Governors at Kings’
TOM DIERCKX – CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
Tom has lived in Winchester with his wife Suzy since 2006. He has 3 children of which the eldest is currently at Kings and with 2 to follow.
Tom is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Surveyors.over 20 years of Real Estate experience holding directorships in global real estate consultancies for the past 12 years. Covering property management, internal process reviews, facilities management with a keen interest in sustainability.
Outside work Tom enjoys cycling and football: coaching, refereeing but mainly cheering. Tom has been an active member of Winchester Round Table for over 16 years raising funds for local Charities. He is also a Trustee for the Winchester Round Table and is currently Treasurer for 41 Club.
SARAH TAYLOR – Vice Chair of Governors
Sarah became a co-opted governor in 2016. She is a consultant working in the field of physical activity & sport. She has worked within local authority, a charitable trust and established two businesses, at all times working on projects geared towards physical and mental wellbeing. She trained and worked as a secondary PE and Maths teacher at the start of her career. She was a Kings’ feeder primary school governor for nine years and chair for four. Her two children went to Kings’. Sarah has a Masters in Business Management.
Sarah is committed to ensuring all pupils at Kings’ are provided with the opportunities, skills and experiences to succeed in life.
DR JAMES ADAMS – HEADTEACHER
James joined Kings in January 2021, having been a senior leader in Poole and Somerset. He began his teaching career at the Thomas Hardye School in Dorset, teaching Geography. He has a passion for the outdoors as a teacher and from a personal perspective, living in the New Forest and enjoying endurance events. James is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.
LOUISE HUTTON – CO-OPTED
Louise is a co-opted Governor and Deputy Headteacher at Kings’ School. Having been a Senior Leader at 2 previous schools, she currently leads on Academic Excellence. Louise is an RE teacher and has written Making Every RE Lesson Count as part of the popular Making Every Lesson Count series. She is currently completing her Masters in Educational Leadership and Management.
CAROLINA REYES PRIETO – CO-OPTED
Carolina joined the governing body in 2023. She has lived with her family in Colden Common since 2021, after moving from London to enjoy life in the country side, she has one son at Kings and another at the local primary school.
Carolina holds an MA in Marketing and has worked in the Telco and Marketing industry for 15+ years, currently working for VirginMedia O2. Carolina has great experience in project management, team management, data management and is a keen advocate on team’s wellbeing, training and mentoring.
Carolina enjoys cycling and walks with the family in beautiful Hampshire. She is keen to share her knowledge and experience with the governing body to support the school to achieve its vision successfully.
MARTIN RATCLIFFE- CO-OPTED
Martin is a passionate advocate for education and believes that every child deserves a quality education that prepares them for success in life. He has been a parent of two children at Kings’ and has been impressed with the school’s commitment to academic excellence, its focus on social-emotional learning, and its culture.
Martin comes to Kings’ with previous experience of being a parent Governor and a strong advocacy for diversity and inclusion. He believes that all children, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity to succeed. Martin will work with the Kings’ school community to ensure that all students feel safe, supported, and challenged.
Martin is excited about the opportunity to serve as a governor at Kings’ where he believes that his skills and experience will be a valuable asset to the governing body. He is committed to working with the other governors to ensure that Kings’ is a school where all children can thrive.
RUPERT NEVILLE – CO-OPTED
Rupert joined the board of governors in November 2024. He and his wife have lived in Winchester and the surrounding area for the past 20+ years. He coached rugby at Winchester Rugby Football Club, for 10 years, where both his sons played. Both are now at university. As a coach his passion was always to bring the best out of the B team players.
He has a career that spans over 12 years in the Army and 30 years in Financial Services. As a senior manager, in the Wealth Management sector, he has been responsible for managing large teams of relationship managers, overseeing a number of complex mergers along with the supervision and development of staff.
He is also a trustee and Chief Investment Officer for the Green Howards Trust, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, and an ambassador for Bhubesi Pride, a charity that helps with the education and development of children in Malawi, through a series of community building programmes.
LAURA BARKER – CO-OPTED
Laura joined the governing body in 2024. She lives in Winchester and has a young child. She is a qualified teacher and SENCO and holds the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination. She is passionate about ensuring that all young people have access to a high-quality education, where they feel happy and supported to enable them to succeed.
