Anna Nicholson – Co-opted governor

Co-Chair of the Governing Board

Anna was elected to be co-chair of Alderbrook's governing board in September 2018, having served on the board since 2016. She was previously Chair of the Children, Families and Communities Committee, and now is a member of the Curriculum & Achievement Committee. 

Anna has lived in Battersea for the last 10 years and currently works in the private education sector, as VP of Global Marketing for EF Education First. Before EF, she ran marketing for Expedia's B2B arm and previously spent nearly 10 years within the consulting industry.  Anna sits on a number of other education non-profit boards, including Eastside Educational Trust, where she is a Trustee.  

Pamela Addoh – Co-opted governor

Pamela has lived in Battersea for the last 5 years. She became a governor at the school in 2018 and is currently vice chair of the Curriculum & Achievement Committee.

Pamela works as Head of Global Sales at a global investment bank. During her 15 years’ experience in the financial industry, she has actively been involved in identifying and developing young talent. Pamela also volunteers as a mentor for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).

Nigel Brook – Co-opted governor 

Nigel lives in Wandsworth Common and his grown-up daughter lives round the corner from the school.

He is a partner at an international law firm, specialising in insurance. 

He became a governor at the school in 2015 and chairs the Resources Committee.

Shona Dunn – Co-opted governor 

Shona lives in Southfields. She has three children, two now at university, all of whom went to school in Wandsworth.

Shona has been an Alderbrook Governor since 2016 and is the chair of the Curriculum and Achievement Committee.

She works full time as a Civil Servant in the Department for Health and Social Care and previously worked at the Department for Education where she was responsible for education standards. As a result Shona has a lot of knowledge about the curriculum, and policy on assessment and inspection which she brings to discussions of the Governing Board.

Sam Glanz - Co-opted governor

Sam lives locally in Balham and joined the governing body in January 2019.

He works in communications at the Department for Education, managing media relating to schools policy.

Sam has a range of experience in education and the media, having previously worked as a PR consultant, journalist and teacher. 

Diana James - Local Authority governor

She has 3 granddaughters at Alderbrook, and became a governor in 2019.

She is currently a member of the Curriculum and Achievement Committee.

Silvia Pani – Parent governor 

Silvia is a senior lecturer in Physics at the University of Surrey, where she leads a Masters programme in Medical Physics and performs research in the field of X-ray imaging.

She has been strongly involved in outreach activities and in the support of students with special educational needs.

Originally from Italy, she has been living in London since 2004 and is the mum of twin boys who have been at Alderbrook since Nursery.

Silvia became a parent governor in June 2016 and she co-chairs the Children, families and community Committee. 

Karina Rafter – Staff governor

Karina joined Alderbrook as an experienced middle leader in 2017 and has been the EAL co-coordinator since 2018 and the Early Years phase leader since 2019. She completed her teacher training in 2010 and strives to ensure an inclusive and diverse learning experience for all children that promotes the importance of education both in and beyond the classroom. She is enthusiastic about her role as staff governor and excited about developing  new skills  as well as working with the governing body to contribute to the strategic development of school. 

Serge Sergiou - Co-opted governor

Serge was born and brought up in south west London and now lives in Balham. After primary school in Brixton, he attended Furzedown Secondary School (now Graveney School).

He is a partner in an international law firm, specialising in aviation finance.

He joined the Governing Board in 2019.

Kate Simpson – Parent governor

Kate has over 20 years of experience working as an Organisational Development and HR Director across a broad range of industries. She has experience as NED and volunteers for LeadersPlus. 

The connection to Alderbrook runs deep in Kates's family, with both her mother and aunt attending the school. She, herself, is part of the Alderbrook school alumni having also attended the school and she currently has 2 children in early years. 

Geoff Tottenham – Co-opted governor

Geoff became a governor at the school in 2018 and has recently been elected as the Co-Chair of the Children, Families, and Community Committee.

Geoff has worked in the City for over ten years and currently works as a Senior Manager in the Strategy and Corporate Development team for a major global bank.

Geoff has lived in Tooting for four years and is a keen ultra-marathon runner recently completing a 100 mile run from Richmond to Oxford. 

James Walker – Associate governor 

James was a parent governor from July 2017 to Spring 2021 and served as the Co-Chair of the Full Governing Board until then. He is a member of the Resources Committee, and Remuneration Sub-committee.

James has lived in and around Balham since he moved to London as a student. He works in Strategy and Corporate Finance for a UK based manufacturing company.

James previously spent 4 years as a community governor of another local primary school before moving to become a governor at Alderbrook.