Skip to content ↓

The Marlborough Science Academy

Governing Body

Who are the Governors?

The Marlborough Science Academy Governing Body is made up of:

  • Headteacher
  • 7 Parent Governors (currently three vacancies)
  • 4 Community Governors
  • 4 Partnership Governors
  • 3 Staff Governors 

Who chooses the Governors?

  • Staff Governors are elected by the staff
  • Parent Governors are elected by parents
  • Elected Governors and the Headteacher select the Partnership Governors
  • All Governors (except the Headteacher) serve a fixed term of normally 4 years.

How do the Governors carry out their job?

The Governors monitor the running of the school, decide long-term policy and ensure that the school complies with legal requirements.

The full Governing Body meets four times a year. At each meeting we receive a report from the Headteacher and minutes from various committees. Other items are discussed or approved at specific times of the year, for example exam results, plans for school improvement and budget.

The main Governing Body is supported by three main committees, which meet once each half-term.

  • The Finance & Resources Committee is concerned with budget and finance, premises and health and safety
  • The Personnel Committee considers staffing, appraisal and training, attendance of students, student behaviour, pastoral care and student well-being, SEND and Pupil Premium
  • The Curriculum Committee deals with achievement levels, Curriculum, and exam results

There is also a Governance Committee, comprising of the Chairs of these committees and the Chair of Governors, the Vice Chair and the Headteacher, which decides items for the full governors meetings.

All Governors bring their own unique individual skills and insight to the overall working of the Governing Body. They are encouraged to share their experience to help the school continue to progress and improve. We are fortunate to have a strong mix of skills and commitment to Marlborough across the whole Governing Body.

Governors support the school to ensure the Headteacher and their leadership team run it effectively. They play an active role in school life and are encouraged to come into school to consult with teaching staff and students. Governors are available at Open Evenings to answer questions and will also contribute to promoting the school.

All governors are members of at least one of the committees. They support the school in a variety of ways, attending public events such as secondary transfer evenings, school play performances, music concerts, the annual Awards Evening and prize-giving assemblies.

In addition, Governors are linked to specific areas of school life. Child Protection, SEND, and the English, Maths and Science faculties are just a few of the governor's roles and responsibilities. Governors regularly come into school to meet with staff and students, sometimes participating in 'learning walks', with a senior member of staff, interviewing staff, or inspecting the site with the Estates Manager with regard to health and safety.

Who runs the School?

The Headteacher and the School Leadership Team run the School. All day-to-day management decisions are taken by them.

Governing Body Information

Annie Thomson - Headteacher

The majority of my career has been in St Albans arriving in 1990 from Liverpool to take up post as Head of Home Economics in Beaumont.  From there I developed a love of Pastoral care which I developed as a senior leader at Sandringham and then as Deputy Head in what used to be called Francis Bacon. 

I have probably taught every subject there is to teach at one stage including History, GCSE Business Studies, French, Textiles,Child Care, Hospitality and Catering, Geography and KS3 Science. I have avoided teaching maths!

I am Vice Chair of the Trust Board at the Links and Governor at Adeyfield. The areas I oversee include Safeguarding, PP and Attendance. 

It’s a privilege to do the job I do. I get to meet fabulous children and staff every day and I do believe we change lives.  It has always been my intention to treat students as human beings; kindness, respect and boundaries go a long way in making a school a safe haven and these principles have driven me throughout my career.  Starting in a very deprived school in Liverpool during the 80s made me see and realise first- hand what deprivation meant and how important education is. I have held on to this view for the last 36 years and will continue to do so,

I love music, London at Christmas and Bakewell tart. I am a great reader and so far this year have done 138 hours listening to books on Audible.

Jane Walker Smith - Community Governor

Jane has been a governor in local schools since 1995 and Chair of Governors at Marlborough since 2006, having started as a parent governor, before becoming an LEA and community governor.

Jane is passionate about ensuring every child receives the very best education the school can provide and enjoys her frequent visits to the school to talk to the students about their learning and to support the staff.

Jane is a qualified teacher who completed her training in Primary Education in Edinburgh. She taught for over 22 years in primary schools in Edinburgh, London and St Albans before moving into the secondary sector, specialising in the teaching of students with Special Educational Needs.

She has two grown up children who enjoyed their time at Marlborough and went on to further their studies at university.

