Admissions

The Governing Body

 

As Chair of Governors at Woking High School, I would like to extend a warm welcome to those of you visiting our website.

Our students are our priority and we want to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible education and opportunities for them to acquire the life skills needed to thrive as valued members of our community.

As governors, our role is to set the strategic direction for the school and to see that the school achieves the highest possible standards in all areas. Our focus is always about improving outcomes for students, whether this is around academic results, excellence in teaching and learning, behaviour and attendance or the safety and health of everyone in the school community. We are also responsible for overseeing the financial management of the school, making sure its money is well spent.

I am very fortunate to be supported by a dedicated governing body. There are 15 governors in total, all of whom give their time voluntarily. Between us we have a wide range of skills and are appointed to represent parents, staff and the local community.

We work closely with the Headteacher and senior leaders to ensure objectives are met, standards upheld and that future planning is both visionary and realistic.

Most importantly we are a team, united by our commitment to the school and the responsibility we share for its long-term success.

Regards

Chris Wavish
Chair of Governors

 

Contact the Chair of Governors

The Chair of Governors and the Clerk can be contacted via the school’s address:

Morton Road,
Horsell
Woking
Surrey GU21 4TJ

or directly to the Clerk (Mrs Sue Barker).

Members of the Academy Trust

Woking High School became an Academy on the 1st August 2013. An Academy is a state-funded independent school and is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee. The Academy is subject to a Funding Agreement which is a formal contract between Woking High School and the Department of Education. This document and other documents relating to the Academy structure can be viewed by selecting the documents tab.

The Members of the Academy Trust are as follows:

Mr Brett Freeman (Member)
Dr Michael Hipkins (Member)
Mr Nigel Riley (Vice Chair of Governing Board)
Mr Zamir Tehal (Co-opted Governor)
Mrs Christine Wavish (Chair of Governing Board)

Governors and Committees

The Governors have responsibility for setting and monitoring the overall strategic direction of the Academy Trust, approving decisions reserved to Governors and appointing key members of staff.

The Governors meet as a board three or four times each year. All decisions reserved to the Governors are taken by the board as a whole. Board committees also meet between three and six times each year to consider detailed matters and recommend decisions to the full board.

The committees are:

Finance and Resources (Sub Committee: Health and Safety)
Curriculum and School Performance
Admissions and Partnerships
Personnel (Sub Committee: Pay)
Governance and Assurance

Name

Category

Appointing Body

Areas of Responsibility

Date current term of office commenced

Mrs Maiken Walter

Headteacher

Ex-Officio

 

Sept 2019

Ms Julia Allen Staff Governor Staff   December 2022

Mr Paul Blagbrough

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body

Chair of Finance & Resources

Aug 2021

Mr Luke Dixon

Staff Governor Staff   March 2024

Ms Kerstin Fenton

Associate Governor (Health & Safety)

Governing Body

 

March 2024

Ms Eleanor Griffiths

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body

 

Sept 2022

Mr Kris Hamson

Parent Governor

Parents

 

Sept 2022

Mrs Elizabeth Kyriacou

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body

Chair of Admissions and Partnerships

Chair of Governance & Assurance

SEND Link Governor

Oct 2021

Mr James Magowan

Parent Governor

Parents

Chair of Curriculum & School Performance

Sept 2021

Miss Ellen McElhatton

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body

CiC & Safeguarding Link Governor

Sept 2021

Mr Nigel Riley

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body

Vice Chair of Governors

Mar 2024

Mr Alun Soper

Parent Governor

Parents

Careers Link Governor

Sept 2021

Mr Zamir Tehal

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body

Chair of Personnel

CiC & Safeguarding Link Governor

Oct 2022

Mrs Christine Wavish

Co-opted Governor

Governing Body Chair of Governors

Sept 2023

Mr Jian Xie

Parent Governor

Parents

 

Sept 2023

Mrs Sue Barker

Clerk to the Governing Body

 

  Dec 2020

During the past 12 months, the following individuals have held the position of Governor: 

Name

Category

Appointing Body

Areas of responsibility

Date stepped down / resigned

Mr Robin Beeson Staff Governor Staff   Dec 2023
Mr David Ellis Co-opted Governor Governing Body Chair of Curriculum & School Performance Oct 2023
Dr Roy Wernham LA Governor Local Authority CiC & Safeguarding Link Governor Aug 2023

What does a School Governor Do?

Governors are volunteers and are responsible for overseeing the management side of a school: strategy, policy, budgeting and staffing. They enable the school to run as effectively as possible, working alongside senior leaders and supporting teachers to provide excellent education to children

The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the school’s leadership team to drive school improvement.

Being a school governor is a commitment to attending governing body meetings which consider issues such as setting the school vision, mitigating financial risk and scrutinising educational, wellbeing, behaviour and attendance outcomes.
 

Expectations


All governors are subject to a DBS check before starting and will be required to attend a short Induction to Governance course and annual Safeguarding training ( 1 hour). They are expected to undertake ongoing training to support themselves in their role. The school has a budget which allows for this.

The main task is to attend meetings and contribute to the work of the governing body. Meetings of the full governing body take place once a term and each sub-committee normally also meets once a term but some may meet more frequently. We have 5 sub committees: Finance & Resources, Personnel, Curriculum & Performance, Admissions and Governance & Assurance. Governors at Woking High typically sit on 2 sub committees. Meetings are usually held at either 8am or 6pm and generally last 1 ½ - 2 hours with additional time needed beforehand to read all the relevant documents.

Other involvement such as ad hoc panels , departmental visits , attendance at school events are not compulsory, but are recommended to maximise your impact as a school governor.
 

Who are the governors?


The Governors are a diverse group of volunteers, each bring different skills, experience and knowledge from a range of organisations and business areas but all having a common interest in and commitment to the school, its staff, pupils, buildings and the community of which it forms a part. Between them they represent the staff, local community, parents and senior leadership of the school

If you would like to read more about the role please click on the following link to the Department for Education Governance Handbook

DfE Governance Handbook Or if you would like to talk to one of the current governors please contact us.
 

Parent governors


A parent governor role is no different from any other category of governor. Although parent governors are elected by parents they are not delegates and parents cannot mandate them on how they should vote or what they should say in governing body meetings. They do not carry an obligation to express any views apart from their own and hold the unique position of having a parental viewpoint. They are not expected to gather the views of other parents and take them to the governing body (unless the governing body has specifically asked them to).
 

Staff governors


Staff governors are representative staff members rather than representatives of staff, bringing a staff viewpoint and perspective to discussion and debate. They act according to their own conscience and should follow the appropriate rules of governor protocol and confidentiality

They do not have a mandate to express any views other than their own. However, they should report in good faith any widely held staff views. They are not expected to gather the views of other staff and take them to the governing body or to vote as instructed by other members of staff or professional bodies. 
 

Co-opted governors


Co-opted governors are individuals from the community who have the skills and experience which the governing body requires. Governors do not need to be experts in the field of education but will have: an interest in all the children’s futures, a desire to make a difference, a willingness to accept responsibility, and an ability to work in a team, ask questions, listen and learn.

A co-opted governor should always act in the best interests of the school and wider community and cannot be mandated to take a particular stance on issues.

Declaration of Interests 2024-25

Governors' Record of Meeting Attendance 2023-24