GOVERNORS
Chair of Governors: Mr Chris Parsons
Vice Chair of Governors: Mr Paul Spofforth
Community Governors: Ms Denise Harrison, Miss Rosie Nickson-Brown and
Mr Charles White
LEA Governors: Mr Philip James and Mr Michael Evans
Parent Governors: Mrs Ann Chivers, Mrs Rosemary Gulley, Mr David Hollies,
Mrs Stephanie Mawson, Mr Peter Plisner and
Mrs Eleri Tudor Wilson
Partnership Governors: Mr David Bicker and Mr Eddie Newitt,
Mr Chris Parsons and Mr Paul Spofforth
Staff Governor: Mrs Sharon Piotrowska
Clerk to the Governors: Mrs Alison Hadley
Chris Parsons
I have been associated with the School since first becoming a Parent Governor in 1998 and served for two full terms before converting to become a Partnership Governor. During that time I have been a regular on the Finance and Building Committee and have chaired both that Committee and the Governing Body for several years.
A long standing interest in education resulted in the desire to become involved as a Governor, and the past decade has seen many improvements and successes in the School – most notably for the young people who leave our School with a bright future ahead of them.
I am a Chartered Architect and Project Manager specialising in the public sector, with a particular expertise in Healthcare buildings. Many of the aspects and experiences of his professional life provide a sound background for assisting the School with their progress.
Paul Spofforth
I am Vice-Chair Governing Body, Chair of PWC and other non-statatuory committees. 3 years as Parent Governor and 7 years as Partnership Governor.
Eleri Tudor Wilson
I have two daughters at KNGS – one in Year 8 and the other in Year 11 – as well as a 7 year old son who attends a local primary school. I am a qualified solicitor and worked for 14 years in private firms and for the local authority, until the birth of my third daughter in 1998. Unfortunately, she was born with multiple physical problems and died shortly before her second birthday in 2000. This caused me to re-assess my priorities and I retrained as a teaching assistant. I have been happily working as a TA at my son’s school ever since. I became a parent governor when my first daughter started at KNGS and have found the role to be both informative and fulfilling. It is wonderful to be involved in your child’s education in such a tangible way and to feel part of such a fantastic organisation!
I would hope to see the school continuing to provide a safe, happy and productive environment for our daughters, allowing each of them to achieve their full potential. I would like the school to carry on stretching the gifted, encouraging the less confident and providing good alternatives for the non-academic. I would like to see the Sixth Form having a higher profile, the students being seen as leaders of the school rather than as members of a separate college.
David Hollies
I am a deputy headteacher of a secondary school in Worcestershire and have previously been Head of Humanitities (I teach Sociology), Head of 6th Form, Head of Careers, responsible for vocational courses and held many other positions.
Apart from my years at university I have always lived in the Midlands and enjoy living here because of its many attractions and easy access to many other parts of the country – as a family we make good use of our National Trust membership and enjoy travelling together to visit houses, churches, gardens etc.
I enjoy playing the piano, cooking, photography, and gardening and have particular interest in architecture and France. However, my family don’t always enjoy my piano playing, my cookery, having their photos taken and travelling around France. So as a balance, I’m developing an interest in chauffeuring, helping with homework, paying for ‘phone credit, putting posters up in bedrooms……
My expectations for the future of the school:
I fully expect the school to keep central to its vision the fact that each girl there is an individual who is growing up with many varied and complex needs and wants. A population of hundreds shouldn’t prevent each from feeling as one as well as a part of the whole and the pressure to meet targets shouldn’t substitute quality with quantity.
I also fully expect the school not only to consider these needs and wants as they are for the girls now and will be as adults but also to continually seek ways to better them.
Rosie Nickson-Brown
I was a student at Kings Norton Girls' School for seven years, attending both the School and the Sixth Form. At A-Level I took subjects at both the Girls' School and Boys' School sites. After my A-Level studies I worked in the school office for two years seeing the other side of school life from a staff perspective. I am currently studying History at the University of Birmingham and have just finished my first year. I have been a Governor at Kings Norton Girls' School for just over a year and hope my experiences as both a student and a member of staff at the school will enable me to make an interesting contribution to the work of the Govenors.
Ann Chivers
I have been a parent Governor at KN for six years and have a daughter who has just completed year 12. I am a member of the finance committee, which has the responsibility for overseeing the school budget and inevitably means sometimes making difficult and demanding decisions. I have been involved in staff recruitment and am the link Governor for Science.
I became a Governor so that I could understand the school, support my daughter’s experiences here and hopefully contribute in some small way to the wider school community.
One of my key interests is in how we learn, what motivates us to learn and how we can encourage independent learning and thinking skills.
My professional experience includes consultancy in a range of different sectors including education, resource management, the media and economic regeneration.
The key skills that I hope I bring to the role are; a parent’s perspective, ideas, views and trends from the business community and a dollop of common sense.
