We are lucky to have a highly professional and commited Board of Governors who work hard to ensure that the school is always moving forwards.
Abbot's Hill School Board of Governors November 2011
Life President Lady Stuart-Smith MA, JP, DL,
Board of Governors
Chairman Janet Mark BA (Hons), QTS
Vice Chairman Kate Docherty BA MBA
Nick Binder BSc MBA NPQH
Nigel Chadwick
Andrew Grant MA FRSA
Neil James MA
Diana Jefkins MA
Susan Jordache MB BS JP
Sudhir Singh BSc ACA ARCM
Martin Hart MA (Cantab) MBA
Life President
Lady Stuart-Smith MA, JP, DL, was created Life President of Abbot's Hill on her retirement as Chairman of the Board of Governors in 1997. She was a Justice of the Peace who sat on the Watford Bench for 30 years. Married to Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, Joan was a pupil at Abbot's Hill from 1939 to1944. Two of her children and six of her grandchildren have been educated at St Nicholas House.
Chairman, Chairman of Personnel Committee and Remuneration Committee
Janet Mark BA is a former headmistress of two GSA schools. She was educated at a grammar school in Sheffield and Bedford College University of London where she read German. As a teacher of German and French she worked in both the maintained and independent sector including 12 years at St Albans High School. She has extensive experience as a governor. She is also a qualified Independent Schools Inspector. She has recently become Trustee of an Academies Trust. She also works a volunteer for Parentline, the helpline service of the charity Family Lives. [FGPC, E, B & E, H & S, Per, R, RM, B]
Vice Chairman
Kate Docherty BA (Oxon), MBA. Lives four miles from Abbot's Hill and has two daughters at the School. Both have been there since Nursery, and are now at Baird House. She read History at Oxford (1976-9), and worked in publishing and in a small software house, before becoming Finance Director at the British School of Osteopathy (BSO). The BSO sponsored her to take an MBA at Imperial College London (1993-95). She was a trustee of the Hepatitis C Trust until October 2008, and organised a fundraising event for St Albans Abbey. She runs an annual theatre course for children (aged 8 to 14), and a ‘cello course for teenagers. [B & E, FGPC, Pr]
Andrew Grant MA (Cantab), FRSA, Headmaster of St Albans School since 1993, was educated at Southend High School and Corpus Christi College Cambridge, where he read English. He was Second Master at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Head of English & Drama at Whitgift School, Croydon and taught English at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood. He has been involved in Drama, and also in sport of various kinds throughout his teaching career. He was Co-Chair of the HMC/GSA Education/Academic Policy Committee from 2002-5, sat on various other curriculum-related groups including the assessment sub-group of the Tomlinson 14-19 Review and the HMC/GSA Universities sub-committee and is the HMC representative on the DCSF Independent/State School Partnership Forum. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufactures (RSA), and is a governor of three other local schools. Andrew was Chairman of HMC London Division 2006-7 and was elected HMC Chairman for 2009-10.
