Our Governing Body
School Governors
Chair of Governors - Nicola Harrison
Nicola joined the governing body in September 2022 and was elected Chair in September 2023.
In her working life Nicola worked for over thirty years as a teacher of English in comprehensive schools in the region. She hopes that this experience will enable her to make a positive contribution to Thorpe Primary.
In recent years she has volunteered at the National Coal Mining Museum for England near Wakefield. As part of this she regularly produces pieces for the museum’s online Voices in the Coalshed items.
At other times she enjoys reading and craft activities such as patchwork and knitting.
Vice Chair of Governors - Chris Newby
Chris is an experienced Governor, and was appointed to the Governing Body of Thorpe Primary School in October 2022. He is the link Governor for Safeguarding.
As well as being a Governor at Thorpe Primary School, Chris is also the Chair of Governors at a secondary school in Kirklees, within a Multi-Academy Trust, and is also the link Governor for SEND and Safeguarding. He was appointed a member of another Primary School’s Interim Executive Board, after it had been placed in Special Measures. At its last Monitoring visit, the Ofsted inspector noted that ‘Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.’ Following academisation, Chris was appointed Chair of the Local Governing Body. He also has experience as a parent governor at a maintained Primary School.
Chris is a Consultant Engineer, working with conformity assessment in the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, bio-pharma, chemical, power generation and hazardous goods transport industries. He also acts as technical lead.
Chris believes that all children deserve the highest quality education in a safe and nurturing environment, and is delighted to be a member of Thorpe Primary School’s community.
Jais Patel
Jais joined the Thorpe Primary Governing body in 2022. He currently has three daughters in the school and is a parent governor.
Jais hopes his commercial background in the food industry will benefit the school from both a business and health and safety perspective. His aim is to help make the school not only a fantastic place for students to learn, but also a fantastic workplace for all the teachers and support staff.
Outside of work and school, his main interest is sport; he still plays football and tennis, but is much better at sitting on the sofa and watching on as a fan.
Peppa Thewlis
Peppa joined the Thorpe Governing body in December 2023. She's loved the ethos of Thorpe Primary since viewing the school back in 2019 when choosing where to apply for her first daughter's place. She has two daughters at the school.
Peppa's background is within Financial Services. With over 25 years, her experience covers many different roles including: banking, HR, Recruitment and Project Management. She'll be using these skills wherever they're needed within the governing body to help the school meet its goals.
Outside of work and Mum life, Peppa is an avid reader and loves paper crafting, mostly making cards, as a hobby.
Behaviour Principles
Useful Links
Staff Governor - Sam Weston
Sam became our Staff Governor in March 23 and is responsible for all our essential Governor Training. Her role is to advise and equip the governors with the tools they require to carry out their role effectively.
Sam has been our Business Manager since 2017 and is responsible for providing the governors with our Finance, HR, Admissions and GDPR information.
Stuart Wingrove
Stuart has worked in the recycling and utilities sector for 21 years and he hopes to bring his expertise in health and safety and climate friendly innovations to the governing team.
Stuart has 2 daughters at Thorpe in Year 2 and Year 4 so has a vested interest in continuing the great work being done at Thorpe to ensure future intake has the same quality of education his children have enjoyed.
Stuart comes from a family or educators and school governors and strongly believes in mutual collaboration between educators, governors, parents and, most importantly, the children to get the best results to elevate each and every child to reach their potential both at school and in their future lives.
Laura Reader
Laura's two daughters are past pupils of Thorpe Primary School and since they have left, Laura was keen to 'give something back' to the school, so was delighted to join the governing body in July 2024.
A teacher and school leader herself, Laura is passionate about SEND and making sure that all children have the opportunity to meet their potential. Laura works in a local specialist provision that supports pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Debbie Saxby
Debbie returned to our governing body after maternity leave in July 2024. She has two young children and a keen interest in supporting schools. She works for the local authority in the human resources department and is part of our resources committee.
Angela Griffin
Angela joined our governing body in July 2024 after working at the school for over a decade. Her four children all came to our school and she started out as a volunteer, working in Year Six. Angela wanted to continue to support the school in a different way so joined our governing body. She lives in the local area and her children, who are now adults, all attended the school. Her husband, Matt, is a previous school governor at Thorpe.
Governor Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the July 2024 Full Governing Body Meeting
Minutes of the March 2024 Full Governing Body Meeting
Minutes of the December 2023 Full Governing Body Meeting
Annual Statement
