Poole Grammar School, Gravel Hill, Poole, Dorset, BH17 9JU | Tel: 01202 692132 | Email: pgsoffice@poolegrammar.com

Governing Body

The Governing Board of Poole Grammar School have ultimate responsibility for the strategic directions of the school. The day-to-day management is delegated to the Headteacher. Governors come from a wide range of backgrounds and provide expertise in many areas whilst acting as a critical friend to the Senior Leadership Team of the school. The Governing Board runs a committee structure where much of the hard work takes place. There are two main committees, The Education and Standards Committee and the Resources Committee. Full Governing Body meetings take place 4 times a year (2 Autumn Term, 1 Spring Term, and 1 Summer Term) and committee meetings take place once each term.  Other meetings and panels are convened as and when required. 

Click here for the 2022/2023 meeting attendance by Governors. These annual summaries are also contained in the Annual Report and Financial Statements which are available on the school website.

Latest Governor Register of Interests

Click here for a schedule of Governor Interests, their term of office, and class of Governor.

All governors can be contacted through the school office via Mrs T. Grist, Governance Professional, Poole Grammar School, Gravel Hill, Poole, BH17 9JU. E-mail: gristt@poolegrammar.com

Dr K Power (Chairperson - Academy Trustee and Member)

I have been Chair of Governors for several years and am an old boy of the school (1967-74). I am a firm believer in the concept of grammar schools and their ability to bring life changing educational opportunities to students of academic ability irrespective of parental income or background. For that reason I am committed to sustaining and improving Poole Grammar School on all fronts.

I work as a consultant in Anaesthesia & Critical Care Medicine in Poole Hospital and am currently the Clinical Director for Critical Care Services. I have a medico-legal practice and as such am a director of my company Power Medico-Legal Consultancy. I also have a small property letting interest.

As Chair of Governors I endeavour to attend meetings of the other committees and also chair the Staffing Committee

Mr N Bichard (Vice Chair - Academy Trustee and Member)

Neil Bichard has been a governor since September 1992 and was originally an LEA governor appointed by Dorset County Council.

Neil is a qualified architect practicing in Broadstone, with a degree from Portsmouth School of Architecture and a post graduate diploma from Birmingham School of Architecture. Prior to that he was educated at a local boys grammar school and has been married since September 1990 and has a daughter and a son. It’s best not mentioned that he was chair of the old boys association of his former school for 6 years.

Neil also served as a governor at Springdale First School for 9 years, 8 of which were as Chair of Governors, and is a local scout leader . In his spare time Neil is a volunteer warden on Brownsea Island, a board member of East Dorset Heritage Trust and sings in the choir of St. Peter’s Church in Bournemouth together with Dorset Chamber Choir.. Many of you may also have seen him as head marshall and co-organiser of the Broadstone Christmas Parade.

Neil has always been a strong supporter of the school in his time as a governor and has been a “staff” member on the school ski trip for 7 years and was also a DofE supervisor and assessor having helped run the Bronze award at the school for more than 10 years. He has also supported, and taken part in, the History Department’s Battlefield Tour, speaking on the architectural aspects, and in particular the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens at Thiepval. In addition he has helped on the Y7 Viking experience at Cranborne ATC as well as attending music, drama and sports events at the school.

As well as being on the Full Governing Body, Neil chairs both the Governors’ Premises Committee and the Health and Safety Committee, and is link Governor with both the History and Music Departments. Neil is also chair of Poole Grammar School Enterprises Limited, the school’s trading subsidiary.

Mrs Marianne Barnard (Parent Trustee)

Marianne joined the governing board in 2022 as a parent governor. She serves on the curriculum committee and also attends full board meetings. She has two sons at the school. Marianne has a degree in Geography from the University of Manchester and an MBA from Bournemouth University. Marianne is currently Director of Governance at Bournemouth and Poole College. Prior to this role, she worked for fifteen years at Bournemouth University. 

Mr S Bowden (Academy Trustee)

I have been a Trustee since 2014 and have had 2 boys attend Poole Grammar School and 2 girls attend Parkstone Grammar School, where I am also a governor.
I have a degree in Physics and Masters degrees in Maths and Computing and I am currently studying at UCL
I am on the Education Committee and am the school’s Data Protection Officer. I am particularly interested in Educational performance and especially in our Special Educational Needs support. 

Miss F Gollon (Staff Trustee - Teaching)
Mr M Robertson (Parent Trustee)

I became a Parent Governor in 2022 and sit on both the Full Board of Governors and the Finance Committee.  I have a son at the school in Year 8 and also a daughter at Parkstone Grammar School. 

I have a BSC (Hons) degree in Financial Services from the University of Manchester and a professional banking qualification, gained during a 34-year career with Barclays, RBS, Santander and Handelsbanken.

In my banking career I undertook a variety of roles, and some of the skills I developed are particularly useful to me as a Governor.  These include strategic planning, financial analysis and risk assessment.  I also gained significant experience in people management including leadership, coaching and mentoring. 

I am a passionate believer that co-curricular activities are key to the health and well-being of students and are an important complement to their academic success.

In my spare time I play tennis, occasionally run Poole Parkrun and enjoy watching football. 

Dr A J Smith (Head Teacher and Ex-Officio Trustee)

Amanda Smith joined Poole Grammar School as its Headteacher in September 2020.

Amanda studied Neuroscience at the University of Cardiff, graduating in 1994. Once she had completed her degree, she went on to study for a PhD in Neurophysiology at the University of Leicester.  She studied for her PGCE in 1999 and once complete, began work in Leicester and then Sheffield as a Science teacher. More recently she worked at South Wilts Grammar School in Salisbury before beginning her headship at Poole Grammar School in 2020.

As the Principal Governor, Amanda attends all Full Governing Body and committee meetings.

Mrs A Steel (Academy Trustee)

My husband and I are retired now but my previous experience of finance director running the accounts for our business led me to study accountancy to Technician level.  This enabled me to further understand controlling the accounts, payroll and all financial decisions required to run our successful company.
I was first a governor in 1993 at our children’s First School in Verwood, serving two terms as a parent governor, a role where I found being involved in the development of the school very enjoyable. When I finished my second term I was vice chair of governors and Chair of the Finance Committee, our youngest being at middle school by this time.
Two years later I was elected as a parent governor at Poole Grammar School my son was in Year 9 by this time and where I have been pleased to be able to reprise my governor role, albeit on a completely different level. The differences in the size of the budget and the age and number of pupils are vast but I found it surprising how many similarities there are and how much of my past experience has been invaluable. I am now an Academy governor serving on the Admissions, Staffing and Finance committees and am Chair of Finance.

Mrs A Thomas (Academy Trustee)

I was elected as a parent Governor in 2016; I have a son in year 9 and I currently work at Canford Heath Junior School. I worked in retail management but stayed at home once we had children. Since then I have taken numerous educational courses and am currently working towards a qualification as a level 3 teaching assistant. As a parent I have been involved in various committees, I was the chair of the PTA at my children’s infant school, this included organising and running various fund raising events and I currently represent the Grammar School as a member of Poole Parents Voice. I attend the Full Governor Committee meetings and am on the Premises Committee. I am also a link Governor for the Learning Resource Centre.

Mrs Hayley Yeo (Staff Trustee - Support)