Richard Sullivan - Community Governor 

Richard’s academic background is in arts with a BA in History at the University of Wales. He subsequently worked in the Retail sector specialising in Reward within the HR function and spent his last 10 years as a Reward Consultant working for companies across the service sector. 

Richard's three children went to Marlborough and benefited greatly from the experience. As the Curator of M Festival and as a governor since 2007 he is enjoying the opportunity to give back to the school and support the school community in his current role as Vice Chair of Governors. 

Emma Smith - Community Governor

Emma has been a School Governor for 15 years in both Primary & Secondary Education. She has recently transitioned to a Community Governor role since her children completed their education. Emma’s passion is people; with a career in HR and people development, she has qualifications in teaching, learning & development as well as Coaching & Mentoring. This people focus provides an excellent grounding in her role as Chair of the Personnel Committee. Emma also works as the SEND link Governor with our excellent SEND team at Marlborough and as a natural fit to her skill-set, manages the Governing Boards training & development, ensuring we are all abreast of the requirements and skills to provide strong governance for our school and your children’s learning environment.

Peter Tarry - Community Governor

Peter has lived in St Albans all his life and is enjoying the opportunity to give back to the local community as a local resident. 

His career based in the City of London with regular visits overseas to Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria and France amongst other countries. He worked within the Finance Sector and IT, having been involved in a number of roles from Business and Systems Analysis through to Project/Programme Management. In the last ten years of his career he was an IT Director for a large insurance company, and was involved in Change Management throughout this period. 

As a governor since 2020 he has taken on Link Governor responsibilities for both Health & Safety and Equality. He is currently Vice Chair for the Finance & Resources Committee.

Simon Walsh - Partnership Governor

Simon graduated from Exeter University and qualified as solicitor in 1999.

He is a commercial litigation partner at SA Law where he also serves as the firm’s Training Principal which gives him a hands-on perspective on both the challenges facing young people as they transition from education into work, as well as the range of skills they need to succeed in professional life and shape their futures.

Simon has been a governor since 2010, a member of the school’s academy trust since 2012 and currently chairs the finance and resources committee.

Simon became a governor to learn about an education system that was very different to the one he experienced in the wilds of Cornwall. He continues to serve because of the range of skills and experiences the role has given him over the years, and the satisfaction of seeing the successes the school delivers for its students and staff year after year.

Michael Smethers - Partnership Governor

After an economics degree at Cambridge, Michael taught in comprehensive schools in LB Haringey for twenty years. Then from 1990 to 2014 he worked in the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority on aviation policy. From 2008 to 2014 he was Chair of the Management Board of the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne. He has been a Governor at Marlborough since 2015, and is currently Chair of the Curriculum Committee.

Niranjan Mendonca - Partnership Governor

Niranjan is a BA (Ecomomics) with a post graduate MBA degree. He has over 25 years of experience in Financial Services, Marketing and Governance at large Financial Institutions across multiple geographies and uses his business experience and knowledge to assist companies and charities in their journey to become more efficient and grow. He lives in St Albans with his wife and daughter and has been a Governor (Finance / Curriculum) since 2021.

Tim Moss - Partnership Governor

Tim has been a Partnership Governor since 2021 and serves on both the Finance & Resources Committee and the Curriculum Committee. After graduating from the University of Bristol with a First Class BSc in Mathematics, he trained as an accountant at Deloitte within their Audit practice and currently works as an Associate Director at Liberty Corporate Finance.

Tim enjoys collaborating with fellow governors and is passionate about leveraging his financial expertise to support the school’s strategic initiatives and enhance educational outcomes.

Clare Hawkins - Parent Governor

Clare is an executive coach and mentor with comprehensive C suite coaching experience working across public, corporate and third sectors. She also works as a healthcare consultant and has a number of Non Executive and advisory roles.   

Clare’s background is in the National Health Service where she first trained as a Registered Nurse.  She has a BSc Healthcare Studies from the University of Manchester and undertook a Masters level programme in leadership at Yale.  She has over 25 years’ experience as a leader and manager with extensive experience at Board level in Executive Director roles, including as a Chief Executive and Chief Nurse in different NHS organisations.    She has also worked as a specialist advisor for NHS England.    She has Trustee experience within a local hospice and a national nursing charity.

