Staff & Governors

His Grace The Duke of Westminster

Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster inherited the title of Duke of Westminster on 9 August 2016, on the death of his father. We are honoured that the Duke has agreed to continue in the role of Patron of The King’s School.

Bishop of Chester

Mark Tanner has been Bishop of Chester since May 2020, succeeding the Rt Revd Dr Peter Forster who retired in September 2019. He was consecrated as a Bishop at York Minster in October 2016 and was then appointed Bishop of Berwick of the Diocese of Newcastle.
He was born in Canada and educated at Loughborough Grammar School. He went on to study at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1992.
He was ordained in Chester in 1998 and both his children were born here. Following the announcement of his appointment he said “It is an honour and a joy to be appointed to the Diocese of Chester at such a key time in the life of our communities, nation, and Church.”

Dr Sandra Verity JP DL

Sandy began her varied career on Sainsbury’s Graduate training scheme after gaining her degree at Reading University. Since then she has worked primarily in business and marketing consultancy, both for and with multinational and SMEs. More recently she has run her own management consultancy business working with companies in the North West. She has combined her work life with supporting her three children through school and University. Two attended The King’s School.

She is a Governor at Chester University, a Trustee of The Chester Clergy Family Trust and a Parish Councillor.

Sandra is Chair of Governors, Chair of the Risk and Compliance Committee, and Chair of the Governance Committee.

Hayley Jordan

Hayley spent 26 years in the military leaving in the rank of Major in 2014. During her military career she served in the Ministry of Defence in London, Northern Ireland, Germany, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the military Hayley joined Terra Nova Preparatory School in East Cheshire as their Director of Finance and Operations/Bursar, before joining King’s in January 2019. All of her roles have given her experience in strategic leadership, finance and project management; she is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and a Member of the City and Guilds in Strategic Leadership and Management.

In her spare time Hayley enjoys socialising, cycling and walking her slightly crazy labradoodle. She is married to Jason and together they have a son called Zach.

Hayley is Clerk to the Governors.

Andrew Bentley

Andrew is Storyhouse’s founding Chief Executive and has led the charity since its foundation. He is responsible for the success of its home in Chester, which welcomes over 1m visitors per year. He also created Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre in 2010, now the UK's pre-eminent temporary open-air theatre.

Andrew trained as a musician and was Director of Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, which he re-built and re-launched. He has experience in both the cultural and private sectors, having co-founded and built Liverpool’s iconic Hope Street Hotel which, along with its restaurant, has won many national awards over the years, including the industry’s award for the UK’s Best New Hotel. He is a board member of UK Theatre. Andrew was awarded a BEM in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours List for services to arts and libraries.

Andrew is Vice Chair of the governors, Chair of the Finance & General Purpose Committee and Chair of the Bursary and Partnerships Policy Committee.

Debbie Leonard

Debbie trained as a teacher in Physical Education and Mathematics in Leeds and subsequently taught in six independent schools in different parts of the country. Debbie began her career as a teacher in 1988 and took on her first leadership role in January 2001. From 2001 until August 2021, she held four senior leader roles, the last two being headships. The last headship role was at The Grange School, Hartford.

Debbie has been an ISI team inspector since 2007 and been a governor in a number of schools. Since September 2021, she has moved into Executive and Senior Leader coaching and educational consultancy.

Away from school, Debbie has a passion for all sports and outdoor activities. Her particular interest is in hockey and she has been a premier league coach for three top ladies’ teams in England.

Debbie is Vice Chair of the Governors, Chair of Education Committee and also the nominated governor for PSHE and RSE.

Andrew Bartley

At a young age, Andrew moved primary school to The King's School in Chester and stayed there for the rest of his school career. He then went to University in Manchester to study maths. He moved on to law at Christleton for his conversion and LPC and qualified as a Solicitor, gaining Higher Rights of Audience very soon after qualification. He then became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators as well as sitting as a part time Judge.

Having been ranked for a number of years as a Leading Individual in the North West by Legal500 for Commercial Litigation, he retired from private practice and he is now a full time Judge in Manchester. He is married to Olivia, who works for the NHS, and has two children.

Andrew is a member of the Bursaries and Partnerships Policy Committee.

Jamie Christon

Jamie has been Principal Executive at Chester Zoo since 2013, initially as COO before becoming CEO in early 2021.

In addition to his role at Chester Zoo, Jamie is also a director of Marketing Cheshire, a Trustee and Chair of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and was made a Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University in 2023.

In 2023, Jamie was also commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant within the County of Cheshire.

