Mrs Victoria Stanford
Clerk to the Governing Body
- victoriastanford@theroyalschool.org.uk
All Governors are volunteers and serve a 4 year term, after which they are eligible to stand for re-election. With the exception of our Headteacher, the Chaplain and Deputy Ranger; who remain Governors whilst they hold these posts. Fortunately, quite a few Governors remain on the Governing Body for a number of years with most having prior connections to the school, so their experience is invaluable in helping run our school. We are privileged that the Chaplain provides us with his unique and very special pastoral care and guidance.
Ms Vivien Benn
Chair of Governors
Foundation Governor
Full voting rights
Re-appointed in May 2021-2025
Vivien lives with her husband in Windsor Great Park and has successfully owned the Post Office and General Store business for the last 20 years. Prior to this she was a Marketing Manager for an International Logistics company. Her three children attended the Royal School for a decade. Within this time Vivien was an active member of the PTA and her husband was Treasurer and Chairman for many years.
In 2013 Vivien successfully completed the NCSL Chairs Development Programme. The programme spanned an academic year split in to modules and face to face interactive days. She is dedicated to developing her knowledge for the strategic development of the school and participates regularly in Local Authority and Diocese training. She is passionate about her role as Safeguarding governor and keen to fulfill all the requirements of this demanding role.
Ms Camilla Seear
Foundation Governor
Full voting rights
Appointed Foundation Governor September 2017
Previously RBWM Governor
Reappointed September 2021-2025
Former pupil with three siblings who all attended the school, was brought up in Englefield Green and has always lived locally. She became a governor in 2007 has been vice chair since 2010. She has also been a member of the Royal School Old Scholars Association Committee since 2000.
Camilla studied Business Studies at university before commencing a career in finance most recently as a Digital Project Manager having worked in Bristol, Reading, Southampton and London. Camilla is married and has one son.
Mr Paul Sedgwick
Ex-Officio Foundation Governor whilst in post
Full voting rights
Appointed September 2015
Paul Sedgwick, a Chartered Surveyor, joined The Crown Estate in 2014, initially as Deputy Ranger at Windsor, but since April 2021 with additional responsibility as Managing Director of The Crown Estate’s wider Rural portfolio.
As Deputy Ranger of the Windsor Estate, Paul reports to The Ranger of The Great Park and oversees over 16,000 acres, including forestry, horticulture, tourism, residential and commercial property activities and manages a team of 200 staff. Paul is also a Trustee of The Prince Philip Trust Fund.
Paul also oversees the diverse Rural portfolio, comprised of 180,000 acres, with 125,000 acres of farmland across England, and 55,000 acres of Upland and Commons across Wales and Cumbria.
Paul was previously a Partner with Strutt and Parker. He has managed the Duke of Wellington’s Stratfield Saye Estate and Lord Iliffe’s Estate at Yattendon.
Paul has also been part of the teams to have been awarded the highly prestigious RASE Bledisloe Gold Medal on the Windsor Estate in 2022 and the Yattendon Estate in 2013 for a range of successful diversification projects and a commitment to improving the rural environment.
Paul is a Non-Executive Director of the Duke of Wellington’s Stratfield Saye Estate.
Canon Martin Poll
Ex-Officio Foundation Governor whilst in post
Full voting rights
Appointed October 2012
Martin was born in Enfield in 1961 and educated at Edmonton County School before further studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury where he read English and Theology. He then prepared for the priesthood at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, Oxford. Served a curacy at John Keble Church, Mill Hill before joining the Royal Navy in 1990 where he served as a Chaplain at training establishments on shore, deploying with the Naval Air Squadrons and Royal Marines in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland and serving in the aircraft carriers HMS Illustrious and Invincible. Promoted to Archdeacon for the Royal Navy in 2010 and then moved to Windsor in 2012 as Canon Chaplain to St George’s Chapel Windsor and serving as the Chaplain of All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park. He was appointed Domestic Chaplain to The Queen in June 2013 and is now Domestic Chaplain to The King. Martin is a trustee of the Association of Royal Naval Officers, he is Vice Chair of Governors at St. George's School Windsor Castle and is a trustee of the Windsor Festival Martin married to Diana in 1984 and has two children, both of whom are sadly too old to attend the Royal School!