Clare has two teenagers at the school.  In her role as parent governor she enjoys bringing her skills and expertise to support the school and the Governing Body.

Ajay Joshi - Parent Governor

Ajay has a BSc in Information and Communication Management. He spent 20 years in senior Marketing positions across telecoms and consumer electronics sectors.

Ajay's eldest daughter attends Marlborough and the youngest is desperate to join her! 

He has been a governor since the beginning of 2023 and is part of the Curriculum and Personnel committee's. He particularly enjoys the positive panel meetings for students.

Jez Farmer - Parent Governor

Jez became a Parent Governor in 2019, when his boys started in year 7, primarily so that he could be more involved with their school – and at this point he had no experience of school governors or the PTA.

Jez sits on the Finance & Resources and Curriculum Committees, as well as being the Link Governor for Science, visiting the school Science Department regularly to provide a more direct connection between the governing board, teachers and school. In his capacity as both school parent and governor he has played an active part at the odd MFestival, greeted newcomers at open evenings, assisted on positive panels for students, sat on disciplinary hearings and enjoyed canteen tasting sessions!

His Governor role is varied and sometimes demanding, but ultimately it is a very rewarding role. Outside of school, Jez has been active in the Scouts, as a cub leader and then scout leader and he is also a trustee of The Pioneer Club (youth club, skate park and music venue).

Angie Farrance - Parent Governor

Having studied history and anthropology in Leeds and London, Angie now works as part of a team delivering the Mayor of London’s culture, creative industries and 24-Hour London strategy. She grew up in Watford, lives locally with one daughter at Marlborough and one joining in a few years from Killigrew. Angie joined as a parent governor in 2023, inspired by the school values and strong sense of community. Keen to support the ambitious leadership team at Marlborough who are always striving for improvement. Angie sits on the Curriculum and Personnel committees.

William Dean - Staff Governor

Will has a BSc from the University of Bath, and worked in a number of industries including Consultancy and Advertising, before changing direction to follow a love of teaching. Will completed his PGCE at the University of Middlesex working at Hartwood Academy before completing his ECT at Challney High School for Boys. Will is now 2nd in department for Geography at Marlborough Science Academy and has been serving as a governor for the school since 2023.  

Sharon Roberts – Staff Governor

Sharon became a Staff Governor in 2022 and serves on both the Finance and Resources committee and the Personnel committee.  She has worked in schools for over 20 years in administrative and finance roles and is currently the Finance Officer at Marlborough and has been in this role for 8 years.  In her time at Marlborough, she has helped parents and students with various enquiries which include school uniform, trips, & catering to name a few.  She has also attended several trips including PGL for year 7 students recently.

Sharon was born and bred in Bedfordshire and enjoys walking her dog, park run and personal training sessions.  She also enjoys traveling and has plans to do more of this in the coming years and hopes to see more of the world.

Governor Meetings

Academy Trust Information

Governing body composition 

The Marlborough Science Academy was incorporated as a private company, limited by guarantee under the Companies Act 2006 on 1st April 2012. An Academy Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and has two tiers of governance.

The Members of the Company are made up of the Headteacher, the Chair of Governors, the Vice-Chair of Governors, the Responsible Officer and the Chairs of Finance & Resources, Curriculum and Personnel. They have rights and powers under company law similar to those of shareholders in a company limited by shares.

The Directors and Trustees of the Company are the Governors, responsible for the strategic direction of the school. Governors have the same legal duties and responsibilities as company directors, and duties under charity law as charity trustees.

The Governing Body consists of seven Parent Governors, five Community Governors, three Staff Governors, four Partnership Governors and the Headteacher.

NGA Governor Code of Conduct

Role of the governing body 

"In all types of schools, governing bodies should have a strong focus on three code strategic functions:

a. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
b. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
c. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
These functions are reflected in regulations for maintained schools that came into force in September 2013."

We have a strategic role in the development of the school but are not involved in the day-to-day management - that is the role of the Headteacher. We are accountable to the wider community for the conduct of the school and in turn hold the school leadership group to account for raising standards and ensuring every child fulfils their potential. We are a diverse group of people with a wide variety of skills and experience which, coupled with our knowledge of the school, we use to challenge and support the leadership group in their work.

 


Contact us

Governors can be contacted through the school via admin@marlborough.herts.sch.uk.