Governor Pen Portraits
Vanessa Winspear - Chair of Governors
Since becoming a Governor at Marlborough Primary School in 2021.I have held the role of Governor and Vice Chair. I am proud to say that in November 2022 I was appointed as the Chair of the Board of Governors. In my professional career, I have been a civil servant for over 20 years within operational delivery roles. Working and living in the local area, I bring this wealth of experience to the governing board. I am passionate about supporting the school and working together to provide the best education possible for the children of Marlborough Primary School.
Wendy Buddle - Staff Governor
I am Headteacher at Marlborough Primary School. I have over 25 years teaching experience and over 12 year of experience as a senior leader. I have been involved with the Governing body since 2010 when I was first appointed at Marlborough Primary School as the Deputy Headteacher. I enjoy working with governors to help facilitate effective, long-term school improvement, through working collaboratively with both challenge and support. Our aim is always to ensure that children at the heart of everything that we do here at school. I am very passionate about children being given the best quality education possible to help them with their future happiness, career ambitions and to help them to build a successful future.
Karen King - Co-Opted Governor
I have joined the governor board at Marlbrorough primary school because I would like to make a positive difference to children in Washington, where I grew up. My primary school education was the foundation upon which I have built a successful career as an IT and Resilience professional for a global law firm, and I would like to ensure that the Children at the school have the same opportunities I did to learn, grow, and succeed. I have many technical skills with which I can use to support the school, and look forward to working together to seek ways to innovate and continually improve.
Ashley Emmerson - Co-Opted Governor
I am an Executive Headteacher and accounting officer for an academy trust in Sunderland. I have enjoyed a successful teaching career of 25 years with 17 years in senior leadership positions. I have developed a wealth of experience in education pedagogy including curriculum design and assessment. I have supported schools as a Senior Leader of Education in Early Years and I am passionate about ensuring all young people have the best start to their educational journey. I believe fostering school to school collaboration is the best way share excellent educational ideas and practice and secure high outcomes for all the children in our communities. I hope within my role as school Governor I can support the school’s continuous improvement and help the children at Marlborough Primary School succeed and achieve.
Ken Smithson - Co-Opted Governor
I have over 41 years experience of Primary Education, 31 as a Head Teacher and have missed working with schools, staff and pupils, since I retired in December 2019. When the opportunity arose to join the governors at Marlborough Primary School, I arranged a visit and was immediately impressed with the school and the warm welcome I received. The children certainly do live up to the school motto: "Bright minds, Bright futures" and I was delighted to meet some of them on my visit. I hope to see a lot more of them in the future as I endeavour to support and encourage all who have the children's best interests at heart, particularly leadership, teachers and wider staff, who work so hard to secure the very best start for all of the children at Marlborough School.
Alex King – Co-Opted Governor
After working in the airline industry, I now work for the United Kingdom's regulatory body for the civil aviation sector. My background is in aircraft engineering, having worked all over the country. I believe passionately in the central role education plays in children's development, not just during these short years but far-reaching in their futures. The pupils of Marlborough are incredibly fortunate to attend such a caring, nurturing and stimulating school. I am delighted to have the opportunity to support the school and its children in my role as governor.
Luke Wilson - Staff Governor
I am the Year 5 Teacher at Marlborough Primary School. Since joining as an NQT, I have built up four years of teaching experience and now also co-ordinate PE and Geography as well as mentoring our PE apprentice. Previous to joining Marlborough Primary School, I taught English as an additional language (EAL) in Beijing for three years, thus giving me a broader knowledge of different cultures and understanding of the wider world. I consider teaching as an extraordinary opportunity to influence the lives of young people and therefore enjoy facilitating the learning journey they embark during their primary years. As staff governor, I aim to bring insightful knowledge from within the school environment and establish effective working relationships with fellow governors to help raise standards across school and provide every child with the the best possible education.
Antonia Rose - Staff Governor
I am the School Business Manager here at Marlborough, newly appointed in September 2022. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the pupils, their families and the staff and care immensely about our school’s progress. I have worked in Business Support in Schools for almost 9 years and I know my experience will help serve the school well in a Governor role. Before that, I worked in the Energy Industry for almost 18 years as a Team Manager and in projects, the skills I gained transfer to my role within school and I am focused on delivering a high standard of support to our Headteacher Mrs Buddle and the Teaching and Learning Team. Please do say hello if you pop into the School Office where I work with our fantastic Admin Team Mrs Mitchell and Miss Downey.
Zoe Cooper - Parent Governor
I am mother to twin boys who attend the school. I’ve been volunteering in the community at the local food bank for a few years now, I also work as a lunchtime supervisor at the school. I’m interested to see how I can help Marlborough to reach its potential.
