Governance
Berkhamsted Schools Group is an incorporated charity led by a Board of Governors.
Our governors are the company directors and charity trustees of the Berkhamsted Schools Group, with control over all aspects of the charity.
We aim to have between 12 and 15 governors on the board at all times, with each governor possessing a wide range of skills and experiences that will benefit the school.
The board of governors meets five times a year and has established three subcommittees to assist with the day-to-day running of each school.
Our objectives are: “to promote the education (including social and physical training) of boys and girls and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, to conduct day or day and boarding schools in or near Berkhamsted at which religious education (in accordance with the principles of the Church of England) is provided.”
These subcommittees meet once every term, covering matters such as:
- Risk and Regulatory
- Finance
- Property
- Education
- A Chairman’s committee meets once each term to discuss matters of strategy, but this committee is not a decision-making entity.
The Chairman’s committee consists of the Chair of Governors and the chairs of the subcommittees.
School governors are recommended by the nominations subcommittee, which meets as and when required.
Governors serve a term of three years with a maximum of three consecutive terms of office. They are approved or re-elected by the board of governors.
Interested in becoming a Governor at Berkhamsted Schools Group?
Our articles of association allow for a minimum of twelve and a maximum of fifteen Governors at any one time. Subject to performance Governors will normally serve up to three terms of three years and we aim to ensure an even distribution of retirement dates to allow the continued safe running of the school.
The Governors have agreed that we should have a wide range of expertise within the governing body but that at all times the following core skills must be covered.
Education, Business Expertise, Law, Governance, Finance, Property
If you are interested in knowing more about the requirements of being a Governor please email our Clerk mentioning your experience and why you want to join our board.
Meet our Governors
Carol Copland is a commercial lawyer. She is a partner at Gunnercooke LLP, and has been General Counsel for several companies and charities – currently for the technology company, Raspberry Pi. She previously worked for Metaswitch Networks Ltd, where she served on the Executive Committee. Prior to this, she was Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs at The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Examinations and Appeals Board.
Carol started her career in the technology team at Linklaters where she trained as a lawyer and worked for several years. She is currently Chair of the children’s charity, The Lumos Foundation. She was formerly Vice-chair of Lee Common School. She lives locally with her family, and is a keen runner, cyclist, former footballer, and a compulsive book collector.
Vicky Bingham joined North London Collegiate School in Edgware as Headmistress in September 2023, having previously served as Head of South Hampstead High School GDST for six and a half years. Under her leadership, South Hampstead was named Independent Girls’ School of the Year and achieved some of its best academic results. The School also saw a rapid expansion of its bursary provision and partnership activities. Vicky has served on the Executive Team of HMC (The Heads’ Conference) and is a governor at one of the Harris Schools and at a leading London boys’ prep school. Vicky holds a Classics degree from the University of Oxford. She sits on the Main Board and on the Education Committee at Berkhamsted.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is Chair of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, and Leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Cambridge. Her group’s research focuses on the development of the brain, cognition and mental health in adolescence. Sarah-Jayne has an interest in the links between neuroscience and education and has worked on education initiatives at the Royal Society, Wellcome and the Department for Education. Sarah-Jayne lives with her family in Berkhamsted. Sarah-Jayne was appointed as a Governor in 2017 and is a member of the Education Committee.
Jacqui Brabazon is a former pupil and parent of Berkhamsted School. She retired from her post as Chief Marketing Officer of one of the largest international private banks at the end of 2020. During her 35 year career in financial services she held senior positions in Marketing, Client Management, Talent Enhancement and Human Resources. Shortly prior to retiring, Jacqui spent just over nine years in Singapore where she chaired the bank’s Philanthropy Committee and sat on the Diversity & Inclusion committee.
Jacqui is now a Trustee of HACRO (Hertfordshire Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders), a member of the Development Committee at the Donmar Warehouse, and mentor to a young person through Caudwell Youth.
