Our 2024/25 Board of Governors

The principal responsibility of the board is to ensure that the School is run in accordance with its charitable objectives and that all the functions of the School are authorised by the powers provided by its Articles of Association, company and charity law and in relation to risk management and legal compliance. The strategy and development of the School is set by the Governors who approve the plans and budgets presented by the Headmistress and Bursar. The Full Board meets once a term and is supported by the Audit, Carrdus, Design, Development, Education and Welfare, Finance and Resources, and Governance and Nominations Committees. Each Committee meets at least once a term and submits reports and recommendations to the Board, with the exception of the Audit Committee, which convenes at least once a year, and the Design Committee, which convenes as required. Tudor Hall School Enterprises Ltd papers are submitted to the Tudor Hall board for consideration. External professional advice is sought as and when necessary. The Trustees are all volunteers and their support is essential in ensuring that Tudor Hall School continues to thrive.

The Board seeks to ensure that its members provide the breadth and depth of experience to carry out its duties effectively and efficiently. It is important that the trustees have empathy with the objects, aims and ethos of the School; to achieve this the board is made up of independent members, Old Tudorians, and current and former parents so as to maintain balance and perspective.

The day-to-day running of the School is delegated to the Headmistress and the Bursar who both attend the Board and relevant Committees, together with the Head of Carrdus School as appropriate. Other members of senior management attend relevant meetings as required.

Alison Darling, Chair of Governors, has 23 years' experience of school governance at four schools in both the independent and maintained sectors. A passionate advocate for single sex girls’ education Alison was previously Co-Chair of Governors of the Kingsley School in Leamington Spa. She has seen schools and their communities through significant and often challenging periods of change. She has been responsible for initiating and leading governance self-reviews and ensuring the findings lead to better practice. Alison’s four now grown up children all attended UK boarding schools and is a former Tudor Hall parent. She believes she has both an understanding of parents' expectations when choosing a school for their daughter as well as knowledge and experience of the challenges facing our smaller independent schools.

As Chair of Governors Alison attends all the Committee meetings.

Kerry Bartram

Kerry sits on the Finance & Resources Committee.

Sally Bowie, Old Tudorian, is currently a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire and chair of the Lord lieutenants young people awards, Lay Canon of Leicester Cathedral and sits on the Court of Leicester University. She is involved in a number of charities and appeals including The Women in Philanthropy Fund, Sally is a former parent of Tudor Hall.

Sally has responsibility as the Boarding Governor, and she sits on Education & Welfare, Governance & Nominations and the Development Committee.

Karen Coles is Headmistress of Sarum Hall School with over 20 years’ experience in the independent sector since graduating from Exeter University with a BEd (Hons) degree in education. Having worked at Port Regis, Fulham Prep, Cheam and St George’s Weybridge, Karen has a long history of recommending Tudor Hall as a first-class option for girls' education. A serving Army Reserve Officer in the Intelligence Corps, Karen is also an accomplished swimmer, skier and tennis player so champions the importance of sport and working with others to achieve a collective goal.

Karen sits on the Education & Welfare Committee.

Ben Evans is Headmaster at Windlesham House School. He took over the Headship in 2020 following a very successful 8 years as Head at Edge Grove in Hertfordshire where he oversaw substantial growth of the school. Ben read History and Archaeology at Exeter, followed by a PGCE. He has taught in a variety of independent day and boarding schools both in the UK and internationally, taking up his first Headship at the British School in Colombo in 2008. Ben is a governor of two prep schools and sits on the advisory board for an international school in Sri Lanka.

Ben is Chair of the Carrdus Committee and in addition to this he sits on Education & Welfare.

Sir Stephen Gomersall’s career was in government and business. In the Foreign Office he was Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations and Ambassador to Japan. Subsequently he served for seventeen years as European Chief Executive and a Board member of the Japanese firm Hitachi, focussing on the localisation of investment and management reform. With a range of other Board experience in asset management and cultural organisations, he has the ability to assess situations independently while assimilating and supporting the values of an organisation. He and his three children attended independent boarding schools and he now lives locally. He is a keen musician, and a trustee of two orchestras.

