Jackie Gough

Jackie was first elected as the Chair of Governors in 2019 and has been on the governing board since 2009. She is also a Member of the Alcester Grammar School academy trust. Her three children all attended the school, two all the way through and one at sixth form. She has over 20 years experience of school governance at both primary and secondary level in Warwickshire and Hampshire.

Jackie has an engineering degree, a qualification in finance and worked in the defence and project management sectors. 

John Squires

John is a retired Police Sergeant and lives in Bidford on Avon with his wife and family. Following retirement in 2005, John became a self-employed driving instructor and was employed on a consultancy basis by Warwickshire County Council to teach road safety in secondary school across the county, finally retiring fully in December 2022.

Two of John's daughters attended AGS and John has been a Governor here since December 2014, initially as a Parent Governor, but latterly appointed by Academy Members. John is also the Vice Chair of the Governing Board and one of the five Academy Members. Similarly, John has also held the position of Safeguarding Governor for several years. John feels passionate that being part of the Governing Board provides an opportunity to contribute to all aspects of school life and the continued development of the school. 

Clare Cockbill

Presently Clare works within the public sector, leading the delivery of commercial & business systems management into local authority and education sectors. Clare leads on strategic planning, development and maintenance of key service offerings, and strategic partnerships. 

Prior to her public sector career, Clare held a number of senior Human Resource leadership roles within the automotive, construction  and engineering sectors.

Clare is a certified Mediator and holds an APCIP certificate in Investigative Practice.

Clare has two children at Alcester Grammar School.

John Curtis

Awaiting biography

Nikki Fenton

Nikki has over 25 years’ experience working in finance and financial services and brings a breadth of corporate leadership experience to the role. She is currently CFO of a small, ethical bank. She has three children at Alcester Grammar and is committed to supporting the Trust in making long-term decisions for the benefit of its students and staff. Nikki has a particular interest in the impact of climate change.

Andy McIntyre

Andy has been teaching in secondary schools since 2014, and at AGS since 2019. He is a physicist, despite his first degree being joint honours in Philosophy & Psychology. Andy is also a pastoral lead, heading the Year 11 cohort. He was elected as a trustee by his fellow teachers. Prior to teaching, Andy worked for 25 years in the music industry, in a variety of roles but primarily bridging the gap between artistes and record labels. He is a father of two and a lover of cats.

Kyri Mitsiou-Begg

Kyri is currently working as a General Manager for the NHS. Academically, she has an MSc in Education, an MBA from Warwick Business School, and a BSc in Nursing. Kyri is also a member of the NHS England Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, which aims to improve NHS care through innovation and future-proof technological ventures. In addition to her experience as a Registered Nurse and Manager, Kyri has a military background as a Naval Officer. 

Steve Parkes

Steve became a Staff Governor more than eight years ago, with a view to have a positive influence at both a strategic and ground level on the performance of the school and for the benefit of the children.

Steve started his career in engineering, working both in the UK and overseas. After that, Steve moved into computing, working as a supervisor at a computer manufacturer. Steve has been the IT Manager at AGS for 24 years and has been heavily involved in the IT Strategy of the school. Steve champions the AGS ethos, and is passionate about mental health and well-being, along with SEND support. 

Paul Shepherd

Paul joined the AGS Governing Board to gain a deeper understanding of the education system and to support the school community. Paul has a child at AGS, so is able to offer a parent’s perspective to the Board. Paul’s background is in Engineering, he is a fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and leads a global research and development team. Paul also sits on the board of a Swedish automotive business.

Ron Skelton

Awaiting biography

Sam Tubb

Sam is a business advisor to start-up companies and has a particular interest in education tech and female health tech firms.  She is an Investment Committee member at homeless charity Emmaus and sits on the board at The Key Support Services.  Sam has been a governor at AGS since late 2020 and has three sons at the school.  She previously served as a governor at a primary school in Worcestershire for six years.

Tim Ward

Tim has been a School Governor for several years and has a daughter at AGS. Tim believes that being a part of the wider school community and being able to support the ethos and approach of AGS is a key part of being a Governor. This ethos and approach was instrumental in choosing AGS for his daughter. 

One of Tim’s key objectives as a Governor is to help ensure that the children coming through the school have a first rate academic education but also are rounded individuals who are encouraged to think, build resilience, be happy, and develop that long term love of learning. Tim believes that this is a key part of the AGS DNA.