Jacqui was appointed as a Governor from 1 September 2023 and sits on the Risk and Regulatory committee.
After a career in investment banking, Clare Edwards now assists individuals with their style, image and confidence through her personal styling business. Clare also runs a fundraising venture called ReFashion for Good selling preloved clothes to raise money for local charities. During her time at three major investment banks, Clare covered a variety of roles in finance and management within Global Markets. Clare is a fully qualified accountant (FCCA) and attended Berkhamsted School. She lives in Berkhamsted and is married with one son who currently attends the Boys’ School. Clare was appointed to the Board in September 2022 and sits on the Finance & Property Committee.
Andrew Hart is the leader of the global dispute resolution practice of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, an international law firm, where he is a litigation partner. His practice has involved acting for many banks, accountancy firms and companies in a wide range of disputes around the world. He has also been a member of the key executive and governance committees of the firm. Andrew has a Masters in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. He is married with three children, and his wife and children are Old Berkhamstedians. He has worked as a teacher and has a particular interest in playing and coaching a wide variety of sports. Andrew was appointed as a Governor in December 2018 and sits on the Risk and Regulatory Committee.
Grant Imlah is a Chartered Surveyor and has been working in the commercial Real Estate market , specialising in the retail sector for 34 years . He is an equity partner in the London office of Canadian owned Avison Young , a multinational firm of commercial Real Estate consultants. He started his career with Healey and Baker ( now Cushman and Wakefield ) before joining Knight Frank and then left to help build a successful niche retail consultancy over 20 years which then became part of Avison Young in 2018. He advises a number of Institutional Landlords and National Retailers on their UK property strategy. He was educated at Cheltenham College and has a BSc ( Hons ) in Land Management from the University of Reading. He is married and has two daughters who both attended the school. Grant was appointed to the Board in December 2022 and sits on the Finance & Property Committee.
As a former barrister, Kerry’s professional background is the world of litigation, having spent many years dealing with serious criminal cases involving sensitive matters of every kind, as well as lots of fraud and drugs! A desire to find a balance with family life led her to change career and use her skills in a different environment. Nowadays she works as trainer in the commercial and legal field, designing and delivering courses to those who find themselves as witnesses in court proceedings or who would like confidence building techniques for contentious professional situations. Fuelled by her own work in training and confidence building and being a parent, she has developed a particular interest in methods and innovations in education, as well as the pastoral aspects of school life.
Her involvement in school life began as a Heatherton parent with an enjoyable few years spent co-chairing the Friends of Heatherton and as part of the parent and governors’ advisory panels for Heatherton and Berkhamsted. Her daughter was educated at Heatherton School and her son is currently a pupil in the Prep School.
Kerry sits on the Finance and Property Committee.
Chris Nicholls retired from Berkhamsted School in 2013 after 38 years of teaching there. During those years he held many senior positions both academically and pastorally, culminating in being Head of Boys for the last five years. Outside of the classroom, Chris coached rugby for over 30 years and was Master in charge of Rugby and the First XV coach for nine years. Chris is married to Sue who was also a teacher at the School and they have two grown-up daughters who are Old Berkhamstedians. He joined the Board in 2015 and is a member of the Education Committee.
Kam is a graduate of Lancaster University with a MA International Relations and Strategic Studies, and also holds a MEd in Educational Leadership from the University of Buckingham. Miss Nijjar began her teaching career at Runshaw College in Leyland and moved to Hydesville Tower School, Walsall, in 2003. Throughout her last six years at Hydesville Kam held the position of Deputy Headteacher. She took up the Headship of Long Close School in September 2018. Kam was appointed as a Governor in 2020 and sits on the Education Committee.
