Our Governing Body naturally plays a vital role in the life of the school.
The Governors bring an incredible variety of expertise from across the vibrant Brighton and Hove community. In addition, each Governor has an agreed special area of interest, which helps us make to form specific connections between the school and the community as a whole.
Clerk to the governors – Miss Vanessa Brown.
I was a pupil at Brighton Girls for 13 years before going on to read History at Oxford University. After graduating I worked in arts marketing for eight years, including roles at the Globe Theatre and the Barbican. I also spent time working abroad at the Perth International Arts Festival in Australia and Boston Lyric Opera in the USA. I joined the Civil Service in 2010 and have had a fascinating range of roles across government departments. I now work in Whitehall, live in central Brighton, and have three young sons.
I have enjoyed a long career in education, working in primary and secondary schools across three different local authorities and I have experienced many changes during this time. I have been in Headship for over twenty years, taking up my first appointment at Elm Grove Primary School in 1995 before moving to Westdene Primary School five years later. Both my daughters attended Brighton Girls and benefitted enormously from all that the school had to offer. I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm and experience with others to improve outcomes for children and young people.
I have been involved with Brighton Girls since the eldest of my two daughters joined Reception in 2000. Both girls chose to stay at the school all the way through to
Sixth Form and benefited from the education they received and breadth of opportunities offered. As a parent, I was actively involved in the PTA for many years as a Class Rep and also Chair. For most of my professional life I worked in the Banking sector and managed a variety of departments, including Support Services and both call and paper based Customer Services areas. Since January 2015, I have been volunteering at the Prep School and, as a ‘friend’ of the School, am currently Chair of the PTFA.
I am a multi-award winning international director and a producer of drama and documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. I have been Artistic Director of four theatres and Artist in Residence at Universities in the US and UK. My productions have played globally and I have directed both here and in the States. I also hold the record number of Fringe First Awards for most enterprising productions.
I currently teach British Theatre and British Film at the University of Sussex. I am a Freeman of the City of London, former Chair of the Directors’ Guild of GB, and of the Equity Directors Committee, and President of the International Theatre Institute Dramatic Theatre Committee.
I am an artist and work in mixed media, painting, collage and textiles. Current works in progress include a range of silk scarf designs, woven rugs and illustrations for a children’s book which are inspired by an amazing trip to Botswana.
As one of the owners of the original Redroaster Coffee House in Kemp Town I enjoyed curating exhibitions for local artists. My on-going association with The Old Market Theatre facilitates regular visits to the Edinburgh Festival which I really enjoy.
My other interests include a smallholding, gardening and reading, I have also been very fortunate to be able to travel and experience a diversity of cultures in many countries around the world.
John has lived in Brighton since 1985. He has been a member of the board of The University of Brighton since 2016. He was formerly a member of the Joint Board of Brighton & Sussex Medical School. John holds degrees from the Universities of London and Sussex and in 2015–16 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at Harvard.
I attended Brighton Girls from 1993-2000, enjoying maths and science and went on to study Biochemistry – inspired by my Biology Teacher, Mrs Mashford – at Oxford University. Following my 4 year MSc, I opted to follow a career in business, specifically in finance, which over the last 20 years has afforded me the chance to be a part of making key decisions and help businesses and products thrive.
I am a CIMA-qualified accountant with professional experience leading Finance teams in large corporations such as GSK, General Mills, and Intuit and most recently as Chief Financial Officer at Unibuddy, a small SaaS start up.
I’m excited to be a Governor of Brighton Girls. I’m hugely grateful for the opportunities I was given whilst at the school and look forward to being (a small) part of the team who are set to continue to deliver the same for many generations to come.
I was born and brought up in Scotland and educated in the state system. Following a degree from the University of Glasgow and a Master’s at the University of London, I embarked upon an an 18-year teaching career in the independent sector, including two headships. From 2010-19, I ran Brighton College’s international schools arm, opening its first four sister schools in the Middle East and Asia. I am currently the International Development Director at Rugby, one of the UK’s most famous boarding schools.
