School Governors 

HH Judge Simon Brown QC - Chairman of the School Governors

Simon Brown has been a trustee of the Bedford Charity since 2001. He was a QC in London and since September 2006 has been a specialist mercantile judge for the Midlands based at the Birmingham Civil Justice Centre. He has a son and a daughter who attended Bedford School and Bedford High School respectively. He has lived near Bedford for 20 years in the village of Stevington where he and his wife, Kathy, have created a garden which is opened regularly to the public.

Mr David Doran MSc, BSc

David Doran is a Trustee of The Bedford Charity, nominated by the staff at Bedford School. He is a member of the Charity's Grant Committee and Chairman of the Education Committee at Bedford School. David spent fourteen years working in Schools before finishing as Deputy Head at Sharnbrook Upper School. In 1985 he was seconded by the Bedfordshire Education Service to Brasenose College, Oxford to study for a Masters degree. David returned to Bedfordshire to take up a post in the Inspection and Advisory Service later becoming Chief Advisor and then Assistant Chief Education Officer in 1992. Following the local government reorganisation of Bedfordshire in 1997 he became Assistant Director of Education, Arts and Libraries and then in 2001 Director. During this time David has been fortunate to have been involved in a wide range of education initiatives at a local, national and international level. In 2002 he was awarded the Ordres des Palmes Academiques by the French government for services to Education. He is currently working for the Alpha Plus Group as their Principal Education Consultant.

Mr Andrew Bell MA

Andrew Bell has been a Governor of Bedford School since 2001 and Chairman of the Finance and Resources Committee since 2005. He is the Chief Executive of Witan Investment Trust Plc and for nine years prior to that he was a Director of Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management, a portfolio management firm specialising in private clients and charities. Previous city experience was gained at CSFB, BZW and Phillips and Drew, after a decade in the oil industry with Shell and two years working for the Conservative Research Department. He read PPE at Oxford, where he was president of the Union in 1976. He took a Sloan Fellowship at the London Business School in 1987. He is the non-executive Director of two Investment Trusts and of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) and a regular commentator on financial markets on television and radio.

Sir Clive Loader KCB OBE ADC FRAeS

A Royal Air Force Harrier pilot by background, Sir Clive has seen operational service in the Falkland Islands, Bosnia and Iraq. He commanded No 3 (Fighter) Squadron and Royal Air Force Station Laarbruch (in Germany). He served in the Permanent Joint Headquarters as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, in the MOD as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff for Operations and as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Strike Command in the rank of Air Chief Marshal. He was appointed as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the New Years Honours list 2006 and promoted to 4-star rank on 26 Feb 2007. He became the first Commander-in-Chief of the newly formed Air Command on 1 April 2007. Married to Alison (née Leith) since 1976 they have 3 sons, Matt (1980), Tom (1982) and Edward (1988) (all 3 were educated at Bedford School). In his spare time, Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Loader enjoys playing golf and (now that playing days are over) watching rugby and cricket. He is also a keen military historian.

Professor Stephen Mayson LLB, LLM, PhD, Barrister, FRSA

Stephen Mayson is a Trustee of the Bedford Charity, nominated by the Bedford School Committee having previously served as a co-opted Governor and having previously also served on the Bedford Preparatory School Committee. He has beena member of both the Finance & General Purposes, and Marketing & External Affairs (which he now chairs) sub committees. Stephen has a son and a daughter, and his son attended both Bedford Preparatory School and Bedford School before going to University in the United States and subsequently settling there. Stephen has a background as a tax lawyer and a strategy consultant, and is currently Professor of strategy at the College of Law (an educational charity with degree-awarding powers) and the Director of its Legal Services Policy Institute. The Institute is responsible for monitoring developments in the legal services market and engaging with government, regulators, professional bodies, practitioners and others to encourage the supply of effective legal services. He is the author of a number of student and practitioner books on tax law, company law, and law firm strategy and management, and also holds a number of fellowships, including Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Stephen has a long-standing commitment to voluntary and pro bono contributions, both professionally and personally: he serves on strategy and policy groups for the Ministry of Justice, the Bar Standards Board and the Bar Council; he has also been a parish councillor, including a period as chairman, and remains a trustee of the village charity (for the relief of the poor in the parish), as well as chairing educational appeals for Buckinghamshire County Council since 1993. He has also been the Chair of Governors and of Finance at a secondary school in Milton Keynes, prior to its conversion to an Academy in 2009.

Mr Phil Wallace MA, FCA, FBRP

Phil is one of the two governors nominated by his former college, New College, Oxford, where he is a trustee of the college's development fund. Phil retired from accountants KPMG in 2006 after working there for 36 years. He specialised in turnaround and insolvency, leading the firm's cross border restructuring business. He was a member of the Board, Chairman of its Audit Committee and a Vice Chairman of the UK firm. Since retiring, Phil has become Chairman of the Steering Board of The Insolvency Service, the agency responsible for all the government's interests in insolvency, and a non-executive Board member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. He has three sons, all of whom went to Bedford School. His interests include golf, bridge, bird watching and travel.

