Governor Profiles

Claire started as an English teacher at Goffs School in Cheshunt and moved through positions of responsibility at various Hertfordshire schools before becoming Deputy Head at Sir John Lawes.

Ten years ago she became Headteacher and the school achieved an ‘outstanding’ OFSTED grading in 2008. She became an NLE (National Leader of Education) in 2009 and has led Sir John Lawes' work as Education Partner for the Bushey Academy, Samuel Ryder Academy and Sheredes School.

I started my working life as a scientist, took the opportunity to retrain as a solicitor and now work for the Government Legal Department. Close involvement with both Government Ministers and the work of Parliament has proved to be fascinating and genuinely illuminating of how our democracy works.

After 4 years as a governor at a rapidly improving multi-cultural primary school in St Albans, I jumped at the chance to become a governor at SJL. Before taking on the role of Chair of the Governing Body in 2016, I spent a dozen years as governor and then Vice-Chair. While SJL has seen some changes over that time - becoming a Foundation School, then an Academy and finally establishing a Multi-academy Trust, SJL's core values and ethos are unchanged in the form of the SJL ACE. I continue to be amazed by the dedication of our staff and the hard work and enthusiasm of our students.

I have been involved with the Governing body, on and off, for over thirty years as a Teacher Governor. I now serve as a Foundation Governor on behalf of the Harpenden Secondary Schools Trust. In that time I have seen our school transform from a school with a poor reputation to the outstanding school that we now all enjoy today. It is a pleasure to serve on a Governing Body that works very hard to support the Headteacher and her staff. I am currently the governor for Careers Education and Guidance.

Both my children were educated at Sir John Lawes. They are now both teachers so it must be in the blood!

During my time on the Governing body I have served on several committees, been involved in capital build projects, represented the Site team, involved in the bid for our first Specialism, worked in the working groups when we faced closure! So my role has been varied and most enjoyable. Long may that continue.

Having studied French and European studies at Uni I went on to do a master’s course in the United States in Political Science.  There I met my husband and ever since we’ve lived in Harpenden (30 years!).  I went on to have a career in international marketing and product development in interior finishes (fabrics, wallcoverings etc) and in 2001 set up my own business in which I now work part time.

We have two sons, one went to St George’s and then to St Albans Independent College and is now in his last year at Uni.  The other is in Year 10 at SJL.  My husband is an engineer specialising in sustainable building and infrastructure design.

I set up and was chair of the Friends of SJL until last September.  Prior to that I volunteered at Crabtree School setting up and running the gardening club and school allotment for two years.  Before that I was on the After School Club committee at Manland School.

I’m now involved with a local choir and for the last 5 years have been on the (v small!) team who make the costumes for the Mini-Gang at the Harpenden Gang Show.

Since my youngest son joined SJL I’ve come to know SJL well and am delighted to be able to support this progressive and inclusive school, its staff and governing body, in the role of Parent Governor. 

I have lived in Harpenden for much of my life, having grown up in the town since age one and moving back here when my second child was born 12 years ago. I am fortunate to have attended SJL myself as a pupil all the way from year 7 to year 13 and had a fantastic experience at the school. I am now a parent of two boys at SJL in the lower school, and also work as Literacy catch-up tutor at the school one day a week. I am a trained Speech and Language Therapist having qualified from Sheffield university over 20 years ago. Having worked in the NHS for 10 years (mostly in Ealing, London), I now work independently around Harpenden and the local area with children of various ages with a range of Speech and Language difficulties. I am also a Makaton tutor and regularly run training for nurseries, schools and day centres in Makaton to help them support communication at their settings. I also worked for several years as a Registered Intermediary, supporting children and vulnerable witnesses with communication in the police interview and court processes. 

In my spare time I enjoy playing tennis, running and singing in a community choir, and I am a Sunday school leader at our local church. I am delighted to join the governing body of SJL. Being in the uniquely fortunate position of ex-pupil, parent and staff member, I’m looking forward to now serving as a parent governor at this progressive and inclusive wonderful school. 

I have been Head of Music at Sir John Lawes School since September 2014 and am in my tenth year of teaching.  I am hugely committed to the school, its students, and its staff.  Through initiatives such as the staff music challenge and staff choir, and involvement in the wellbeing group, I have made a sustained commitment to the school community. 

I am passionate about my work, hard-working, enthusiastic and always willing to go above and beyond - with a smile!

I have a scientific background in biochemistry having obtained a PhD at the Royal Free Hospital, School of Medicine, University of London working on blood platelets.  Since then I have worked both in the academic and commercial environments in research and development during my career, including cardiovascular and respiratory based medicines.

I am a parent governor and have been for the last six years, working on various aspects of teaching and learning for the school curriculum committee  and more recently as chair of the schools specialisms committee for media and science. I am married with three children, two of which have since left Sir John Lawes for University.

I thoroughly enjoy being part of the Sir John Lawes community and I'm privileged to be appointed staff governor. I commenced my teacher training at Sir John Lawes in September 2002 and was appointed as an English Teacher in September 2003.  In 2005 I became Head of Year, a post I held until I had my first child.  Since then, I have worked as an English Teacher on a part time basis and in September 2017 I was appointed as Literacy Co-ordinator.

