Meet the Governors

I have been a governor at Christ Church school since 2015 and have enjoyed seeing the school grow and being a part of that process. I have for a few years now been the Chair of the Health, Safety & Premises Committee, and this year I have taken on the role of Vice Chair at Purley Partnership Federation.

I am a practising Christian attending Purley Baptist Church with my wife. We live and work in the local area. As an experienced teacher myself in the private sector, I bring relevant knowledge and an outside perspective to support and challenge Christ Church School and Purley Nursery School. As a foundation governor, I feel that the Christian ethos of Christ Church School is important to maintain and develop.

My name is Alan and I am a recently elected parent governor of the Federation. My daughter in in Year 1 at the primary school and previously attended the nursery. I also have a boy in Year 6 living with me, and a 7-month-old daughter who will hopefully be attending the nursery and then primary school in a few years’ time.

I have been a governor of another London primary school for nearly 20 years, through which I have learnt a lot about how good schools can become even better, and how governors can work in partnership with the headteacher, staff and families to do that. I hope my ‘apprenticeship’ at another school helps me to better serve the Federation’s children in my new role. I work as a barrister and part-time judge and have found that my legal background is sometimes useful in helping a school’s governing board navigate legal issues. Occasionally, boards have to resolve formal disputes between the school and individual families or staff members, and it is very important to me that governors deal with such matters in a way that is impartial, diligent and fair.

I am part of the Christ Church church community across the road and my Christian faith is central to my life, but I also believe that the two schools should value equally all the families who entrust us with their children, regardless of their religious background (or none). Part of education is helping children grow up to think for themselves. I am of mixed race heritage and it matters a lot to me that the schools love every child and welcome families of all shapes and size, and work in close partnership with them regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation. So I am glad that I have been asked me to make ‘inclusion’ a specific focus of my work as a governor. Please feel free to speak to me any time about that topic or anything else: as a parent governor, I want to help the governing board listen to families’ views about how we can make the schools even better.

Together with my husband, Mark, we lead Grace Vineyard Church, Purley, which meets at Christ Church School. I come from South Africa where I taught primary school for many years, becoming a Deputy Head Teacher. We moved to Malawi in East Africa to start a church there and I taught at a British International School before coming to the UK. I loved teaching and am honoured and delighted to be serving both Christ Church School and Purley Nursery School in my capacity as Governor and look forward to building relationships with the staff, pupils and parents.

I am a Foundation Governor, appointed in December 2023, and a member of the Personnel & Finance Committee.

I grew up in Oxted, went to school in Croydon, and studied modern languages at university (including a year in south-west France). I spent 15 years as an investment banker before joining a FTSE 100 tech company in 2024 as Director of Investor Relations.  This has given me financial literacy, board-level experience, and an international perspective.  I have enjoyed adding to this skillset by learning about the education sector through supporting Purley Partnership Federation.

I am a practising Christian, and worship in central London at the church where I met my wife and where our son was baptised.