Governing Body

Dr Wilson has a strong pedigree for this position. He has had a career in financial services, having held senior positions at Citigroup, its legacy companies and S.G. Warburg & Co, leading teams providing equity research in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare to institutional investors globally. He has also worked in investment banking and private equity. He now runs his own consultancy business together with his wife from their Devon home having moved here from London in 2011. He has held a number of Board positions at companies related to his work.

Dr Wilson has always had a keen interest in engaging in the education voluntary sector and has over 9 years’ cumulative experience in various governorships. He has been a Governor and Vice-Chair of The Highfield School, Letchworth, and most recently has been a Governor and Chair at Tavistock College, where he led the Board through the College’s recent turnaround process. His independent sector experience comes as a parent: his daughter was a pupil at St. Christopher School in Letchworth.

Stu Anderson is an Old Mount Kelleian then educated at Northumbria and Newcastle Universities holding an MBA and MPhil. A Management Consultant by trade, he has been involved in the world of entrepreneurship for most his career including running CSR programmes for corporates and extensive work with central and local Government on policy and delivery. Brought up in Tavistock, and after 20 years living in the North East currently lives in South East Cornwall where he was a Governor of a local primary school.

Nicholas Andrew attended Peter Symonds’ School and took a history degree from Queens’ College Cambridge before articles with accountants Touche Ross (now Deloitte) and then working in the business recovery and taxation departments at KPMG. For 25 years before retiring in 2017 he ran his own taxation and trust advisory practice based in St James’s and Monaco, working mainly with successful entrepreneurs as well as some music and sports personalities.

Having married into a Devon family he lives in Salcombe now and continues to watch and play sport and is a trustee of The Devonshire and Dorset Military Museums Charity.

Dr Michael Atkinson was educated at Stonyhurst College and read Classics at St. Johns College, Oxford, gaining his BA, MA and DPhil.

During his career he was an Assistant Master and House Master at Eton College where he was Master-in-charge of the King’s Scholarship Examination, rackets and squash. He was also the Chairman of Eton Action, the School’s charitable organisation. He also spent time as House Master at Budhanilkantha School, Kathmandu.

Michael was a Governor at Summer Fields Prep, Oxford until 2007 and is currently Chairman of both the Maristow Gardens Residents Association and the Plymouth Philharmonic Choir.

In 2009, Dr Michael Atkinson was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a Knight of St. Gregory the Great.

Roger is the nominated representative of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral.

Wendy is a former primary school teacher with experience in both state and independent sectors. She works in a voluntary capacity at Mount Kelly Prep.

Wendy has served on parent/teacher committees at several schools including Kelly College when her children, Catherine, Isobel and William, were pupils. She is presently a Features Editor on The Talking Newspaper for the Blind.

Alistair Grove attended Shrewsbury School and went on to study Economics at Cambridge. He had two gap years (pre and post University) working and travelling in North America and Africa before joining Coopers and Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers – ‘PwC’) in Bristol in 1979.

He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1982 and spent 26 years with PwC (15 as a partner) working in their Bristol, Plymouth, Birmingham and London offices primarily dealing with the restructuring, trading and sale of businesses going through change. Also, he managed a Midlands and South West regional division of PwC (7 offices, 175 employees) from 1999 until 2005 when he retired.

He has been a governor since 2013. He was a Kelly parent (Prep and Senior School) for 10 years and his interests include most sports (particularly cricket, rugby and golf), travel and financial and current affairs. Two black Labradors means a lot of walking on Dartmoor and in recent years he has walked the full length of Offa’s Dyke and Hadrian’s Wall with his eldest son. He is an ECB cricket coach and has managed Yelverton Colts sides for the last 8 years.

After service in the British Army, Patrick worked in London in the world of financial services and latterly in estate planning where he has been involved in building several consultancy businesses and developed complementary technologies for both fields.

Both of Patrick’s children progressed through Mount Kelly, one representing the school in the pool and on the rugby pitch and the other as part of our award winning Choral Choir.

Patrick’s experience supporting his son during the gruelling 4 day Devizes to Westminster Kayak Race in 2017 inspired him to enter the straight-through event with another parent in both 2018 and 2019; something they’d like to do just one more time!