Mrs Natasha Paine
Foundation Governor
Full voting rights
Appointed February 2016 as a Parent Governor.
Appointed September 2019 as the RBWM Link Governor
Reappointed September 2023 - 2027
Natasha was born in Bedfordshire where she lived there for all her childhood. After completing college she joined Harrods as a Retail Trainee, working there for 5 years in various roles, her last being Buyer for Perfumery and Cosmetics. She left Harrods to work for Yves Saint Laurent Cosmetics.
She left employment to take up motherhood in 2003 and due to her husband’s job they moved to Dubai then Singapore. Once returning to England her 3 children have attended The Royal School.
During her time at The Royal School she joined the Governors in 2015, and while her children attended the school was on the committee for the PTA and Old Scholars
Mr Tom Reddy
Foundation Governor
Full voting rights. Appointed September 2024 - 2028. Born and bred in Old Windsor, Tom attended The Royal School along with each of his three siblings. Over the course of the last four decades, his family have been deeply involved in the life and culture of the school, with Tom’s father, Peter Reddy, acting as the first parent governor and chairman of the PTA.
Today, Tom is a director of customer care for a technology company. He lives in Windsor, where he is a proud father, a loving husband, and a Assistant Leader at 12th Windsor Beavers.
Mr Tom Brunner
Parent Governor
Full voting rights
Appointed July 2022-2026
My background is in the creative/marketing industries and I had 10 years at Microsoft and a further 8 years at Verizon leading digital solutions teams. More recently I have been consulting for start-ups in the technology space and I am just about to start a new job as CMO for Green 14 who are looking to leverage carbon markets and to finance nature-based projects across Africa.
Mr Fergus Drake
Foundation Governor
Full voting rights; Appointed July 2025-2029. Fergus has over 25 years’ experience in senior leadership roles across the for profit, charity, and social enterprise sectors. As CEO of Crown Agents, he led an organisation that significantly grew its programme impact and played a critical role in both the COVID-19 response and Ukraine emergency.
As Executive Director of Global Programmes at Save the Children he led innovative, evidence-based programmes responding to the needs of over 20 million children across 60 countries. Prior to this he led SCUK’s programmes across the UK responding to child poverty. He has also worked at the centre of government, including roles with HM Treasury in the UK and embedded in the Government of Rwanda with Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative. In addition, he led significant public-sector change programmes for Deloitte across HMRC, MoD and Transport for London and ran the Tearfund Disaster Response Teams Liberia and East Africa programmes.
Mrs Holly Whitcombe
Parent Governor
Full voting rights
Appointed July 2023-2027
I have been a civil servant for 18 years and have spent the last 4 of which working for the Department for Education in the academies sector. My work, among many other responsibilities, involves holding academy trusts to account and supporting them with academic performance, governance and safeguarding.
I have 1 daughter currently at The Royal School and another daughter that will hopefully start at the school in a few years time.
I feel privileged to be part of The Royal School community, it is such a special place that I am happy to be able to support the school in any way that I can. I hope to bring my experience of the sector to my role as governor and to aid understanding of the sometimes complex guidance produced by the DfE.
Mrs Anne Terry
Staff Governor
Full voting rights; Appointed July 2023-2027. Anne has lived with her husband and two daughters in Windsor Great Park since January 2006 and both her children attended The Royal School. She joined the Royal School in September 2013 initially as a Teaching Assistant and has worked across all year groups. Prior to joining the school, Anne worked as a Personal Assistant with a number of leading companies and has extensive experience in conference and event management. In June 2022, Anne transfered into her current role as Office Manager.
Mrs Gill Heppell
RBWM Link Governor
Full voting rights
Appointed July 2023-2027
My professional career began as a secondary school teacher in Geography and Maths after completing my PGCE (Distinction). I then worked in Marketing at Unilever for 4 years followed by United Biscuits, being a Director of BRG Business and Marketing Strategies and then running my own marketing training business for 10 years, training marketing teams around the world. I have one son, Freddie, and now spend the majority of my time as a professional photographer.