Governing Body

The school is part of the Company of Mary Our Lady, a 400-year-old international charitable Order. Its governing body includes representatives of the Order.

Mrs Wanda Nash - Chair of Governors

Mrs Wanda Nash joined the Notre Dame Governing Body in October 2011, was Chair of the Education & Staffing Committee from June 2013 - June 2021 and became Chair of Governors in June 2021. 

Mrs Nash has been a schools’ inspector for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Westminster. For several years she was the vice-chairman of the Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference.

A retired headmistress with many years’ experience in Prep and Senior Schools, Mrs Nash is now the Development and Alumnae Director at St Mary’s School Ascot. She is also a Trustee of the Institute of Development Professionals in Education.

 

Mr Simon Frost - Vice Chair of Governors

Mr Simon Frost joined the Governing Body in September 2017 and sits on the Finance & Business Committee as Health & Safety Governor. Mr Frost became Vice Chair of Governors in June 2021.

He has worked for over 35 years in the commercial and the residential property sector, initially for a number of national retailers and, since 1986, as a property developer for a number of blue chip companies. In 2008 he established his own property company, Millbrook Land, specialising in the retail and care sectors. Working on the client side throughout his whole career, he has extensive experience of the property development process, including development management and the planning process, and he is a member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Mr Frost has a passion for sailing and has a yacht based on the River Hamble near Southampton. He is a Yachtmaster Examiner, gained when he was the skipper of a Sail Training yacht with the Ocean Youth Club, and he has undertaken a number of trips as skipper on charter yachts on behalf of a local School. He has two daughters, both of whom attended Notre Dame.

 

Sr Kathy Schneider ODN

Sister Kathy joined the Notre Dame Governing Board in November 2018.

Sister Kathy Schneider currently lives in California and ministers at the Catholic Center of the University of Southern California.  She has been in education for over 30 years, teaching at the primary and secondary levels and more recently, as a history lecturer at the University of California, Riverside.  She also served as the head of the Company of Mary school in Temecula, California.

 

 

Sr Anne Gill ODN

Sister Anne has been on the Notre Dame Governing Body since January 2003. She is Chair of Lestonnac Committee, she also sits on the Finance & Business Committee and Education & Staffing Committee.

Sister Anne has taught at Notre Dame and in London, she then spent 25 years in South America in Paraguay and Colombia doing pastoral work and working in non-formal education with ethnic minorities. On her return to the UK she has worked in adult education teaching ESOL and adult literacy.

She was formerly a member of the General Team of the Order based in Rome.

 

Sr Nieves Escalada ODN

Sr Nieves Escalada served on the Governing body from January 2006 to June 2012 and re-joined the Governing body in November 2014

Sr Nieves has taught in and been Headmistress of Company of Mary Our Lady Preparatory and Senior Schools in Logrono and Tudela, Spain, and has many years’ experience of educating and accompanying young people in the context of the Company of Mary Our Lady’s Educational Project.

Sr Nieves lives in Spain.

 

Mr David Gair

Mr David Gair joined the Governing Board in September 2019 and sits on the Education & Staffing Committee as Safeguarding Governor.

Mr Gair retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2013 after 31 years’ service as Chief Inspector in the Sutton and Kingston Boroughs where he was responsible for a range of policing priorities including 24-hour response policing, community initiatives, the safer schools’ scheme, Metropolitan police cadets, licensing compliance and safeguarding. Mr Gair co-chaired the Sutton Borough Safeguarding board for 5 years.  

Mr Gair now runs a security consultancy and training company. His daughter attended Notre Dame.

 

Mr Gerard Owens

Mr Owens joined the Governing Board in October 2019 and became Chair of the Education & Staffing Committee in June 2021.

Mr Owens has been the Head master at Salesian College, Farnborough since September 2014.  He studied History at St Andrew's University and trained to be a teacher at Trinity and All Saints College, Leeds.  Mr Owens was previously Vice Principal at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College.

Mr Owens enjoys travelling, music, walking and dancing with his wife, who is also a teacher.

 

Sr Patricia Grady ODN

Sister Patricia re-joined the Governing Board in November 2019 and sits on the Lestonnac Committee .

Sister Patricia has many years of experience teaching Food Technology and Theology in both the state system and at Notre Dame.  She was also School Chaplain at Notre Dame until 2015.  She was the Pastoral Director in the Royal English College, the English speaking Seminary in Valladolid, Spain from September 2015 - June 2021.  

She is currently the Territorial Delegate of the Order in Cobham.

 

 

Russell Granat

Russell Granat joined the Governing Board in September 2020 and is Chair of the Finance & Business Committee.

Mr Granat is a Chartered Accountant and has been a partner in accountancy practices for the last twenty years, and finance director for the ten years prior thereto. He retired in 2019 although continues with some related consultancy activities.

Mr Granat is a keen allotmenteer and also an active chess player, being the current and 6 times Surrey champion.