Meet the Governors

Mrs Alison Mansfield (Chair of Governors/Co-opted Governor)
Alison has been Clerk to the Governors of Castle Camps Primary School since 2014 but has recently relinquished this role to join the Governing Body. She works as a Finance Manager in an inner-city academy and also as Clerk for a number of local schools. She has extensive experience as a governor and a longstanding interest in primary education. She has a degree in English Literature from Cambridge University but mostly reads detective stories these days. 

Mr Andrew Webb MBE (Vice Chair & Foundation Governor

Andrew retired in 2017 as the Secretary of the London School of Economics, where he worked for over 30 years. He has lived in Shudy Camps for 25 years and both his children attended Castle Camps Primary School. He currently works part-time at Stansted Airport and is a trustee of two local charities, an Age UK visitor and a volunteer driver for Linton Helping Helps and has been Church Warden of St Mary's Shudy Camps and Clerk to Shudy Camps Parish Council. Andrew has previously been a Foundation Governor at Castle Camps and served as Chair of Governors. He was awarded an MBE for services to higher education and to the local community in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Miss Alexandra O’Connor (Headteacher)
Miss Alexandra O’Connor qualified as a teacher in 1996, with a Bachelor of Education (Hons) degree from the University of Cambridge. After leaving university, Miss O’Connor taught across a range of community and church primary schools in Hertfordshire, specialising in Key Stage 2, before moving into senior leadership roles in London and Cambridge. Miss O’Connor completed her Masters in Educational Leadership at the University of Cambridge in 2006 and is currently studying for the National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership (NPQEL). She has been Headteacher at Castle Camps Primary School since September 2013.

Mrs Louise French (Deputy Headteacher/Staff Governor)
Mrs Louise French qualified as a teacher with a Bachelor of Education (Hons) degree from De Montfort University in Bedford in 2002. Initially Mrs French specialised in Early Years and began her career in a large infant school, teaching one of four Early Years Reception classes. Following this, Mrs French began teaching a mixed age class in a small, rural Church of England Primary School. After relocating to Saffron Walden, Mrs French began teaching at Castle Camps Primary School. After being the Key Stage One team leader, in 2012, Mrs French was appointed as the Deputy Head Teacher. She now teaches in a mixed Key Stage One and Two class and works alongside Miss O’Connor and the Senior Leadership Team. Mrs French is a Maths Mastery Specialist Teacher for the Cambridge Maths Hub.

Rev'd. Dr Ian Fisher (Foundation Governor)
Ian is House for Duty Team Vicar in the Linton Team with particular oversight for the parishes of Castle Camps, Horseheath and Shudy Camps. Ian came to the camps in 2017 after taking early retirement from a parish in Southend. Ian studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has a PhD in Geology. Before joining the Church he lectured in Geochemistry at the University of East Anglia. Ian studied for ordination in Oxford and has served in parishes in Herefordshire, Ashton-under-Lyne and Southend has also spent 5 years as Chaplain to the University of Surrey in Guildford.

Sarah Gunn (LA Governor)

Sarah is Cambridgeshire born and bred and is a consultant to a First World War charity.  For many years she worked for an American bank but after her husband was posted to Dubai for two years, Sarah retrained and started teaching Montessori to Nursery and Primary aged children in Dubai and then in London and Surrey.   Sarah became a Librarian and Exam invigilator at her daughters' school in Hampshire, eventually progressing to Assistant Head of Exams.

Clive Watts (Community Governor)

Clive is employed by a Cambridge-based semiconductor chip design company as Director of Product Management, a role that involves managing and fixing all manner of things! He has lived in Cardinals Green, a few miles from Castle Camps, for the last 8 years with his wife having been a Teaching Assistant at Castle Camps for many years and both her children passing through the school. He holds a BA in Computing and Electronics from the University of Durham and, more recently, an MBA (Technology Management) from the Open University. Clive is hoping to bring a focus on music to his governor work at the school over time.

Mr Adrian Fell (Parent Governor)
Adrian is Managing Director of Compass Energy Solutions Limited, a sustainability consultancy for the built environment. Adrian formed the company in 2008, and has successfully developed long term business to business, and business to consumer relationships. Graduating from Anglia Ruskin University, he has a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Monitoring & Protection from Anglia Ruskin University, and has previously worked for both the private and public sector.

Mr David Swan (Parent Governor)

David is a Parent Governor with one child at the school and one who recently moved on to Linton Village College. He has a BEng (Hons) in Aerospace Engineering from Kingston University and is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. After university, David followed his passion for aviation and qualified as a Commercial Pilot and has been flying for airlines since 2066, flying both short haul and long haul.

Parent Governor VACANCIES x2
 

Mrs Hilary Steele - Clerk to Governors