Our School - Governing Body

Governing Body

Parent Governors

Staff Governor

Local Authority Governor

Alistair Ramsay

Gill Deans

Tracey Hinson

Co-opted Governors

Vacancy

Foundation Governors

Michelle Courtney

Nigel Adis

Farah Malik

Ian Smith

Vacancy

Tim Gardiner

Ben Truppin

Mark Martin

Executive Principal

Clerk to the Governors

Karen Hayward

Lorraine Norman

Chair of Governors

Ian Smith

Tim Gardiner

Chair of the Business

Alistair Ramsey

Jill Deans

Chair of the Pay Committee

Chair of the Full Governors

Tim Gardiner

Ian Smith

Nigel Aldis

Nigel Aldis is in his second term as a governor of the school. He spent over thirty years in Education as a teacher working in all phases – primary, lower, middle, upper, secondary and in two special schools; one for MLD and the other for hearing impaired pupils. Employed mainly as a class teacher but also had specialist posts for mathematics and history.  He was previously the Chair of Governors at Maple Tree Lower from when it opened and subsequently at Sandye Place Middle School until it became an academy.  Nigel has been a Sandy Town Councillor since co-option in September 1999 and a Blunham Parish Council since election in May 2015. He was an elected member of Mid Beds and then Central Bedfordshire Councils from 2003-2015.  He is heavily involved in the local community holding committee positions of several groups.

Michelle Courtney

Michelle joined the Governing Body in 2018 as she wanted to be involved in the evolution of Sandy Upper School into Sandy Secondary School. Michelle qualified from Trinity College, Cambridge and is a veterinary surgeon working exclusively in the field of veterinary emergency and critical care. She has lived in Sandy with her family for many years and is a member of the Rotary Club of Sandy. Michelle’s driving ambition is to empower students of all abilities, backgrounds, and aspirations to release their full potential; she hopes to achieve this by working with the rest of the Governing Body to create an inspiring learning environment which enriches of all who attend Sandy Secondary School.

Gill Deans

I first joined the Governing Body in January 2012. I am currently the chair of the Standards Committee, responsible for looking at achievement, as well as the wellbeing of all staff and students. In addition, I am the link governor for Special Educational Needs and regularly meet with the SENCo, and the link for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium and meet with members of the Senior Leadership Team.  

Tim Gardiner

I am a parent to boys in Years 7 and 9 and my wife is an LSA at the school. I am passionate about children fulfilling their educational potential, especially in the areas of STEM and the performing arts - and in Sandy Secondary School, we have a school the town can be proud of.  I am new to being a School Governor, but I’m looking forward to supporting the school in whatever way I can. In my day job, I am a freelance IT consultant, designing cloud-based systems for big retail companies such as Sainsburys, Argos and Tesco. In my spare time, my interests are running, cycling and musical theatre.

Tracey Hinson

Tracey has spent most of her working life at Sandy Upper School, joining in 1991, and she is the last remaining teacher who has worked under all of the Head Teachers the School has ever had.   Tracey has held a number of positions in the school; she is a Science teacher and has previously been Head of the Science department for more than 10 years.  She is now employed as an Assistant Principal with responsibility for the Sixth Form and Community.

Tracey has two daughters who both studied at Sandy Secondary School. Whenever Tracey plans or observes a lesson, evaluates strategy or employs a new member of staff she has one simple question; “Is this good enough for her child?” If the answer is “No” then something needs to change!   Sandy Secondary School has been a big part of Tracey’s life for a long time and she is very pleased to be serving as Staff Governor during the next exciting phase of the school’s development.

Mark Martin

My name is Mark Martin, I’m 45 years old and married with four children. We have lived in Sandy for the past 11 years. I’ve been working in the city since my early 20s. I started my first business MDM Consultants, a recruitment firm, celebrating its 14th year and currently re-inventing itself for an exciting new chapter. My second business MDM Compliance Systems was founded in 2013 to provide a Regtech SAAS based compliance monitoring solution for banks and asset managers which I successfully developed and sold in November 2019. This has freed up some time which I am looking to put to good use and for opportunities to give back locally. I was delighted to have worked with the school in recent times to help facilitate the building of new bike shelter. Exercise has always played a big part in my life and as an ex professional tennis player believe exercise plays a huge part in our mental wellbeing. For over 25 years I’ve had a passion for personal development and keen to play a part in helping the future of the young people in our community. My youngest son Harry is currently enjoying his second year at the school.

Alistair Ramsay

Alistair joined the Sandy Secondary School Governing Body in September 2016. He has worked in the Pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years with Informatics teams and has a keen interest in science, analytics and drug development. His ambition is for the school to continue on its journey towards an Outstanding OFSTED rating. He has 3 children all attending the school during their senior years and is a Member of the British Computer Society. He volunteers for STEM activities through his work when time allows.

Farah Stones

Farah has been a veterinary surgeon for 25 years. For the past 15 years she has been working at a veterinary practice in Upper Caldecote, where she is currently the Clinical Director. Farah has two children attending a local primary school and she became a governor at Moggerhanger Primary when her children started there. Farah has since been co-opted onto the board at Sandy Secondary School. As a parent Farah has a keen interest in education and enjoys being able to make some contribution to support the school in their mission to provide all their students with the ability to achieve their full potential.

Ben Truppin

Hi there, my name is Ben Truppin and I’m a recent addition to the Governing Body at Sandy Secondary School, sitting on the Standards Committee.  My wife, children and I are happily settled in Sandy having moved here 6 years ago with all our kids attending a local primary school before the eldest started at Sandy Secondary School in September 2020.  My interest in governor matters is firmly seated in my desire to support the school in driving the educational and pastoral outcomes for all children and ensuring it is a school we can continue to be proud of.  Professionally, I hold a directorship at a management consultancy, where I focus on helping large organisations improve their digital customer experiences. 

Name-Declaration of Interest-End of Term of Office

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Gill Deans - Parent - March 2022

Nigel Aldis - Member of Sandy Town Council  and Blunham Council - March 2022

Farah Malik - Parent - March 2022

Michelle Courtney-Parent - November 2022

Alistair Ramsay - Parent - March 2022

Tracey Hinson - Staff - June 2022

Ian Smith (Chair) - Chair of Blunham Parish Council - March 2022

Mark Martin - Parent - October 2024

Tim Gardiner - Parent and wife works at the school - November 2024

Ben Truppin - Parent - November 2024

Attendance to Meetings 2019

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Ian Smith (Chair) 

Tracey Stock

Nigel Aldis

Tracey Hinson

Alistair Ramsay 

Farah Malik 

Michelle Courtney 

Gill Deans

Karen Hayward

Mark Martin

Tim Gardiner

Ben Truppin

Total attendance 2020/2021

80%

60%

100%

80%

100%

80%

100%

100%

100%

75%                                                     

100%

100%

89%

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