Who We Are
The three schools are led by a Board of Governors, known as The Council, made up of 15 members who bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the non-executive leadership of the schools.
Each school has its own Head and there is also an Executive Committee, led by the two Senior School Heads which provides strategic leadership for the schools:
Mrs Katharine Woodcock, Head
Francis Holland, Regent’s Park
Mrs Alexandra Haydon, Head
Francis Holland, Sloane Square
The other members of the Executive Committee are:
The Council’s Governors are all pre-eminent in their professional fields, providing well-informed advice via a structure of committees. These committees include:
- HR & Remuneration Committee
- Governance & Nominations Committee
- Finance & Estates Committee
- Education Committee
The Chairman of the Council of Governors, Mr Patrick Sherrington, can be contacted via the Clerk, Mrs Clair Shaw, at Francis Holland Schools Trust, 35 Bourne Street, London SW1W 8JA, clerk@fhst.org.uk or on +44 (0)20 7730 8359 (between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday).
Further details about individual Governors can be found below:
Patrick Sherrington is a solicitor whose 40 years of international litigation practice, has encompassed periods working in both the United States and Hong Kong. He managed the Asia Pacific and Middle East operations of his firm for five years and, before that, was for 11 years the Global Head of the Litigation, Arbitration and Employment practice. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a CEDR accredited mediator on whose Board he sat between 2004-2017. He has taught at two universities in the USA and has served as a Council Member of the Law Society of Hong Kong including for three years as its Vice-President. He sits as a Deputy High Court Judge in Hong Kong (since 2017), was Chair of Council at Wycombe Abbey from 2009 until March 2020 where he continues to serve as Chair of Wycombe Abbey International Limited. He is currently Chair of the Board of Barefoot College International and a Governor of Sutton Valence School.
Committee: Deputy Chair of Governors, HR & Remuneration Committee (Chair), Governance & Nominations Committee
Anthony Fincham has an MA in Modern History from Oriel College Oxford. He is a solicitor and was a partner at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP and predecessor firms for 35 years until his retirement in 2019. He now conducts mediations as a member of ArbDB Chambers specialising in workplace disputes. He is President of the Law Society Cricket Club, and a trustee of Support Through Court. Previously a Trustee of the Cardinal Hume Centre, an External Advisor to the Faculty of Modern History at Oxford University and a member of the Employment Law Committee of the City of London Solicitors Company.
Safeguarding Governor
Mrs Fiona Angel is currently Acting Master at Dulwich College with over 20 years academic and pastoral leadership experience at independent schools and maintained schools. Fiona is an ISI Team Inspector alongside carrying out regular work sitting as a teacher panellist for the Teacher Regulatory Agency, considering allegations of serious misconduct by teachers. Fiona acts as a trustee of a small charity Beder, focussed on raising awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. Fiona lives in Dulwich with her husband Michael (also a teacher) and has three children George, Scarlett and Rufus, the eldest two are at university.
Fiona is one of two safeguarding governors for Francis Holland Schools Trust.
Safeguarding Governor
Dr Frances Baawuah is a General Practitioner with over 20 years of clinical experience. Frances is a Partner of two large inner-city London Practices. She trained at Bristol University (MBChB) and is a member of both the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) and Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP). Frances is also a trustee of Hello World, a charity focused on providing education to marginalised communities, globally. Frances is an alumna and was Head Girl at Francis Holland School, Regent’s Park.
Frances is one of two safeguarding governors for Francis Holland Schools Trust.
Committee: Education Committee
Dr Charlotte Barker is an Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF) in Pharmacogenomics at King’s College London and is undertaking postgraduate Specialty Training in Clinical Genetics. After studying Medical Sciences as an undergraduate at Cambridge, she went on to complete her Medical Degree at the University of Oxford. She was previously an ACF in Paediatrics at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and a Clinical Research Fellow at St George’s, University of London, where she completed her PhD. Her PhD research was focussed on paediatric antibiotic dose optimisation strategies. She is a member of the British Pharmacological Society, the British Society for Genetic Medicine, and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Committee: Finance and Estates Committee
Mike Cuthbert has a BSc in Building Surveying from South Bank Polytechnic, an MBA from University of Strathclyde, is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and a member of the Chartered Surveyors’ Livery Company. He has worked across the UK specialising in the management of major construction projects and providing strategic development advice to public and private sector organisations, including the Bank of England and the Cabinet Office. He was a senior partner of Deloitte Real Estate.
Committee: Finance & Estates Committee
Novella De Renzo graduated from Bocconi University with an MSC (Hons) in Economics. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Italy, and subsequently in England and Wales, and has spent 20 years in the corporate sector, specialising in operating models, transfer pricing and international tax. She is a partner at PwC. She is a former parent of FHS.
