Biographies

Category: Trust Associate

Date of Appointment: 21 July 2022

Term ends: 21 July 2026

Appointing Body: Trust Board

David has worked as a Science Teacher for 17 years in a wide range of educational settings and currently leads a Science Department in a school for 7-13 year olds. 

He is passionate about education and is using his knowledge of the educational sector to support the school and trust in this role. 

David has a child at Fern Hill and recently moved to Kingston.  He is building links within the local community and in his spare time David plays tennis at a local tennis club and regularly takes part in the Kingston Park Run. 

Date of appointment: 8th March 2024

Term of office: 4 years

From: 8th March 2024

To:8th March 2028

Appointed by: Trust Board

Trust Associate and Vice Chair Local of the Academy Committee

Category: Trust Associate
Date of Appointment: 1 January 2022
Term ends: 1 January 2026
Appointing Body: Trust Board

Mark has been working in education for 38 years and recently retired as the Head Teacher at Coombe Hill Junior School. Mark has worked in both Secondary and Primary Schools as a Teacher, Head of English, Deputy Head and as a local authority advisor.  Prior to that, he worked for a small human rights organisation, working with schools, churches and trade unions as well as fundraising through arranging pop concerts, ballet events at Sadlers’ Wells and poetry evenings.

In 2020, working with a group of colleagues, Mark set up the Spark! Book Awards which promotes reading across schools through building links with writers and creating a competition in which pupils can vote.  The Spark! Book Awards also raises funds to purchase books for disadvantaged children. It started as a local initiative and quickly developed, now working in partnership with the Open University and with over 150 schools across the country.

Community Trustee and Chair of the Local Academy Committee

Category: Trustee
Date of Appointment: 13th January 2025
Term ends: 13th January 2029
Appointing Body: Members

James is father to three young children, has lived in Kingston for much of his life, and is a business leader with global experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is determined to enable others to thrive; and recognises the crucial role of education in empowering social mobility and equity.

James is currently responsible for expanding the geographic footprint of Sandoz, having successfully led the acquisition and integration of an Irish company into the group. James is Chair of the British Biosimilars Association, the trade association for the biosimilar industry, a chartered marketer and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. 

Category: Parent Trust Associate

Date of Appointment: 4 November 2024

Term Ends: 4 November 2028

Appointing Body: Elected by Parents

Natalie Jefferies

Natalie has lived in Kingston for over 30 years and is the mother of two children with SEND, who attend Fern Hill Primary.

She obtained her Graphic Design BA (Hons.) at the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom in 1996. After commuting to Innovate in Neal’s Yard and leaving her consultant position at ?What If! Innovation, she established her own design and branding company. Over the next two decades, she continued to thrive, successfully creating innovative solutions for the food and drink, and business and finance sectors.

With experience in communication and compliance, as well as drawing from 10 years of invaluable personal experience in SEND education, she has acquired the skill set and knowledge necessary to diversify and embark on a new life phase. For the past few years, she has been working with children who require additional support to access learning in a primary school in Kingston.

Her work on out-of-the-box thinking within constraints and on brief for clients such as MasterFoods, Twinings, and Purina, as part of their international think tank teams, remains a highly memorable and satisfying part of her career. However, nothing compares to the sense of personal accomplishment she feels when a child finally grasps a concept that had previously been out of their reach.

Natalie is looking forward to supporting Kingston Educational Trust as a Trustee Associate by applying the expertise and insight she has acquired.

Category: Trust Associate

Date of Appointment: 27 January 2023

Term Ends: 27 January 2027

Appointing Body: Trust Board

Nick has brought his key skills of project management, critical attention to detail and financial acumen to the role, derived from his work within Corporate Finance.

Nick also brings the perspective of being a relatively recent school leaver himself.

Category: Staff Trust Associate

Date of Appointment: 3rd June 2024

Term Ends: 3rd June 2028

Appointed by: Staff body

I have been a teacher at Fern Hill Primary since 2007. Whilst there, I have taught in a range of age groups across KS2 and I am currently teaching in Year 6 and leading in Music.

In my previous life, I worked for several years in Marketing, then Administration and subsequently in Customer Services for British Gas, joining first as a graduate trainee in Cardiff, straight from university in Glasgow. Following a move down to Twickenham from Dundee, I took time out to raise my family and during this time I made the decision to change careers and re-train as a primary teacher, completing my PGCE at St.Mary's University.

I look forward to using my years of teaching experience to contribute to the Fern Hill community and to the Trust.

Category: Community Trustee

Date of Appointment: 1st January 2022

Term ends: 1st January 2026

Appointing Body: Trust Members

I am a qualified Project Manager, having spent most of my career to date working for a global engineering consultancy.  As well as working on several multi-discipline projects, including project managing the London2012 enabling works project, I have experience in business development and planning.

I am passionate about supporting our community and using my business skills in strategy, project and change management to benefit the school.  I am also a committee member of the North Kingston Forum and of Friends of Latchmere Rec., as well as an active STEM Ambassador. ​

Category: Trust Associate
Date of Appointment: 1st January 2022
Term ends: 1st January 2026
Appointing Body: Trust Board

For the last 17 years, Dave has worked in advertising for a number of household names and is currently leading the marketing team for a large UK telecommunications company.

He has three daughters who attend and adore Fern Hill and he says: "it's a pleasure to play a small part in helping the school develop and build on its success".

Outside of work (and being run ragged by the aforementioned three girls) Dave is either studying for an MBA at Warwick Business School or watching far too much football.

Governance Professional to the Fern Hill Local Academy Committee

I work as a governance professional, ensuring the smooth running of the Local Academy Committee, by organising meetings and maintaining records, as well as offering legislative and procedural advice on school governance.

My background is in education, having worked as a teacher trainer and teacher of English as a foreign language, in various settings from language schools to an NHS hospital.

My son attended Fern Hill until 2020 and I volunteered for many years at the school, building up a knowledge of and passion for Fern Hill.