Local Governors

Functions and Responsibilities of Local Governors

Notting Hill and Ealing High School, as all schools which are part of the Girls Day School Trust, is administered by the Council of the Trust. The Council appoints the members of the Local Governing Body, including one who is a member of the Council.

The Council relies on advice and support from the Local Governors. The Local Governors support the Head meeting formally once a term, participating in a wide range of school activities and helping to promote the school in the local community.

They participate in the preparation and continuous review of the school’s Strategic Development Plan, make observations on the annual budget presented by the Council and review management accounts and annual accounts.  They give particular consideration to the school’s buildings and environment, including the preparation of the architect’s brief for new buildings for presentation to the Trust’s Property Committee.

The Head keeps the Local Governors informed of proposed and actual changes in the curriculum. They agree an action plan with the Head for the implementation of any recommendations contained in the school’s ISI inspection report.

Local governors also play an important part in the appointment of the Head by the Council when a vacancy arises and, when invited, they assist the Head in the appointment of other members of staff.

Getting in touch
Anyone who wishes to provide information, make an enquiry or raise a concern in connection with NHEHS should normally approach the Head or the appropriate member of staff.

However, if anyone wishes to make a suggestion or to get in touch with a Local Governor or Governors for any other reason, they may be contacted by e-mail on enquires@nhehs.gdst.net

Notting Hill and Ealing High School Local Governors 2009

Julian Simmonds (Chair) Julian was appointed Chairman of the Governors in March 2008. Previously his wife, Gill, served as a Governor for 8 years. Their daughter was at the school from the age of 5 and left aged 18 in 1997.  Julian was an Executive Vice President at Citigroup and retired in 2001. Since then he has been active in property. He serves as a Non Executive Director of a Russian and a Danish Bank. He is also a Trustee of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and has close ties with the Royal College of Music.

David Squire (Deputy Chair) After a degree in physics from Oxford, David Squire qualified as a chartered accountant and was a partner in PriceWaterhouseCoopers before setting up his own business specialising in business incubation. He is also a non-executive director of North West London Hospitals NHS Trust where he is chairman of the Audit Committee. He has had three daughters at NHEHS between 1983 and 2000 and is a former Chair of the Parents' Guild.

Sue Boyle Sue has more than 30 years experience in providing qualitative research to marketing companies, advertising agencies, the financial sector, higher education and the public sector.  She is a Fellow of the Market Research Society. She sits on the committee of the Somerville London Group, and is a committee member of the Market Research Benevolent Fund.  Sue’s daughter was educated at NHEHS and during this time as a parent Sue served as a member of the Careers Committee and Chair of the Parents’ Guild.

Angellica Bell
Angellica is an old girl of NHEHS and went on to a degree in Politics.  She joined Children’s BBC in May 2000 and her six years at CBBC saw her present a wide range of popular programmes. A gifted cellist and pianist, she also co-hosted the Radio 3 children's music show Making Tracks. Away from children's TV, she has presented several series and she is currently a roving reporter on BBC1's 'The One Show'.

Alice Childs
Alice has three daughters at NHEHS and was herself educated at a GDST school.
She has an MSc in cross-cultural studies of child development and youth and is currently carrying out research into second language acquisition at the Department of Education, Oxford University. She runs an OCR Asset Languages exam centre and is an accredited teacher on the Asset Languages programme.  She is managing director of a senior high school programme in Beijing and involved in various international education projects in China and the UK.  Alice is also Governor of an independent boarding school in Devon.

Tazim Hall
Tazim graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and in 1994 joined the London office of leading international law firm Freshfields’. In 1996 went to New York as a trainee and on her return to London, qualified into the banking team where she is currently a banking partner.

Lorraine Heggessey
Lorraine is Chief Executive Officer of talkbackTHAMES.   She was the first female Controller of BBC 1 and ran the channel for nearly 5 years.  Prior to that her roles included Head of Children's BBC. She started her career as a journalist on the Acton Gazette and joined the BBC in 1979 as a News Trainee.  Lorraine is also a movitational speaker, Director of Tamasha, an Asian theatre group and Chair of the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.  Her eldest daughter left NHEHS last year to read Spanish and Russian at Bristol University and her younger daughter is in Year 11 and about to take her GCSEs.

Bettany Hughes Bettany is a historian and broadcaster and an old girl of NHEHS. She is a Research Fellow of King's College, London and sits on the Innovation Committee of The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. In May 2008 she took over from Boris Johnson as president of The Joint Association of Classical Teachers. She also advises the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation which promotes cross-cultural dialogue between East and West.
Professor Jeremy Pearson Jeremy is a local resident.  He is Professor of Vascular Biology at King’s College London, a post he holds concurrently with being Associate Medical Director for Research at the British Heart Foundation.  He is a trustee of two medical charities: the Raynaud’s and Scleroderma Association and the William Harvey Research Foundation.

Sheila Walden
Sheila brings to the role of Governor her very considerable experience in the maintained sector including that gained in her roles as Head of Science, Head of Sixth Form, Deputy Head, and Head. She is also Chair of the Ealing branch of The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies, and has served as a non-executive director on the local Hospital Management Committee.