Governors

Old Bedfordian, John Holland-Kaye is Chair of Sizewell C, Chair designate of Cadent Gas (from February 2026) and a Non-Executive Director at Mace. He was CEO of Heathrow Airport from 2014 to 2023, during which time Heathrow has been named Sustainable Business of the Year, one of the Sunday Times Best Companies to work for and rated by passengers as one of the best airports in the world.  In his previous role as Development Director, he was responsible for delivering Heathrow’s £2.5bn new Terminal 2 on time and on budget. He is a member of DEFRA’s Council for Sustainable Business and a fellow of Business in the Community and of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Simon Briggs read law at University College London and is a partner at the US firm Omnus Law in the United States. As well as being a solicitor in England and Wales, he is also a member of the New York Bar and is currently based in New York.

Simon and both of his sons are Old Bedfordians and his father, Patrick Briggs, was a teacher and housemaster at Bedford School for almost 25 years.

Simon is involved in the School’s International expansion.

Rob is the Staff Elected Governor. He trained at Camberwell School of Art and was a practising artist, exhibiting widely throughout his career in education. He was Artist in Residence at Carmel College in Oxfordshire and studied for his PGCE at Goldsmiths in London. He then became Head of Art and Gallery Director at Carmel College in 1983 from where he moved to Bedford to become Director of Art in 1994. He and his wife were Houseparents of Phillpotts House from 1995-2007 during which time he became Senior Boarding Housemaster and was Acting Vice Master for the September term in 2004. Rob rekindled the Bedford School Canoe Club and the boys were active participants in the International Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. In retirement, Rob continues to develop his personal art practice and interests in sport. He still races in marathon canoe events, plays squash and hockey for Bedford Town Veterans and Scotland Masters’ Hockey.

Rob sits on the Education Committee.

Rhian is Chairman of the Harpur Trust. Having attended Bedford High School, Rhian graduated from Nottingham University to become a researcher at Chatham House. She joined McCann Erickson Advertising where she spent the remainder of her career working in London, New York and Amsterdam. In London she became a Managing Partner, Client Services Director (with direct responsibility for Microsoft EMEA, L’Oreal and Nestle) and Director of McCann’s EMEA Global Learning Platform. She was also responsible for McCann’s Graduate Recruitment and Training. She retired in 2007 and returned home to spend more time with her family. She has three children, two of whom attended Bedford Girls’ School.

Dr Andrew Edwards is a member the Education committee and is the Nominated Safeguarding Governor for the school.

He qualified from Guy’s and St Thomas’ medical school in 1995 and completed his postgraduate training in London and Oxford.

Andrew took up his current post as a GP partner in Biggleswade in 2003. He is also a Senior GP appraiser for NHS England, a Tier 3 trainer of GP registrars, and a clinical tutor for the medical students from Cambridge University attached to his practice.

Andrew is married with three children. He currently has one son still at the school. In his spare time he enjoys watching sport in particular rugby, cricket and football.

Andrew sits on the Education Committee.

David Gates is currently the Group CEO of Direct Wines, the parent company of Laithwaites; the largest DTC wine retailer in the UK. He is also a Fellow of Cambridge University Judge Business School, a Non-Executive Director of Stauning Whisky in Denmark and the co-founder of Urchin Spirits, a small independent spirits company. Prior to joining Direct Wines, David worked for BrewDog and before that at Diageo plc for over 27 years in a number of senior international and global marketing roles, including the Managing Director of Diageo Futures, Global Category Director for Whisky and Global Brand Director for Johnnie Walker. During his career at Diageo he worked and lived with his family in Brazil, The Netherlands, Japan and Singapore. While at Diageo he also sat on the main Council of the Scotch Whisky Association and chaired the SWA’s International Affairs Committee. Originally from London where he attended Latymer Upper School, David now lives in Cambridge. His son was a weekly boarder at Bedford.

David Chairs the Marketing and External Affairs Committee.

Amanda Hado-Bodfield was brought up abroad and attended international schools before reading law at Manchester University and then attending Guildford College of Law. Amanda is currently a real estate partner of a London law firm with over 21 years’ experience in property, ranging from investment acquisitions and disposals to development schemes and development finance and property portfolio management. Amanda is an ambassador for Women on Boards, a think tank and placement platform for non-executive directors and trustees. Amanda has two sons currently attending Bedford School and is the parent elected governor and sits on both the Bedford School Association Committee and the Marketing and External Affairs Committee.

Anthea Harries studied her degree at Northumbria University and is a Chartered Surveyor with over 25 years’ real estate experience of Central London large, complex mixed-use estates. Anthea recently completed her three-year tenure as a Board Member on the UK and Ireland World Regional RICS Board, is a Trustee for the Shuttleworth Group, a School Governor at a London Primary School and a Mentor for the Mentoring Circle.

As Asset Management Director at Related Argent, Anthea directs the overall management and curation of King’s Cross, as well as the new Related Argent developments including one of the largest net zero town centre projects in the UK, Brent Cross Town.

Prior to leading King’s Cross, Anthea was Head of St James at The Crown Estate where she was responsible for creating and delivering the strategic vision that transformed St James’s. Before embarking on the regeneration of St James, Anthea was a pivotal member of the team curating and managing British Land’s Central London real estate assets.

Anthea is married, with two children and two stepchildren. Based in Bedfordshire, she has two sons, on of whom is an Old Bedfordian, whilst the other is still at the school.

Anthea sits on the Finance and Resources Committee.