Sir Stephen sits on the Education & Welfare Committee.

Nick Holliday is General Secretary of the Dulwich Preparatory Schools Trust and, for fifteen years until his retirement in December 2019, he was also Bursar of Dulwich Prep London, one of the UK’s largest independent prep schools. He is a graduate of Oxford University and spent ten years as an army officer in The Life Guards before moving into financial services. For twenty years he worked for various asset management companies looking after pension funds, charities and other institutions, latterly at Schroders.

Nick has responsibility for Risk Management and Health & Safety in his capacity as Governor. He sits on Finance & Resources and the Tudor Hall School Enterprise sub-committee.

Iona Hutchinson

Iona sits on the Education & Welfare Committee.

Charles Newsome is a Divisional Director of Investec Wealth & Investment and has worked in the finance industry for all of his working career. In addition to this he has held school governance positions within the State Education Sector and has sat on the Board of a Not for Profit financial training organisation as Vice Chairman. Charles is a former parent of Tudor Hall School.

Charles is Sports Governor and he sits on Finance & Resources and the Tudor Hall School Enterprise sub-committee.

Jennifer Scarfe, Whole School Safeguarding Lead, has worked in education for 18 years holding a variety of roles in both academic and pastoral capacities. The last 11 years have been spent in single sex education with her most recent position being Deputy Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead at Badminton Girls’ School, Bristol. She has a keen interest in adolescent mental health and previously taught the Youth Mental Health First Aid courses for Mental Health First Aid England. Her desire to see young people grow up to be happy, well-adjusted young adults has led to her retraining as a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. She completed her pre-clinical training with the Tavistock and Portman, and is now in the 3^rd year of her doctorate (IPCAPA/The Anna Freud Centre/UCL), whilst working in CAMHS. Outside of work she enjoys mountain biking and hiking with her husband in the region around their holiday home in Andalucía.

Jennifer is the Safeguarding Governor, and Vice Chair of Governors. She sits on Education & Welfare.

Mark Sewell is a partner of Evelyn Partners Investment Management (formerly Tilney Smith and Williamson Investment Management). He was formerly a member of the Stock Exchange (elected 1984) and is currently a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments. He served as an army officer with the Grenadier Guards from 1975 to 1980 before embarking on a City career during which he has accumulated more than 40 years of investment and broking experience. He has three daughters all of whom attended Tudor Hall. He is a governor of Lord Leycester's Hospital, which is a Warwick-based charity.

Mark is the Bursary/Scholarships Governor and he sits on sits on Finance & Resources and the Tudor Hall School Enterprise sub-committee, and the Development Committee.

Rodney Style qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor in the City before joining Haines Watts as a partner in 1985. He ran the Oxford office for 36 years dealing with audit and tax matters. For ten years he was on the Group National Board chairing the Board for 6 years. He retired from Haines Watts in 2021 although he remains a Non Executive Director of a number of businesses. His daughter was educated at The Carrdus School and Tudor Hall.

Rodney is the Chair of Finance & Resources and the Tudor Hall School Enterprise sub-committee. He also sits on Governance & Nominations.

Alexandra di Valmarana 

Alexandra is the Acting Chair of Development, and she also sits on Finance & Resources and the Tudor Hall School Enterprise sub-committee.

If you wish to contact the Chairman of Governors, the postal address is:

c/o Clerk to the Governors
Tudor Hall School
Wykham Park
Banbury
Oxfordshire
OX16 9UR

Or via email: chairofgovernors@tudorhallschool.com

Registered name: Tudor Hall School

Registered number: 2995266
Place of registration: England
Registered office: Wykham Park, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 9UR
Charity number: 1042783