Governing body

The Playground at King's Cross Academy Primary School

The governing body, with the Headteacher, has overall responsibility for the running of the school.

The governing body has three strategic functions:

  • To help us decide on the vision of the school and the strategic direction;
  • To hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the Academy and its pupils; and
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the Academy and making sure its money is well spent.

The governing body is split into 5 committees which oversee certain aspects of the Academy:

Teaching and Learning Committee

This committee oversees the teaching and learning at the Academy. The committee supports the Headteacher in delivering the curriculum and ensuring that the children are making progress in their learning.

Conditions for Learning Committee

This committee, along with the Head Teacher, ensures an enabling, inclusive environment for all. One of the key functions of this committee is to oversee the safeguarding of all children, the provision for children with special educational needs, behaviour and the monitoring of school lunches.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee helps to set and monitor the school budget, ensuring the Academy gets the best value for money within its means and that everything we spend is for the benefit of our children.

Human Resources and Health and Safety Committee

This committee has two roles – to oversee the people who work at the Academy – teachers, support staff, kitchen staff etc. and to ensure the health and safety of all who learn and work at the Academy.

Audit and Risk

This committee directs the Academy’s programme of internal and external scrutiny, receives reports from the internal and external auditors and monitors issues contained in the reports have been successfully actioned.

The committees meet every term and report to the full governing body meeting, which comprises of every governor, once a term.

Our governors

Our governors have been appointed because they have particular expertise and skills that would be helpful in fulfilling these functions. For example, the chair of the finance committee is Michael Lightbound who manages the business plan and finances at the King’s Cross development. Louise John Shepherd is chief executive of the Centre for literacy and primary education (CLPE) and brings a wealth of experience in education in primary schools. In fact, our entire governing body has some incredible skills that help the Academy run smoothly and more importantly help make decisions that impact on your child’s learning.

  • Sir David Clementi, Trust Member

    Sir David Clementi was formerly Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Chair of Prudential plc. He chairs the King’s Cross Central General Partner Limited Board, was formerly Warden (Chair of Governors) of Winchester College, a Member of the Mercers’ Court; Honorary Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; and Honorary Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
    Former Chair of the BBC governors

  • Robert Evans, Trust Member and Co-Chair of Governors

    Robert is Joint Managing Partner of Argent (Property Development) Services LLP (‘Argent’) and a Partner in Related Argent, leading developers responsible for major mixed-use schemes in London, Birmingham, the Thames Valley and Manchester, in particular the King’s Cross Estate.

    Within Argent, Robert has overall responsibility for the 67-acre King’s Cross Estate. He is also chair of the New London Architecture sounding board and is a member of the steering group for Future of London. He is co-chair of Governors at the King’s Cross Academy.

  • Michael Freeman, Trust member

    Michael Freeman is a qualified lawyer who in 1981 co-founded Argent, the development and asset manager of the King’s Cross development, with his brother. He and his wife Clara have set up a charitable trust which supports a number of educational charities including sponsoring Teach First teachers in two Camden schools and also a Civitas supplementary school. As a non-executive Director of Argent, Deputy Chairman of the Royal Parks Foundation, a former trustee of the Almeida Theatre in Islington and with a great interest in world history, Michael brings a wide range of skills to us.

  • Clara Freeman, Trust member

    Clara Freeman OBE was the first woman Director of Marks and Spencer’s. She is currently Trustee of the Girls’ Day Trust and Deputy Chair of the Court of Governors of University of the Arts, London. She was awarded the OBE in 2001 for services to Women in the Workforce. Clara brings a wealth of understanding of running organisations, education and the arts at all levels.

  • Louise Johns-Shepherd, Governor

    Louise Johns-Shepherd is Chief Executive of the Centre for Literacy and Primary Education. She brings a wealth of experience in education leadership and in primary schools. She was a Senior Director at the Primary National Strategies and Head Teacher Consultant at the National College of School Leadership. Louise trained as a primary school teacher at Homerton College Cambridge, studied for her MA at the Institute of Education and has taught for her entire career in London. Louise has been the Head Teacher of two schools, a nursery school and children’s centre in Lambeth and, most recently, a primary school in Southwark. Under her leadership the school moved from a very challenging position to one of the fifty most improved schools in England. Louise’s interests are in assessment, progression and curriculum development as well as all aspects of organisational leadership.

  • Mike Lightbound, Governor and Vice Chair

    Mike Lightbound works at Argent on the King’s Cross redevelopment. He manages the overall business plan for King’s Cross and is responsible for many of the financial aspects of the development. Mike also leads the Asset Management team – the group responsible for managing the growing retained estate at King’s Cross. Before joining Argent, Mike worked at Swiss Re and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK and the Caribbean. He is a Chartered Accountant and has a degree in Structural Engineering. Mike will bring essential financial skills to the governing body. He has two children in primary school.

