Staff & Governors

Bernard practised as a solicitor in Birmingham for 37 years and was a Partner with the firm Lee Crowder specialising in commercial litigation. His three sons attended the School between the years 1988 and 1997.

Bernard joined the governing board in April 2013. As well as his role as Chair of Governors, Bernard also chairs the Teaching, Learning & Curriculum Committee.

Martin is Managing Director of Tyndallwoods Solicitors, Trustee of the OHMI Trust and the Limoges Charitable Trust & formerly a governor of a state primary school (10 years in post). His three children are former pupils and wife Judy was a previous Chair of the Association of Friends.

Martin is Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Awards Committee. He joined the governing board in 1999.

Emma graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1992, and worked as a solicitor in a large commercial law firm specialising in employment law until 2001. She was formerly Chair of Governors at a local Special Needs State school for 11 years.  Emma has three children, her son Will and daugther Lily are former BCS pupils.

Emma is Chair of the Governance & Human Resources Committee.

Prior to her retirement, Karan spent 44 years working in Health and Social Care. She spent 26 years as a Nurse, Health Visitor, Health Service Manager and then as the Designated Nurse for Child Protection. This was followed by 18 years with Children’s Social Care chairing Child Protection Conferences. Karan has extensive knowledge and experience in safeguarding practice and procedure and the roles of all the statutory agencies. She is the Link Governor for Safeguarding and Special Education Needs, and also the Governors’ representative on the Association of Friends’ Committee. Karan’s four children are former Blue Coat pupils.

Karan is Chair of the Safeguarding, Health and Safety Committee and joined the governing board in June 2004.

Guy is a graduate of Cambridge University and Trinity Theological College, Bristol. He is Vice-Chairman of Birmingham City Council’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education and a Governor of Broadway Academy, Aston. Guy’s daughters, Victoria and Alice, are former pupils of The Blue Coat School.

Frances is an international  arbitrator and mediator.  She also sits as a justice of the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre.  Previously, Frances sat for about eleven years as a judge based in Birmingham, and before that was in practice as a solicitor.   Frances joined the Board of Governors in March 2021.

Michèle has had a long association with Blue Coat as she herself attended the School from 1983 to 1986. She is a former Deputy Head and previous editor of Prep School Magazine. Currently Michèle is School Chaplain at a Prep School in Glastonbury.

Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of Birmingham and has operated as a senior manager, specialising in collaborative commissioning, within the NHS for more than 15 years. More recently she has operated as a Consultant to various NHS organisations providing specialist advice in the area of service redesign and improvement. She is currently Chair of The BRANCH, an after school care and educational charity based in Sandwell and formerly Chair of the Blue Coat School Association of Friends. Elizabeth is married with two children, Victoria and James, who are former and current BCS pupils.

Parth works at the University of Birmingham and is a Consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He and his colleagues specialise in providing care to people with diabetes and also in researching causes and new treatments for diabetes. He is a graduate of King’s College, London and worked in London, Manchester, Bristol and Melbourne before finally moving with his family to Birmingham in 2005. Both his children Arjun and Alisha attended Blue Coat School and have now moved on to local secondary schools.

Steve is currently a Birmingham based partner in the accountancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

During his 30 years in the accounting sector he has gained significant experience in tax, accounting, legal and of a broad range of businesses operating in numerous sectors of the economy.

Both of Steve’s daughters, Melanie and Natasha, attended the School, with Natasha due to graduate from the school in the summer of 2019.

Steve is a member of the Finance and Estates Committee.

Anita has a marketing background, and worked for several Advertising and Marketing agencies before moving to the position of Brand Manager at MG Rover. As a former parent at the School, Anita was heavily involved in school life and was previously Chair and Vice-Chair of the Association of Friends (PTA). Her two sons were pupils at the School between 2005 – 2017. Anita is the Link Governor for The Blue Coat School Old Scholars’ Association.

Stephen is a retired partner from the accountancy firm, Deloitte. He has gained significant experience on the financial operations of the education sector as well as charities during his career. A former trustee of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (an educational charity) for 15 years, Stephen currently assists other not for profit organisations.  Stephen’s two grandchildren currently attend the School.

Stephen is  Chair of the Finance and Estates Committee.

Adrian is a Chartered Surveyor and Director of Pennycuick Collins Limited, based at Five Ways, Edgbaston. He has been in private practice in Birmingham since the late 1980’s and was previously a Partner with James & Lister Lea, undertaking a wide range of consultancy work from pre-acquisition surveys through to the project management of refurbishment and new build projects.

Adrian became a Governor in January 2020 and is a member of the Finance & Estates Committee.

Currently Dean of Birmingham, The Very Reverend Matt Thompson has extensive experience as a school governor in a variety of schools, primary and secondary; church and community; maintained, voluntary aided, academy trusts and now the independent sector.

