Gill Turner is Chair of Trustees and Chair of the Steering Committee.  Gill’s son attended Birchwood and she was elected as a parent trustee in 2018.  Gill’s professional background is as a Chartered Accountant and Tax Adviser, with more than twenty years’ experience of working in advisory roles.  Gill aims to support the school in ensuring access and opportunity for all students.

Ruth Bamlett is the English Link and is Chair of Curriculum Committee. She has a background in primary education as a Headteacher.

Jason Boyce is a parent governor and sits on the Estates and Finance Committee.

Chris Emery is appointed by parents and is an IT consultant in the finance sector. He is Chair of the Estates Committee.

Matthew Free is appointed by parents and is an HR consultant. He is a member of the Personnel Committee.

Lucie Gallagher is a co-opted Community Governor and joined the Board of Trustees in September 2022. She sits on the Personnel Committee. She has three sons and has a background in primary education. Lucie has been a teacher, museum curator and was previously a Governor at a local primary school.

Catherine Gater is Vice Chair of Trustees. Catherine trained as a scientist and has a background in project management and equality and diversity. Catherine has been a governor for 8 years and has 2 sons who have both attended Birchwood. Catherine particularly enjoys working with the school to achieve an inclusive and supportive educational environment.

Sam Griffin is Principal of Birchwood and is an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees.

Jane Mansfield has been a governor for almost 2 years and was previously a governor at a local primary school. She chairs the Personnel Committee and has a son in Year 11. She has a background in corporate banking and corporate risk management.

Ross Noblett is appointed by staff and is a member of the Curriculum Committee.

John Oglesby joined Birchwood’s Governing Body in September 2021 as a Parent Governor and is currently Chair of the Finance and Estates Committee, having previously been the Chair of Governors at Manuden Primary School for 8 years. He lives in Berden with his wife and 2 teenage sons. By day, John is a qualified accountant working for Abcam PLC but, in the evenings and at weekends, you can often find him on stage as an active member of Clavering and Newport’s Amateur Dramatics groups.

Karen Poole is a Parent Governor and sits on the Curriculum Committees. She was previously a governor at a local primary school. Karen has two sons at Birchwood, and has worked at Tesco for over 25 years with roles including Commercial, Customer Marketing, Product Development and Programme Management.

Claire Pressland is appointed by staff and is a member of the Curriculum Committee.

Leigh Lloyd Warren is a member of the Personnel Committee and has a background in accountancy and the construction industry.

Jim Winter is a member of the Personnel Committee and has expertise in personnel in a business setting. Jim is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in Bishops Stortford and is currently UK Regional Director for the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI), a professional body for the financial services sector. Jim has spent some 30 years in financial services, including roles at Lloyds Bank, AIG and Canada Life. He has managed, coached and developed several teams of people in his career, ranging in size from 10 – 150 individuals, as well as delivering regular training sessions on personal development.

Connor Wyatt is a local resident and an adoptive parent. Professionally, he is a Chartered Accountant specialising in corporate international tax. He is Chair of the Audit Committee.