Governors

As a parent-owned school, our Governing Body consists of up to 15 elected parental and non-parental Governors. The Unicorn School is a registered charity and a limited company: Governors are, therefore, trustees of the charity and board directors. Unicorn Governors work together as a team, being supportive of the school yet also constructively critical.

Governors uphold the ethos and direction of the school and act as guardians of its assets (such as land, building, equipment, investments and cash). They meet as a main body at least once a term to receive a detailed report from the Head and reports from the various committees. Key issues are discussed and future strategy agreed, with the board having responsibility to approve the accounts, school development plan and risk documentation as well as meet the school’s legal obligations (via oversight of compliance with all regulations from the Department for Education).

The Governors also have oversight of the leadership and management of the school and are responsible for hiring the Head and Bursar, both of whom report to the Chair of Governors.

For full details about the role of Unicorn School Governors, click here.

Chairman:                    Mrs Vicky Hastings          
Company Secretary: Mr Charles Mathias

Parental Governors

Mrs Vicky Hastings

Mr Michael Peregrine
Mrs Caroline Barrington Mr Paul Rathbone
Mrs Anne Fowler Hon Giles Wigoder
Mr Anthony Julius

Mrs Valerie Wilmot

Ms Liz-Ann McGinn

 Mr Tim Wort
Mr Rupert Obholzer  

Non-parental governors:

 

Mr John Collenette                                                
Mr Philip Cottam
Mr Adrian Floyd
Mrs Fiona Timmis

Governor Committees

There are seven Governor committees, set up to cover particular work, with all Governors involved on one or more of them. These meet on a termly basis, sometimes more frequently.

A chair is appointed for each committee. The chair sets up meetings with agendas and minutes, liaises with the Chair of Governors and the Head on key issues, reports back to other Governors at termly meetings with debate on any specific issues, and co-ordinates all the workings of that committee. Each has agreed objectives and aims for the future that must be reviewed annually. The current chairs are:

Finance:

(Chair – Mrs Vicky Hastings)
Building: (Chair – Mr Rupert Obholzer)
Education: (Chair – Mrs Valerie Wilmot)
Risk: (Chair – Mrs Anne Fowler)
Marketing: (Chair – Mrs Caroline Barrington)
IT: (Chair – Mr Tim Wort)
Staffing: (Chair – Mr Philip Cottam)    

 

Any correspondence for the Chairman of Governors should be addressed, c/o The Unicorn School, 238 Kew Road, Richmond, TW9 3JX and marked ‘Private & Confidential‘.