Claire Beecher – Staff governor

Claire retrained to become a teacher, after having her own family, and joined Alderbrook as an NQT in 2018. She has worked at the school ever since, taking on the roles of subject lead in RE and Computing.

Always keen to take on new challenges, Claire is enthusiastic about her role as staff governor and excited about working with the governing body on the Children, Families and Communities Committee and to contributing to the strategic development of the school. 

Sonia Bennett - Co-opted governor

Sonia became a governor in 2024 and sits on the Children, Families and Community Committee. She is also the link governor for the Creative Arts. 

Sonia is a lawyer at an international law firm and became a governor having fostered an interest in child development and education when working in childcare alongside her studies.

Sonia grew up in Nottingham but now lives in Kennington. Her interests include netball, music and travel.

Nigel Brook – Co-opted governor 

Co-Chair of the Governing Board

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. 

Nigel became a governor at the school in 2015 and became a Co-Chair of the Governing Board in 2024. He also chairs the Pay and Resources Committee. Nigel is the school link governor for Pupil Premium, PE Sports Premium, and Health & Safety.

Jo Clays - Co-opted governor

Jo became a governor at Alderbrook in 2022. She is Chair of the Curriculum and Achievement Committee and school link governor for SEND, English, and Phonics & Early Reading. Jo has a strong interest in supporting her local community and hopes to contribute her skills and experience towards the continued success of Alderbrook.

Jo is a tutor with Action Tutoring, helping to enable disadvantaged pupils to reach their potential. Previously she spent 15 years working in advertising, first in agencies and then in executive search within the media/ advertising industry.

Jo has lived in South West London for 25 years, she currently lives in Tooting Bec with her husband and three children.

Peter O'Donovan - Parent governor

Peter is originally from Ireland, and has previously lived elsewhere in London and in the USA. He has lived in Wandsworth since 2012, and has a daughter attending Alderbrook since Reception.

Peter has a degree and PhD in biochemistry and now works at the Wellcome Trust, a charity that supports research aimed at improving health for everyone, where he helps to make sure the money spent by Wellcome is achieving this goal.

Peter became a governor in 2022 to help and support Alderbrook in being a safe and happy school environment that recognises and nurtures the potential of every child, and the school community has a big role to play in this.

Peter is Vice Chair of the Governing Board and the school link governor for Assessment and EYFS & EAL. He sits on the Curriculum and Achievement Committee.

Daniel Orton - Local Authority governor

Daniel has lived in Balham since 2014 and joined the board in 2023 to fulfill a desire to support and contribute to the local community. He sits on the Curriculum and Achievement Committee and is also a school link governor for Geography and History.

Daniel is currently a freelance video producer and consultant, and previously worked as a video journalist and editor at various international media brands and newspapers. He hopes his skills and experience can help Alderbrook continue to succeed, and is excited about new skills and experience this role can help him develop.

In his spare time he likes to swim, play squash, and solve cryptic crosswords, though not necessarily at the same time...

Sue Roberts - Parent governor

A working mum with over 20 years' experience in Public Relations, Sue joined the Alderbrook school community in 2022 as her child started in Reception and she became a parent governor. Sitting on the Children, Families and Community Committee, Sue is link governor for PSHE and Equalities.

With a childhood abroad in Hong Kong, before 6th form in Nottingham, Sue has lived in South West London since university where she gained an honours degree in Educational Studies and Social Policy. Having briefly worked in a nursery - Sue has long had a keen interest in the educational system - she is keen to apply her business experience to the school set up, helping Alderbrook to continue to flourish. 

In her spare time, Sue enjoys yoga, swimming and travelling with her family.

Sharjeel Sajid – Co-opted governor

Sharjeel is originally from Germany and has lived in Wandsworth since 2007. He joined the Governing Board in 2024 to contribute to the local community and support the school in providing the best possible education for its pupils.

Sharjeel previously worked as a Science teacher in both London and Spain. He now works as a Software Development Engineer at a leading e-commerce company, bringing his experience in education and technology to his role as a governor.

As the Link governor for Maths, Sharjeel is committed to helping the school nurture a strong foundation in numeracy for all students. In his free time, he enjoys travelling, reading and running.

Serge Sergiou - Co-opted governor

Co-Chair of the Governing Board

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.

Serge joined the Governing Board in 2019 and has been a Co-Chair since 2023. Serge is school link governor for Online Safety & Safeguarding, Maths, RE and Computing. He sits on the Pay and Resources Committee.

The first of his family to attend university, Serge knows first hand how education can dramatically change the life outcomes for our children and he became a governor in order to contribute to an aspiring school in the local community.

Geoff Tottenham – Co-opted governor

Geoff became a governor at the school in 2018. He is currently Chair of the Children, Families, and Community Committee, and school link governor for Safeguarding & Child Protection and Art & DT. Geoff has previously served as a Co-Chair of the Governing Board.

Geoff has worked in the City for over fourteen years and currently works in strategy for a major global bank. He became a governor due to his longstanding interest in education and desire to use his professional skills to support the community.

Geoff lives in Elephant and Castle and is a keen ultra-marathon runner and is an aspiring, but very slow-writing, novelist.