Ms Rosie McColl Head
Ms Sarah Griffiths Head of Prep; Designated Safeguarding Lead (Prep)
Mr Nigel McMahon Director of Finance & Operations
Ms Melinda English Deputy Head; Academic
Miss Wendy Fox Deputy Head (Pastoral), Head of Classics; Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Alysia Woodcock Assistant Head
Miss Hannah Lowe Assistant Head Co-Curricular
Mrs Jenny Spires Director of Marketing
Ms Merril Baldwin History; Government & Politics
Mrs Katy Barwis Head of Academic Support
Mrs Kay Blundell Head of Art
Mr Chris Brooks Head of Physics
Mrs Annie Brown Head of English
Ms Frances Chiles Humanities
Ms Lauren Cook Sport
Mrs Pamela Clarke Language Assistant (Spanish)
Mrs Caroline Coombes MFL
Ms Kerri Corcoran English
Mrs Michele Cormack Head of MFL; Spanish
Mrs Tiffany Crisp Photography
Mrs Alexis Dowglass Head of Philosophy & Ethics; Geography Lead
Ms Aleutia Edgar Psychology
Mr Bailey Freeland-Jones Director of Sport
Ms Amy Isles Art
Miss Rebecca Gandy Classics
Mr Nico Grant Kidd Humanities (Maternity cover from mid-September 2024)
Mr Matthew Gregory Head of Wellbeing; Chemistry
Ms Jennifer Jones Classics
Ms Lorrayne Lainchbury Head of Careers & Higher Education and Head of Sixth Form, Economics
Mr William Leonard Head of Maths
Mr Luke Maddocks Head of Computer Science
Mrs Nicki Day-Garman Food & Nutrition Assistant
Mr Philip Marsh Head of Chemistry
Miss Paula Martin Maths
Ms Anne Parsons Biology; Chemistry
Ms Chloe Patterson Geography
Ms Marta Peredo Lahera MFL
Miss Rebecca Pearson Head of House; Geography
Ms Nicci Plank Head of House; Sport
Mr Kris Pointer Head of Design & Innovation
Ms Claire Raynal English
Mr Cruz Rivas Dominguez MFL
Ms Marina Rengel Teaching Assistant
Ms Miriam Roberts Assistant Director of Music
Mr Louis Russell Head of Drama
Ms Nicki Scotcher Head of House; Physics
Mr Grant Sherwood Head of History; Government & Politics
Miss Antonia Spurgin Maths
Ms Florence Symes English
Mrs Irene Hawthorne English
Mrs Kate Szkolar Head of House; Head of Dance
Ms Stephanie Tyson Teacher in Charge of Food & Nutrition
Mr Daniel Walton Director of Music
Mrs Rebecca Warde Maths
Ms Nichola Watson PE (Maternity cover from Oct 2024)
Miss Monica Shokralla Maths
Mr Guy Winter Head of Science
Ms Valeria Zinola SENDCo
Miss Nicci Plank Head of House
Miss Nicki Scotcher Head of House
Ms Kate Szkolar Head of House
Miss Rebecca Pearson Head of House
Mr Adam Baynes Head of Prep Science
Mrs Jenny Blacker Deputy Head (Academic) Prep, Humanities Coordinator, Year 1 Form Teacher
Mrs Helen Hausdoerfer Deputy DSL, SENDCo
Ms Vicky King Teacher
Miss Lizzie Lyons Whole School Digital Learning Leader, Year 6 Form Teacher
Ms Susannah Marchand EYFS Lead, RE Coordinator, Reception Form Teacher
Mrs Jayne Meadows Coding Teacher
Miss Sara Page Learning Support Assistant
Mrs Poppy Pointon Deputy Head (Pastoral) Prep, Deputy DSL, Year 2 Form Teacher
Mrs Kay Rose Teacher MFL Coordinator DT Coordinator, Year 5 Form Teacher
Mrs Rachael Simpson Learning Support Assistant
Miss Tamla Sparkes Head of Prep Sport
Miss Leanne Telford Head of Prep English, Maths, Key Stage 2 Coordinator, Year 5 Form Teacher
Mrs Alysia Woodcock Head of Prep Music
Mrs Samantha Koloutsos Learning Support Assistant
Vanessa Brown Head’s PA
Mrs Claire Alrousan Prep Receptionist
Mrs Kate Ashdown Academic Administrator
Mrs Sophia Clarke Science Technician
Ms Angela Crowe School Nurse
Mr Charles Forman IT Technician
Mr Xavier Oliver IT Technician
Ms Aimee Dover School Counsellor
Mrs Karrie Duddy Registrar
Mrs Rebecca Findlay Head of Community Engagement
Miss Alice Smith HR & Compliance Manager
Miss Claudia Flamson HR and Compliance Coordinator
Ms Sarah Gravett Senior School Receptionist
Mrs Kharis Haughtey-Wilkinson Marketing Executive
Ms Caroline Helm Data & Exams Manager
Mr Mark Hoare Facilities Manager
Mrs Michelle Kirk Finance Manager
Miss Teena Labeeb Business Support Assistant
Mrs Izabela Sillence Lettings Manager & Prep Head’s PA
Ms Natasha Collins Senior School Receptionist
Ms Suk Cheung SEN Teaching Assistant
Ms Daisy A Art Technician
Ms Natasha Collins Receptionist
Ms Jane Drew Business Support Assistant
Mrs Karen Smith Librarian
Penny & Jules Youth Dance Dancers In Residence
Mr Ian Manning Groundsman
Mr Paul Brown Caretaker
Ms Rebecca Ellis Caretaker at Boughrood
Mr Lampros Gkotsi Facilities Support Assistant
Andy Charalambous Driver
Mr Bill Marchant Driver
Mr Brian Trew Driver
Mr Frank Haigh Driver
Mr Derek Rawle Cleaner
Miss Fiona Brown Cleaner
Miss Gemma Andrews Cleaner
Mr Leonard Griffiths Cleaner
Ms Maria Goncalves Cleaner
Miss Shoneagh Brown Cleaner
Mrs Susan Jenner Cleaner
Mr Thomas Stroker Cleaning Supervisor
Brian Ashworth Drums/ Guitar/ Bass
Nicholas Andrews Choir
Zoe Doano Voice
Sam Girling Piano
Evelyn Harrison Clarinet/ Saxophone
Heloise Hearn Piano
Mike Johnson Drums/ Guitar
Louise Thomas Voice
Nicole Leclercq Flute/ Recorder
Andrea Slane Piano
Emily Steinitz Violin
Sophie Willis Cello
Katharine Stoner Speech and Drama
Helen Hollingdale Drama
