Governing Body

Finance Committee

Sally is a Chartered Accountant and is an Audit Partner at Saffery, where she is head of the charities and not-for-profit team in the Harrogate office.

Sally has a particular specialism in education and works with some of the leading independent schools and academies in the North of England. Her assignments include assisting clients in areas such as governance, business re-structuring, systems and controls, budgeting and forecasting as well as financial reporting and compliance requirements.

Risks & Opportunities Committee

Mark Bennett has held senior positions in Google since 2015, and before that was Managing Director of Tesco Blinkbox Music and Head of Digital at Sainsbury’s.

He has also worked for Microsoft in a business development role and held commercial roles in the music industry. Mark is currently Vice President of “Android GTM” at Google, which he tells us is a role focused on improving Android’s competitiveness against Apple. As well as technical expertise, Mark has experience of managing large, multinational teams; of driving sales growth (including marketing and sales management); board level negotiations; strategy development; and financial management. Mark has a son and a daughter at the School. 

Wellbeing & Safeguarding Committee
Finance Committee
Health and Safety Governor

Bill was invited to join the Governing Body after a 31-year career at Stamford School.

After six years of teaching in Lancashire, Bill joined Stamford School in 1988 as a maths teacher and went on to become Deputy Head in 2007 and Acting Head for a short period. Bill brings a wealth of educational experience to the Board and the Finance Committee in particular, including timetabling, staff development, and the use of IT in the classroom. He is also a qualified ISI Inspector, a DoE Assessor and has been heavily involved in pupil recruitment both locally and internationally. Bill is a graduate of St John’s College, Oxford, where he read maths. Like all good maths teachers, he has a passion for bridge and Bill is currently captain of Stamford.

Vice Chair
Risks & Opportunities Committee

Ellie Evans is Chief People Officer for Just Group plc. Ellie is responsible for all aspects of HR, people engagement, development and culture. She also holds responsibility for enhancing the overall people experience, developing the people strategy in conjunction with the wider business.

Ellie joined just in November 2022. Prior to her role at Just, Ellie worked in senior roles across various industries including insurance, energy and motor organisations. In these roles she has supported organisational development from both a HR and change project perspective.

Ellie hopes to be able to support the school through her lens of people and culture and continue to enhance the experience for the colleagues and children who thrive within the Stamford Schools.

Chair of the Education Committee

Catherine served on the governing body of St Gilbert’s Primary School for 19 years.

Trained initially as a chartered surveyor, she has extensive experience of community-led regeneration focusing primarily on market towns. She currently works as Research Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Catherine gained a BSc in Geography from Durham University, an MPhil in Land Management from Reading University and has recently been awarded a Doctorate in Urban Design from the University of Westminster. She is married to Jeremy, has lived in Stamford for over 25 years and her son and daughter attended the Stamford Endowed Schools. Her interests include singing with the Stamford Singers and swimming.

Chair of the Finance Committee
Risks & Opportunities Committee

Tom holds a degree from Bath University in Economics and Politics and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. 

He is Director of Duncan & Toplis Chartered Accountants, one of the largest regional accounting firms. He specialises in advising owner-managed businesses on their tax, accounting and succession planning. He lives in Stamford and is married to Jane, an artist who was also a teacher at the Stamford Endowed Schools. They have three daughters, all of whom have been educated at the school. Tom was a Trustee of the David Ross Educational Trust from 2014 to 2019. Tom’s interests include rugby, gardening and art.

Finance Committee
Risks & Opportunities Committee

Pritpal has director level experience largely in the technology sector with a range of Blue Chip, AIM listed, private and private equity backed businesses.

His experience spans a range of sectors including retail, financial services and supply chain. He is currently the CEO, and co-founder, of Flawless Beauty Group, and previously held roles at comparethemarket.com and Carphone Warehouse. Pritpal lives in Stamford and his company Flawless Beauty is the headline sponsor of Burghley Cricket Club. He has two sons at the school.

Finance Committee
Boarding and Parent Liaison Governor

Julia is a former pupil of Stamford High School and has two daughters at the Stamford Endowed Schools, and another daughter who recently left. 

She gained an MA from Edinburgh University (French and Business Studies) and then had a successful career in the City of London as a bank analyst. 

Julia became a top-five bank analyst in a global investment bank and went on to become a managing director and head of a significant team of analysts at one of the world’s largest rating agencies. She left the City in 2011 to build an asset management business. She also has a Chartered Insurance Institute Diploma in Regulated Financial planning, enabling her to advise private clients on pensions, investments and protection. Julia has a passion for horse riding and enjoys cycling and gardening. She speaks fluent French and loves to spend time with her family in France.

Education Committee

Bill is Headmaster of Trent College in Nottingham, which he joined from Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset, where he was Deputy Head.

Prior to that he was Head of Languages at Millfield School in Somerset, having been Head of Languages at Whitgift School in South London, where he also held roles in Year Group management. Bill has considerable experience in all areas of school leadership and management, across the whole range of single-sex, co-educational, boarding and day environments.

Vice Chair
Chair of Wellbeing & Safeguarding Committee

After graduating from Manchester University, Clive started his career in 1983 at Stamford School teaching History and Politics.

He was appointed as a Boarding House Master and from there moved to Oswestry Junior School as Head. In 1996 he became Head of Lincoln Minster Prep School before being appointed Principal in 1999. He is passionate about enabling young people to succeed. He became the CEO of The Society of Heads in September 2015. He is now dedicated to supporting, encouraging and inspiring school leaders.

Governance and Nominations Committee

Julia is a corporate and commercial lawyer who joined Roythornes Solicitors as a partner in 2014, having spent time in-house working with various companies as General Counsel.

She has expertise in dealing with a broad range of commercial issues, in addition to heading up the firm’s charity sector and supporting charity trustees on matters of governance. Julia also advises businesses in relation to data protection and compliance. Julia is married to Peter, has three sons and a daughter at the School. As a current parent in the School, Julia looks forward to engaging with parents and listening to their views.

Chair of the Risks & Opportunities Committee
Finance Committee

Stephen has a wealth of knowledge of property and estate management and is a qualified Member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Stephen is currently the Chief Executive Officer for the Duke of Devonshire’s group of businesses, which includes estates at Chatsworth (including Chatsworth House), Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, Eastbourne in Sussex and Lismore Castle in Ireland. Stephen is a graduate of Harper Adams University in Shropshire and was a governor of that institution from 2009 until 2020 and Vice-Chair from 2015. He has previously worked for international property agents Knight Frank before spending 17 years in a number of senior roles for the Duke of Buccleuch. In 2013 Stephen took on the role of Managing Director of property company Buckminster before moving to The Devonshire Group early in 2019.Stephen has three sons, one of whom is currently at Stamford School.