Phil is a member of the Education Committee and is the nominated health and safety governor for the school.

Phil grew up in north Bedfordshire and graduated from Leeds University before beginning a career in NHS management and becoming a Director of Bedford Hospital. Phil then joined a global HR management consultancy, becoming a partner with both UK and global roles.

In 2018 Phil returned to the public sector at The Open University where he is now CEO of the commercial subsidiary Open University Worldwide, and Director of Employers & Partnerships for the University. Phil is a Fellow of the CIPD and also a Non-Executive Director of the commercial subsidiary of the NHS Confederation.

Phil is married with one son who is in the Upper School.

Stephen Mayson is a Trustee and director of the Harpur Trust, having previously served as a co-opted governor of Bedford School and as a member of the Bedford Prep School Committee. He served as chair of governors from 2010 to 2018.

Stephen has a son and a daughter, and his son attended both Bedford Prep School and Bedford School before going to university in the United States and subsequently settling there.

Stephen was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn (where he is now a Bencher), and has a background as a tax lawyer, strategic advisor, and academic. He is currently non-executive chairman of Pathfinder Legal Services and holds other non-executive directorships. He is also Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Laws at University College London and Emeritus Professor at the University of Law.

He is author of several books on tax law, company law, and law firm strategy. Stephen has a long-standing commitment to voluntary contributions, both professionally and personally.

He has served on strategy and advisory groups for the Ministry of Justice, the Legal Services Board, the Bar Standards Board, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority; and he recently completed an independent review of legal services regulation, submitting his report and recommendations to the Lord Chancellor in 2020.

Stephen is Deputy Chairman of the Harpur Trust and a member of the Policy and Endowment Committees.

David Owen is a retired Deloitte partner who has lived in Bedford since 2001. He read History at the University of London and then worked in the manufacturing and retail sectors in the UK and South Africa for nine years before joining Deloitte as a Consultant in Durban in 1987. He was the Managing Partner of the Deloitte UK Consulting practice for 11 years before moving to Moscow for four years as CEO of the Russia and former Soviet Union territory in 2011. He has two sons and two daughters (quadruplets!) who attended Bedford School and the former Bedford High School respectively, who are now pursuing careers in accountancy, business software, sports brand management and the RAF. He is an avid rugby fan and, now retired from Deloitte, is a director of both the Bedford Blues and the Llanelli Scarlets. He is a keen golfer and enjoys country pursuits and rally navigation. David chairs the Finance & Resources (F&R) Committee and sits on the Remuneration Sub-Committee.

George Ratcliffe is an Emeritus Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford and an Emeritus Fellow of New College Oxford. He is a biochemist and alongside his research and teaching interests, he undertook numerous administrative roles within the University, including Head of Department.

He is currently Chair of the project board for the proposed redevelopment of the University’s Botanic Garden. George is the Harpur Trustee nominated by New College, continuing a link that dates back to William Harpur’s original benefaction, and the Trust’s Link Governor at Bedford School.

He became a Trustee in 2015, and he was a Governor at Bedford Girls’ School from 2016 to 2024.

In the world of independent education, Jennifer has made a lasting impact. She served over a decade as a Trustee of The Harpur Trust, Chaired its Grants Committee, and is also a Governor at Cheltenham College.

With a dynamic background that blends education, strategy, and Royal Service, Jennifer brings perspective derived from a variety of roles and experience to the table.

Her career journey includes roles at The General Council of the Bar of England and Wales, The Royal Household in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Private Office, and her current post as a Military Planner at the Ministry of Defence.

She brings deep expertise from both the education and defence sectors, combining academic insight with hands-on strategic planning.

Jennifer’s academic path was full of adventure similar to her professional one, with degrees from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, the University of Reading, and the University of Oxford, each focused on International Politics and Strategic Studies and alongside serving with The Royal Navy and British Army. She’s also a First Sea Lord Fellow and an active member of Women in Defence.

Outside of work, Jennifer is a self-confessed sports enthusiast, (cricket and tennis top the list)! She stays on her toes keeping up with her two daughters and her energetic pair of dachshunds! Jennifer sits on the Education Committee.

Mark Slater was educated at Wellington College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford before embarking on a career as a schoolmaster. He taught Spanish and French, returning to Wellington in his late twenties, where he became a Housemaster as well as running the Spanish Department and coaching hockey, rugby and cricket. He was appointed as Headmaster of St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, in 1996, before becoming Head of The Leys, Cambridge for the last ten years of his career. He retired in January 2014, and now spends his time travelling, learning new languages, playing golf, supporting Saracens RFC and governing two schools. He is also a volunteer for the Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge. He is married with two grown-up daughters.

Old Bedfodian Mike Spencer is Vice President for Development, McDonald’s UK & Ireland. He is responsible for leadership of the Development Function including construction, estate management and acquisitions.

For the previous 10 years Mike served as Chief Business Development Director at the Heart with Smart Group Ltd, who ran the franchise for Pizza Hut Restaurants across the UK, where he sat on the executive team and led the Development Function. In this role, Mike was responsible for the group’s property portfolio and led significant acquisition and reinvestment programmes on a national scale.

Prior to that Mike spent 15 years with Yum Brands in senior roles within the Development, Franchise and Operational Teams including Chief Operations Officer supporting franchisees and company owned restaurant teams across the UK and Europe.

Mike has three children with his partner, including two boys currently at Bedford School, two dogs, and enjoys water sports, golf, coaching rugby, business and national/international politics.

Mike is Chair of the Bedford School Association.