Chesterton Church of England School

Governors: Who we are
Hover over the names to see the photo

Mr Philip Clarke - Chair - Foundation Joined the Governing body in September,08 as a Foundation Governor. Background is in education, including being a Comprehensive School Deputy Head & Head Teacher in Cheshire before retirement. Was a member of the Cheshire SACRE. Have worked for various Universities as a p/t Tutor & Lecturer. Chairman of Chesterton Parish Council & a Councillor since 2005 & ex-Governor at The Cooper School in Bicester. Manager of the Village Hall in Chesterton and on Leadership team at Orchard Baptist Fellowship in Bicester. Has two grandchildren at the School (Jack and Katy) & coaches both Football & Cricket at the School.
Mrs Clare Critchley - Authority Governor I've been in primary education for over 30 years, and the last eleven years as Headteacher of two local schools. I retired recently following a serious illness but remain passionate about education. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to serve as a local authority governor at Chesterton from April 2011 and look forward to working with the whole school community to ensure that Chesterton School delivers the best education and opportunities for its pupils. The majority of my career has been in faith schools and I am a member of the Parochial Church Council in Fritwell where I live. I have recently changed from the Management to Performance & Standards Committee.
Mrs Helen Hayes - Foundation I was appointed as a Foundation Governor in April 2010. I am a member of the Governors Performance and Standards Committee and the Link Governor with responsibility for the oversight of Physical Education. I am also involved with the running of the School Council. I work for Thames Valley Police in the Forensic Investigation Unit and have 20 years service with them. I am married to Philip Hayes and we have two daughters at the school Charlotte and Lucy. Outside of my work and school commitments I am a Rainbow Leader and District Commissioner with Girlguiding UK.
Mrs Victoria Hobbs - Foundation I have lived in the village for almost 8 years now and I have 2 children at School here, Jack and Katy. I am a Primary Teacher and work at Southwold School in Bicester, where I spend most of my time teaching in Foundation Stage. I also teach Languages to the older children and coordinate visits abroad as part of our European Comenius Project. I am passionate about education and have always wanted to play an active role in my own children's schooling and subsequently I became a parent governor here at Chesterton when Jack was in Class 1. I am now a Foundation governor and am still enjoying this role. I consider it a privilege to be a governor and hope to serve the School to the best of my ability.
Mrs Patricia Jenkins - Foundation Patricia has lived in Chesterton for 38 years and was appointed as a Foundation Governor in 2010. She has been involved in education, as a teacher in both the public and private sectors, throughout her career and, although now retired, still teaches from time to time at her previous school in Oxford. She has been the Link Governor for Performance and Standards since her appointment and is now about to take on the role of Link Governor with responsibility for English
Mr Marc Kavanagh - Parent I have two children at Chesterton Primary School, Thomas and Charlotte. I became a Governor in 2010 and felt that I could contribute a lot to the already successful team. I started my working life in the Army as a professional musician in the Band of Her Majesty’s Scots Guards, based in London. During my time I was very fortunate to travel to many parts of the world, including the USA, Australia and New Zealand, and the more exotic Hong Kong and South Korea. After a very enjoyable 16 years, I made the move into financial services, where I now run my own business. As a Governor I am involved with the Management Committee as well as being the Link Governor for Numeracy.
Mrs Katy Mimpress - Parent Last September, the youngest of my three children joined Chesterton School, leaving Chesterton Playgroup. I had been strongly involved with the running of the Playgroup committee for five years, with three years in the position of Chair. This involved closely working with OFSTED and the Pre-School Learning Alliance. As a Parent Governor, I feel many of the skills that I learnt in my previous role are transferrable. I work part-time as a Sister in the Emergency Department at the John Radcliffe Hospital and in this role am used to dealing with situations that require clear reasoned thinking in a highly stressful environment. I believe that a strong education is necessary in forming the basis of a child's life, and that a school runs best with active involvement from parents
Mrs Emma Shotton - Foundation Emma has been a Foundation School Governor since April 2010, and is the Link Governor with responsibility for literacy. She is also a member of the Governors Management Committee which oversees finance, staffing and health and safety issues. Emma is a Personal Injury Solicitor at a large Oxford based practise called Darbys, where she has worked for the past 13 years specialising in high value and catastrophic injury cases. More recently Emma has taken on a management role within the firm, as well as being actively involved in promoting a free legal advice scheme, aimed towards families within both the local community and nationally. Emma and her husband, Philip have lived in Chesterton since 2002, have two children: Oliver and Alexander.
Mr Terry Smith - Foundation Terry was appointed as a foundation governor in 2010 and has responsibility for the curriculum and the creative learning journey. He retired three years ago, having taught in secondary schools in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Oxfordshire. He served two terms as a teacher governor in his last school. He is a member of the Management Committee. He has two grown-up sons, and has lived in Chesterton for 17 years. His interests are walking, theatre and reading.
Vacancy	Foundation
Vacancy	Foundation
Miss Debbie Seccull - teacher I have been teaching at Chesterton for 6 years and became a staff governor in the summer of 2010. I have been involved in education in a variety of settings for the last 20 years (including secondary teaching and working with adults and families within the community) - with a short break working for Dillons the Bookstore and to have my own children (Lizzie and Charlotte). I am responsible for the EYFS, Safeguarding and the ICT curriculum within school and an exceptionally demanding family outside. However I do occasionally manage to escape to my garden, to art galleries, for a good long walk or to practise on the saxophone!
Ms Maxine Slater - Vice Chair - Parent I have been a Parent Governor since September 2009 and have recently become the Link Governor for Personal & Social Education.. As a working mother with children at the school, I was keen to play a more active role in the school and contribute to the school's continuous improvement plan. I am a member of the Governor Management Committee, and having attended the Safer Recruitment training, I have been involved in the recent recruitment of new staff. For the past fifteen years I have worked at a marketing information company, the Nielsen Company, based in Oxford, and am currently working in a European regional role. In the limited spare time I have, I am an avid shopper, love pottering about in the garden, and escaping to see musicals at the theatre.
Mrs Victoria Woods - Headteacher I have been teaching for sixteen years in a variety of settings in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. I am currently working for the Local Authority as part of a team supporting schools facing challenging circumstances. Most recently I have been teaching Year 6 and Year 2 as well as leading schools in various aspects on their journey to improvement. I live in Bicester, with my husband, Nigel, a firefighter and my daughter Caitlin who is in Year 7 at Bicester Community College. A very old cat, a hamster and two fish complete our family! I play the clarinet, although not as well as I once did; love cooking and entertaining; have been known to 'tread the boards' in amateur dramatics and occasionally find time to keep family memories alive in scrapbooks.
Clerk to the Governors
Ms Pauline Durham