What type of governor are you? Co-opted.

Why are you a governor of St Mary Magdalene Academy? As a member of staff, I get to see how the Academy is running on a day-to-day basis and I bring a different viewpoint to the governing body. It’s much easier to see how ideas are working out from the shop floor! I wanted to be on the governing body to develop a bigger picture of how the school runs and also to be able to feed this back to staff. As one of the staff, I’m in an ideal position to hear (and pass on) suggestions and ideas about how to move the Academy forward – and intend to do so!

Which subject at school did you love best – and why? My favourite subject was CDT: Technology where we built machines, soldered circuits, bodged metal and fiddled with pneumatics. The practical application of science and figuring out how things work is still what I enjoy today – only now I can buy bigger tools!

What’s your favourite book of all time? The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I read this as a child and was inspired by the languages, maps, chivalry and adventure. It’s inspired me to travel all over Europe by motorcycle.

Who was your most memorable / inspiring teacher at school? I really enjoyed school and most teachers had an aspect that stood out (for better or worse!). What I saw most from my teachers was that so many people could be nice but have very different personalities and interests.

What’s your favourite: chocolate or ice cream? Galaxy chocolate! But not with nuts or fruit. Why would you spoil a perfectly good chocolate bar with “bits”? Eurgh!

What are your hopes for St Mary Magdalene Academy? That all the people who spend time here enjoy it, learn from it and develop their potential. If, when they leave, they are in a much better position to move forward, take on and improve the world, then we have succeeded.

Back to the governors