Governors' Profiles

IAG Co-ordinator/Assistant Director of Sixth Form Studies

Director of Drama

Shireen is a Community Governor and chairs the Curriculum and Pupil Progress Committee. She graduated from Manchester University with a Business Studies Degree and completed her PGCE at Nottingham Trent University. She gained a Masters in Educational Management from the University of Greenwich. She has worked in the post-16 education sector for over twenty years. Currently she is Principal at an inner-London Sixth Form College. Before this she worked in Further Education for ten years.

Shireen is married with a young child and lives within walking distance of Oakwood Park. Her interests include travelling, reading, cricket and supporting Gillingham FC.

Graham was invited and elected as a Parent Governor when his son and later, his daughter attended Oakwood Park Grammar School. He later became a Community Governor when his children left school and has served as a Governor for many years. Graham has run his own business for over thirty-six years using that knowledge to inform both the Finance, Personnel and Premises Committee and in his role as Health and Safety Link Governor. He has always regarded the school as forward thinking, lead by a wealth of extremely capable and experienced teaching and support staff.

Steve is a former pupil at OPGS and after leaving the school in 2001, graduated from Lancaster University with a BA in Accounting and Finance. He worked for Maidstone Borough Council in a range of Finance roles whilst completing his professional exams. After obtaining his ACCA membership, Steve moved to Canterbury Christ Church University where he has worked as both a Management and Financial Accountant and is currently the Head of Management Accounting. Steve is Joint Chair of the Finance, Personnel and Premises Committee and hopes that his expertise in finance and business will enable him to give something back to the School and assist in enhancing the wider student experience.

Wendy wanted to apply for the role of governor as she had a son and a daughter at OPGS. She felt that with her background in the financial markets and later in education, this would enable her to bring a range of experience to the role of governor. She currently sits on the Curriculum and Pupil Progress Committee and is keen to support the school in maintaining its excellent academic standards.

After leaving school Wendy went to work at the London Stock Exchange where she worked with member firms such as Barclays, Nomura, Warburgs and Merrill Lynch dealing with client trading services. She then moved to the London International Financial Futures Exchange working in the futures markets.  Following the birth of her children Wendy left the city and worked as a foster carer with Autistic Children before gaining a first class Hons Degree in Childhood Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. She then worked in primary education, initially with children with special educational needs before moving on to specialise in sport and PE. She has worked for the past 5 years at Greenfields Community Primary School in Maidstone where she is responsible for community sport and well-being. This involves teaching PE, arranging and hosting sports tournaments and competitions for Maidstone Primary Schools, promoting sport to children with SEN and establishing community groups to encourage adults and pre-school age children to participate in sport and exercise. She also is involved in pastoral work with children who have poor attendance or who have troubled home lives. In her spare time Wendy enjoys running completing the London Marathon two years ago and several half marathons.

Alison is passionate about Coaching and Mentoring Young Adults in their teens to mid-20’s who are facing a challenging time trying to find a job or who have an idea and want to set up their first business. In today’s job market young people need to be competitive and most of all, they need to believe in themselves to succeed. She has worked with a number of youth organisations and training providers over the years and is currently assessing and tutoring across a number of apprenticeship frameworks and standards.

As a professional Job & Young Entrepreneur Coach with over 22 years’ experience in Recruitment, this has given her an in-depth knowledge of what employers look for in a new member of staff, how to sell yourself on a CV and how to put together a personal sales pitch for interviews.

When she was approached by the school to become a Governor she could see how her experience and passion could help the school. In 2005 she achieved an MBA and in 2009, she qualified as a Master Coach in Personal Development and Youth Coaching with The Coaching Academy, Europe’s leading coach trainer. She keeps up to date with the latest training in safeguarding children.

Alongside her work with young people, she also trains, mentors and coaches recruitment consultants and is a Fellow member of The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP), the professional body for the recruitment industry, and The Institute of Recruiters.

Alex went to university in Bristol studying languages and European Law, before starting a business backed by the Prince’s Youth Business Trust.  After a short stint working for the public sector, she moved to London to work for a real estate company and spent 15 years in Facilities Management both directly and as a team leader.  She also during this time became NEBOSH qualified (Health & Safety) and gained a Diploma in Management Studies.  With commercial matters a particular interest, Alex was invited to make a career change within the same company 9 years ago and became their Head of Supply Chain Management.  She gained an MSc in Strategic Procurement and now runs her own procurement consultancy business, with a mixed customer base across public and private sectors.

As a parent of a son currently at Oakwood Park and a daughter at Invicta, Alex applied for the role as Governor recently, having had a few years’ experience as a grammar school parent.  With her professional background covering procurement, team management and facilities, her experience has direct relevance to the Finance, Personnel and Premises Committee she sits on.

Dave applied to be a Parent Governor as he has a strong connection with the school having attended himself and now having two sons at Oakwood. He is therefore committed to ensuring that all pupils enjoy the experience he had at the school, and that his sons are now having, to ensure the school continues to develop well rounded adults.

Since leaving after completing A levels in 1998 Dave has worked in the Construction Industry and completed a degree in Quantity Surveying. Having worked at a number of contractors he is now working for a Property Developer in Central London as a Commercial Director. Given his career has mostly been spent in dealing with contracts and finance he is confident these skills can be used on the Finance, Premises and Personnel Committee.

Chris is a Parent Governor who attended Oakwood Park in the late 1980’s and the school has a special place in his heart, more so now his son attends the school.  He relishes the opportunity to ensure that the school continues with the excellent work that is already being carried out by Mr Moody and his senior team.

He has a passion for IT, having worked in the industry for over 30 years.  For the past 16 years he has worked for Kent Police as a Digital Forensic Analyst.  He believes it is important that all pupils are IT literate and would want to inspire pupils to have the same passion as he has for IT. 

Sarah is a Parent Governor who has been volunteering in school governance for six years, serving a local primary school as Vice-Chair and Co-Chair.  She created a number of resources including a governor induction handbook and a toolkit of information links and training for new and existing governors. 

Sarah has been a civil servant for 25 years and is committed to using her skills, knowledge and experience to give back to the community.