{"id":280,"date":"2019-10-04T12:20:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T11:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yarmschool.test\/?page_id=280"},"modified":"2023-10-09T16:30:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T15:30:01","slug":"governors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.yarmschool.org\/about-us\/governors\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Governors"},"content":{"rendered":"
¾ÅÁúͼ¿â is privileged to have a board of Governors consisting of dedicated professionals who all have a passion for the school. Many have had children at the School, previously worked here or are former pupils. The Governors provide strategic vision and leadership as well as sitting on a number of sub committees which include: Education, Finance, Compliance and HR.<\/p>\n
Any correspondence with the Board of Governors should be addressed to the Chairman of Governors, Mr M Thompson, and sent to the school address. It will then be forwarded to him from the school office. ¾ÅÁúͼ¿â, The Friarage, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees. TS15 9EJ.<\/p>\n
Mr Mark Thompson (Chairman of Governors)<\/strong> was appointed as governor in 2002. He is a Former Pupil having been a member of the first Sixth Form at Yarm between 1980 and 1982!<\/p>\n After reading Law at University Mark trained as a barrister before embarking upon a career in corporate finance and qualifying as an accountant, firstly with Coopers & Lybrand in London (now PwC), then going on to hold senior positions at United Biscuits plc, Amersham International plc, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and Getty Images Inc.<\/p>\n Since 2000 he has been President and Chief Executive of a group of software companies based in the UK and North America which he founded.<\/p>\n Mrs Ruth Langford (Vice-Chair of Governors)<\/strong> Ruth was appointed as a governor in 2013 and is the nominated governor for Child Protection & Safeguarding. In addition to being the current Vice-Chair of Governors, she is also Chair of the Compliance Committee and attends as many other Committee meetings as her diary will permit. Ruth\u2019s association with ¾ÅÁúͼ¿â stretches back to 2001 when she moved to the area, and has three children who were past pupils of ¾ÅÁúͼ¿â. Ruth is a former Chair of the parents\u2019 social committees for both the Preparatory and Senior Schools.<\/p>\n Ruth is a recently retired dental surgeon, having qualified from Birmingham University in 1982. Most of her working life has been spent in the field of orthodontics and she has worked in specialist practice and hospital departments. She spent her last 5 years in the orthodontic departments of 2 local hospitals.<\/p>\n Dr Shazia Akowuah<\/strong> was appointed as a governor in 2019. She was educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School in Lancashire and studied medicine at Sheffield University. She works as a GP in Middlesbrough with a passion for education. She was awarded a Masters in Medical Education from the University of Sheffield and has spent many years teaching medical students and GP trainees. Shazia is committed to promoting equality and diversity within education.<\/p>\n Mr Paul Barron <\/strong>was appointed as a governor in June 2018.<\/p>\n He has two sons, one of whom is still a pupil at ¾ÅÁúͼ¿â. Paul has a Masters degree in Business Administration from Durham University and mentors MBA students for the University’s Business School. Previously, Paul worked as a Director and Managing Director in asset finance and professional services.<\/p>\n He is currently Managing Director of Barron Williams Limited and a Director of the Open North Foundation. Previously, he served for three years as Chair of the Institute of Directors for Tees Valley and as a regional committee member for the North East region of the Institute of Directors and the Tees Valley region of the North East Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n Paul has also previously served as a board member for the Finance & Leasing Association’s Asset Finance Committee and as an elected Governor of Heighington Primary School.<\/p>\n Mrs Rebecca (Beccy) Brown<\/strong> was appointed as a governor in 2023. She was educated at Abbey Grange Church of England High School in Leeds and studied PPE at The Queen\u2019s College, Oxford University.<\/p>\n She went on to qualify as an accountant with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) and worked in audit and management consultancy roles in London and North America, specialising in the oil and gas industry. She then joined BG plc where she held a number of finance roles culminating in a role as Group Head of Investor Relations.<\/p>\n Following relocation to the North East in 2001 she established Warm Zones Ltd – a charity tackling fuel poverty and worked as a Trustee at the national fuel poverty charity National Energy Action. From there she joined Stockton on Tees Borough Council where she worked as Director of Corporate Services with responsibility for the council’s HR, Legal, Communications, Democratic, Procurement, Governance and Community Engagement services.<\/p>\n She has two daughters, one a past pupil of Yarm and the other currently in the 6th Form.<\/p>\n