Sarah Shields is a parent and a governor at Berkhamsted and has been recognised as one of the leading women in the technology sector – both here in the U.K. and globally. Awards include CRN woman of the year in 2019 and PCR woman of the year in 2014. With over 25 years of experience working for some of the most well known global IT brands, Sarah ran multiple regions and businesses for Dell Technologies for over 15 years as a Vice President. In April 2023, Sarah joined Computacenter, a global IT solutions company where she now heads up their global alliances business. A keen advocate for getting more girls and women into IT and technology, Sarah focuses on working collaboratively with the school’s IT department to keep Berkhamsted Schools Group as one of the most technology advanced schools in the country.
Joe Smith became Headmaster of St Benedict’s School, Ealing in September 2023. His previous role was as Head Master of The Oratory School, where he moved in 2016, having been Headmaster of the Oratory Preparatory School since 2010. Educated at Liverpool University, Mr Smith got a first in English and a PGCE at Brunel; he has a Masters in Education from Buckingham University. His first teaching post was at Colfe’s School, followed by 12 years at Monkton Combe in Bath where he became Head of English and Housemaster. He is a Governor of Downe House School, where he chairs the Education Committee. Joe was appointed as a Governor in September 2020 and sits on the Education Committee.
Neil Twogood is a chartered accountant who worked in industry doing finance and line management roles before founding, growing and selling a telecommunications company and then investing in, growing and selling a psychometric services company. He joined one of the UK’s leading coaching partnerships before starting his own consultancy serving his own clients and working with other organisations including Ashridge Business School. He has extensive experience designing and delivering programmes on leadership, strategy and innovation with particular interest in helping leaders understand themselves better, in order to lead more effectively. He has worked extensively with large companies in Europe, USA and Asia and a wide variety of other organisations. He is an experienced coach and mentors entrepreneurial companies.
He was educated at Watford Grammar School and has an economics degree from Exeter University; an MSc (dipl.) in Executive Coaching & Organisational Design from the University of Portsmouth Business School and is a member of the ICAEW. He is married to Pauline and has two sons and a daughter who all attended Berkhamsted School meaning Neil stood on touchlines from 2002 to 2013. He is often found on a golf course, tennis court, running and cycling around Ashridge or by a trout river. Neil is a trustee & treasurer of the charity Mission EmployAble, helping young people with learning disabilities acquire skills to find long-term paid employment. He was appointed Governor in 2015 and chairs the Finance and Property Committee.
Andrew Wilcock is a part time educational consultant and an inspector of Church schools (a SIAMS inspector). He retired from his full time post as CEO of a multi academy trust and headteacher of a Church of England Academy in 2021. He has 21 years of experience as a secondary headteacher in the state sector and also established a school centred initial teacher training operation (SCITT) which trained over 100 new entrants to the teaching profession each year. Andrew’s school for the last 19 years of his time as a headteacher was Bishop Ramsey Church of England School. It was recognised as outstanding by both Ofsted and SIAMS and was one of only 100 state schools in the country to be accredited as a ‘World Class School’. Andrew was educated at Whitgift School in Croydon and Trinity College Cambridge. He is Chair of the Education Committee.
Jon Williams is a former partner with PwC, the professional services firm, where he chaired their UK Sustainability practice and was their Global Banking & Capital Markets Sustainability Leader. He was also a Mental Health and Social Mobility Partner Advocate, and is a trained Mental Health First Aider.
Jon is a member of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and was a previous Project Adviser to the World Economic Forum. He also is a trustee and sits on the board of the Climate Group, a not-for-profit group. Prior to joining PwC, Jon worked for HSBC for 21 years in Asia and Europe, most recently as Group Head of Sustainable Development. Jon has three children, who are or were pupils of Berkhamsted School. He has a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Southampton. on was appointed as a Governor in March 2018. He is Governor with responsibility for Child Protection and chairs the Risk and Regulatory Committee.
To contact the Chair of Governors
Please e-mail the Clerk to the Governors or you can send correspondence to:
Chair of Governors
Berkhamsted School
133 High Street
Berkhamsted
Herts
HP4 2DJ
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ABOUT US
Our history
Berkhamsted School was founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral.
