Governing Body

Examination Outcomes 

School Improvement Plan

Attendance

Behaviour

Equalities

Student Mental Health & Wellbeing

10th February 2027

Careers/Work Experience

Climate & Sustainability

Early Careers Teachers

Pupil Premium

Quality of Education, CPD & School Reviews

21st April 2027

External Partnerships

Personal Development and PSHE

SEND Provision

Stakeholder Engagement 

Vulnerable/ Looked After Children

Staff Workforce/Workload/Wellbeing

School Improvement Priorities for 2027/8

Shelley Baker

5

Julian Benkel

1

Absence authorised by the Full Governing Body

Jon Dee

5

Alan Gunn

5

Dulani Kulasinghe

5

Alex Marsh

5

Ian Rodgers

4

I have been connected to the school since 1995, having seen three of my children pass through Varndean, and I am currently serving my umpteenth term as a Governor. 

By profession I am a chartered accountant with specific specialisation in compliance and corporate governance. My professional career included providing consultancy services to the Higher Education sector particularly to those involved in residential student accommodation in the UK. 

I therefore bring experiences as a parent and as businessman to the governing body.

As well as being a keen follower of Brighton and Hove Albion, I have a large family, including many grandchildren. In my retirement from professional life, I now run a holiday letting business.

I am delighted to serve as a governor at Varndean School in Brighton. I have worked as a governor at another school for just over a year, and I am now proud to play a role in shaping the education of our young people here at Varndean.
 
In my professional life, I am a qualified Design and Technology teacher and hold roles responsible for the pastoral well-being of a large group of pupils at a local senior school and running the entire school's co-curricular programme. I have been teaching for over fifteen years in various schools across the country and leading an academic department. This gives me a unique perspective on the challenges schools, their staff and students face. As a governor, I am passionate about providing high-quality education and pastoral care, ensuring that every student at Varndean has the opportunity to thrive - I firmly believe the two go hand in hand.
 
Outside of my work and role as a governor, I enjoy the fantastic restaurants and eateries Brighton offers - in good moderation, of course! I am also fitness-focused, getting up at the crack of dawn to challenge myself for the day ahead. I believe having hobbies and interests outside of work is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and I encourage students at our school to explore their passions and interests outside the classroom.
 
As the safeguarding lead, I take my responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of our students very seriously. As a governor, I work closely with the school's senior leadership team and staff to ensure that all safeguarding policies and procedures are followed rigorously and that every student feels safe, secure, and supported while at school. I believe that safeguarding is a fundamental part of our duty of care to our students. I am committed to ensuring that our school continues to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all its students.
 
I look forward to seeing more of the fantastic opportunities and work over the coming years in this role
 

I joined the governing body at Varndean in summer 2026 as a co-opted governor, and I lead on Achievement - covering attainment and progress across the school, pupil premium and looked-after children.

My professional background is in NHS operational leadership. I have held a range of leadership roles across Surrey and Sussex, and I enjoy bringing that experience of running complex public services into an education setting. Much of my day-to-day work involves performance and outcomes data, financial oversight, workforce planning and, increasingly, digital and AI strategy - all of which I hope translates usefully into supporting and challenging the school's leadership team.

I live locally and care a great deal about strong, inclusive, non-selective state education. Varndean's results have consistently been something the community can be proud of, and my focus as a governor is on making sure every pupil benefits from that.

Outside work I'm a keen cyclist, and live in Hove with my wife.

Following retirement after a career of many years in the finance and recruitment sectors as an Information Technology professional (predominately covering Operations, Security and Risk & Governance), I am excited to be offered the opportunity as a Co-opted Governor and look forward to contributing to Varndean schools future successes. 

As a father of 3 children who have been in education for the much of my adult life, I like to think I have a degree of understanding and empathy with the challenges and opportunities our young people face (hopefully my children will agree with me!). I am a strong believer in supporting young people in growing their skills, knowledge and self belief so as to achieve their dreams and ambitions, whilst becoming respectful and supportive members of our society.

On a personal level, my interests are road cycling, football and genealogy. I typically cycle 4,000-5,000 miles a year (and need to - my vice is cakes, I eat far too many!), and have completed various events such as Lands End to John O’Groats. For my sins, at a football level I’ve always supported West Ham (some sympathy please, we're going through a bad time!). Genealogy is a winter task for me, to date I’ve managed to get some parts of my family tree back to the early 1700’s (no riches or famous history disappointingly!).