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Governors
The work of each of the five Harpur Trust Schools is directed and monitored by its own Committee of Governors, who are jointly responsible to the Trustees for the good management of the school they direct. The Committee normally meets once a term, at the school, to receive reports from the Headmistress and the Bursar, and to deal with other items of business which may arise.
Three sub-committees covering the separate areas of Finance & Premises, Curriculum, and Marketing & Communication meet termly.
The overriding concern of our School Governors is to ensure that the highest possible educational standards are achieved at Dame Alice within what is, by tradition, a relatively modest annual school budget. It is the Governors who make recommendations to the Trustees about proposed major capital programmes and, if our aims are to be realised, it is to Governors that we must look for on-going encouragement and support.
If you need to contact any Governor or Trustee, please write to Chairman of Governors, c/o Dame Alice Harpur School, Cardington Road, Bedford, MK42 0BX. Your correspondence will be forwarded unopened and in confidence.
As at Autumn 2009, Dame Alice Harpur School's Governors are as follows:
Miss Tina Beddoes
Bedford Charity Trustee and Chairman of the School Committee of Governors
Following her years as a pupil at DAHS (1977 - 1982), Tina went to Leicester University and then became a Chartered Accountant, subsequently choosing to specialise in tax. She is employed now part time as a tax specialist in Bedford. She is the mother of two girls, one of which is at Dame Alice and the other is enjoying Pilgrims.
Mr Rae Levene
Bedford Charity Trustee and Deputy Chairman of the School Committee
Rae came to the Trust via co-option to the Grants Committee. In 2003 he was then elected as a Co-opted Governor and subsequently deputy chairman of Grants. He joined to the Dame Alice School Committee in 2003 and is a member of the Finance and Property sub-committee.
His day job is as Managing Partner of Park Woodfine Heald Mellows LLP, Solicitors in the town and specialises in Charity and Health, especially mental health and learning disability.
In his spare time he is actively involved with local theatre as a trustee of and director at the Place, the local community theatre.
He has been a trustee of a number of local charities over recent years but these have reduced considerably as his Trust and business commitments have increased.
Mrs Jean McCardle
Bedford Charity Trustee
Jean was the Staff Nominated Governor at Dame Alice appointed in 2007 and has since been appointed to full Trustee of the Bedford Charity.
Jean retired from Dame Alice in 2006 following almost two decades of service at the school as follows:
1987-2006 Taught Mathematics at DAHS
1989-2001 Assistant Examinations' Officer
2001-2006 Examinations' Officer
Jean said at her retirement that she was grateful to have worked with a group of such intelligent people who entertained her, informed her, caused her to question her assumptions and offered her friendship. She would be honoured to act as Trustee, Governor of the School and as a conduit between the staff and the Headmistress and Bursar as well as representing the wider world of the Harpur Trust.
Mr Justin Philimore
Bedford Charity Trustee & Chairman of the Finance & Premises Sub Committee
Justin came to the Trust via co-option to the Admin and Audit Comittee in 2007, subsequently becoming a member of the Dame Alice School Commmittee and a Trustee in 2009.
Justin is Finance Director for Charles Wells Ltd which owns 260 pubs in the region and is the UK's seventh largest brewer. Prior to Charles Wells, he worked on strategy and change management for a GE joint-venture and in the late 90's was Regional Finance Director for Central and Eastern Europe based in Prague for Seagram.
Justin is married with a daughter at Dame Alice. His interests include flying, skiing, cooking and history.
Professor William Stephens
Bedford Charity Trustee
William Stephens has been the Cranfield University nominated Trustee to the Bedford Charity since 2001. He is currently Chairman of the Charity's Grants Committee and has previously sat on Bedford Modern and Bedford School governing bodies. He is married with four children (between 20 and 26 years old) who have all been to Harpur Trust Schools.
William is currently Change Programme Director at Cranfield University and was previously Head of the Institute of Water and Environment based at Silsoe. His research allowed him to travel extensively, particularly to the tea growing areas of East Africa. His interest in working overseas stems from being brought up in Malawi, where he subsequently worked and where his two older sons were born. William maintains some of these links as a Member of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
When not in meetings, William enjoys bird watching, sailing and photography.
Mr David Evans
Co-opted Governor
Educated at Bedford Modern, David spent the majority of his working life at Texas Instruments, initially as an Electronics Engineer and later in international and general management. Until retirement, as Chief Executive of Business Link Northamptonshire, he was the face of Government provided support to businesses in the county. David's daughter is a previous pupil of Dame Alice, from Junior School to the Sixth Form, and his son attended BMS. A resident of Pavenham near Bedford, his interests are sailing and the collecting of vintage tin plate model railway.
Mrs Rosie Gutteridge
Co-opted Governor
Born in Lahore, Rosie spent much of her early childhood living in the North West Frontier of Pakistan.
A qualified journalist, she is a former Women's Editor of a daily provincial newspaper and has since worked freelance. She currently runs her own interior design company.
Rosie has been a magistrate since 1979, and is a former Chairman of the Bedford and Mid-Bedfordshire Bench. She is also a magistrate member of the Bedfordshire Police Authority. Her charity commitments include chairmanship of the Volunteers Council of the British Red Cross (Cambridgeshire).
Rosie is married to Peter, a lawyer, and has a son, Sam, who is a teacher, and a daughter Alice, also a lawyer. Her interests include Fine Arts, watercolour painting, tennis and bridge.
Dr Helen Sismey-Durrant
Co-opted Governor
Dr Helen Sismey-Durrant JP qualified as a dental surgeon at Sheffield University and then completed her Masters and PhD at the Royal London Hospital, University of London. Her early career was based in academic Dentistry and as a specialist in Oral Medicine. Later she worked in private specialist practice.
Since 2003 she has run a property management business. She is currently Chairman of the charity Alcohol Services for the Community, on the Board of the Probation Service and works as a volunteer at Cornerstone drop-in.
Helen is also a magistrate on the Bedford Bench where she is a Chairman and specialises in youth justice. She is married with two teenage boys. Helen's interests include walking, horticulture and antique restoration.
Mrs Anne-Marie Hodgkiss
Co-opted Governor and Chairman of the Curriculum Sub-Committee
Anne-Marie Hodgkiss is currently the Head of 14-19 Development at the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) and is closely involved in establishing relationships between schools and colleges and expert careers practitioners.
Anne-Marie moved to her current post from a career in Education which began at Latymer School, London as a Geography teacher. She then became Head of Geography at Queenswood School, Herts, followed by the post of Headteacher at Princess Helena College, Hitchin, Herts.
Mrs Ann Pryer
Parent Elected Governor
Educated in Leicester and Nottingham, Ann qualified as a solicitor in 1989. She moved with her husband and two daughters to Bedford in 2006, and is now a Partner at local firm Sharman Law, specialising in Wills and Probate, as well as Estate Planning and Court of Protection work.
She has two daughters, both in the Senior school at DAHS, and in her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, walking and yoga.
Vacant Position
Staff Elected Governor