I have 3 children all of which are now primary school age. Having served a term as Parent Governor at Crabtree Infants School, I look forward to building on my skills as Staff Governor at Sir John Lawes.

Having studied Medieval Italian and French and lived for a while in Italy, my professional background is in Marketing and Communications and I have worked in a wide range of industries from sports marketing to real estate investment management.  

I have previously held several positions on school Governing Bodies, having been Chair of Governors at Batford Nursery School for 9 years and an additional Governor at schools in St Albans.  I am currently also Vice Chair at Manland Primary School.  I served as a Strategic Leader of Governance for Herts for Learning, assisting other Governing Bodies to carry out self evaluation and work on strategies for improvement.  I find being in schools really interesting and stimulating and am proud to be part of the Governor community at SJL. 

I have a daughter at SJL and my son will be joining in September.  Outside of work, I assist our scout group with organising camps, taking care of all the equipment.  I am a keen squash player and regularly play for local and county teams, with varying degrees of success and now take longer to recover after a match than I ever did before!

I have lived locally for 25 years and have two daughters at SJL. I joined as a parent governor in 2016.

On completion of my degree in computing, I was a founding director of a local computer software company which was subsequently acquired by The Access Group and has gone on to become one of the top 20 British software businesses. I still work for the company within the area of cloud computing and IT security.

Prior to being appointed as a governor I volunteered at Sauncey Wood Primary school. As part of the normal timetabled classes I taught all key stage 2 children computer coding on Windows PCs using Scratch and Android mobile devices using Google’s App Inventor.

I look forward to using my computing and commercial skills to help support the school in delivering education for a changing world.

I have lived in Harpenden with my family for most of the last thirty years. With six children, I first became involved as a Parent Governor at a local primary school in 1999. After living in Berlin for 5 years, where I was an elected Parent class representative in my daughter's German primary school for a couple of years, I returned to Harpenden and was re-elected for a second term as a parent governor. When my youngest daughter transferred to SJL I took the opportunity to become an LEA Governor at another Primary school.

My older three children went to St Georges and the younger three to SJL - four of them are still studying at University. I am very excited to have been elected as a Parent Governor at SJL - the experience I have previously gained as Governor and from bringing up my own family will help me contribute to the work of the Governing body.

I have worked in the Public sector throughout my career. I am currently involved in developing Government Policy on Justice and Home Affairs issues.

What little "me time" I have, after my family, is spent involved in the local branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorists' motorcycle section. I am a keen biker - it is great for blowing away the cobwebs!

I was appointed as a Parent Governor in 2014, both my son and my daughter attended SJL. I am Chair of the School Improvement Committee.  I have been a school governor at Manland since 2008 with the last four years as chair and have been actively involved in setting up the Harpenden Schools Chairs' Forum that shares ideas and best practice across all local schools.

I did a music degree at Manchester University followed by a performance diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music, then moved down to the bright lights of London with my now husband to work as a violinist. We moved to Harpenden in 2001 and I now work for the Hertfordshire Music Service as a violin teacher and freelance as a violinist.

This year I am delighted to be taking on the role of Head Student. I am particularly looking forward to working closely with the Governing Body and the Heads of Year, to implement effective change across the incredible school that is Sir John Lawes.

For A-Levels, I am currently studying Biology, Chemistry, German and Maths, to then hopefully study Medicine at university. In school, I have participated actively within public speaking on occasions such as Mock Trial, the Goethe-Institut German Debate and the MoD Educational Outreach Programme. I also value the fantastic mentoring opportunities given to us by the school and over the last two years I have been lucky enough to support three Year 11 students leading up to their exams as well as take part in the SJL Staff Music Challenge. This led a group of us to launch a weekly lunchtime GCSE support session for Years 10 and 11.

Outside of school I enjoy playing Tennis, I tutor a number of students at GCSE level and I am also an Explorer Scout. This has led me to participate in the Harpenden Gang Show for the last eight years.

Ultimately, I hope to use this platform over the next year to maximise the school’s student voice and enhance student wellbeing, using my experiences as Form Rep, JLT Rep and House Captain to deliver the same excellent standards I have been immersed in right from my first day at SJL.

I am extremely proud to represent Sir John Lawes as Head Student this year. Having greatly enjoyed my school experience, I am excited to further my involvement in the community, and I look forward to working with Governors, staff and students alike.

I am currently studying Maths, English, History and French, and hope to study Law at university.

Thanks to the opportunities the school offers, I have been heavily involved in debating and public speaking, including the Ministry of Defence Outreach Programme, Youth Speaks, Cambridge Schools Debate, Mock Trial, and Youth Parliamentary Schools Debate. I am equally lucky enough to have taken on the roles of Form Representative, mentor and House Captain.

Something I particularly appreciate about SJL is its commitment to building links, not only internally, but also with other schools, all the way from a local to international level. Being able to teach French at a nearby primary school was just one personal example of this connectivity.

SJL already has so much to value. Over the course of the next year, I hope to continue and add to the existing ethos of achievement, care, and excellence.