Governors

Howe Green House School Governors come from all walks of life and many have a personal link with the school.  Current and past parents, Howe Green House alumni and members of the wider community work together tirelessly for the benefit of the school.

Their role as ‘critical friends’ of the school’s leadership team is undertaken with commitment and enthusiasm and they each bring their own experience and expertise to help the school flourish and forge ahead.

The duties of the Governors are varied.  From the responsibility of ensuring the school operates within the regulatory requirements to presiding over educational changes and development of the school site, their role is to uphold the best interests of the school and its community and ensure its future success.

To contact the governors please write to:

The School Governors, c/o Howe Green House School, Great Hallingbury, CM22 7UF

Governors

Dr. Gamini Ambepitiya

M.B.B.S., F.R.C.P.

Education Committee

After studying medicine in his homeland, Sri Lanka, Dr. Ambe as he likes to be known, came to the UK in 1982. He has been living and working in West Essex since 1985. He has been a NHS Consultant Physician working in West Essex since 1992 and is currently the Clinical Director of West Essex Community Hospitals.

During his professional career in West Essex, in addition to his clinical / managerial duties,  Dr. Ambe has been the Chairman of the Drugs and Therapeutics Committee, a long standing member of the Ethics Committee and a Tutor for the Royal College of Physicians.

He is the father of two successful adult children who both attended Howe Green House School.

As an Educational Committee member, he hopes to help the school with his experience and wisdom. He believes in helping/guiding our pupils to become lifelong learners from an early stage of life which helps to provide them with a skill set for the future challenges they will face in the 21st century.

Mrs Sam Bristow

Finance & Premises Committee & Education Committee

After reading Law at Clare College, Cambridge University, Sam qualified as a European and Competition Lawyer at the city law firm of Herbert Smith.  Sam advised large multi-national companies on antitrust and merger control laws.  She worked in this role for 5 years, during which time she spent time on secondment to the Brussels office and at the London Stock Exchange as an in-house adviser.

Sam is now a full time mother to her three children, all of whom attended Little Oaks Nursery and Howe Green House School.  She is also the Chair of a Cancer Research UK fundraising committee, Bishop’s Stortford Friends of Cancer Research UK.

Mrs Amanda Cutlan-Smyth

Finance and Premises Committee

After representing her country in sport, Amanda read law at university and qualified as a solicitor at city law firm Herbert Smith where she specialised in Commercial Real Estate Finance for eight years. Amanda is now a full time mother to her two children who attended Little Oaks Nursery and Howe Green House School.

Mrs Elizabeth Lester

Chair – Education Committee

Liz, as she likes to be known, has been involved with Howe Green House School since its inception in 1987and both her son and daughter attended the school.

She has been a Parent Governor at an independent school in Suffolk and has held a number of positions within the independent and state sectors of Education ranging from Early Years through Further Education to being an Ofsted inspector.

She was Head of Early Years at Howe Green House for seven years and has subsequently taken a Master in Education degree at Cambridge with additional qualifications in Supporting Children with Specific Learning Difficulties.

Mrs Gemma Rogers

Marketing Committee

Gemma studied law at the University of Cambridge before qualifying as a solicitor specialising in employment law at Allen & Overy LLP. She went on to work within the Human Resources departments at Credit Suisse and Citi as an Employee Relations Specialist. She has two children currently at Howe Green House School and is actively involved in all aspects of school life.

Mrs Mary Sanders

Education Committee

Mary grew up in Canada. Following university where she gained degrees in Psychology and Primary Education, she relocated to England to work. Since this time, she has taught as a qualified .teacher in both mainstream and special educational school settings and is currently working within the Essex SEND Inclusion and Psychology team. Mary is a parent of two boys who currently attend Howe Green House

Mrs Alison White (Vice-Chair of Governors)

Finance & Premises Committee

Alison qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1993 and has worked as an accountant for nearly 30 years, working for a local accountancy firm for 20 years and then since 2006 working from home as a sole practitioner. Experience includes 5 years working as an audit manager on a small portfolio of Local Grant Maintained Primary Schools. Alison has a long history with HGH, her oldest child Abby started in Kindergarten in 1999, followed by Angus in 2001, and Annabel in Acorns Nursery in 2003. All 3 children spent their entire primary education at Howe Green House with Annabel finishing Year 6 in 2013. During that time Alison was also Chairman of Parents and Friends of Howe Green House for 3 years, hard work but worth it.

Mr William Wells

Marketing Committee

William attended St Faiths School in Cambridge followed by Greshams in North Norfolk before attending Oxford Polytechnic.

He has run a successful business employing more than fifty people for over thirty years. He set up in the property business with Tony Mullucks as Mullucks Wells in 1990, and the company now trades as Mullucks, part of Hunters – a larger organisation with a head office in York. He has a positive disposition, and believes in life there are people who give and those who take. Givers by nature tend to be more generous, understanding and accommodating.

William has previously been a governor for a preparatory school in Hertfordshire for 5 years. He lives in a small village in North Herts with his wife and three children, two in their early 20s and one currently taking A levels at Saffron Walden County High School. His hobbies include gardening and fly fishing.