Keith qualified as a Solicitor in 1970, and worked mainly in private practice but also led the legal deptartment of a plc.

He has been a Past Trustee and interim CEO of The Lord’s Taverners, and is currently Chairman of Trustees of The Talking Newspaper for the Blind (West Devon). He is a keen sportsman, having played for Aston Villa as an amateur, played county rugby at youth level, and ran for Birchfield Harriers.

James is a local boy, having being born in, and lived all his life in, S E Cornwall – apart from a short spell in the city qualifying as a chartered accountant! He is now senior partner of Metherell Gard, Chartered Accountants and currently a trustee of Broadreach House (drug and alcohol treatment services).

He served as an independent County Councilor for Cornwall 1977-1985, where he sat on numerous local school governing bodies. He was a member of the Board of the S W Regional Health Authority between 1978-1984; a former Cornwall’s County Treasurer of St John; and a former High Sheriff of Cornwall.

Amanda Le Page is a Chartered Architect with specialist qualifications in architectural conservation and regeneration work. Her work includes large scale brownfield regeneration and consultancy. A director of Le Page Architects, she has worked with the public and private sector and for social enterprise organisations. She has been closely involved with a number of successful regeneration projects, including the role of lead heritage architect for the team that delivered the repair and conservation of the historic Royal William Yard in Plymouth.

Amanda has lived and worked in the South West since 1987. Her son attended Kelly College until the sixth form. She was appointed a Governor in 2015.

Bishop Of Exeter’s Nomination

Kerstin is an experienced teacher and ex Headmistress and is an experienced ISI inspector. She taught at St Paul’s RC Girls’ Grammar School, Edgbaston, Wimbledon High School for Girls GDST, Putney High School GDST, Charters Ancaster School GDST and Abbot’s Hill School

Kerstin was also a governor for about 5 years at Charlotte House (formerly Rickmansworth PNEU) – Chair of Education and Personnel at Belswains Primary School, Hemel Hempstead – governor responsible for Head’s appraisal and Chair of Appeals committee. She has been a Council member of ASCL for 8 years and continues to serve as a minuting secretary at Council Meetings.

Andrew Main stepped down from being Managing Partner of the Fund Management Business, Stratton Street Capital, in 2014 having successfully developed the business from its inception in 2000 to managing and advising over £1 billion in Funds for Institutions. Most of Andrew’s experience has been spent in the City dealing with The Far East, including being based in Japan for 5 years. He is a Lifetime member of the Japan Society and member of the Hong Kong Association in the UK.

He now sits on a number of Fund Boards associated with the region and advises Fund Managers in the region and in the UK. He serves in various capacities the Alternative Investment Management Association being the Chair of their Next Generation Managers group, a founding member of their Sound Practices Group and Market Regulation Standing Committee. Through them he has helped publish their Sound Practices Guide for Fund Board Directors and detailed due diligence questionnaires for Directors.

With his family he moved to the Tavistock area in 2015. He is a qualified Swimming Judge and has recently taken the para swimming course. He actively supports and develops the Officials team associated with Mount Kelly Swimming of which his daughter is a member. He has recently become a Trustee and Chairman designate of the recently formed Tavistock Heritage Trust.

William was educated at Mount House School, King’s College Taunton, and Exeter University. He then joined Dartmouth Naval College and spent 10 years in the Royal Navy specialising as a Navigation Officer. On leaving in the early nineties he set up his own business in West Devon specialising in the restoration and renovation of old and listed properties.

He is Chairman of the River Tamar and Tributaries Fisheries Association, and a Council Member of the South West Rivers Association.

Hilary Monk studied Pharmacy at Manchester University and works as a community Pharmacist. She has been a local Magistrate for 20 years and has also been a member of Fitness to Practise committees for the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Hilary has two children – Christopher was at Mount House School and then Kelly College where he was joined by Jennifer for many happy years. Hilary was an active supporter of the school through the Friends of Kelly and her children’s interests.

