Meet our Governing Body
In addition to being members of Corporation, our Governors, using their requisite skills, are also members of Corporation Committees.
WENDY SMITH
Chair of Corporation
Chair of Standards Committee, Member of Business Committee and Search Committee
After training as a teacher in Hertford and at Trinity College of Music, London, Wendy moved to Nottingham in 1978. Following a short period of teaching, this was followed by a secretarial course which led to ten years of self-employment as the manager of a nursing agency.
Returning to teaching in 1990, she discovered the fascinating world of Deaf education. Wendy qualified as a Teacher of the Deaf, gained British Sign Language qualifications and, in 1995, helped to establish the City provision for deaf children aged 3-11. She now teaches music to disabled children at a local special school.
Wendy is also Chair of Governors at a primary school and undertakes voluntary work with the police and Victim Support. In contrast to her special interest in early music, she is learning to play the drums. Her other interests include gardening and going to the gym.
GEOFF GRATION
Member of Corporation and Standards Committee
Two of Geoff's children have successfully attended Bilborough College and he is delighted to have the opportunity to support the work of the college as a Governor.
Geoff has had over twenty five years` experience of working in further education, both as a teacher and as a senior manager at one of the largest colleges in Derbyshire, where his responsibilities included those for quality assurance, student welfare and support, and liaison with parents.
He currently works as a free-lance researcher and management consultant.
Sarah Murcott
Vice Chair of Corporation
Chair of Audit, Member of Business Group, Search Committee and Remuneration and special responsibility for Health and Safety
Sara is now in her second term as a governor and feels privileged to be associated with the College.
Sara is "born and bred" Nottingham, having studied and worked in a city she loves all her life. She has a law degree as well as professional legal and administrative qualifications. Sara also worked at Nottingham Trent University for over 20 years and has experience of many of the university's academic departments and central services. Sara also volunteers for SureStart and is a theatre critic for the Theatre Management Association. When not volunteering, Sara enjoys taking an active role in a reading group and spending quality time with her husband of six years and three year old daughter, whom she hopes will attend Bilborough College in years to come!
EILEEN HARTLEY
Member of Corporation and Standards Committee
Eileen attended St. Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls and following attainment of her Degree in English she taught secondary English for two years in London's docklands. Following her marriage she moved to Nottingham and taught for 9 years with Nottingham City. Following a break of 7 years to raise her children (three sons) she returned to teaching in Long Eaton until retirement 3 years ago.
She is Churchwarden at St. Mary's Attenborough and chorister there and also a member of Nottingham University choir. She is Manager of Nottinghamshire under 18 boys' hockey team and one of the Notts representatives to Midlands. Further volunteer work includes volunteering at Calke Abbey.
Her middle son attended Bilborough and followed this with a degree from Manchester and is currently in the Army (Parachute Regiment). He has been back to the College to give a careers talk and also to run fitness sessions as part of Health and Diversity week.
LISA LEWIS - Support Staff Governor
Lisa joined the college in June 2009 as International Student Manager, managing the International student programme at the college from recruitment through to arrival in the UK and the college and then on to on-programme welfare and advice.
Prior to working at Bilborough College, Lisa was a Team Leader within the International department at Castle College, Nottingham for about five years, and before that an Information Communication Technology lecturer at Broxtowe College (now Castle College) and also New College Nottingham collectively for six years. She has also worked in the industrial fastener industry (nuts and bolts!) and for many years with Nottingham based company Experian.
She is a Yorkshire born Hampshire girl, married with one daughter and one son and is looking forward to being the voice for support staff at Bilborough College.
ANTHONY (TONY) HOGG
Member of Corporation, Chair of E, P & F Committee and member of Business Committee, Search Committee and Chair of Remuneration Committee
Tony, an ‘old boy’ of Bilborough Grammar School, is the Chairman and Managing Director of Willbond Ltd. one of Nottingham's oldest private companies (established 1896) with 100 staff and 12 outlets in the East Midlands.
Tony is married to Helen an ‘old girl’ of Bilborough Grammar School and now the Assistant Head of a Nottinghamshire Comprehensive School. They have two daughters who both live and work in London.
Tony and Helen still enjoy socialising with many of their old school friends and for recreation Tony spends most weekends playing golf in the beautiful surroundings of Wollaton Park whilst Helen ensures the continued prosperity of the John Lewis organisation.
HEATHER GOULD
Non-Member of EP&F Committee and Non-Member of Remuneration Committee
Heather is a Solicitor and former managing partner of a law firm here in Nottingham and now has a specialist legal consultancy role recruiting lawyers into business and private practice. As such she has good knowledge and contacts in the local business community and a range of experience in management, finance, legal and HR.
