The Board of Trustees at Ashdell School

Ashdell Governors play an active part in the management of the school.  Committee meetings are held regularly and governors attend school open days and performances.

The Chair of Governors can be contacted via the school office.

Ian Walker, Chairman
Ian is a former Birkdale pupil who went on to attend Oundle and graduated from Cambridge in Electrical Engineering. He is an active member of his local church and a church Burgess. He has four children and his two girls were pupils at Ashdell.

Jo Wood, Deputy Chair
A teacher by profession, Jo specializes in the assessment and placement of children with learning difficulties. Her daughter, Hannah, attended Ashdell School and Jo has been involved with Ashdell in various capacities since 1985.

Christopher.M. Caddy
Chris is a Consultant Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon and an honorary Senior Lecturer at Sheffield University. He has four children and his two girls attended Ashdell.

Daphne St Clair Cawthorne
After graduating with a BEd Hons from Sheffield University, Daphne has taught all ages of pupils in London, Malawi, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Sheffield. She had been Head of Wakefield Girls High School Junior School since 1998. Daphne is also an ISI schools inspector and Chair of the Northern District IAPS.

Jon Dunn
Jon is a parent Governor. He is a native of Sheffield and after graduating from Durham University in Economics he returned home to work as a stockbroker. He is Senior Investment Director at Investec Wealth & Investment Limited. Jon has two daughters who attended Ashdell.

Norma Hird
Norma was a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield. Her daughter, Miranda, was a pupil at Ashdell School.

Sarah Gomm
Sarah is second deputy head at Oakham school. She joined the board in 2009.

Susan Hostombe
All five of Sue‟s daughters attended Ashdell School and she has had a long and happy association with the school as parent, Chair of Friends of Ashdell and since 2003 as a Governor.

Anthony Riddle
Anthony Riddle is a retired local estate agent. He joined the board in 2009.

Annabel Walker
As an Ashdell “old girl”, Annabel went on to Queenswood and then graduated in Law from Sheffield University in 1975. She was called to the Bar in ‟76 and became a Circuit Judge in 2001. Her daughter, Hannah, was also a pupil at Ashdell.

Richard Brailsford
Richard Brailsford is very proud to be “born and bred” in Sheffield attending Abbeydale School in the 1970″s. Upon leaving school Richard perused a career in retail and joined Debenhams on their Management trainee course. After only a few years and after
becoming the youngest Department Manager in the UK he decided he wanted to follow his father into the world of sales. Richard worked for a large Japanese photographic firm before he joined a local reprographic Company where he ran the sales operation The Board of Trustees throughout Yorkshire. He now imports rugs and bathroom textiles and supplies these directly to many of our largest retailers including Tesco, The Co-op, Wilkinsons & Focus DIY. He now lives in Dore with his wife Caroline and two daughters who both attended Ashdell and now go to Sheffield Girls High. His job does involve a lot of travel and most leisure time is spent with the family. He is a keen amateur chef and likes nothing more than pleasing guests with good quality food and wine. All these calories can then be walked off with Caroline and their very large dog.

Sue Singleton
Sue Singleton has recently joined the Board of Governors. She graduated from Sheffield University with a degree in Geography and Economics and subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant. In 1991 she started her own accountancy practice which she still runs today. Sue is married with three children, two girls and a boy. Both girls were educated at Ashdell School and Sue served several years as Treasurer on the Friends of Ashdell Committee. Sue‟s interests include looking after her family, walking, general fitness and travel.

The Reverend Canon Christopher Burke
Chris was ordained in 1992 in York Minster and served initially as Assistant Curate in Nunthorpe and then as Vicar of South Bank, two contrasting parishes in Middlesbrough, before being appointed as Rector of Stepney in March 2002. In 2010 he began a new post as Residentiary Canon for Learning and Development at Sheffield Cathedral with a particular focus on community and congregational growth, mission and catechesis. He has served on a wide variety of local charitable trusts and organizations. He was also a governor of the Sir John Cass Foundation, the largest educational charity in the City, and was a governor of three local schools one of which he chaired. He was a member of the Court of Sion College and was President until May 2010. He is a trustee of both USPG Anglicans in World Mission and the Mission to Seafarers. Chris is married to Helen, a local GP, and they have 2 daughters, both at Ashdell School. In his spare time Chris enjoys running and is also a keen traveller, especially to places far away from the tourist trails.