Clare Cockbill - Chair of Governors

Clare Cockbill is a Commercial Director in a leading educational compliance business. She specialises in sales and marketing strategy, business development, and the management of strategic partnerships. Clare is responsible for driving growth through the development and promotion of key service offerings, as well as building and maintaining strong client relationships.

Prior to her current role, Clare worked within the public sector, leading on the strategy and delivery of compliance services into the education sector . Before this, she held several senior Human Resource leadership positions in the automotive, construction, and engineering sectors.

Clare is a certified Mediator and holds an APCIP certificate in Investigative Practice.

She is also a parent to two children who attend Alcester Grammar School.

Claire Drake

Claire is Chair of Governors at a local primary school, where she has served on the board for several years. She has a strong interest in educational leadership, safeguarding, and supporting children with special educational needs. Claire has experience mentoring both primary and secondary-aged pupils and is currently completing a Level 3 Forest School Leadership qualification. She also volunteers as District Commissioner for Alcester and Avon Girlguiding. At home, Claire is kept busy with two children, 9 chickens, 4 dogs, 3 goats and a horse!

Lesley Henderson

Lesley is a product of grammar school education and has been a proud resident of Alcester for over 20 years. Both of Lesley's sons attended the school, and she is passionate about the potential of the school to promote social mobility.

A retired chartered accountant with extensive experience in board-level finance and change management roles within the construction and automotive sectors, she is now actively involved in the local community and has a keen interest in fostering strong links between the school and community. She enjoys spending time with family, exercising a very active spaniel and gardening.

Martin Ledgard

Martin has a son at AGS and was very pleased to be appointed as parent governor, joining the board in the Spring term 2024. He is interested in using his educational experience and skills to support the school in its ambitions of providing the highest quality of education for all pupils.

Martin has twenty years of experience working in schools, first as a teacher and then moving into leadership roles including ten years as headteacher. Most of this experience has been in the primary phase but he now works for Coventry City Council as a Senior Advisor in Education Improvement - a position which involves work with all schools and settings in the 0-19 age range. This work includes a wide range of aspects but he is particularly passionate about helping schools to improve consistency in delivering high quality day-to-day teaching and learning.

Alysa Levene

Alysa has a background in teaching and research in Higher Education and currently works in scholarly publication ethics. She has served as a parent governor of a Warwickshire primary school for several years and has a son now at AGS. She is keen to make a contribution to the school's community and has particular interests in curriculum and Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility.Alysa is the SEND link governor.

Kyri Mitsiou-Begg

Kyri is currently working as a General Manager for the NHS. Academically, she has an MSc in Education, an MBA from Warwick Business School, and a BSc in Nursing. Kyri is also a member of the NHS England Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, which aims to improve NHS care through innovation and future-proof technological ventures. In addition to her experience as a Registered Nurse and Manager, Kyri has a military background as a Naval Officer. 

Steve Parry

Steve joined the AGS governing body in the autumn of 2025. He has 8+ years of governor experience having served initially as a parent governor at a local Infants’ school and, more recently, as a foundation governor and vice-chair of a local Junior school. Steve had a 33-year career with Barclays Bank during which he spent a significant amount of time working with financial data, KPIs and analytics. He is now retired although works part-time during exam season as a lead invigilator at a local High school. Steve’s elder son has just left AGS after completing his A-Levels whilst his younger son is in Year 9. During his spare time, Steve enjoys going to the gym, walking, and watching plenty of sport (especially football, cricket and F1).

Paul Shepherd

Paul joined the AGS Governing Board to gain a deeper understanding of the education system and to support the school community. Paul has a child at AGS, so is able to offer a parent’s perspective to the Board. Paul’s background is in Engineering, he is a fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and leads a global research and development team. Paul also sits on the board of a Swedish automotive business.

Sam Tubb

Sam is a business advisor to start-up companies and has a particular interest in education tech and female health tech firms.  She is an Investment Committee member at homeless charity Emmaus and sits on the board at The Key Support Services.  Sam has been a governor at AGS since late 2020 and has one son at the school.  She previously served as a governor at a primary school in Worcestershire for six years.

Jackie Gough
John Squires
Alison Tor

Please click here to view 

Please click below to view the Terms of Reference for each committee

• Board of Trustees
• Education Committee
• Finance, Audit and Risk Committee
• Pay and Performance Committee
• People Committee

To view the Register of People with Significant Control (PSC) please click here.

