School Council and Leadership

Ms Jane Gandee is only the ninth headmistress in the school's 145-year history and took up her post in September 2010.

Ms Gandee was previously director of studies at The City of London School for Girls, a position she held since 2005. She read French and Spanish at Girton College, Cambridge before spending two years as an accountant prior to commencing her teaching career. She taught languages at two schools before moving to Queenswood, where she became head of languages in 1999.

Ms Gandee is a keen sportswoman, having represented Cambridge at athletics and cross country and captained the university's women's football team. She still runs competitively when time allows and enjoys supporting her three grown-up children.

Mr Graham Yates joined St Swithun's School in September 2017.

He had previously held the position of deputy head at Hampshire Collegiate School. Before this he was assistant head at Kingston Grammar School.

Mr Yates read geography at Nottingham University and went on to study for a Master's in Education at Brunel University, where he also spent six years running a geography PGCE course.

Mr Charles Hammel joined St Swithun’s in September 2014.

Mr Hammel read history and medieval studies at Princeton University and then completed a postgraduate masters in medieval history at the University of St Andrews.

He was previously head of history at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham, prior to which he was head of scholars at Warwick School, where he taught history, politics and Latin.

Mr Martyn Gamble joined St Swithun’s in January 2019 after a career in the army which spanned 34 years.

He was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Cranfield University and the Royal College of Defence Studies, London.

He enjoys family and the outdoor life, and is passionate about most sport.

Ms Alice Ludlow joined St Swithun’s in September 2021 as an acting  housemistress before taking on the role of head of boarding at the start of the 2022/3 academic year.  

Ms Ludlow has worked in boarding schools both internationally and in the UK. Before joining St Swithun’s School, she held the position of assistant principal in an international school in Lusaka, Zambia. Prior to this, she worked at Oakham School and a boarding school in Malawi.

Ms Ludlow is also passionate about her additional role as a teacher of English. In her spare time, she can be found with her head in a wonderful book or walking in the countryside.

Mrs Liz Norris joined St Swithun's school in 2023 from St Helen's School where she was interim head of prep. Prior to being appointed, Mrs Norris was also head of junior school at St  Margaret’s School in Bushey, Hertfordshire. She was also responsible for pastoral care as phase leader and senior management team member at Bancroft’s prep school.

She has worked as a private education consultant, supporting reviews on curriculum design and assessment protocols and has also completed an MA in education.

Away from the classroom, Mrs Norris is a talented musician, playing the piano, flute and cello, and has been a youth leader at her local church.

Mrs Kate Grosscurth joined St Swithun’s School in 2009 from Barfield Prep School in Farnham, Surrey, where she was head of pre-prep.

She was appointed deputy head at St Swithun’s in 2015. Prior to this, Mrs Grosscurth taught early years and key stages one and two across the curriculum. She read geography at the University of Plymouth before going on to gain a PGCE at the University of Exeter.

Mrs Grosscurth races offshore yachts and runs the St Swithun’s sailing club.

Mr Ben Walker joined St Swithun’s in January 2023.

Previously he worked at the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Chance to Shine schools charity prior to that.

Mr Walker read English Literature at Cardiff University. He enjoys time with his two daughters when not at work.

Mrs Liz Norris joined St Swithun's school in 2023 from St Helen's School where she was interim head of prep.

Prior to being appointed, Mrs Norris was also head of junior school at St  Margaret’s School in Bushey, Hertfordshire. She was also responsible for pastoral care as phase leader and senior management team member at Bancroft’s prep school.

She has worked as a private education consultant, supporting reviews on curriculum design and assessment protocols and has also completed an MA in education.

Away from the classroom, Mrs Norris is a talented musician, playing the piano, flute and cello, and has been a youth leader at her local church.

Mrs Kate Grosscurth joined St Swithun’s School in 2009 from Barfield Prep School in Farnham, Surrey, where she was head of pre-prep.

She was appointed deputy head at St Swithun’s in 2015. Prior to this, Mrs Grosscurth taught early years and key stages one and two across the curriculum. She read geography at the University of Plymouth before going on to gain a PGCE at the University of Exeter.

Mrs Grosscurth races offshore yachts and runs the St Swithun’s sailing club.

Mr Martyn Gamble joined St Swithun’s in January 2019 after a career in the army which spanned 34 years.

He was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Cranfield University and the Royal College of Defence Studies, London.

He enjoys family and the outdoor life, and is passionate about most sport.

Mrs Allison Greenfield has taken on a number of roles at St Swithun’s Prep School since joining in 2014, including form and subject teaching to children in years 3 to 6, Head of PSHEE, Head of Key Stage Two and now as the school’s Head of Assessment and Transition.

