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The Royal School

Governors

Mrs Victoria Stanford

Clerk to the Governing Body

victoriastanford@theroyalschool.org.uk
Email

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mrs Danielle Thornton

Foundation Governor

Full voting rights. Reappointed September 2023-2027 Danielle is a teacher, currently working for Slough Virtual School. She is the Secondary Lead, ensuring that the young people who are in care are supported to achieve the best educational outcomes by the time the leave school. She has extensive experience with Safeguarding and Child Protection from an educational point of view. Danielle is also a Magistrate within the Family Court. Her links to The Royal School go back 40+ years, when Danielle and her siblings were pupils here. Whilst a pupil at the school, Danielle's parents were heavily involved in school life and her father, Peter Reddy, was the first parent governor and chairman of the PTA. Latterly he was a foundation governor, until 2019. Danielle feels very privileged to be able to be a part of The Royal School’s governing body. She is hoping to use some of her expertise in her current job and her links to the school to support wherever possible.
Mrs Carole Aspden

Mrs Carole Aspden

Foundation Governor

Full voting rights Appointed September 2020-2024 My background spans 41 years of working in Finance, HR, Health Management and latterly part of a health research group at Oxford University. With 2 children and a husband who served for 30 years in the Royal Navy, I have had to balance my working life with family needs so we have had to be resilient and adaptable, and have learned to move house often (far too often!) and integrate quickly into new environments. Whilst living in the Portsmouth area I was an elected Parent Governor in 2000 at the Church of England Primary School the children attended and became a Foundation Governor in 2013 at another Portsmouth Primary School. I was also part of a small team running the Portsmouth Cathedral Youth Club whilst our children were at the age for attending. The education environment offered to our children is critical in defining their future aspirations. I have a real interest in doing what I can to support local schools and as a member of the Windsor Great Park residential community, aim to do that by contributing as a school governor at The Royal School.
Dr Edmund Newell

Dr Edmund Newell

Associate Member

Full voting rights Reappointed September 2023-2027 Edmund has been Principal of Cumberland Lodge since 2013. A priest in the Church of England, he was previously Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral and founding Director of the St Paul’s Institute, following this he was appointed as Sub-Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. Before ordination he was a Research Fellow in Economic History at Nuffield College, Oxford. His publications include (with John Reynolds) Ethics in Investment Banking and (with Sabina Alkire) What Can One Person?, a theological response to the Millennium Development Goals. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and a contributor to Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2. His professional qualifications include BSc (Econ), MA, DPhil, Cert Theol Edmund lives in the park with his wife, and two children.
Mr Tom Brunner

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.
Mrs Sarah Jones

Mrs Sarah Jones

Parent Governor

Full voting rights Appointed July 2023-2027 I live with my husband and our two sons in Old Windsor, which has been home for the majority of my life. Both sons currently attend The Royal School, and I served as The Co-Chair of the PTA for three years. Throughout my career, I have had multiple roles in sales and marketing both in the UK and in Middle East, where my husband and I lived in Dubai for several years. Currently I lead the UK Trade Marketing team for The LEGO group based in Slough. I am passionate about ensuring the school, staff and pupils are fully supported, and want to continue driving improvements that will make a difference to the school community.
Mrs Holly Whitcombe

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
Mrs Gill Heppell

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.