When High Down Schools federated in 2015, we formed a single Board of Governors to work on behalf of both schools. Now, as part of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP), the Governing Body’s remit is to:
Oversee the running of the schools within the powers delegated to it by the LSP Board of Trustees
Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the schools in alignment with the Trust vision and strategic objectives
Hold the executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the schools and their pupils, and the performance management of staff
Oversee the financial performance of the schools; making sure their funding is well spent
Draw any significant recommendations and matters of concern to the attention of the LSP Board of Trustees
Monitoring and evaluating the school’s performance and success play a major role for our Governing Body. We have a detailed monitoring schedule linked to the schools’ Raising Attainment and Progress Plan. These visits ensure governors have a detailed understanding of the life and workings of the schools and are to both support and challenge the senior leadership team.
Please follow the link to LSP Scheme of Delegation.
Please follow the link to read the latest Governors’ Newsletter.
Please follow the link to find out more about the Trustees of LSP
Our Schools’ Governors
Chair of Governors
Nolan Hibberd
Vice-Chair of Governors
vacant
Parent Governors (2)
Hannah Jones and Laura McMahon
Headteacher Governor (1)
Andreya Cowan
Staff Governor (1)
Nicola Wright
Co-opted Governors (14)
Rhianne Armstrong, Nolan Hibberd, Heather Kirkpatrick, Sue Mason, Gail Meacock, Andrew Parsons, Ben Valentine, and Jane Williams [and up to six vacancies]
Clerk to Governors
Cathryn Butler
You can email the Chair of Governors at chair.governors@highdownschools.org or write to him at: Chair of Governors, c/o High Down Schools, Down Road, Portishead, BS20 6DY
Appointment of Governors
Our governors are drawn from parents, the community and school staff, and are appointed for a four-year term of office. Co-opted governors are appointed, based on their skill set, by the Governing Body (subject to ratification by the LSP Board of Trustees); parent governors are elected by parents and carers, and staff governors by school staff.
Governor Vacancies
Parent Governor Vacancy: We will have a vacancy for a parent governor in July 2022. All parents and carers who will have a child (or children) attending our schools at that time are eligible to apply. The application deadline is 6.00 pm on Tuesday 14 June 2022.
As well as the parent governor vacancy, we currently have up to five co-opted governor vacancies, and would be pleased to hear from anyone who’d like to find out more about how they might contribute to our schools’ continued success as a governor, especially those from outside the immediate school community.
If you are interested in being a governor at our schools, please contact the Clerk to Governors in the first instance: cathryn.butler@highdownschools.org The links below provide information about the governor role, and also the circumstances in which someone cannot be a governor.
The DfE requires schools to publish specific information about its governors, including those who served during the previous school year. The listing below, therefore, includes our current governors, and those who have resigned, or whose appointment ended, since September 2020. Governors undertake many activities in support of our school’s success; the meeting attendance rates below represent only a small part of this.
Mrs Rhianne Armstrong
Co-opted Governor: 9 December 2020 – 8 December 2024
Business & Pecuniary Interests: parent at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Mrs Penny Atherton
Co-opted Governor: 15 January 2015 – 14 January 2019 and 15 January 2019 – 27 September 2020 (resigned)
Business & Pecuniary Interests: Deputy Headteacher at High Down Infants School
2020/21 Meeting Attendance:not applicable
Mrs Beckie Collard
Co-opted Governor: 27 June 2017 – 26 June 2021 and 27 June 2021 – 13 March 2022 [resigned]
Business & Pecuniary Interests: none
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 75%
Mrs Andreya Cowan
Headteacher Governor: from 1 January 2003
Business & Pecuniary Interests: Executive Headteacher at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Mr Ben Culverhouse
Staff Governor: 9 February 2018 – 8 February 2022 [term of office ended]
Business & Pecuniary Interests: classteacher at High Down Junior School
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 86%
Mrs Julia Filer
Co-opted Governor: 31 March 2020 – 18 March 2022 [resigned]
Business & Pecuniary Interests: none
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 88%
Mr Nolan Hibberd
Co-opted Governor: 27 June 2017 – 26 June 2021 and 27 June 2021 – 26 June 2025
Business & Pecuniary Interests: parent at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Mr Rhodri Hopkins
Co-opted Governor: 21 September 2017 – 20 September 2021 [term of office ended]
Business & Pecuniary Interests: Executive Deputy Headteacher at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 86%
Mrs Hannah Jones
Parent Governor: 20 September 2018 – 19 September 2022
Business & Pecuniary Interests: parent at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 86%
Mrs Heather Kirkpatrick
Co-opted Governor: 15 January 2015 – 14 January 2019 and 15 January 2019 – 14 January 2023
Business & Pecuniary Interests: Business Manager at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Mr Joe Lee
Co-opted Governor: 15 January 2019 – 17 May 2022 [resigned]
Parent Governor: 15 January 2015 – 14 January 2019
Business & Pecuniary Interests: parent at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 43%
Mrs Sue Mason
Co-opted Governor: 1 September 2016 – 14 January 2019 and 15 January 2019 – 14 January 2023
Local Authority Governor: 4 September 1996 – 3 September 2008, 27 October 2008 – 26 October 2012, 8 February 2013 – 14 January 2015, and 15 January 2015 – 31 August 2016
Business & Pecuniary Interests: Portishead Town Councillor
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Ms Laura McMahon
Parent Governor: 25 January 2019 – 24 January 2023
Business & Pecuniary Interests: parent at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 71%
Mrs Gail Meacock
Co-opted Governor: 1 September 2015 – 31 August 2019 and 1 September 2019 – 31 August 2023
Business & Pecuniary Interests: parent and classteacher at High Down Schools
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 86%
Mr Andrew Parsons
Co-opted Governor: 31 March 2020 – 30 March 2024
Business & Pecuniary Interests: none
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Mr Ben Valentine
Co-opted Governor: 8 December 2021 – 7 December 2025
Business & Pecuniary Interests: none
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: not applicable
Mrs Jane Williams
Co-opted Governor: 28 June 2018 – 27 June 2022 and 28 June 2022 to 27 June 2026
Business & Pecuniary Interests: none
2020/21 Meeting Attendance: 100%
Mrs Nicola Wright
Staff Governor: 9 February 2022 – 8 February 2026
Business & Pecuniary Interests: classteacher at High Down Schools
