Leadership

Leadership, THE PRINCIPAL

Amber was appointed as Principal of STAEG in May 2024, following five years as Head of STAHS. Educated in Texas, after earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Mathematics, Chemistry, Geological Sciences and Chemical Physics, she embarked on a ten-year career as a biogeochemical oceanographer. After many happy years working everywhere from the Gulf of Mexico to the South Pacific, Amber decided it was time for a change and re-trained as a teacher. She taught for three years in the US before undertaking a third career as a civil servant.

Amber moved to the UK in 2008, and whilst she enjoyed the policy and communications work she did at Defra, she missed the fun and satisfaction of working with young people and returned to teaching. She has taught at Headington, Abingdon and Ashford Schools, and was Deputy Head at St Dunstan’s College before taking up her role as Head of STAHS. Amber is also a member of the HMC Board of Directors as Treasurer, having previously sat on their Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, and is a governor for an independent girls’ school in Hampshire.

Amber is an enthusiastic supporter of Oxford United, and when she isn’t at the Kassam (or Wembley!) cheering on the Yellows, she will likely be thinking and/or talking about them.

Leadership, HEAD OF STAHS PREP

Head of STAHS Prep since September 2023, Mike attended the Skinners’ School in Tunbridge Wells before studying French and German with stints in both countries. He subsequently trained as a primary school teacher and completed a master’s in Education, punctuated by playing as an overseas cricketer in Australia. In 2023 he was awarded a fellowship of the Chartered College of Teaching.  

Mike’s teaching career has predominantly been in London, in both the state and independent sector. Before joining STAHS as Head of Prep, he was Deputy Head Academic at both St Dunstan’s College Junior School and, most recently, Newton Prep School in Battersea.  

When Mike is not talking about teaching and learning, you will find him either on the cricket field, or at the London Stadium supporting West Ham. Both have taught him valuable life lessons on the importance of being resilient and maintaining perspective. 

Leadership, ACTING HEAD OF STAHS SENIOR

Drew was appointed Acting Head of Senior at STAHS in September 2024, having joined in 2016 as Head of Science and taking on the role of Deputy Head Academic in 2019.  

After studying Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, Drew ventured south and trained as a secondary Physics teacher at the University of Bath. He spent eight years at Rickmansworth School, eventually becoming Head of Science and Assistant Headteacher and in 2015 was awarded Science Teacher of the Year at the Pearson National Teaching Awards.  

Drew is also a governor of a North London primary school and an enthusiastic Watford FC supporter.

Leadership, HEAD OF STORMONT SCHOOL

After completing a BEd Hons with Music degree Louise spent the first decade of her career working in a local primary school, where she became acting Deputy Headteacher. She moved to the independent sector in 2012 and in 2018 became Deputy Head at Stormont School, before being made head in 2020. 

In a matter of weeks after her appointment the pandemic hit. Louise found herself navigating uncharted waters, steering the school through lockdowns, remote learning, and social distancing. Despite endless challenges and the total disruption of normal school life,  Louise kept spirits up and the children engaged, organising virtual talent shows and online quizzes alongside delivering lessons in as many innovative ways as possible.

Thankfully Stormont has returned to normality, as has her role at the school. Louise continues her passion for music and sport, and is often to be found on the tennis courts.

Leadership, GROUP DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEAD

In 2016 Kirsty was appointed at STAHS as the Director of Sport, in 2020 was promoted to Assistant Head Operations and in 2023 was appointed as Deputy Head Pastoral.  

Kirsty gained a First in Sport at the University of Birmingham, where she captained their Lacrosse Team to the final of the British Universities and Colleges Sport Championship. She has represented both England U21 and Senior England in the sport, and coached at junior county, regional and England level. Having retired from competitive Lacrosse Kirsty now competes in Hyrox competitions, a combination of running and weight training.  

After completing a PGCE and a Masters of Education, Kirsty began her teaching career at Wycombe Abbey School. In 2015 she led the school to victory at the U19 National Lacrosse Championships, and was awarded Coach of the Year. 

Kirsty volunteers for the homelessness charity Shelter, and enjoys spending her school holidays exploring new countries.   

Leadership, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, ADMISSIONS AND DEVELOPMENT

Following a degree in Natural Sciences at Durham, Claire has spent her career in communications roles often with an educational slant, including medical publishing, PR consultancy, the University of Newcastle and as Director of Policy and Communications for a national early education charity. 

She worked in external relations at the Mount School York and Queen Margaret’s York, from where she moved to Hertfordshire to join STAHS as Director of Admissions in 2019, becoming Director of Marketing, Admissions and Development in 2020.  

Married to Michael, Claire has two adult children and when not at the gym or walking Dora, a very energetic Springer, enjoys exploring the dining and cultural highlights of London and her native Yorkshire.    

Leadership, CHAIR

Alison has extensive business experience. Educated at UMIST and the London Business School, she enjoyed a successful career marketing leading consumer brands at large multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods and PepsiCo both in the UK and internationally. In 2012 Alison moved into the education sector, working with international schools’ groups in UAE and the Middle East leading their global marketing and admissions teams. She consistently increased student numbers and was recognised by Forbes Middle East as one of the region’s top 50 marketing and communications people.

After 17 years living and working abroad, Alison returned with her family to the UK in 2020 to join Orbital Education as Group Director of Marketing and Admissions. She recently joined BIMM, a university for the creative industries, as Chief Commercial Officer.

Leadership, VICE CHAIR

Carol was Head of Old Palace of John Whitgift School Croydon, having held several leadership roles at the school over a period of 22 years.  After reading music at St Andrews University and completing a PGCE at Trinity College Cambridge, Carol began teaching in 1982 and taught in a variety of positions across the UK before becoming Head at Old Palace in 2011.