Professionally, Tim is a partner in a law firm, focusing on business and financing areas as well as managing a wider team and supporting young lawyers. In his spare time, Tim is a keen tennis player, being chair of his local club, biker and runner.

The Academy Trust is a company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity. The Charitable Company’s memorandum and articles of association are the primary governing documents of the Academy Trust

The company was incorporated on 7 January 2011.  On 1 April 2011 Alcester Grammar School converted from a foundation school to academy trust status under the Academies Act 2010 and all the operations, and assets and liabilities were transferred to Alcester Grammar School from the Governors of Alcester Grammar School.

The governors act as trustees for charitable activities of Alcester Grammar School and are also the directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of company law.  The Charitable Company is known as Alcester Grammar School. 

Each member of the Charitable Company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Charitable Company in the event of it being wound up while they are a member, or within one year after they cease to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10, for the debts and liabilities contracted before they ceased to be a member.

In accordance with normal commercial practice the Academy Trust has purchased insurance to protect governors and officers from claims arising from negligent acts, errors or omissions occurring whilst on Academy Trust business. 

The Academy Trust's object is specifically restricted to the following: to advance for the public benefit education in the United Kingdom, in particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing by establishing, maintaining, carrying on, managing and developing a school offering a broad and balanced curriculum. The Academy Trust operates under a funding agreement issued by the Department for Education on 12 October 2022 and commenced operations on 1 April 2011.

 

The members of the academy trust may appoint up to 12 trustees (governors). There is no limit to the number of governors who may be co-opted by trustees, provided that the total number of governors who are employees of the school (including the principal) does not exceed one-third of the total number of governors. The principal shall be treated for all purposes as an ex-officio governor, if the members have chosen to appoint them as a governor. There will be a minimum of two parent governors who shall be elected by parents of registered students at the school.

New governors are asked to sign the governor code of conduct, have an enhanced DBS check and to complete safeguarding training. They attend all board meetings and may be asked to act as a link governor for a particular area, depending on their personal or business expertise. Governors have access to all policies and procedures and will be offered governance training opportunities, as appropriate. They will also be encouraged to visit the school and to meet with staff and students.

A unified leadership structure operates to help improve the way the school is run.  The structure consists of the governing board and the senior leadership team.  The aim of the management structure is to devolve responsibility and encourage decision-making at all levels.

The governing board is responsible for the vision, ethos and strategic development of the school, adopting an annual school development plan and budget, monitoring the school by the use of budgets, management accounts and educational performance data and making major decisions about the direction of the school, capital expenditure and senior staff appointments.

To ensure effective and efficient governance, with the school development plan at its core, regular board meetings for all governors are held throughout the year. Individual governors take the lead on separate areas, including quality of education, student personal development, behaviour and attitudes, safeguarding, careers, special educational needs and disabilities, finance (incorporating the duties of a finance committee) and admissions. There is a separate risk and audit committee and a separate pay and performance committee. The members of the academy trust meet at least once a year at their annual general meeting.  

The senior leadership team contains the principal (chief executive), the finance & operations director, two vice principals and two assistant principals. These senior leaders direct the school at an executive level implementing the policies laid down by the governing board and reporting back to it.  The senior leaders are responsible for the authorisation of spending within agreed budgets and the appointment of staff, though appointment boards for posts in the senior leadership team always contain a governor.  Some spending control is devolved to members of the senior leadership team, with financial limits above which the principal must countersign.

Heads of department are responsible for the day-to-day operation of curriculum subject areas and accordingly organise their teaching staff, capitation resources, facilities and students. 

 

The governing board has the responsibility to assess the strategic risks to which the school is exposed. The risk and audit committee will carry out an annual systematic analysis of all risks to produce a risk management register. The governing board has introduced systems, including operational procedures and internal financial controls in order to minimise risk.  The school has an effective system of internal financial controls, this is detailed in the school’s Financial Policies & Procedures document.

As part of its operation, the Academy liaises with organisations such as the Local Authority and The South Warwickshire Education Partnership as well as with other education providers and trainers such as local schools, further education institutions, the local Teaching School Hub and universities. These links are maintained in the interests of supporting good practice and information sharing and consolidate well established mutually supportive associations.