Prior to working at St Swithun’s, Allison worked in the Hampshire state sector gaining experience across both key stages, teaching children from Reception through to year 6. Allison, prior to moving into education, worked for 15 years in marketing and business management in the media and insurance sectors and brings this wealth of business experience to her role as part of the school’s senior leadership team.

Outside of the classroom, Allison enjoys travelling and being active, playing tennis, going to the gym as well as gardening and walking her dog.

Mrs Sue Powell who has been an integral part of the school community since 2020, joined the Senior Management Team in September 2023.

With an impressive career spanning various independent schools and spanning the entire age range of children educated in the primary phase, Sue has gained extensive experience working with children aged 3-11.

As a member of the Senior Management Team, Sue plays a pivotal role in shaping the school's Early Years Foundation Stage provision and ensuring its alignment with best practice in pursuit of excellence in all aspects of children's development.

Mr Ben Walker joined St Swithun’s in January 2023. Previously he worked at the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Chance to Shine schools charity prior to that.

Mr Walker read English Literature at Cardiff University. He enjoys time with his two daughters when not at work.

Alison is a solicitor and until 2020 was a partner in Blake Morgan Solicitors where she was the head of the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Division.

In 2020 she joined Foot Anstey and Enable Law as a partner in the firm's Southampton office. Alison has over 25 years board level experience in professional services.

In addition, Alison is an accredited business coach with a particular interest in coaching and mentoring women in leadership roles. In 2018 she was awarded the NatWest/Venus award for Professional Woman of the Year.

Outside work Alison is married with two children and is secretary of the PCC at All Saints Minstead and a committee member of Minstead Community Shop.

The chair of the School Council may be contacted either by letter addressed to the school or by email.

Nikki de Kretser (Dowson) joined the Council in October 2019 and is an old girl of the senior school. She read psychology at Newcastle University and holds a masters in marketing

Nikki has 20 years experience in the technology and telecoms sector, leading international cloud communications business to achieve accelerated growth. Nikki was named on the list of Top 100 European B2B marketers in April 2019.

Married with two children and living in Hampshire, Nikki is an ex-lacrosse player and takes an active interest in growing the sport through a non-executive director role at England Lacrosse.

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith is the 825th Mayor of Winchester. He was born in Hampshire but had a peripatetic childhood as his father was in the Army and his childhood was spent in various countries: Germany and subsequently Czechoslovakia and then Spain.

He was educated at Sedbergh School in Yorkshire. Russell read History and English at the University of Sheffield. His life took a sideways move, and he trained as a landscape architect, a profession he has followed since 1972. He became a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute and also joined the Urban Design Group.

His profession has led to work overseas for a range of consultancies, frequently in middle eastern countries, but also in Africa, Hong Kong and Borneo. He has worked on university projects, roads, town plans, parks, housing, urban environmental projects and a couple of zoos.

Russell served on the New Alresford Town Council for six years before becoming a city councillor in 2019 for the ward of Alresford and the Itchen Valley. He still lives in Alresford. He is married with a son and daughter, two stepdaughters and two granddaughters. He is interested in sailing and motorcycles and has a great enthusiasm for history.

Catherine Ogle is Dean of Winchester. Before taking on this role Catherine was a parish priest in West Yorkshire (among the first women ordained to the priesthood in the C of E) and later became Dean of Birmingham.

Throughout her career she has built up churches and promoted them in mission whilst engaging with diverse communities. Catherine has extensive experience in interfaith working, chairing the award-winning Interfaith Kirklees education project and establishing an innovative programme of arts activities uniting artists and communities of different faiths in Birmingham.

As the 38th Dean of Winchester Catherine is head of the Cathedral Foundation and a member of the Bishop of Winchester's senior team, supporting the mission of the diocese. She is an ex officio member of the Council and joined in 2017.

Robert Adam is an architect and urban designer with 45 years in practice. He is also a director of ADAM Architecture, the largest UK firm specialising in traditional design.

He is a participating member of the Art Workers' Guild, the Academy of Urbanism, the Prince's Foundation for Building Community, the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism, and is a Design Council Built Environment Expert. He was a Rome Scholar, has been a councillor of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), a Member of the RIBA Planning & Urban Design Group, and Honorary Secretary of the RIBA.

Robert also writes on theory and practice. His books include Classical Architecture: a complete handbook, The Globalisation of Modern Architecture and Classic Columns.  He lectures internationally and is visiting professor of Urban Design at the University of Strathclyde. Robert joined the Council in May 2016.

Ali Allan was elected as a member to the Council in January 2023. Ali was brought up in Hampshire and attended Portsmouth High School. She studied Earth Sciences at St. Annes College, Oxford University and subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC in Southampton.

