Local Governors
Great Bowden Academy (GBA) is a member of a Learn Academies Trust (Learn-AT). Learn-AT has a Board of Trustees and Members who are responsible for overseeing all of the schools in the Trust. For more information about the Trustees please see Learn-AT’s website.
Great Bowden's Local Governing Body works on behalf of the Trust Board in these key areas:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction within the academy.
- Acting as a critical friend to the school; holding the academy’s senior leadership team to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the performance management of staff.
- Assuring Health and Safety procedures within their school.
Great Bowden Academy Committee Membership 2022-23
| GBA Governor | Term Expires | |
| Executive Headteacher | Sarah Bishop | N/A |
| Head of School | Rebecca Blagburn | N/A |
| Chair of Governors | Richard Moor | Sep-26 |
| Community | Sarah Hill | Jan-26 |
| Marianne Quinsee | Oct-23 | |
| Foundation | Jan Shardlow | Jun-26 |
| Anne Wilson | Jan-27 | |
| Parent | Laura Cross | Jan-27 |
| Rachel Barber-Mack | Sep-26 | |
| Staff | Chela Grainge | Apr-24 |
| Ex Officio/Foundation | Hils Corcoran | N/A |
| Ex Officio/Business Manager | Kate Jones | N/A |
Richard Moor is Chair of Governors across both Great Bowden Academy and Ridgeway Primary Academy (RPA) from Autumn Term 2022.
Appointed governors – may be parents or grandparents of children at the school. They may be appointed for their skills rather than being elected by the parent body. However, no more than one third of governors may be parents/grandparents, so 2 or 3 GBA Appointed governors must include a Parish incumbent and 2 Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) approved governors – called Foundation governors.
Our Governors' Profiles
Our Chair of Governors
Governor’s full name: Richard Moor
Attends: Local governing body meetings
Governor responsible for: Maths, safeguarding, Health and Safety
Occupation / background: Programme Manager (National Grid). Married with 2 children. Experience in portfolio, programme and project management across a range of industries, team management, budget creation and management, operational management, managing change.
Date of appointment: 11/2018 and renewed in 09/2022
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by the governing body (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government): Parent governor (elected by parents)
Relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests): Association of Project Managers (APM) – ChPP, RPP, member of Portfolio committee
Governance roles in other educational institutions: None
Relationships between other governors or school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives): Husband to a member of the support staff at Great Bowden, youngest child is a pupil at Great Bowden.
Contact me via: office@gba.learnat.uk
Governor’s full nam
e: Sarah Hill (Vice-chair of Governors)
Attends: Local governing body meetings, Head teachers performance management, pay committee and Cluster board.
Occupation / background: Retired. District and County Councillor for many years (now no longer). Experience in project management in international consulting, worked for education charity in recycling. Trustee of two charities locally. Active in Lions and other community groups.
Date of appointment: 2010 and renewed in 2022
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by the governing body (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government): Community governor
Relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests): Trustee Harborough and the Bowdens Charity and Howard Watson Symington Charity.
Governance roles in other educational institutions: None
Relationships between other governors or school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives): None.
Contact me via: office@gba.learnat.uk
Governor’s full na
me: Marianne Quinsee
Attends: Local governing body meetings and Curriculum and Standards committee.
Occupation / background: Programme Manager (National Grid). Married with 2 children who both attended GBA when younger. Experience in nursing and education. Former primary teacher and now lecturer at a local ITE provider.
Date of appointment: 11/2019
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by the governing body (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government): Local governor
Relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests): Tutor associated with LearnAt School Direct programme.
Governance roles in other educational institutions: None
Relationships between other governors or school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives): Tutor associated with LearnAt School Direct programme and may visit RPA and GBA in professional role.
Contact me via: office@gba.learnat.uk
Governor’s full name: Laura Cross (nee Powrie - Parent Governor)
Attends: Local governing body meetings.
Occupation / background: HR Strategy Consultant & Executive Coach (Self-employed). Married with 2 children. Experience in all elements of strategic HR including navigating change, strategy setting & execution, talent roadmaps and leadership development.
Date of appointment: 01/2023
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by the governing body (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government): Parent governor.
Relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests): CIPD
Governance roles in other educational institutions: None
Relationships between other governors or school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives): Eldest child is a pupil at Great Bowden.
Contact me via: office@gba.learnat.uk
Governor’s full name: Rachel Barber-Mack (Parent Governor)
Responsibilities: PSHE, computing, PE & finance.
Attends: Local governing body meetings, Annual Finance Chairs meeting
Occupation / background:
Married with one child. Runs Media Smart, an award-winning non-profit, which educates young people about the commercial side of the media
Experience in organisation and stakeholder management, social impact initiatives (with a focus on young people, education, media / digital / advertising literacy) grassroots sports sponsorship, strategic partnerships, operational delivery, marketing and securing funding.
Date of appointment: 09/2022
Term of office: 4 years
Appointed by the governing body (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government): Parent Governor.
Relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests): Media Smart UK Ltd.
Governance roles in other educational institutions: None
Relationships between other governors or school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives): Child is a pupil at Great Bowden.
Contact me via: office@gba.learnat.uk
Governors Full Name: Elizabeth Anne Wilson (prefers to be called Anne)
Attends: Local governing body meetings
Occupation/Background: Now retired but taught for many years in NZ and in township schools in South Africa with a specialisation in literacy education. I attend St Peter and St Paul Church in Great Bowden and spent the seven years in Cape Town SA working with a Christian mission.
Relevant Business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests): None
Governance roles in other educational institutions: Acted as the staff representative on the Board of Trustees at Koru School, Auckland NZ.(2 years).
Date of Appointment: 01/23
Appointed by the governing body: 01/23 Nominated by St Peter and St Pauls Church and approved by C of E. Foundational Governor
Term of Office: 4 years
Relationships between other governors or school staff: None
Contact me via: office@gba.learnat.uk