Mr David Dixon BA (Hons) MBA FCA AIB

David is a parent elected Governor and a member of the Finance and Resources Committee. He is a Chartered Accountant and has recently retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, where he was a partner in the Assurance practice for eighteen years. He is a trustee and deputy chairman of the Inspiring Futures Foundation, a charity involved in the provision of careers guidance to young people. He has three daughters who attended Bedford High School and two sons. The elder is an old boy whilst the younger is currently a pupil at the School.

Mr Richard Miller MA (Cantab), Dip Ed (Soton), Dip HA (Lomdon), RAFVR(T)

After education at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Southampton Universities Richard joined the teaching profession and remained a practising teacher, in various roles and at different schools, until 2004. Richard joined Bedford School as Head of History in 1982, becoming Director of Studies and Second Deputy in 1988. During those teaching years he was an active GCE and GCSE Examiner, an Inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate and worked intermittently for Government agencies (SCAA, QCA and others); and he extended his experiences as Assessor for the Civic Trust in their national Buildings Award Scheme, by taking a Birkbeck College Diploma in History of Art, by developing his painting, drawing and archaeological interests. Foreign adventures have focused upon the Middle East, primarily in pursuit of the geography and politics of Palestine and its neighbours. In London he was Vice Chairman of the Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery; and in Bedford he founded The Friends of Cecil Higgins’ Art Gallery, where he is now on the Gallery Board. Richard is Vice Chairman of a State Maintained Lower School and, with his wife, is active in village affairs. He continues to travel and to paint and draw for pleasure and commission; and he also tries to keep abreast of national educational developments.

Cllr Colleen Atkins MBE

Colleen was appointed as a trustee of the Bedford Charity in 2009 as a local authority representative. She is a member of the Bedford School Committee and the Administration and Audit Committee. Colleen is a retired teacher and was a governor of two local schools. She taught in Luton and Bedford and her two sons attended Bedford Modern School. First elected to Bedford Borough Council in 1988 representing Harpur Ward, Colleen has gained considerable experience on a wide range of issues and served on many committees. In 1995 she was elected as a Bedfordshire County Councillor and served on both councils. In 2009 she was elected to the new unitary council of Bedford Borough. She is currently Chair of the council’s Environment, Regeneration & Corporate Committee. From 2005 – 2009, Colleen served as a member of Bedfordshire Police Authority and was Chair of the Community Engagement Committee. In 2009 she was appointed as an Executive member of Bedfordshire & Luton Fire & Rescue Authority and is Chair of the Community Risk Management Scrutiny committee. Colleen has lived in Bedford since 1981. She founded Home Watch (Neighbourhood Watch) in Bedfordshire in 1982. In 1994, she co-founded the National Neighbourhood Watch Association, a registered charity. She was proud to be elected as its first national Chair and liaised with the Home Office and Ministers at a strategic level until she retired from office in 2001. Colleen was awarded the MBE by the Queen in the 1995 New Years Honours for her voluntary services to the community and Neighbourhood Watch. She has been a trustee of a number of charities and local organisations.

Mr Michael Womack MA Cantab, LLM London

After qualifying as a solicitor in1972, Michael worked in the City, before joining Taylors in Newmarket where he became a partner and remained for the rest of his professional life. Taylors became part of Taylor Vinters by merger; the firm he initially joined had 5 partners, the one he retired from had over 20 with corresponding increase in staffing. It was a challenging time of almost continuous change. A large part of his practice consisted in advising charities, colleges, Cambridge University and other educational institutions. Since retirement he has continued to be active in the charity sector. Michael is the current chairman of Long Road sixth form college, as well as a trustee of Homerton College. Michael runs a modest grant awarding charity founded by one of his clients. In addition, he is a trustee of a learned society, a medical charity, a specialist museum and a body giving help to the visually impaired. The first two of these are the most time consuming, but they are both now coming to a natural end in the course of 2010. Michael's enthusiasms are classical music, especially opera; travel; walking and ornithology.

Dr Anne Egan MA BM BCh MRCP FRCR

Dr Egan studied medicine at Cambridge and Oxford. She then trained in internal medicine before undertaking specialist radiology training in Cambridge. She was appointed as Consultant Radiologist to Bedford Hospital in 1995 where she now works. She has two sons at Bedford School, and a daughter who attended Dame Alice Harpur School. She has served on the Chapel Committee since 2004 and is Chair of the Pastoral and Recreational Committee.

Mr Hugh Maltby BA (Hons)

Hugh is a member of the Pastoral and Recreational Committee, Bedford School Association and Oarsmen Special Interest Group.  He is a former old boy of the School and currently has two sons in the Upper School with a further son at Pilgrims School.  He comes from a family with strong connections to the School going back a number of generations. His father served as the parent elected Governor on the School Committee following the fire in 1979.  Hugh has worked for the past 24 years in the Lloyd’s insurance market holding various operational directorships, which has provided him with a broad spectrum of business management experience.  His interests outside work include rowing, swimming and rugby. 

Mr Chris Johnson

Chris is Group Chief Executive of the Paragon Electronics group of companies which he co-founded in 1991. An Old Bedfordian and current Chairman of the Bedford School Foundation Chris has served as an associate governor on both the Pastoral and Recreation and Marketing and External Affairs committees. He has four sons all of whom have attended Bedford School; two are still at the school.