Governing Body - St Neot's Preparatory School

St Neot’s Governing Body.

The Governors are ultimately responsible for the strategic direction and maintenance of standards within the School and for legal and regulatory compliance, including risk management.

Governing Body.

In conjunction with the Head and Senior Leadership Team, the Governors set and review policies, plans and procedures which are designed to ensure the best possible education for all pupils, both present and future. The Governing Body is also responsible for ensuring the proper control of the School’s finances.

Roger WoodbridgeChair
The Chair of Governors can be contacted via the Clerk to the Governors - bursar@stneotsprep.co.uk

Roger was educated at Merchant Taylors School and graduated from the University of Wales, Institute of Science and Technology with a BSc in Marine Geography in 1984. His two daughters were educated at St. Neot’s from Nursery to Year 8, before moving on to Bryanston School in Dorset. Following investment banking appointments at Midland Montagu, Halifax and Standard Chartered, he has successfully turned around banks in international locations. His interests include racing classic cars, sailing and polo. Roger is a member of the Finance and General Purpose Committee and the Appointments and Governance Committee.

David BaileyVice Chair

David lives locally with his wife and their two sons, who are pupils at St Neot's. David read Economics and Spanish at Durham University and has worked for over twenty years in financial services and regulation, in both the private and public sector. In his spare time,
David enjoys running, watching rugby and cooking. David is chair of the Risk Management & Compliance Committee.

Barbara Stanley

Barbara is Chair of the Education Committee and a member of the Appointments and Governance Committee. She retired from her post as Head of The Abbey School, Reading, in 2014, following nineteen years as a Head. The Abbey School was her third Headship, preceded by Alexandra College, Dublin, and Bedford High School. Trained as a secondary Geography teacher, all the schools in which she has been a senior manager have included Junior or Prep Schools. She is the Independent Schools Specialist for the senior education leaders’ professional association ASCL (Association of School and College Leaders) and so sees national and independent sector education policy and politics from close quarters. Outside education, she is a churchwarden, closely involved in Swallowfield and other activities and appreciates being an active grandparent.

Wendy Berry

Wendy is mother to three children. Her two boys, both ex-pupils of St Neot’s, attend Reading Blue Coat and Wellington College and her daughter, also ex St Neot’s, attends Wellington College. In her working life she was a European Product Manager for Dell Computers. Wendy currently works in a voluntary role for British Eventing. Wendy is a member of the Risk Management & Compliance Committee and is the Governor responsible for the Pre-Prep and EYFS.

James Dahl

James is Master at Wellington College. A Geordie by birth, James was educated at RGS Newcastle, Haileybury and then Jesus College Cambridge, where he read Classics. His teaching career began at Brighton College, where he became Head of Department and Head of Sixth Form, and then Repton School as a boarding Housemaster. Married with a 9-year old
daughter, James spends a huge amount of his professional and personal time involved with prep schools, but still manages to maintain his three main interests: reading, music and sport. James is a member of the Education Committee and the Risk Management & Compliance Committee.

Mike Nash

Mike has two boys, Thomas and Edward who both enjoyed their schooling at St Neot’s from Nursery to Year 8, before moving on to Pangbourne College. His interests include: competing in triathlons, golf and travel. Having founded several businesses in his career to date, including a specialist sports retail business a telecommunications company and a digital marketing agency, Mike relishes the varied challenges of running and building a small business and has successfully exited from his last two ventures. Currently Chairman of a local triathlon club, a managing trustee for two family trusts and business consultant. Mike is chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

Nigel Stoate

Nigel lives in Bramshill with Gemma and their son attends St Neot's. Nigel studied Mechanical Engineering at Southampton University and worked in industry before returning to college and qualifying as a solicitor in 1997. He is a partner in the London office of Taylor
Wessing where he heads the patent practice and typically acts for life sciences companies in European patent litigation. Born in Reading, Nigel grew up to farming parents in Eversley and Bramshill and has a keen interest in the local community. In his spare time he restores
wartime vehicles. Nigel is a member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.

Hugh Mostafid

Hugh lives locally in Beech Hill with his wife Michelle and two sons who both attend St. Neots. He is a Consultant Surgeon specialising in the treatment of urological cancers. Hugh trained at St Thomas’s Hospital and completed his surgical training at the Institute of Urology in London. He was appointed consultant surgeon at the North Hampshire Hospital in 2001 before joining the regional specialist urological cancer service at the Royal Surrey County
Hospital in Guildford in 2014. Hugh has a particular interest in clinical research and is currently responsible for the clinical governance of several national cancer trials. He is also a member of the NICE and European Association of Urology guideline panels and an expert
advisor to the Department of Health for bladder cancer. In his spare time, Hugh enjoys golf, football and travelling with his family. Hugh is the designated Safeguarding Governor and also chairs the Safety & Wellbeing Committee.

Madelaine Best

Maddie graduated from the University of Bath with a BSc in Politics and International Relations, before joining Bradfield College as a Teacher of History and Politics. Her main academic area of specialism is in Gender Politics and she has co-authored a paper on family
friendly practices in the devolved legislatures, and continues to read widely in this field. Maddie - passionate about staying abreast with developments in pedagogy and pastoral care - is the Gifted & Talented Co-ordinator and a Deputy Housemistress at Bradfield. She lives with her husband, Chris, who works as a boarding Housemaster. She enjoys walking, skiing, reading and writing plays. Maddie sits on the Education and Safety & Wellbeing Committees.

Peter German

Pete is Director of Admissions & Marketing at Lord Wandsworth College, an 11-18 day and boarding school in Long Sutton, Hampshire, where he is part of the Senior Leadership Team.
Having studied at the University of the Arts, London, he began his career in education at Yateley School before moving to Frensham Heights where he managed Marketing & Admissions. Passionate about education and empowering young people, Pete has worked
with a number of charities within this field. He has spoken at conferences and delivered training for ISBI and EMCdigital and is part of a TEDx organising team which brings together a range of influential thinkers and innovators. Pete is married to Leah and they have two young sons.

In Summary.

Governors give their time and expertise freely. They meet collectively as a Board twice in the Autumn Term and once in each of the Spring and Summer Terms respectively. In addition, there are regular meetings of Board Committees, of which there are currently five - the Finance & General Purposes Committee, the Education Committee, the Safety & Wellbeing Committee, Appointments and Governance Committee and the Risk Management and Compliance Committee. The Bursar is Clerk to the Governors and any communication with the Governing Body may, in the first instance, be directed to him.