Chairman of the Education Committee
Diana Jefkins MA(Cantab), retired Head of St Helen's School, Northwood. She has wide experience in both the independent and the maintained schools sectors, having previously held the positions of Head of Science at Dr Challoner's High School, Amersham and of Deputy Head at the Henrietta Barnett School, Hampstead. Her early career was as a research physicist. She now works part-time as an Independent Schools Inspector and Educational Consultant. [FGPC, E, B & E, Per, RM, R, B]
Chairman of the Risk Management Committee
Sudhir Singh BSc (Econ), ACA, ARCM, isa Chartered Accountant and Chair of Baker Tilly's National Charities and Education Group.He is apartnerbased in the firm's Watford office, working exclusively in the Charities and Education sector. Hehas particularexpertise in charity accounting, law, regulation and governance. He has served on several technical working parties dealing with charity accounting and regulation and writes and speaks regularly on sector issues.[FGPC, RM, B]
Chairman of the Governors' Health & Safety Committee
Suzy Jordache MB BS medically qualified as a GP in 1991 and has worked locally in psychiatry and palliative care. She has a strong interest in marketing and fundraising, experience of which she gained whilst working for a local hospice. She is also a Governor of Lockers Park School and currently sits on the West Herts Magistrates Bench. She oversees Welfare, Child Protection and Health & Safety on behalf of the Governing Board. [H & S]
Nick Binder BSc (Hons) MBA NPQH has taught in secondary schools in Kenya, London and Hertfordshire for more than 25 years. He is currently Headteacher of a community, comprehensive community school in Hertford. He is also a registered School Improvement Partner and has served on the governing bodies of a variety of schools. He is passionate about learning and the difference that schools make to the lives of individuals and their communities. [Per, E]
Chairman of the Buildings & Estates Committee and Premises Committee
Nigel Chadwick is the Managing Director of a North West London based Company where he has worked for over 29 years. He has two girls who have been educated at Abbot's Hill since starting in theNursery and is a Church Warden at his local village church. He brings with him strong financial background and the experience of running a business employing over 60 members of staff. [B & E, P, FGPC]
Neil James MA (Oxon) is a solicitor and a partner in a leading City law firm. He specialises in finance and banking law, and has practiced in the United States as well as England. His daughters have each attended St Nicholas House, and he presently has a daughter at Baird House. His wife is a former Treasurer of The Friends of St Nicholas House. He lives in St Albans, and in his spare time he enjoys playing the clarinet. [FGPC]
Martin Hart MA (Cantab) MBA lives in St Albans and has a daughter in St Nicholas House. He studied at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and has an MBA from Warwick University. He has worked in broadcasting and media regulation and is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society. He currently works in the regulation of medical education, and is also a member of the Corporation (Governor) of Oaklands College.
Committees
[FGPC] Member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee
[E] Member of the Education Committee
[B & E] Member of the Buildings & Estates
[Pr] Member of Premises Committee
[H & S] Member of Gov's Health & Safety Committee
[Per] Member of Personnel Committee
[R] Member of the Remuneration Committee
[RM] Member of the Risk Management Committee
[B] Member of the Bursary Committee
FAQs
Who owns the school?
Abbot's Hill School Limited is a non profit making charitable trust, which uses any surplus it makes from its operation for the benefit of the school. The Board of Abbot's Hill School Limited acts as the Board of Governors of the school.
What do the Governors do?
The Governors are responsible for determining the strategic direction of the School and for appointing the Headmistress and Bursar. They are also responsible for making sure the school complies with its obligations as laid down by company and charities law and in accordance with the Company's Memorandum & Articles of Association. The Governors are unpaid trustees of the charity.
The Board of Governors meets once a term, holds an annual strategy day, an annual meeting with parents of the School and an annual meeting with the staff. In addition the Board has a number of subcommittees made up of governors and staff, which meet regularly in accordance with their terms of reference and report back to the Full Board each term.
Who are the Governors?
The Board usually comprises between twelve and fifteen governors at any one time. Typically a Governor serves eight to ten years. The Chairman is elected for a period of five years. It is usual to have at least four current parents serving at any one time, with at least one from Baird House, and one from St Nicholas House, whilst being careful not to have more than half the Governors recruited from current parents. We look for an appropriate balance of talent and professional experience amongst our trustees, and from time to time seek people with appropriate professional skills and experience to join us.
How might I become a Governor?
We usually recruit about two new Governors a year. Governors are vetted by a selection panel and are encouraged to attend training seminars organised by AGBIS. Parents who are interested in becoming a member of the Board of Governors should apply to the School Bursar, who is also the Clerk to the Governors. All parents of new pupils are contacted at the beginning of their second term, inviting those who might be interested to let the Clerk to the Governors know the skills which they could bring to the current Board, so that their names can be kept on file for such a time when an appropriate vacancy might arise. There are no elected parent Governors as is the case in other independent schools and parents who become Governors understand the need to distance any issues affecting their child's education from their role as trustee of the charity.