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
David Atkins is a Chartered Surveyor and was Chief Executive of Hammerson, the FTSE 250 retail property company, from 2009 until 2020, having joined the company in 1998. He spent the first 10 years of his career at international property adviser DTZ (now Cushman & Wakefield). He was educated at Berkhamsted School (Bees 1984) and the University of Reading. He is married to Louise and has three daughters, all of whom were pupils of Berkhamsted School. He is a Non-Executive Director of Whitbread Group Plc, a past President of Revo (formerly BCSC), a Director and Trustee of the Reading University Real Estate Foundation and former Chairman of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA). David sits on the Finance and Property Committee.
Vicky Bingham has been Head of South Hampstead High School GDST since January 2017. Under her leadership the school has been named Independent Girls’ School of the Year 2022, and developed flourishing Bursary and partnerships programmes. From September 2023 Vicky will be Head of North London Collegiate School. Vicky has spent over 20 years in independent schools, serving as Deputy Head Academic at Guildford High School and Head of Classics at St Catherine’s School, Bramley. She is governor at a state academy and one of London’s leading prep schools where she also chairs the Pastoral Committee and acts as the school’s Safeguarding Governor. She is passionate about young people finding their voice, and about the transformative power of inspirational teaching and breadth of educational opportunity. In 2020/2021 Vicky served as HMC Additional Vice-Chair. Vicky was appointed to the Board in December 2022 and sits on the Education Committee.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is Chair of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, and Leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group. Her research focuses on brain development 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 and the Wellcome Trust and has been consulted by education policy makers and politicians. She works with many secondary schools in the UK, youth theatre groups and youth sports teams. Sarah-Jayne has two sons, one of whom is a pupil of the Berkhamsted Schools Group. Sarah-Jayne was appointed as a Governor in 2017 and is a member of the Education 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.
Gavin Laws was Group Head of Corporate Affairs at Standard Chartered Bank until his retirement in the summer of 2012 after a career stretching over 37 years with the bank. During that time he lived and worked in South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore as well as in the UK. Gavin attended Lymm Grammar School in Cheshire, is married to Julie and has lived in Berkhamsted since 2000. He has three grown-up daughters who are Old Berkhamstedians. Gavin is currently Chair of Union Bank UK PLC, Liverpool FC Foundation and Nidebsa Ltd as well as serving as a Non Executive Director for Finablr PLC and Asa International Group PLC.
He was appointed a Governor in early 2012 and succeeded Peter Williamson as Chair in September of that year.
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 Vice President and General Manager for Dell EMC and had been with the company since 2008. With a long track record of running large teams, complex businesses and running multi-million dollar organisations, Sarah is local to the Berkhamsted area and has two sons within the School. As well as running Dell’s channel sales teams, Sarah also is a champion for women and girls in technology and entrepreneurship, working with big names such as The UN Foundation, Microsoft, Intel and multiple other big brands. Sarah is a member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety as well as a frequent speaker at public events including The World Economic Forum at Davos. Sarah was appointed as a Governor in 2017 and sits on the Risk & Regulatory Committee.
Joe Smith was appointed Head Master of The Oratory School in 2016. His previous role was as Headmaster of the Oratory Preparatory School, which he held since 2010. Educated at Liverpool University, Mr Smith got a first in English and a PGCE at Brunel. 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 was appointed Governor in 2015 and chairs the Finance and Property Committee.
Andrew Wilcock is a recently retired headteacher and CEO of a multi academy trust, with over 20 years’ experience of leading two large state secondary schools. Most recently, he was head of Bishop Ramsey School, a Church of England Academy for students aged between 11-18 years. Bishop Ramsey was recognised as ‘outstanding’ in all areas by both Ofsted and SIAMS and was one of only 100 state schools in the country to be accredited as a ‘World Class School’. In 2016, Bishop Ramsey School became a multi-academy trust. Mr Wilcock oversaw the approval by the Department for Education and the early development of Bishop Arden Free School, a sister school to Bishop Ramsey. In 2018 the MAT set up a School Centred Initial Teacher Training operation (SCITT) and now trains 100 new entrants to the teaching profession each year. Mr Wilcock retired at the end of the 2020-21 academic year and now works part time as an educational consultant. Andrew Wilcock sits on the Education Committee.
Jon Williams is a Partner at PwC, the professional services firm, where he advises companies on sustainability. He is also a Mental Health Partner Advocate. Jon is a member of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the City of London Green Finance Initiative Steering Committee, and was a previous Project Adviser to the World Economic Forum. 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, two of whom 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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Charles Jonathan ‘Jonty’ Driver, Headmaster of Berkhamsted School 1983 – 1989, dies aged 83
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ABOUT US
Our history
Berkhamsted School was founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral.
