Governors Profiles
Thorpe Lea Primary School, Governing Body
Caroline Wright, Chair of Governors
Caroline has been a Governor in Surrey since 2012 when she was elected as a parent governor and became a Surrey Local Leader of Governance in 2015. As such she is deployed to schools to help strengthen and improve governance and also to act an independent governor in panel hearings.
Before having her daughters, one now a journalist for a national newspaper and the other at university studying Biomedical Sciences, Caroline was a Senior Forensic Scientist for the Forensic Science Service giving expert evidence in court on a range of evidence types.
Caroline was asked by Surrey County Council to join the board at Thorpe Lea for a year in 2019 as an additional governor. She has enjoyed working with the school so much that, with the support of the Governing Body, she became a full member of the board as the Governor appointed by the Local Authority and will begin a second term of office in 2024.
Caroline is passionate about children receiving an education that allows them to achieve their academic potential whilst enjoying their time at school in a safe and nurturing environment.
Adam Collin, Headteacher
Adam began his Thorpe Lea journey in 2019 as Year 6 teacher and took on the Key Stage 2 Standards Leader later that year. His leadership journey continued when he assumed the role of Deputy Headteacher and SENCO in September 2022 and subsequently was successful in his appointment as Headteacher in April 2024.
Adam is passionate about the school and its community, and is honoured to be in a position to help the school move forward in the next phase of the journey - ensuring that all children at Thorpe Lea are nurtured and supported, so that they can achieve their full potential.
Charlotte Ellis, Staff Governor
Charlotte began teaching in 2015 after completing a Postgraduate Degree in Education in Bristol. Since then she has taught in Early Years and KS1 in the South West of England and in the South East. She has held several roles of responsibilities as a Subject Leader, Key stage and Year group Leader. Charlotte moved to Thorpe Lea to take on a new position of Standards Leader and KS2 teacher and to continue her passion for teaching and education. Charlotte has an invested interest in education having recently completed a Masters in Education and has a keen interest in Psychology and sports.
Co-opted Governor vacancy
Alan Gardner, Co-opted Governor
Alan is a co-opted governor who was appointed in July 2019
Alan, in addition to being a Co-opted Governor of Thorpe Lea Primary School appointed in July 2019, is a Director/Trustee of Bowles Rocks Trust Ltd an experiential learning centre for young people. He previously worked for BT both nationally and internationally and then ran his own business consultancy. Alan has been a school governor for 16 years and is a Surrey Local Leader of Governance (LLG). He has previously been deployed as an Local Leader of Governance to several Surrey schools including on Interim Executive Boards.
Alan’s motivation to be involved in school governance is that education opened many doors in his life enabling social mobility and he wants to help the next generation of children to be well educated to increase their opportunities in life. In addition to family life, he plays tennis, golf and bridge and is interested in astrophysics; in particular, the characteristics of black holes.
Karla Hanna, Co-opted Governor
Karla is a co-opted Governor appointed in June 2022.
She is a mother of twins in Year 9 (boy and girl) and a 19-year-old stepdaughter attending University. She’s lived in the area for 8 years with her husband Leigh.
Karla works in the private sector as a Commercial Director for a Global mailing and distribution company and has held various senior management roles including Customer Services, IT and Projects Manager.
She has a keen interest in education and giving back to the community. She held the position of Chairperson of Manorcroft Primary School PTA (Sep 2017 – Oct 2021) and has been a Parent Governor at The Magna Carta School since March 2022.
Karla is really pleased to be a part of the governing board of Thorpe Lea and enjoys contributing to such a great school.
Fiona Shepherd (she/her), Co-opted Governor
Fiona is a co-opted governor appointed in December 2023, her first governor role. Having previously attended Royal Holloway University of London, Fiona is familiar with the area. In 2021 she moved back to Egham with her partner and later adopted a beautiful rescue cat called Orion.
Fiona is a Civil Servant currently working in “futures”, which looks beyond the immediate to long term trends. Fiona has worked across a variety of Civil Service roles, beginning as a statistician, before covering various crisis responses, and moving onto central delivery roles. She is eager to utilise her experience in data and delivery to improve the children’s attainment and experience at school.
Fiona is excited to join the governing board, sit on the Children and Learning Committee, and be the link governor for PSHE
Ian Downer, Parent Governor
Ian is a parent governor appointed to the Governing Body of Thorpe Lea Primary School in October 2020.
Ian has two children at the school; one who is currently in Key Stage 1 and the other in Key Stage 2.
Ian has many years’ experience working within HR, he currently is working within the Group HR function of The Lampton Group as Group Talent Acquistion Manager. This was Ian’s first role as a governor and he has enjoyed getting to know all the staff and pupils ensuring that the vision and values of the school are being met.
Ian has a passion for sport and is currently Link Governor for PE and Sports Premium
Rhys Hayward, Parent Governor
Rhys has one child in the school in key stage 1. Rhys works in the NHS as a Physiotherapist with many years’ experience. He is head of professional development for rheumatology physiotherapy within the United Kingdom and sits on two other national committees. His passion is development of all children, particularly ensuring there is fair access and opportunity across the school. This is his first governor role; he is working toward understanding the school to ensure the standards and visions are upheld.
Co-opted Governor vacancy
Lynette Davies, Clerk to Governors
Lynette is the professional clerk to the Governing Body. Her role is to provide advice to the governing body on governance, constitutional and procedural matters, ensure the board is properly constituted, to provide effective administrative support to the governing body, and to manage information effectively in accordance with legal requirements.
Lynette has lived in Surrey for over 30 years and was a governor for 17 years starting as a parent governor when her youngest daughter started junior school and then moving on to be a co-opted governor when she left. She served on various committees, held a number of different governor positions and was responsible for child protection and safeguarding.
Lynette started working as a clerk in 2005 supporting a governing body in a struggling school, using the experience she had gained from being a governor. In addition to Thorpe Lea Lynette now clerks two other schools - a CofE primary school and the school and Trust Board in a diocesan MAT.
She has seen the role of the clerk and the governors change and evolve over the years and enjoys the challenge this poses.