Welcome to our Governors’ section. 

Chair & Co-Opted Governor 

I have lived in Watlington for 14 years with my wife Susie and our children Alex and Katie. Susie assists with the school choir.

I have a strong commitment to education, having been involved in it for most of my life. My parents were both teachers and my father was a head teacher for 20 years. I started my own career as a teacher and like my father I share a central belief that schools help children realise their potential.

As a business leader supporting education, I have a perspective very relevant to the demands of a parent governor. I have extensive financial, commercial and legal experience as well as managing many different people. I am well briefed in the challenges facing UK education in a time of huge change and can advise on the part technology can play in meeting some of these.

Watlington is a fantastic place to live and Watlington Primary School is a great asset. I’d like to help ensure that this continues and to extend it wherever possible.

Sarah Wood

Parent Governor and Vice Chair

I’ve lived in Watlington for 19 years and have two children – Caitlin studying at Icknield after a happy career at the Primary school and Gabriel still enjoying his years here.

I started my working career in Educational publishing in Oxford, moving into online publishing and working with the Internet since 1995. Following several years in leadership roles with major technology and telecommunications providers, I have my own consultancy business specialising in helping organisations get better sales and marketing results from their online and social media activities.

I am passionate about the need for parents to take an active role in their children’s education, especially as we move to a more technology-driven world. I believe my digital experience can make a real difference to our school in this important area, not only in equipping our children to live safely and appropriately in the online world, but also encouraging more children to embrace and enjoy technology as a future career option.

David Marcou

Local Authority Governor

I was born and educated in London and studied the violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970. My entire career has been spent in music - as performer, orchestra chairman and music service chief executive – and I currently work as a music education consultant and teacher. I hold a number of external appointments, including Chair of OYAP Trust (Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership) and Trustee of Wallingford Sports Park.

As Chair of Governors at Icknield Community College, as well as Local Authority Governor here at Watlington Primary School, I am a passionate believer in children and young people going to school in the community in which they live. My son grew up in Watlington, where a

combination of school, social and family life offered him a secure and stimulating environment for learning and development in a rapidly changing world.

Kate Brown

Parent Governor

I’m Kate Brown and I have 2 sons at Watlington Primary School, Joshua and Lucas. I’m married to Matt and we have lived in Watlington for 10 years.

I am a marketer with a background in food and drink, and for the last 3 years have run my own marketing consultancy business. I bring a range of business skills to the role of school governor, including strategic planning, marketing and communications. My key aims are to increase the visibility of the school governors, develop communication between the school and parents, and ultimately help parents become more involved and understand more about the school.

Parent Governor

I have lived in Watlington for the last 8 years with my wife and we now have two children. 

Peter Robinson

Co-opted Governor

My family and I moved to the area having come back from Boston, MA, USA. We enjoyed 2 years in Boston and prior to this we lived in Monmouth, Wales, UK for ~15 years. My daughter Elan and my son Tom are now both at local secondary schools.

My mother was a teacher, spending the last 15 years before retirement focused on education for children needing specialist help with sight and hearing issues. I spent much of my youth hearing about how to develop the environment to improve the engagement and opportunities for all. I have worked with General Electric (GE) for 19 years and lead Human Resources for our Life Sciences Global Commercial teams. I am part of our Commercial leadership team and have managed large scale business integrations, multi-cultural development programs, global diversity improvement projects and UK union and employee relations in my last 20+ years of HR. A significant part of my role is to coach 1:1 our executive leaders, develop our next generation of leadership talent and support the growth of our employees across the EMEA, USCAN and Asia regions.

Jonathan Gale

Staff Governor

I am the Staff Governor representative and am grateful to have been given the opportunity to represent my colleagues on the Governing Body.

I have been a teacher at Watlington Primary school for some years now and during this time, it has been a great privilege and pleasure to have worked with an inspiring and dedicated staff as well as working with happy and enthusiastic children. Watlington is fortunate to have a great team of staff which will continue to secure the successes of the school, with the support of the Governors, parents and the wider Watlington community.