Nathalie du Preez is a technology executive and NED, having served as COO of Quill Content (acquired by Webedia, then Jellyfish) and blow LTD (acquired by Holland & Barrett). She has now ventured into more entrepreneurial endeavours, founding a fintech startup servicing the healthcare sector (set to launch in 2024) and Luminary Leaders, which offers career exploration and guidance for state school students. She sits on the board of Desenio (a public e-commerce business based in Scandinavia), on the Advisory board of Wunderkind (a performance marketing company based in New York), and serves as an executive coach for up-and-coming female leaders and NEDs. Prior to tech, Nathalie worked at Goldman Sachs, Colgate-Palmolive and Net-a-Porter in New York and London. Originally from South Africa, she moved to the US for her studies where she completed a BSc in Economics magna cum laude from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.
Committee: Education Committee
Professor Claire Gwenlan is an experimental particle physicist, and a Lecturer and Tutorial Fellow in Physics at Oxford University. She has an MSci in Astrophysics from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London (UCL) and a Ph.D in High Energy Physics from UCL. She has held Postdoctoral and Advanced Fellowships at Oxford University. She has extensive research interests and is a member of large international scientific collaborations, including the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. She currently undertakes many teaching related roles and is a member of several relevant committees including the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Education, Training and Careers Committee. She has authored or edited many principal papers, conference contributions and articles.
Dr Simon Hay is an education technology founder and CEO with experience as a non-executive director, trustee, school governor and Chair. He founded Firefly Learning to solve his own frustrations as a GCSE student and built it as a sideline while studying for an MA in Computer Science at Oxford and a PhD from Cambridge, and during a stint on the trading floor at Goldman Sachs. As CEO, he led it through rapid growth, two rounds of venture capital and the acquisition and integration of two other start-ups to a successful exit to a US-based strategic investor. He has also volunteered as a governor and Chair at a Church of England primary school in London and a flying instructor with the RAF Air Cadets, and serves as a non-executive director of HFL Education, the UK’s largest school-owned company offering school improvement and business support services.
Committee: Governance & Nominations Committee
Susanne Nedas has been the Managing Director of a group of family property companies since 2000. She is a past pupil and past parent of Francis Holland School, Regent’s Park. She chaired the Parents’ Association from 1996-2000, and was the Chairman of its Millennium Library Committee and a member of the Clarence Gate Development Committee in the 1990s. She was a Director of Newpin St Paul’s, a charity based close to FHS Regent’s Park, supporting families with children aged under five years, from 1999-2004. She currently has a grand-daughter at Francis Holland Prep.
Owen Purcell has a BA (Hons) National University of Ireland and a PostGradDip Business Administration from University of Limerick. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors a Member of the Institute of Directors. He is a former Managing Partner with EY and has worked internationally with over 25 years of expertise in professional services, specializing in governance, risk management, strategic frameworks, and business transformation. With a proven track record of driving inclusive growth, operational resilience, and prudent financial stewardship. As a Managing Partner at EY, Owen led global teams, advising FTSE 100 and Fortune 1000 companies on strategic and operational risk frameworks. His guidance has supported organizations in enhancing governance, fostering operational excellence, and navigating complex transformations.
Owen’s governance expertise extends to several high-profile roles. He serves as Chair of UNiac, overseeing governance and risk frameworks, and is ta Non Executive for Innovate UK Loans , a leading innovation agency driving economic growth. He is also a Trustee and Audit Committee Chair for AbilityNet, where he ensures accountability and financial compliance for this global charity, and a Trustee for the National Youth Agency.
Committee: Finance & Estates Committee
Esther Regina is an Architect with an M.Sc in Architecture and is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. She has 15 years experience in design, planning and construction, ranging from design development for large scale commercial and mixed use developments to high end residential refurbishment as well as new built projects, mainly in RBKC and Westminster. Currently Associate Director of BLDA Architects and non executive Director of a residential property management company, both since 2011.
Committee: Education Committee
Revd Dr Andrew Walker is Vicar of St Mary’s, Bourne Street having been in ordained in 1985. He has a BA (Hons) in Theology from Durham University, a Diploma in Counselling, an MA in Spirituality, a Diploma in Charity Management, and a Doctorate in Theology and Ministry from Kings College London. His career includes several teaching related roles, including presenting conferences or providing training for various Diocese and he has been an associate lecturer with Sarum College as well as Christchurch University, Canterbury. For three years he was Director of the Healing and Counselling Centre associated with St Marylebone parish church. His book Journey into Joy is published by SPCK, and On Retreat by Bloomsbury.
Committee: Chair of Governance & Nominations and member of Finance & Estates Committee
Julia Woodham-Smith has an MA (Hons) in Classics from New College, Oxford: the first woman ever to be offered a place at New College. She is Managing Partner and Advisor in Woodham-Smith & Company a strategy consulting firm and has over 20 years advisory experience at board level (UK and international) in strategy, operations, customer and commercial insight, specialising in growth strategy. Pro bono work includes advising Beat, the eating disorders charity, and AUW, the Asian University for Women. She is an FHS alumna, and a former FHS parent.