Please click here to view the 2024/25 meeting attendance record

 

The Academy Trust is a company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity. The Charitable Company’s memorandum and articles of association are the primary governing documents of the Academy Trust

The company was incorporated on 7 January 2011.  On 1 April 2011 Alcester Grammar School converted from a foundation school to academy trust status under the Academies Act 2010 and all the operations, and assets and liabilities were transferred to Alcester Grammar School from the Governors of Alcester Grammar School.

The governors act as trustees for charitable activities of Alcester Grammar School and are also the directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of company law.  The Charitable Company is known as Alcester Grammar School. 

For latest Governors, please see Get Information About Schools, by clicking here. 

Each member of the Charitable Company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Charitable Company in the event of it being wound up while they are a member, or within one year after they cease to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10, for the debts and liabilities contracted before they ceased to be a member.

In accordance with normal commercial practice the Academy Trust has purchased insurance to protect governors and officers from claims arising from negligent acts, errors or omissions occurring whilst on Academy Trust business. 

The Academy Trust's object is specifically restricted to the following: to advance for the public benefit education in the United Kingdom, in particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing by establishing, maintaining, carrying on, managing and developing a school offering a broad and balanced curriculum. The Academy Trust operates under a funding agreement issued by the Department for Education on 12 October 2022 and commenced operations on 1 April 2011.

 

The members of the academy trust may appoint up to 12 trustees (governors). There is no limit to the number of governors who may be co-opted by trustees, provided that the total number of governors who are employees of the school (including the principal) does not exceed one-third of the total number of governors. The principal shall be treated for all purposes as an ex-officio governor, if the members have chosen to appoint them as a governor. There will be a minimum of two parent governors who shall be elected by parents of registered students at the school.

New governors are asked to sign the governor code of conduct, have an enhanced DBS check and to complete safeguarding training. They attend all board meetings and may be asked to act as a link governor for a particular area, depending on their personal or business expertise. Governors have access to all policies and procedures and will be offered governance training opportunities, as appropriate. They will also be encouraged to visit the school and to meet with staff and students.

A unified leadership structure operates to help improve the way the school is run.  The structure consists of the governing board and the senior leadership team.  The aim of the management structure is to devolve responsibility and encourage decision-making at all levels.

The governing board is responsible for the vision, ethos and strategic development of the school, adopting an annual school development plan and budget, monitoring the school by the use of budgets, management accounts and educational performance data and making major decisions about the direction of the school, capital expenditure and senior staff appointments.

To ensure effective and efficient governance, with the school development plan at its core, regular board meetings for all governors are held throughout the year. Individual governors take the lead on separate areas, including quality of education, student personal development, behaviour and attitudes, safeguarding, careers, special educational needs and disabilities, finance (incorporating the duties of a finance committee) and admissions. There is a separate risk and audit committee and a separate pay and performance committee. The members of the academy trust meet at least once a year at their annual general meeting.  

The senior leadership team contains the principal (chief executive), the finance & operations director, two vice principals and two assistant principals. These senior leaders direct the school at an executive level implementing the policies laid down by the governing board and reporting back to it.  The senior leaders are responsible for the authorisation of spending within agreed budgets and the appointment of staff, though appointment boards for posts in the senior leadership team always contain a governor.  Some spending control is devolved to members of the senior leadership team, with financial limits above which the principal must countersign.

Heads of department are responsible for the day-to-day operation of curriculum subject areas and accordingly organise their teaching staff, capitation resources, facilities and students. 

 

The governing board has the responsibility to assess the strategic risks to which the school is exposed. The risk and audit committee will carry out an annual systematic analysis of all risks to produce a risk management register. The governing board has introduced systems, including operational procedures and internal financial controls in order to minimise risk.  The school has an effective system of internal financial controls, this is detailed in the school’s Financial Policies & Procedures document.

As part of its operation, the Academy liaises with organisations such as the Local Authority and The South Warwickshire Education Partnership as well as with other education providers and trainers such as local schools, further education institutions, the local Teaching School Hub and universities. These links are maintained in the interests of supporting good practice and information sharing and consolidate well established mutually supportive associations.