Rose Gulley
I am Rose Gulley mother of a girl who is starting her GCSEs in September 2009. I joined the Governing Body as a Parent Governor after Christmas 2009. I work in health at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and have used my vocational qualifications so that my family and I could live and work in several countries around the world. This has given me a wide experience of educational systems in different countries and cultures. I became a Governor as I want to support the school and make my daughter’s education experience a good and successful one. I am a strong supporter of the parent’s forum which gives parents the opportunity to voice both positives and negatives. I advocate parental involvement in all the school’s activities.
Peter Plisner
I have been a parent governor at KNGS since 2007. I am a member of the Pupil and Welfare Committee and has links with the school's media and ICT departments. I have worked with the KNGS school parliament. When I'm not attending meetings at the school I work as a correspondent at the BBC. I regularly appear on BBC1's Midlands Today and radio stations throughout the West Midlands. My job takes me all over the region and sometimes all over the world. I have two daughters at KNGS and have previously been a governor at a local primary school.
David Bicker
A Governor for over 20 years I am now a Partnership Governor. Although I am retired, my 40 years experience in banking and finance have enabled me to play an active part in the work of the Governors.
Denise Harrison
I have been both a Community and a Parent Governor at King's Norton Girls' School for several years and seen quite a lot of changes. I have a particular interest in Special Educational Needs and Pastoral Care and I have served on the Curriculum and Pupil Welfare and more recently the Personnel Committee.
I have always enjoyed the discussion at Governing Body Meetings and working with so many committed and talented people. I have explored the policies and guidelines for the school and seen many of them through to fruition. Now that my daughters are grown, I can use the experience I have had in following their development through the school and the start of their careers to help me to understand the journey and dilemmas that today's parents and pupils face from Year 7 through to Sixth Form, jobs and University entrance.
I have seen the school move from strength to strength and look forward to exciting developments under the new leadership.
Stephanie Mawson
My name is Stephanie Mawson, mom to Abigail, married to Richard. I am currently working as a Quality & Development Sister at Solihull Hospital. My job involves dealing with complaints and quality issues and providing a professional development & education service for nursing staff within the hospital. Prior to this I was a Ward Sister for many years caring for patients with cardiac conditions.
My expectations for the school are that it continues to be a productive, high achieving, safe place for our daughters to develop their education and social skills through committed, enthusiastic staff and clean, well maintained buildings.
Philip James
I spent my working life in the hospitality industry, working in management positions in hotels in Bata, Stratford-on-Avon, Chester, Huddersfield, Malta and Eastbourne.
Coming to Birmingham in 1969 I held various management positions at The Midland Hotel, now the Burlington Hotel, New Street. Specialising in day to day management and Human Resources.
My interests include studying Mandarin, singing choral music with The Newman Singers, yoga and walking.
Charles White
I am a Freelance Video Editor working in Broadcast Television. I have been doing this job for 25 years having got a degree in Film & Photography Fine Art from Leeds Polytechnic. I worked at BBC Pebble Mill for 16 years. I am a ‘creative’, and in the new digital age, there are fantastic ways of working with the still and moving image.
I am hoping to see KNGS move forward as a Girls’ School with a high reputation, high standards, and higher results. But I would like to see the school embrace new and innovative ways to provide education to girls of all varying standards; that is for those who are academic, the classic GCSE + ‘A’ level courses, and for those who are not a cross platform curriculum which is practical and vocational. The net result should be that all girls leaving KNGS are fully prepared for either further education, or work, and that all are confident, adaptable, and active young adults who want to be citizens in society, and love life.
Eddie Newitt
My name is Eddie Newitt and I am currently a Partnership Governor having started some nine years ago as a Parent Governor. I have three daughters, all educated at KNGS. I run a small manufacturing business which has hopefully given me skills which are useful in my role as a Governor. My association with the school has been varied, from driving various sports teams in the Schools mini bus. Acting as coach/manager, linesman, first aider and frequently refreshment provider, coaxing fellow Governors into joining my working party to do emergency repairs to the tennis courts when no funds were available, to being the “critical friend” which is often the role of a Governor. My youngest daughter is now at university but I am still here hopefully providing help and support which in some small way repays the School for the education my daughters enjoyed here.
Sharon Piotrowska
I have been teaching at KNGS for 10 years, prior to this I have taught in Worcester and Cheltenham, both of which were mixed comprehensive schools. Since joining KNGS I have taken up the position of English 6th form Co-ordinator and Second in Department. During my 10 years at KNGS I have undertaken post graduate studies and received my M. Ed from the OU in June 2007. The decision to join the School Governoring Body was born out of the desire to play a larger part in the School's future.
Alison Hadley
I have been working as the Clerk to the Governors since September 2008. I also joined the staff of Kings Norton Girls’ School in July of that year as Reprographics and Cleaning Supervisor.