Nicola Dowling

Nicola qualified as a teacher in 1998 and began her teaching career in Winsford where she became Deputy Headteacher. She took up the role as Headteacher at Highfield Primary and Nursery School in 2010 where she has remained in post.

At Highfield, Nicola has actively sought out opportunities to work in partnership with a wide range of agencies and charities, helping to establish the Owen Jones Scholarship programme for Blacon and Lache schools. She also represents her profession on a number of working groups, including the Safeguarding Children's Partnership Executive.

Nicola is the EYFS Governor and is a member of the Safeguarding Committee.

John Ebo

John Ebo has lived in Chester for some forty years, is married with two sons who are currently at university undertaking post-graduate and under-graduate studies respectively.

A former Lord Mayor of the City of Chester and first Chairman of Cheshire West and Chester Council, he served on the local councils for some three decades with responsibilities including Chairman of Environmental Service Committee and, later, Chairman of the Licensing Board. He has served as a Governor of a number of local schools, both Primary and Secondary, and is currently vice-Chairman of Newton Primary School Governors. He has extensive experience of the appointment of all levels of teaching and non-teaching staff.

In business he ran a successful Mortgage Brokerage working within the residential and commercial sectors. He has retired from this business and currently writes and speaks on Local Government.

John is a member of the Risk and Compliance Committee and is the Health and Safety Governor.

Carol Edwards

Carol trained to be a Probation Officer at Liverpool University and subsequently worked for Cheshire Probation Service in the criminal courts, and for CAFCASS in the family courts. After taking early retirement in 2009, she studied for a BA in English Literature at Chester University; this was followed by an MA and a lecturing post at Chester University.

She is a member of an independent ethics committee at Unilever and is a trustee of the Robert Oldfield Trust. When her children were at school, she was a parent governor at their infant, junior and secondary schools. She was appointed to the Board of Governors at King’s as a nominative governor in June 2017.

Carol is Chair of the Safeguarding Committee and is the staff liaison governor.

Charlotte Gillies

Charlotte left the King’s School in 2010 having joined as a Remove. She went on to study French and Spanish at King’s College London, spending a year abroad in Paris and Córdoba. After two years in the wine trade, including WSET wine qualifications, Charlotte completed an ACA training contract in the City to become a chartered accountant. She now works in finance for Grosvenor Europe, the European investment division of the Grosvenor Group, based in Mayfair.

Charlotte is a member of the Finance & General Purpose Committee.

David Rowlands

David farms Red Poll beef on the family farm in Mickle Trafford with his wife and son.

He chairs the Oldfield Educational Trust, and is a director of the farming charity, the Addington Fund. He is a Governor at two State schools, and is a former Chester City and Cheshire County Councillor. He was appointed to the Board of Governors at King’s as a nominative governor in June 2017.

David is a member of the Finance & General Purpose Committee.

Mike Sayer

Mike was born and raised in Chester, and attended King’s from 1995 to 2002. After graduating with a first class degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London, Mike joined Bentley’s Engineering team. He subsequently worked in their Communications team and is now Head of Product Communications with a global responsibility. In early 2021, Mike also took on responsibility for the Bentley Heritage Collection – a fleet of 45 cars that, together, represent Bentley’s entire 104-year history.

Outside work, Mike enjoys fitness training, landscape photography and spending time with his family – Natasha (also a King’s alumna) and two children, Holly and Sebastian.

Mike is a member of the Education Committee.

The Very Reverend Dr Tim Stratford

The Very Reverend Dr Stratford was ordained deacon in 1986, and priest in 1987. After curacies in Mossley Hill and St Helen, he was chaplain to David Sheppard, Bishop of Liverpool from 1991 to 1994, vicar of West Derby from 1994 to 2003 and Team Rector of Kirkby until 2012. He was Archdeacon of Leicester until his installation as Dean of Chester on 8 September 2018.

The Very Reverend Dr Stratford is a member of the Education Committee.

Madeleine Troy

Madeleine grew up in Chester and attended The Queen’s School. Prior to reading History at University College London, Madeleine took a gap year, and fulfilled a childhood dream of qualifying as a ski instructor in Mammoth, California.

Madeleine then went on to study for a masters degree in Real Estate at The University of Reading, and subsequently qualified as a chartered surveyor in London. She has spent most of her career working client-side, in the food retail industry.

She has recently returned to live in Chester and currently heads up the estates function across UK & Ireland for a global sweet treat brand.

In her spare time, Madeleine is an avid cook, likes to travel, spend time in the countryside and attend classic car events.

Madeleine is a member of the Finance & General Purpose Committee and the Risk and Compliance Committee.