  • Dame Jane Roberts, Governor

    Jane was Leader of the London Borough of Camden Council from 2000 to 2005 following which she has served in a range of non-executive roles including as Chair of the Councillors Commission for the Department of Communities and Local Government, Chair of Parenting UK, a member of the Ofsted board, Chair of New Local Government Network and currently Chair of the charity, Living Streets. She is a former governor of Eleanor Palmer School and Regent High. She is a member of the Remuneration Board of the Welsh Assembly. Appointed DBE 2004.

    Professionally, she is a medical doctor and is an Honorary Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Whittington Hospital with experience of senior healthcare management in the NHS.

  • Jonathan Barratt, Governor

    Jonathan Barratt is a freelance consultant in Higher Education and the Creative and Cultural industries.  Jonathan was previously Dean of Academic Development and Quality for Central Saint Martins, a constituent college of the University of the Arts London.  With a wide-ranging portfolio of responsibility covering academic standards, curricula development, further education and aspects of institutional relations, this role included working with local schools, colleges, community organisations and local government agencies, hence his initial involvement with the Academy.  With Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in industrial design, Jonathan’s thirty years experience in further and higher education have included roles as Course Director for MA Industrial Design, and Dean for the School of Communication, Product and Spatial Design.  He has also worked with service and manufacturing industries, local and national governments and NGOs in Europe and Asia.  Jonathan has substantial experience in leadership, management and institutional governance and in educational development.  He is committed to the social and cultural development of the King’s Cross area and to equality of access and opportunity at all levels of education.

  • Antje Saunders, Parent Governor

    Antje Saunders is the mother of two children in the Early Years at the Academy. Through her professional background as an architect and urban designer, she has a far-reaching understanding of the setting of the school in the wider Kings Cross Central Development as well as a keen interest in learning environments. She chairs the Camden Broadway Conservation Area Advisory Committee and is also a member in the Camden Symphony Orchestra.

  • Anthea Harries, Governor

    Anthea Harries is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and works at Argent where she is Head of Assets for the King’s Cross Estate. She also sits on the RICS UK and Ireland Board where her remit is to focus, in part,  on the diversity and inclusivity strategy for the Built Environment and its Professional body. In addition, she is a Board member for Urban Partners, an organisation focused on working with the local communities to create a thriving neighbourhood for all.

    Anthea is mother to two teenage sons and two stepdaughters and is married to David, a primary school Teacher.

  • Roy Griffins, Governor

    Roy Griffins chaired the Board of London City Airport for ten years after roles as Director General of the Airports Council International in Brussels and British Chair of the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission. His previous career as a senior civil servant and diplomat included the UK’s Director General of Civil Aviation and Director of Railways when he was responsible for developing the UK’s first high-speed rail line (HS1).

    Roy graduated from Bristol University (French and German) and studied at the Sorbonne and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration in Paris. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2003, and a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in France in 2017.

  • Alex Woolmore, Trust Member and Co-Chair of Governors

    Alexandra Woolmore is Head of Planning at Argent where she is responsible for securing planning permissions for Argent’s projects. As part of her role, she was also heavily involved in the design and planning of the King’s Cross Academy and the subsequent sponsorship process and remains the strategic lead for the delivery of new and replacement schools on Argent’s development at Brent Cross. Before joining Argent, Alexandra worked at Linklaters where she qualified as a planning and environmental lawyer. Alexandra also sits on the board of Poplar Harca, a housing association in East London, and was formerly a governor at Bow School for 11 years. She has a daughter who is currently at primary school.

    She is co-chair of Governors at the King’s Cross Academy.

  • Angela Scheffer, Chief Financial Officer

    Angela Scheffer lived in Sydney, Australia and worked in pensions and property management. Returning to the UK she worked as a Management Accountant in the property sector and designed an accounting package for property management. Angela moved in 1997 to manage the finances of an investment portfolio and set up the UK finance operation for a multi-national equity fund. Angela was Finance Governor at her children’s school, and there she developed a passion for education and completed an Advanced Diploma in School Business Management. She worked in two voluntary aided schools and for a multi-academy trust before joining King’s Cross Academy in 2016. Angela is part of the Senior Leadership Team, overseeing the business management and is excited to create an environment that supports learning and engages with our partners in King’s Cross to develop amazing and unique opportunities for our children.

  • Faiza Ahmad, Governor

    Faiza is Director of Legal and in-house solicitor at Estates & Management Ltd, a market leader specialising in the asset management of freehold and leasehold properties in the UK on behalf of property landlords, and has been practising as a solicitor since 2005.

    At Estates & Management Faiza is responsible for leading the Legal Department and the delivery of legal and compliance advice to the business across a wide range of legal and operational areas. Prior to joining Estates & Management in 2016, Faiza was a partner at a West End law firm where she specialised in Property Litigation. In 2015 Faiza was described as “outstanding” in the Legal 500, a leading directory of legal services.

    Faiza’s experience of working both as a solicitor in private practice for over a decade and, more recently, in-house, means she approaches day-to-day matters with a wide lens and she prides herself in finding practical and pragmatic solutions.

