a local community organiser, undertaking initiatives such as establishing and then managing a play area and setting up and coordinating a Zero Waste Village Initiative. I have now been a Governor at Wyedean since 2015 and view this role as a serious responsibility needing time and commitment.
Marcus Tester, Co-opted Trustee
I have an ongoing enthusiasm for good education and wish to find further ways to make a contribution to support children’s success. My interest is mainly in secondary education. Over the years I have demonstrated my engagement in many ways including; Chairing the board of advisors of a small, private school whose pupils include children previously excluded from education. This has included going through an Estyn inspection, Co-leading a group of parents who worked with teachers to propose a new local State school that would provide qualified teachers with a different approach to delivering good educational experiences to all children, spending some time in a number of State schools observing and learning about teaching, delivering mathematics and business studies teaching and tuition to individuals or small groups of children, engaging with my own son’s school education and designing and delivering training to new graduate employees during my successful 25-year career as a consulting actuary advising pension schemes and companies on managing financial risk.
I believe that many of the skills I developed whilst working in the actuarial field and in education related activities will be relevant to the role of a governor/trustee. I also have experience of managing other people should this ever be helpful.
Andrew Walsh, Community Trustee
I have had 41 years’ experience in the public sector where I had responsibly at various times for finance management, health and safety, human resource management, Professional and Ethical standards and investigation of complaints of maladministration and breaches of Councillors’ code of conduct, before my retirement in 2011. I am educated to degree standard having a Batchelor of Arts degree from the Open University and a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Hertfordshire. I am currently vice chair of the Independent Monitoring Board of HMP Usk and Prescoed and vice chair of the Ethics and Standards Committee of Torfean County Borough Council.
Hugo Whately - Co-opted Trustee
I've taught RE, RS and Philosophy at secondary schools for 15 years, as a head of department in state and private schools in London, Bristol and Monmouth. My PHD is in philosophy of education, and I have taught on PGCE teacher training courses at the universities of Bristol, Roehampton and the London IoE. I have also worked with Teach First, and the all party parliamentary group on RE.
Personally and professionally I believe that the pastoral and the academic are interdependent; I see curiosity and imagination as core to the educational project. This has driven my approach to teaching; giving young people the confidence to ask their own questions is as important as learning how to answer other people's.
Robin Macharg - Member
I have been involved with Wyedean for the last 7 years, initially as a Parent Governor, and laterally as a Member of the Board of Trustees. I've previously served on the Partnership and Well-being, and Resources committees. I have three children currently at the school, the youngest about to start GCSE study and the eldest about to go to university. I've lived in Alvington, to the north of Chepstow, for the last 12 years, having moved from Bristol for a little more country air. Professionally, I'm a software developer with 35 years experience, currently specialising in iPhone all development in the area of Machine Learning and Recommendation systems. Outside my school involvement I'm the Charity Coordinator for Chepstow Gold Senior Touch Rugby, as well as an occasional Scouting helper.
Trustees who have stood down in the last 12 months
Sophie Hills - Term 06/02/2019 - 09/01/2022
Lesley Moore - Term 10/03/2018 - 10/03/2022
Victoria Obermaier - Term 05/10/2021 - 03/10/2022
Rebecca Durman - Term 09/12/2019 - 18/11/2022
Alex Lupo - Term 09/12/2019 - 15/03/2023
Committees - October 2022
The Board of Trustees has a number of sub-committees. The committees meet at least termly. All Trustees are members of at least one committee. In addition, some staff attend on an advisory basis.
To view these committees please click HERE
Learning Area Link - October 2022
Attendance
To view Trustees’ attendance at meetings, please click the link below:
Governors attendance register 2019-20
Governor attendance 2018-19