Laura is a Teacher of History and has taught in schools in Surrey and Hampshire since 2012. She holds a Master’s degree in History, and completed the NPQ in Senior Leadership in 2020. She has previously sat on the governing board of Swanmore College for 5 years. She is committed to supporting Kings’ School with its vision and aims.
HELEN BROCKLEHURST – CO-OPTED
Helen joined the governing body in 2025, having had one child go through Kings’, one child at Kings’ and one due to start. She has lived in Winchester since 2002 and has been a governor at a Kings’ feeder primary school since 2018.
She is an advocate of the benefits of children reading for pleasure having spent her career working in book publishing. For the last six years she has run her own publishing consultancy business, specialising in strategy and business change. She holds an MA in English Literature, an MSc in Psychology and has worked as an Associate Lecturer on the Oxford International Centre for Publishing’s postgraduate degree programme.
CHRISTOPHER WESTWOOD – CO-OPTED
Chris became a co-opted Governor in 2025 and has lived in Winchester since 1997, when he relocated to begin his career at IBM. Over nearly three decades with the company, he has held various roles across technology, with a focus on leadership and team coaching. Passionate about empowering individuals to reach their potential, Chris sees his role as a Governor as an opportunity to make a positive impact on a wider community.
He has one daughter who currently attends Kings School. Prior to his current position, Chris served as a co-opted Governor at a local primary school for seven years, where he contributed to many aspects of the strategy of the school.
An avid runner, Chris has completed several long-distance races. He also volunteers as a Technical Track Official for the Winchester and District Athletics Club
BETHAN GILL – CO-OPTED
Bethan joined the governing body in February 2025. Originally from Norfolk, Bethan moved to Winchester in 2023 and has 2 children currently at Kings’.
Bethan is a qualified accountant and tax advisor and has spent almost 20 years working as a business consultant supporting clients across the public and private sector in finance, regulation, HR, Diversity & Inclusion, and skills & training. She is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion and is keen to promote a school environment that leads with kindness and compassion for all.
Sport is a big part of family life for Bethan, particularly football, although she plays hockey herself and is a member of the Winchester Hockey Club, utilising the excellent facilities that Kings’ provides for the school and wider community.
Des Mhere – Parent Governor
Des joined the Governing Body in 2023. He has lived with his family in Winchester since 2015, they have two children: one currently at Kings’ and the other at a Winchester primary school.
Des possesses a Masters in Financial Management and an MBA. Has served for nearly 20 years as an officer in the British Army and has a wealth of experience leading Finance and People operational teams in Europe, Middle East and Asia in addition to a stint as a strategic financial planner in the Army’s Headquarters.
He has been a governor and Chair of the Resources Committee at a local primary school and will fully utilise his knowledge, skills and experience as well as providing the equally important parental viewpoint.
DAVID COHEN – LOCAL AUTHORITY GOVERNOR
Dave joined the Governing body as as the Local Education Authority Governor in 2023. He is a university teacher, a mathematician and a software engineer and worked as a university teacher at London University for more than 30 years, teaching robotics and software Engineering.
He is passionate about teaching and learning and believes that every child must be given the support to achieve their full potential at Kings. He has won many teaching prizes, and was a finalist in the Times Higher best university teacher (open to all subjects) a few years ago.
He enjoys giving talks and practical maths and computing sessions in schools, and science festivals.
His son went to Kings and moved on to Peter Symonds in 2016.
AMY KAINE – STAFF GOVERNOR
Amy became a staff governor in 2023. Amy retrained as a teacher at Kings in 2016 following an 18-year career at Mars Inc covering areas of business effectiveness, sustainability, strategy, quality, procurement and leadership.
She has a Master’s degree in Environmental Technology and has also had short careers at The Natural History Museum and as an environmental consultant. She has taught in other schools in Hampshire and is an Early Career Teacher mentor.
She enjoys all things outdoors and is a regular player of badminton. She has two children, one currently at Kings’ School and one who did attend the school and is now studying at Barton Peverill College.
Amy is passionate about creating a school where teachers can be enabled to deliver excellence in learning and where all pupils can achieve.
Clerks to the Governors
Vacant