Having recently relocated back to the UK from Sydney Australia, she is currently the Chief Financial Operations Officer at Foot Anstey LLP and brings with her a depth of experience in executive finance roles.

Ali lives local to Winchester and is a keen traveller, spending most spare time exploring new places or hiking across the Hampshire countryside.

Dr Bailey has most recently been a Headmaster for 14 years, at Twyford School, Westminster Under School and Horris Hill School.

Prior to this he taught History to A Level and Pre-U at Winchester College for 29 years, where he was also Senior Housemaster. He has a PhD in medieval history and education, and a Bachelor of Education degree.

He has authored and co-authored 6 books. Dr Bailey is Chair of the Safeguarding and Child Protection Association, and a Board Member of the Boarding Schools’ Association. He is a current ISI Inspector and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.

Emma Clancey is an Employee Relations Advisor at Goldman Sachs. She previously practised as an employment lawyer at Herbert Smith for several years.

Emma is an old girl of both the prep and senior schools. She read English Literature at Durham University and has postgraduate qualifications from Nottingham Law School.

Prior to joining Council in 2016, Emma was a governor at a primary school in north London for nine years.

Jane was elected to Council in July 2024. She is a commercial litigation lawyer, having worked at Clifford Chance for some twenty years.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, she obtained a first class honours degree in English Literature.

Judith Feuchtwanger is an old girl of the senior school and went on to read Economics with Agricultural Economics at Exeter University.

She has worked in recruiting and HR for the best part of 25 years predominantly in the financial services sector. She firmly believes that if we are to influence the gender diversity of boards, it’s vital to ensure girls study STEM subjects through school and university.

Judith splits her time between London and the New Forest and is a keen horse woman and triathlete.

Warwick joined the school Council in 2022. He is an independent business consultant specialising in cyber security and IT.  

Formerly he worked for IBM as Vice President leading the telecommunications consulting business across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Warwick’s skills range from defining strategy to delivery of large and complex digital business transformation programmes for the worlds’ largest telecom businesses.

Warwick’s ambition and focus now is to apply his industry, management and IT knowledge to drive social and environmental change.

Warwick lives in Hampshire with his wife and has three children, two dogs, one cat, five chickens and 11 sheep.

Tess trained as a teacher at Durham, after taking a BA in Theology there. She was Head of Religious Studies at Parkstone Grammar School in Poole and later a teacher and Chaplain at Magdalen College School in Oxford, before becoming a tutor in Theology and Fellow and Chaplain of Worcester College, Oxford.

She has an MPhil in Ecumenical Theology from Trinity College, Dublin and a doctorate in Inter Faith Theology, supervised by Prof Gavin D'Costa at the University of Bristol.

Tess joined Winchester Cathedral as Canon Missioner in 2021, where she is responsible for leading the work of mission and evangelism across the Cathedral to build up its common life and enhance its contribution to the wider common good, while also developing new partnerships, engaging with diverse audiences and encouraging the growth and nurture of the Cathedral congregation.

Dr Heather Mycock joined Council in 2017 having retired from a career in clinical medicine spanning more than 30 years. Working as an NHS GP Principal in three consecutive Hampshire partnerships she has also spent time as a GP locum in Victoria and Queensland both in Australian private practice and the ATSI health service (indigenous health). For most of her career Dr Mycock was a trainer in specialist GP training and education.

Dr Mycock is a member of the Standing Committee, Education Committee and leads for Health & Safety on the School Council.
Daughters Jane and Amy were day girls between 1989 and 2004.

Claire Thorne (Fatchen) was elected to join the Council in October 2015 and is an old girl of both the prep and senior school. She read Human Sciences at St Catherine’s College, Oxford and has a PhD in epidemiology.

Claire is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at University College London’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

Her research focuses on maternal and child health, with a particular emphasis on HIV, viral hepatitis and zika virus. She leads research projects in the UK, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Claire is a member of the Education Committee and the Bursary, Fundraising and Public Benefit Committee.

Richard Tyson was elected to Council in 2017. Richard is chair of standing committee at St Swithun’s.

He is CEO of Oxford Instruments, which provides high-technology products and systems worldwide. He is an accomplished business leader and has over 25 years’ experience in high technology industries.

Outside of work, Richard is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and has been admitted to the Livery of the Salters Company. Richard is married to Louise. They have three children, two of whom are pupils at St Swithun’s.

Richard’s leisure interests include cricket, football, skiing, sailing and travel. He is a former schoolboy gymnast and national medal winner.

Richard White joined Council in 2022.

He lives in Winchester and his two daughters were day girls at St Swithun’s between 1999 and 2012.

Richard recently retired as bursar at Prince’s Mead, is an experienced ISI Compliance Inspector and charity trustee having previously been a general manager in the agriculture, horticulture and food manufacturing industries.