Skip to content ↓
ACES Academics Trust logo

Part of
ACES Academies Trust

Meet Our Governors

Theresa Shaw, Chair

Hello, my name is Theresa. I joined the Local Governing Committee at GCA in July 2018 and I was delighted to be elected chair in 2022. I am a Registered Nurse and my 40+ year career has been in both the NHS and the voluntary sector. This has included clinical care, education and practice development and 15 years as CEO of a UK-wide Nursing Charity. To create a better work life balance, I now work as an Independent Nurse Consultant and Facilitator, this enables me to focus on my passion for developing nurses and nursing through leadership development programmes, culture change work, mentoring and supervision.

So why school governance? When my own two children were at school, I would have liked to have been more involved with supporting school activities but had little time to do this because of family, work and academic study commitments. So, when the opportunity to become a community school governor arose at GCA and I had a bit more time, I decided to get involved. My son is also a Primary School Teacher (now working overseas) and I now have four grandchildren, all of which, has renewed my interest in the provision of high quality educational opportunities. The foundation that primary education provided is so important for children in our communities. I feel privileged to be part of GCA and believe both my work and life experiences can offer a balance of support and challenge that will help the school be the best it can be - living the values of hard work and kindness and delivering its vision to educate and develop ‘well rounded’ children who can succeed in the future.  

Amelia Beech 

Hello! I'm Millie and I am a community governor at GCA. Being a community governor means that I'm a member of the local community but I don't have any children at GCA at the moment. I joined the governor team in March 2020 and particularly support the school team with website compliance, as well as pupil premium and equality. I became a governor because I really care about supporting all children to reach their full potential and enjoy their time at school. 

In my career, I have worked in a range of project management roles so have a good understanding of managing people, reviewing data, and delivering against objectives, all of which help in my governor role. More recently, I've specialised in technical project management, and enjoy putting my knowledge about Microsoft Teams and data protection requirements to good use in our virtual meetings!  In my spare time, I enjoy reading, running, and spending time with friends

Beth Clarke 

Hello, I am Beth. I joined as a parent governor in December 2021 and have sons who are pupils in key stages 1 and 2 at GCA.  I live in Godmanchester and work locally.  As an associated member of the Chartered Governance Institute I have extensive experience of working closely with boards of directors and senior management teams across different organisations. Therefore,I know how important a non-executive position is, both in supporting and challenging the leadership team. I am enjoying learning and contributing to the further development of GCA.

Rakhee Easley 

Hi, I’m Rakhee and I joined GCA as a parent governor in December 2021. As of September 2022, I have two children in GCA in both key stages. I’m a management consultant focused on providing strategic guidance to pharmaceutical companies, and have held positions as the Head of Operations and Head of Region (Europe and India). With prior education committee and undergraduate teaching roles during my PhD, I’m excited by, and enjoying the opportunity to contribute back as a parent governor.

 

Stephen Roberts 

Hello,  I am Steve.  I Joined the Governing Committee in July 2022 – and support the school with a focus on Pupil Premium.  I have lived in Godmanchester since 1994 and have 3 children who have been through the local education system in Huntingdonshire and now have 4 grandchildren – 3 whom are in Primary education and 1 who has just entered secondary school.

In my working life I was a Business Consultant for IBM – where my roles were predominantly managing Multi-National Business Change projects across a variety of industries.  This experience has meant on any one project managing many people from multiple cultural backgrounds, in UK and overseas, solution delivery to very tight timelines and budgets and having to deal with all levels of employee within an organisation.

Work commitments meant I was away from home – mostly overseas – for significant periods of time and could not be as involved in the local community as I would have liked. The role of school governor is an opportunity to do something positive and give back into the community and an education system that my family have and are benefitting from. I believe every child should have the best education possible in an environment where they can all achieve their full potential, academically, emotionally and socially.  All children- regardless of background, - should be nurtured during their school life –with special care given to disadvantaged children so no one is excluded.  As a School Governor I will be able to contribute to making this happen.

Ann Thomas 

Hello,I am Ann, a new community governor, with particular responsibility for sports premium and health and safety.

I am a mother of 2 sons, Gareth and Iwan, both of whom attended our school, albeit many years ago.  I have 2 grandsons.

I started teaching in 1965 and continued until 4 years ago. I have worked in a variety of schools across the UK and Europe and, for the last 10 years, I was a tutor at Ernulf in St Neots.

Since retiring I have been the Mayoress and am currently an adult participant in the Godmanchester Youth Council.

It is an honour to join the Governing Board and I look forward to hopefully playing a productive role in the GCA.

 

Michael Gardener 

Hello, I am Michael. I joined as a parent governor in January 2024. My daughter and son both attend GCA in key stages 1 and 2 and my wife is a teaching assistant at the school. I am the Global Head of Physical Security for a FTSE 100 financial services company. I produce and oversee the delivery of policies and provide advice and guidance on security matters to staff and country heads, reporting to the Senior Executives and Board.

I firmly believe that a strong grounding at primary school sets children on the right path to develop personally and academically in order to succeed in secondary education and beyond. I look forward to working with the school leadership team and fellow governors, contributing towards the continuing success of the school and most importantly the children who attend.