Governor Biographies
Mrs Adele Lee - Chair of Governors
Adele worked in education for 14 years and became part of St. Johns Middle School in 2012. She welcomed the opportunity to become more involved in school life as a Governor, which meant being included in making decisions that could affect the future of the children who have all been to St John's. She says the staff are easy to work with, they all have a very caring and committed ethos.
Mrs Rosemary Sumner
Rosemary Sumner has been a "Church" Governor at St. John's since 1981 and is dedicated to maintaining the School's Christian ethos, which cares for everyone in the School community. A teacher for over 40 years, Rosemary specialises in Religious Education and Dyslexia and is proud that St. John's works hard to make sure that every child can live up to the School motto and "give of their best", regardless of their ability.
Mrs Sally Keepax
Sally retired from teaching in 2012 and apart from a brief time at a Boys’ Comprehensive and eight years teaching GCE/GCSE English to adults, the majority of her career was spent at St John’s, as a form tutor, and for many years, as Head of RE and Worship.
She served for over twenty years on the Worcestershire SACRE Committee, so her great interest lies not only with the educational welfare of St John’s pupils, but their spiritual well-being too. Courses run by the Diocese of Worcester enable Sally to keep her skills up to date.
Sally feels passionately about St. John’s: it’s staff and pupils and feel privileged to be a Governor.
Mrs Liz Fleming
*Coming Soon*
Mr Robert Powell
*Coming Soon*
Mrs Rebecca Davis – Parent Governor
Rebecca has children who have attended St John's school, and she has been impressed by the way the school has been so welcoming and managed a difficult transition period and school year. She recognises there will be ongoing disruption and challenges for the school to manage over coming years and is keen to support the school in managing these and, as a Governor would work to improve outcomes for all those at the school.
Rebecca enjoys the challenges and responsibility of being a School Governor and is also currently on the Governing Body of a local First School. She has a specific interest and focus on Safeguarding and supporting those with additional educational needs and is an advocate for supporting children in mainstream education who require additional and bespoke support.
In her professional life, Rebecca is the Chief Executive of an elected member-led public sector organisation, and has a strong background in governance, finance, performance, scrutiny and working collaboratively to deliver outcomes. Rebecca is also a qualified HR professional, a fellow of the CIPD and fulfils the Regional Employer Secretary role for Local Government.
Mrs Danielle Goodayle
Danielle's teaching career began as a PE specialist. She headed up boys and girls departments, across primary and secondary age ranges, until securing her final post as Director of Sport. Following on from that, Danielle entered into the wonderful world of SEND. From there, she progressed to Assistant Head in charge of curriculum and assessment, also having the pleasure of leading other different aspects of school life. After sixteen years of teaching in five schools, across three counties, Danielle ventured out of the school gates. She currently works as a Teacher Training Adviser for the DfE, supporting prospective teachers, offering them all the advice they need to better understand the world of teaching, prior to starting an ITT course. Alongside her work, Danielle is studying for an MA in Character Education and Human Flourishing at the University of Birmingham.
Danielle had previously been a parent of a very happy St. John’s pupil, so has had the pleasure of experiencing school life as a mum. Danielle feels privileged to be a Governor at this highly successful school and to have the opportunity to work with inspiring staff who are passionate and committed. She is keen to make a positive contribution to all areas of life at St. John’s, to help foster its ethos as it continues to grow from strength to strength.
Mr Neil Mills
Neil has had 32 years’ experience of working in Middle School education and is the former Headteacher at Parkside Middle School (2009-2021). Neil is part of the St John’s Governing Body and also a School Improvement Partner for The Spire C of E Learning Trust.
Mrs Suzanne Allies
Suzanne is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Worcester. She has taught in Higher Education for 8 years and as a primary teacher for 20 years. She was PSHE co-ordinator in school for over 10 years. Her main passion is to encourage and support the mental health and wellbeing of teachers, trainee teachers, children and adolescents. She is a MHFA instructor, a crisis volunteer for Shout, and a therapist in training. She has written a book published by Routledge called Supporting Teacher Wellbeing.
Mrs Sumita Sopariwala
Sumita has experience of working within Human Resources and Employee Relations and has been working actively in this field since 2007. She has previously worked in the education sector and has also been a volunteer in an Academy during her days when she was undergoing Masters programme. Since then she has had a desire to serve within this sector and contribute towards the development of the youth of Britain.
Mrs Alison Elwell - Head of School
Ali is presently Head of School at St John's Middle. Her 29-year teaching career has seen her take on many different roles, including Head of Department, Head of Year, Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Head Teacher, before becoming Head of School in 2018.
One of her passions is training and supporting the next generation of teachers and this led to her working for Worcester University on a part-time basis, supporting teacher training across Worcestershire. Ali used her experience and expertise to develop St John's own School Direct teaching training programme, which is still going from strength to strength, with many of our trainees being employed by the MAT on completion of their training.
Ali also has the added advantage of experiencing life as a St John's parent. Her daughter spent four happy and prosperous years at the school, giving Ali an insight into St John's through her own child's eyes. Ali continually strives to embrace new ideas and initiatives to ensure the children of St John's have the very best opportunities and experiences possible.
Mr Will Warwick - Staff
*Coming Soon*
Mrs Emily Kolb - Clerk to the Governors
Emily has over 15 years experience of working in Human Resources. Emily has worked for St John's Middle School since 2016 and now works as Trust HR Officer for The Spire Trust.