    Faiza is trained as a Mental Health First Aider and is particularly interested in the well-being of staff and pupils.

    Faiza has lived in Kings Cross since 2009.

  • Anne Thidemann, Parent Governor

    Anne is Director of Development and Communications at Commonland, an Amsterdam-based organisation dedicated to restoring nature for people in large landscapes and bring back opportunity and hope. With an educational background in the visual arts, Anne has previously held senior roles both at Tate and Frieze and she continues to be a trustee at Gasworks Gallery in South London. Through her professional and voluntary work Anne has a strong interest in community building and developing projects for the benefit of local communities.

  • John Hutchinson, Staff Governor

    John Hutchinson is a Year 5 class teacher at Kings Cross Academy. John’s background is predominantly in Sport, after completing a BSc degree at the University of Hertfordshire in 2014. After that, John completed his LTA Tennis Level 3 and supported various Tennis Associations around the world, volunteering in Australia, Ghana and Guyana. John has worked a variety of roles within a primary school in London, including a PE Teacher, SEN support, teaching assistant and afterschool club organiser. John is a passionate educator and always looks to incorporate diversity and inclusion into the curriculum, to best represent the diversity of the children that attend Kings Cross Academy.
  • Martin MacQuarrie, Governor

  • Allan Atlee, Governor

    I am an experienced senior Higher Education leader with a professional background in architecture and the wider creative sector. I am currently Dean of Academic Strategy at Central Saint Martins and have previously held senior roles at The Glasgow School of Art and the University for the Creative Arts. I have significant experience of leading on the development and delivery of academic strategies including the development of new partnerships, courses, and knowledge exchange activities; managing operational plans and change projects and ensuring that quality assurance and enhancement processes are effective.

    Before entering full time academia in 2005, I taught at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow where I also practiced in the fields of architecture and design, and curated exhibitions including the Scottish contribution to the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2004.

    I was a founding member and director of Glasgow Letters on Architecture and Space (GLAS), a design co-operative based in the city, committed to promoting access to design and challenging forms of social and spatial segregation and exclusion. In 2004 GLAS won the inaugural National Achievement Award for Architecture in recognition of its contribution to the architecture community in Scotland. I also worked for NORD, an award winning multi-disciplinary design office. Its architecture, interior, product and exhibition design has been recognised with numerous awards including in 2006 Building Design’s Young Architect of the Year.

    I have chaired and contributed to a variety of boards and panels, most recently chairing the Swale Design Review Panel, part of the South East Panel, and regularly contributes to place based initiatives.

  • Sizi Sabanda, Governor

    Sizi Sibanda is the Social Value Manager for King’s Cross at Argent where her focus is, in part, is on the ways the King’s Cross Central development positively impacts the wider local community, as well as its occupiers and residents. Prior to joining Argent in 2022, Sizi worked in the construction and charity sectors, engaging with schools and communities has been a common thread throughout her career. Sizi grew up in Islington and is passionate about tackling inequality in the local area.

  • Dr. Yan Ting Choong, Parent Governor

    Dr. Yan Ting Choong is a dynamic neuroscientist, business strategist, and educator with a diverse professional background spanning life sciences, entrepreneurship, education, and services. Armed with a Doctorate in Life Science and a Masters in Entrepreneurship, she seamlessly merges cross-disciplinary thinking with agile methodologies to cultivate innovative ideas.

    A goal-oriented and adept problem solver, Dr. Choong brings a wealth of experience in innovating and executing business strategies and operations. Her track record includes leadership roles and collaborative contributions to high-performing teams, where she fosters a culture of psychological safety to drive creative solutions.

    As an international professional, Dr. Choong proudly represented Australia at the 2017 G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit in Germany and earned recognition as a Smart 30 under 30 Young Australian Entrepreneur by SmartCompany.com. Following her move to London, she embraced her passion for education by becoming a high school teacher, dedicating herself to inspiring students with her enthusiasm for innovation and sciences, and striving to make a disproportionate impact through education.

    Committed to fostering inclusivity, Dr. Choong has actively volunteered in the BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) Working Council for Alphaplus and contributed to the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Advisory Group for the Heads of Society—an organization representing independent schools in the UK and overseas.

For details of 2022-23 governor committees and membership, please click here.

Click here for the current governor’s terms of office.

For the 2023-24 register of members’ and governors’ interests, please click here.

For the 2022-23 governors’ attendance register, please click here.

For the governors’ attendance register for 2021-2022, please click here.

If you ever need to contact the governors you can do so through the clerk of governors, Christine Megson, who can be contacted through the school admin email: admin@kingscrossacademy.org.uk Please write ‘for the attention of the Clerk of Governors’ in the subject bar and we will make sure the email is forwarded.

Our desire is to create one of London’s best teaching and learning environments, at the centre of a thriving, urban community.

Robert Evans Co-Chair of Governors