She has been a governor at Bilborough since 2001 and was very involved in the new build project. She is also a governor at Bramcote Church of England Primary school where her own children attend and involved with a number of local charities and networking groups. When not running around recruiting, consulting or governing, Heather loves to spend time with her young children, her football obsessed husband and indulges her main passions of cooking and wine tasting as often as possible!
STEVE PICKERING
Member of Standards Committee
Steve is a chartered mechanical engineer and for the past 20 years has taught at the University of Nottingham in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, where he is also the undergraduate admissions tutor. He previously worked in the steel industry and for the consulting engineers Ove Arup. He is married with three children.
He became a parent governor when his eldest child was studying at Bilborough. He is no longer the nominated parent governor although his second child is currently a student at Bilborough College. He has previously been a governor at a nursery school.
Dr SHAMIM AHMAD
Member of Corporation and Audit Committee
Shamim is a Sessional Lecturer in Microbial Molecular Biology and his work experience includes lecturing from Higher National Certificate to Masters level; supervision of Ph. D. students for their doctoral degree and supervision of post-docs in their research. His own research work includes Medical research in the field of cancer; international collaboration with the universities in USA, Japan, France, Holland and Denmark. He has written 3 medical books and 45 research papers and has been awarded the Asian Jewel Award in “Excellence in Education”
Shamim has two daughters both of whom have attended Bilborough for their A level studies with one still attending.
His experience of being a Governor comes from being a past Governor of Fernwood Infant and Fernwood Junior school and is a current: Governor of Fernwood Comprehensive School.
SUSANNE LAW
Member of Corporation and Audit Committee
Susanne came to study in Nottinghamshire 16 years ago from Hong Kong. She has always found England a very friendly place, although she misses her family in Hong Kong terribly.
After completing her A Levels, she went on to study Accountancy in Grantham College and has since qualified as a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Advisor. She has experience in auditing and general accountancy advice and for the last two years, she has specialised in Corporate Taxation.
Susanne has previous experience of being a Governor, as she has previously been a Governor for New College Nottingham.
FRANCES WARBUTON
Member of Corporation and Audit Committee
Frances previously attended Bilborough College following which she attended the University of Sheffield. She holds a BA Hons in Japanese & History and a MA in Translation Studies.
Frances lived and worked in Osaka for 4 years as an English teacher on the government sponsored JET programme and for Superstop Inc., a record label and distributor. She moved back to the UK in 1993 and worked for Caroline International, a record / CD distributor and exporter and then for Itochu Europe Ltd, a Japanese Trading Company.
She moved back to Nottingham in 2005 to study for an MA at the University of Sheffield and now work as a freelance translator.
SUSAN BOLTON
Clerk to the Corporation and non-member Governor of Business Committee
Susan is a Chartered Company Secretary and has held various positions within a FTSE 100 Company both in London and its various offices in the Midlands. She also has legal experience of working in the charitable sector.
She holds the FE Certificate in Governance, the recognised qualification for Clerks working within the FE Sector and she is currently studying part-time for an LLB (Hons).
NIGEL MARTIN
Non-Governor member of Audit Committee
Nigel has been a non-Governor member of the Audit Committee since June 2008, having previously served on the same committee between June 2006 and June 2007.
He grew up and was educated in Newark before completing a degree in Geography at the University of Nottingham. Nigel then went on to train and qualify as a Chartered Accountant and has worked for a number of firms in practice during the last 20 years.
Nigel presently works for the Nottingham Office of Tenon Limited as a Senior Manager and looks after a portfolio of audit and audit exempt clients in both the small owner managed business and not for profit sectors. In particular, he is involved with the external audits of a number of Colleges of Further Education, and has several years’ experience in that field. This knowledge and experience serves him well when he sits on the “other side of the fence” at Audit Committee Meetings.
JOHN SCRUTON
Non-governor member of Audit Committee.
John was the Clerk to the Corporation of Bilborough College from 2004 – 2008, and has the ICSA Certificate in Further Education Governance. He also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Nottingham Trent University.
He is Practice Manager of a leading firm of solicitors specialising in legal aid with offices in Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Sheffield.
John is married with one son currently at Bilborough College, and lives in Nottingham. He is pleased having previously worked for the Corporation of the college to now be able to contribute to the governance of the college.
MICHAEL JACKSON
Non-Member of Standards Committee
Michael has three children, the oldest starting sixth form college this year. He has taught in the primary and secondary sectors of education and in FE. He is currently head teacher at Seagrave Primary School in Nottingham, he is chair of the management committee of Nottingham City's Home and Hospital Education Learning Centre.
He has a BA form Nottingham Trent University and a BSc. from London University. His MA in Education is from Anglia Polytechnic University and he has an MBA in Educational Management from Leicester University. His PGCE in secondary mathematics is from Southampton University.
He is committed to life-long learning, has experience of running his own business (an activity holiday company in Pembrokeshire), lives part-time in East Sussex and his passions include Scrabble and cycle touring.