Niel is a Mount House old boy. His father and son also went to Mount House. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Bristol University and Petroleum Engineering at Heriot Watt University. He spent thirty-five years working with Schlumberger and Shell, mainly in the Middle and Far East. His most recent jobs were Development Manager in Syria and Head of Hydrocarbon Recovery Themes in Shell Central Offices, The Hague. He now lives locally but continues to carry out overseas consultancy work in the oil industry.

Rob Ormsby attended Kelly College in the early 1970s.

On leaving he joined the Dorset Police in 1975. He worked in various parts of this county until 1997, when he left to join the Regional Crime Squad. This organisation subsequently changed to the National Crime Squad (NCS), then the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and finally the National Crime Agency (NCA). Within all of these agencies he worked as a senior officer investigating serious and organised crime, nationally and globally. In 2015 he retired and now works as a private consultant for various insurers and private clients. He continues to support one niche area of the NCA as a special advisor in a pro bono capacity. In 2019 he was awarded an OBE for his services to law enforcement.

He also works in a voluntary capacity for a local charity the Brentor and Moor Compassionate Neighbours and lives locally.

David studied Economics and Statistics at the University of Bristol. He then taught English in Spain before working at Lloyds Bank, Standard Telephones and Cables and BP International. In 1982 he moved to KPMG Consulting where he was a partner at their London office for 8 years until 2002.

During his time at KPMG he worked with the most senior levels of management at organisations such as National Power, British Rail, Debenhams, Pfizer, Boots, Unilever, Billiton and Vodafone in the UK, Europe and USA, helping them in areas such as business strategy, IT, finance, marketing, and HR.

He moved to Devon from Surrey in 2003 where he became engaged in a variety of roles including consultancy in business strategy and head of the consortium which bought the Ring of Bells Inn in North Bovey, Moretonhampstead where he worked as, amongst other things, the chef. Until recently David was Chief Executive of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce

He is married to Geri, a lecturer in history of art, and is the proud father of Rebecca and Michael, both of whom spent very happy years at Kelly College. His personal interests include golf, cycling, classical guitar, Cordon Bleu cookery and reading.

Julian Trahair went to Marlborough College, before studying British Archaeology at Cardiff University. He qualified as a solicitor in 1980 and worked for commercial law firms in the City of London and Plymouth.

His two sons attended Mount House and he has been a governor since 2011.

Claire attended Birkenhead High School GDST before studying for her undergraduate Masters degree in Biochemistry at Somerville College, Oxford.

Claire is a Chief Risk Officer at an international reinsurance firm based London and is a qualified actuary. Claire has held a number of Governor positions for primary schools in the state sector and together with her experience in financial services, consultancy and risk management, she is keen to bring these skills to the Governing Body as part of her appointment in June 2020.

Claire has young twin children and very much enjoys spending what little spare time she has walking in the Tamar Valley.

Julian began his career as an engineer in the Royal Navy, subsequently obtaining a teaching qualification and moving into the independent education sector.

He has more than 20 years’ school leadership experience in the UK, South America and South East Asia. He was Head of Taunton School and, more recently, the CEO and Head of College at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore, an international school with over 5,500 pupils.

Julian now works as an education consultant and has been involved in the inspection and accreditation of schools, as well as the recruitment and coaching of senior leaders. He is also a partner in Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort, Asia’s leading swimming and triathlon training centre.

He is married with three daughters and lives in South Devon. He can invariably be found on the water, in the water or under the water such is his enjoyment of sailing, kayaking, swimming and scuba-diving.

Barry Widdows is a qualified Actuary and a CFA Charterholder.  He spent 25 years working for life insurance and asset management firms in London and was most recently Head of Multi Asset Portfolio Management at Prudential, responsible for the oversight of >£110bn of assets and the management of the Prudential With Profits fund, one of the largest multi-asset funds in the world.

Prior to this Barry spent 12 years as Head of Portfolio Management for the Global Market Strategies Group at BlackRock and oversaw the navigation of a large global macro hedge fund through the Global Financial Crisis.  Barry spent 3 years in California for this role where he and his family gained a love for the outdoors lifestyle.

To regain that life balance, Barry swapped his City career for Devon in 2019 and setup his own investment consulting business.  Barry is married to Niki and they have two daughters who joined the school when the family relocated to the area.

Barry joined the Board as an Associate Governor in 2020.