Nick is Vicar of the local parish church and sits on the boards of a number of other charities. Before coming to Birmingham, he was a Foundation Governor of a Church of England School in London. Nick is married with three children who are former and current pupils of the School.

Noel joined The Blue Coat School in September 2016, taking up his third Headship, spanning over 12 years in both the Independent and state sector. He is a member of the National College of School Leaders, and an advocate of ‘learning without limits’. Noel moved up from his former school St. Peter’s Prep School, Lympstone, Devon, with his wife Jules and two children Bea and Jasper. His youngest is still a pupil at the school, while his eldest has now moved on to senior school.

Since joining BCS, Noel has introduced the multi award nominated BCS Blue and has seen The Blue Coat School shortlisted as the Times Prep School of the Year for two consecutive years. He has successfully navigated the School through the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring that continued standards of excellence were maintained both online and offline. The School remained open for up to 200 children of Key Workers and a bespoke online Distance Learning Programme ensured that pupils having to remain at home were still able to access the very best teaching and learning. Outside of School, Noel, himself a keen sportsman, relaxes by supporting his rugby team – The Exeter Chiefs!

Helen first joined Blue Coat as a part-time teacher in Reception before progressing to become a full-time Year 1 teacher and subsequently Head of Pre-Prep.  Helen leads the Pre-Prep Department and oversees the Nursery keeping a watchful eye on the pastoral and academic development of all the children from age 3 to 7.

As a member of the EMT, Helen has whole school responsibilities for strategic developments giving input into decisions to ensure that as a School, we continue to provide the very best for our pupils. She is the Main Designated Safeguarding Lead, ensuring that all safeguarding practices are fully implemented; responsibilities also include preparing documentation for the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate (ISI) and supporting the Governing Body with policy preparation and review.

Following a career in the Royal Navy as a Logistics Officer, Gareth joined The Blue Coat School having been the Bursar at King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys for the past 3 years.

Robbie grew up just a stone’s throw away from the Blue Coat campus and has always had a strong understanding of the School’s history and reputation. He worked at Wells Cathedral Senior School for his first 8 years in teaching, enjoying a number of roles that included Master in charge of Cricket and Academic Head of Sixth Form.

As Head of Boarding and Director of Co-Curricular at St Peter’s Prep School in Devon, Robbie found expanding the extra-curricular programme especially rewarding.  Since joining Blue Coat, he has extended the opportunities for pupils by widening their horizons through additional clubs and activities. The extensive programme he has put in place will encourage the children to develop into well-rounded individuals who are able to take advantage of everything that life has to offer them, both at senior school and beyond. Robbie oversees the pastoral care in Prep.

Robbie is married to Clare who teaches Modern Foreign Languages at the School and has two daughters who are currently in Prep.

Helen has 20 years of teaching experience spanning the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage One and Key Stage Two.  As part of the Senior Leadership Team, she leads the school’s academic curriculum ensuring it is carefully balanced, well sequenced, ambitious for the pupils and forward thinking in its approach.  She also took a lead role in creating and implementing the School’s bespoke assessment tool, The BCS Blue.

Helen ensures that the highest standards of teaching, learning and academic attainment are consistent across the School. She is extremely passionate about raising standards and she continually strives to cultivate curiosity in pupils, enriching the curriculum with ‘wow moments’ that captivate the pupils.

Helen is married with a daughter who currently attends the School.

After starting her career in international trade, Jenny moved into marketing. For the last 25+ years, she has been working as a marketing professional in the education sector working in Sixth form, Adult Learning, Further and Higher Education, and for the last 14 years in independent Preparatory schools. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, Jenny has taken a lead in building the School’s reputation both locally and nationally, attracting praise for its COVID-19 response through national awards, shortlisting as the Times Prep School of the Year  2020 and 2021 and as one of the UK’s top 25 innovators for the BCS Blue.

As the link for the Old Scholars’ Association and as a Staff representative on The Association of Friends, Jenny has joined-up communications for the BCS community as a whole, bringing together former, current and prospective families, staff, governors and supporters of the School under one external relations umbrella. Jenny is looking forward to project managing the School’s 300th anniversary celebrations this coming year.

Throughout her teaching career, Clare has worked in the EYFS and each subsequent year group (from Year 1 to Year 6); gaining a sound understanding of the teaching and learning expectations for each key stage. She is committed to raising standards in teaching and learning: ensuring that the pupils at BCS have access to an exciting, engaging and challenging curriculum. Clare supports the teaching team as a coach and mentor. She strongly believes that all children should have access to a well-rounded education that nurtures the whole child. 

Mrs Stephens joins us in this important role as we continue to develop and further enhance our strong Early Years provision. Mrs Stephens is moving from The Oaklands Primary School, where she is EYFS Lead, and Phonics and Early Years Reading Leader. She also works with the Education Endowment Foundation as part of their research team. Her vast knowledge of EYFS will be a great support to Mrs Andrews and her team.