Meet the Governors

THE GOVERNING BOARD

All members of the Governing board can be contacted via the School Office

Tommy Towers

Head Teacher Ex-officio by virtue of office as Headteacher/Principal

Member of Teaching, Learning & Staffing Committee and Finance and Premises Committee

01/09/23 ex officio

Linda Shepherd

Staff Governor Appointed by GB/board

Teaching Assistant, Member of Finance and Premises Committee

01/09/22-01/09/24

Belinda Robinson

Chair of Governors (Co-opted - Appointed by GB/board)

Member of Finance and Premises Committee

Link Governor for Communications, Community, Website Safety and GDPR

Co-opted Governor

25/05/22-24/04/24

Parent Governor

14/11/18-25/05/22

I have been a Governor at the School since 2018 and was elected Chair of Governors in September 2020. I have one child at the school and have always felt very lucky to have such a good and well supported school on our doorstep so became a governor in the hope that I could bring a positive contribution to the school and its future.  I have found being a governor very rewarding and it has given me great insight into the challenges schools are facing and the dedication and commitment that goes into providing our children with the highest level of education and care.  

I own and run an on-line retail business where I oversee all areas including Finance, Marketing, Customer Service and Compliance. My strategic, finance and leadership skills equip me to enable and contribute to all areas of Governance to ensure the successful development of the school. 

Dominic Koole

Vice Chair of Governors

Co-opted Governor Appointed by GB/board

Member of Teaching and Learning Committee

I moved to Sherston with my family in 2021, having previously grown up in Gloucestershire, and love living in a thriving village. I joined the governing body to support the school and village to continue to thrive, giving the best possible experiences to local children. 

I have always passionately believed that a great education can transform lives and set young people up to succeed, whatever their starting point. I started my career working in the Department for Education, working on teacher training policy, among other areas. I then spent a number of years working at United Learning, one of the largest and most successful academy sponsors in the country. This gave me the opportunity to work very closely with many schools around the country, at different stages of their growth and development. 

I am now Head of Operations at Jamie’s Farm, a charity that works with vulnerable young people who are at risk of social or academic exclusion. I have the pleasure of working across a wide range of the charity’s business and meeting hundreds of wonderful young people in the process.

Ben Warnes

Parent Governor

Member of Finance & Premises Committee

Link Governor for H&S

I moved to Sherston in 2021 along with my wife and two boys, the eldest of which is just completing reception year at the school. Being at the beginning of the ‘school’ journey and with a long term plan to stay in Sherston it feels an ideal time to both get more involved in the community but crucially the school which with my boys ages I have a strong interest in. I am a qualified chartered engineer, and having traded large scale particle physics experiments for consumer products - initially in technology development but more recently in more strategic roles, I feel I have a broad range of skills I can draw on that would be of value to the role of parent governor. From strong interpersonal skills, facilitation of strategic working groups to managing ambitious stakeholders. Through these experiences and skills I feel I can make a valuable contribution to the Sherston Primary school governor team.

Martin Smith

Co-opted Governor Appointed by GB/board

Member of Finance and Premises Committee

Link Governor for Sustainability

30/01/20-29/01/24

Nicola Atwell

Local Authority Governor 

Co-Chair of Teaching & Learning

11/07/23-10/07/25

Having bought our first home in Sherston in 2009 and being brought up in Hawkesbury Upton, I am proud to be a local! After studying Music and Arts at The BRIT School in London and working for the BBC Classical Television Department, I ventured into teaching where I have led the music departments at both Colston's Independant and Westonbirt School. I am currently still teaching at Westonbirt where I run the Westonbirt Community Choir and outreach projects with local feeder schools.  As a passionate champion of the arts, I am excited to join the Governing Body at Sherston School where I feel I can bring my experience in education, teacher training and creative arts to help support the school, staff and pupils in its continuation as a thriving village school. 

Becky Fisher  

Foundation Governor Appointed by Foundation

Member of the Teaching and Learning Committee

Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Whistleblowing Governor

Education changes lives and a good education improves life chances of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society. I want to work as a governor with our amazing staff to give all our children the best possible life chances. I have already contributed to the Foundations and Ethos Committee.

Before working in the Gauzebrook Group as a Rural Schools and Churches Worker I worked with schools and social services across Oxfordshire as a Senior Home School Link Worker, supporting families in need and ensuring children had access to education. I have also been a partner in a national publishing business. 

Mike Ward

Parent Governor

Chair of Finance and Premises

Alex St John Wright

Co-opted Governor

Co-Chair of Teaching & Learning

Mike Ward (Chair)

Tommy Towers (HT)

Belinda Robinson

Martin Smith

Linda Shepherd

Ben Warnes

Sarah Mackrill (SBM)

Tommy Towers (HT)

Alex St John Wright (Co-Chair)

Nicola Atwell (Co-Chair)

Becky Fisher

Dominic Koole

Nicola Atwell

Alex St John Wright

PAST GOVERNORS

(in post for some or all of the Academic year 2022/23)

Name

Status at School

Term of Office

Parent Governor

Co-Opted Governor, Appointed by GB/Board