Carol was awarded her National Professional Qualification for Headship by the National College for School Leadership and a further award in School Business Management.  Volunteering, Carol continues her commitment to instilling a broader values-based education in young people, supporting families with young children by working with the charity Home Start. Carol enjoys singing as an adult chorister at Croydon Minster.

Leadership, CHAIR OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

David is a Chartered Accountant and MBA with over 30 years’ City experience in Private Equity and Corporate Finance. He was a Partner at Grant Thornton for almost 20 years where he was responsible for leading corporate deals and developing the talent and performance of the team and has extensive experience as a non-executive director in senior financial and governance roles.

David is passionate about sport and particularly the benefits it can bring to the lives of young people. He is a Trustee for Access Sport and served on the boards of Skateboard GB and a charity which helps refugees.

Leadership,

Lara is a STAHS alumna and sits on the Strategy Committee. She works as an Experience Consultant for a technology firm where she specialises in experience design and employee experience.

After reading Economics and Geography at the University of Leeds, Lara started her career as a Management Consultant at Accenture where she worked predominantly on organisational change management, people change, employee experience and organisational design. She was also a lead in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practice, helping clients to develop and strengthen their ED&I strategies and practices. She later brought this experience to bear when taking an active role during the STAHS Curriculum Review Working Party 2020-2021, that sought to include more diverse stories into the curriculum.

Leadership,

Maria is a qualified accountant, tax and treasury adviser and sits on the Finance Committee. She has a first-class honours degree in Chemistry, an MA in Modern Languages, a PhD in Nanotechnology from Cambridge University and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. She is also a member of the British Venture Capital Association’s Tax and Environmental, Social and Governance Committees.

As a portfolio director at a leading private equity firm, Maria works alongside companies to improve and streamline their operations, particularly in areas such as tax and finance. Maria has also worked for both Deloitte and Arthur Andersen in their private equity and international M&A groups.

A passionate advocate for lifelong learning, she currently has a daughter STAHS Prep School.

Leadership,

Neil is Chair of the Education and Safeguarding Committees.

After reading Geography at St John’s College, Oxford and a PGCE at London’s Institute of Education, Neil started teaching in 2000 in a mixed comprehensive in the London Borough of Brent. He moved to Queen Elizabeth’s, a selective boys’ school in Barnet and one of the country’s top state schools for A Level results, and was made Head in 2011. He gained his National Professional Qualification for Headship in 2007 and an MBA in 2010.

Neil sits on a number of other school governing boards: he is Deputy Chair of Governors at his alma mater, The John Lyon School, is a governor of Harrow School and Longfield Primary School in North Harrow and a Trustee of a local multi-academy trust. Neil also sits on the board of John Lyon’s charity, which exists to make grants to a range of organisations that seek to promote the life-chances of children and young people through education.

Leadership,

Bjorn became a governor in 2023 and is a member of the estates committee to which he brings 20 years’ experience as a chartered surveyor in commercial real estate. He is currently Chief Investment Officer of a FTSE 250 listed company specialising in Logistics investment and development.  

Bjorn was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and studied Geography followed by a Master’s in Property Valuation and Law.  

Leadership,

Henrietta is Director of Operations at a small recruitment firm specialising in the recruitment of corporate governance professionals.

A STAHS alumna, Henrietta read history at The University of Nottingham. Her career started working in corporate governance before moving into recruitment. Her current role encompasses operations, HR and finance matters and, following the company’s move to employee ownership, Henrietta is also a Trustee.

Henrietta was keen to broaden her governance experience and in 2023 she joined the board of governors at Stormont School, joining the governors of STAEG following the merger of STAHS and Stormont School.

Leadership,

Sara’s husband’s sister, mother and grandmother are all STAHS alumnae. Sara sits on the Strategy Committee and worked as a researcher for European Citizens Action Service in Brussels before she gave up to bring up her disabled son. She now volunteers with charities like Earthworks, Passport to Leisure, and the Special Olympics, who support post-education disabled people with inclusion in the community. 

She is a former governor of Penhurst School (Action for Children Charity) in Oxfordshire and an ambassador for Ripple Effect, an African charity based in Bath, a vice-president for the International Students House alumni in London and sits on Trestle theatre company’s All About Us committee that aims to celebrate the creative side of disabled people.

Leadership,

Simon chairs the Governance Committee. After attending St Albans School he served as a partner in a City law firm for over 20 years, including stints as head of the Corporate Department and Managing Partner.

Simon is now busy in the charity sector and was, until recently, a trustee and Vice Chairman of ABF The Soldiers Charity, the Army’s national charity, and the Protector (a quasi-trustee role) of two charitable trusts funded by the Big Lottery Fund: the Forces in Mind Trust and the Centre for Ageing Better. Simon is also Deputy Master of a Livery Company in the City of London, having served as Master in 2021-2022. 

Simon’s three daughters were all educated at STAHS. He was appointed to the board in 2016 and is a member of the Finance Committee. 

Leadership,

Chris began his professional life in financial services marketing, and has spent the majority of his career focused on sports sponsorship, primarily within motorsport. He was Marketing Director of the Williams Formula One team before establishing his own consultancy advising brands and rights holders across the sports and entertainment sectors.  

Chris has a daughter at the Prep School and became a Governor in 2020. He chairs the Strategy Committee and sits on the Estates Committee.   

Leadership,

After an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Mathematics Bob qualified as a Chartered Accountant and has worked as a finance professional in a number of sectors, including Telecoms, Consultancy, Property Investment & Development and lately in Cell & Gene Therapies. 

Bob has served on the board of a housing association and the Luton & Dunstable Hospital, and is actively involved with his micro financing charity RojiRoti. He sits on the Finance Committee.