Governors

Melanie Walker BA (Hons) MLitt PGCE 

Headteacher

Melanie was first appointed a teacher governor in June 2013 and filled the Headteacher governor position in September 2015.

She is ex-officio a member of all four committees. As well as being Headteacher she is Designated Safeguarding Lead and responsible for Cared for Children.

Prior to becoming the Head, Melanie taught at our school for nine years and was a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Head of RE. Before this she was a press officer and journalist.

Melanie has a BA Hons in History and Theology and a Masters Degree in Ancient History. She is also a trained journalist and has her NCTJ qualification as well as her PGCE.

Mike Akerman ACIB - Chair

Foundation Governor

Term of Office: 27th February 2017 - 26th February 2025.

Mike had been a Governor since 2015 and is a member Committee 2 (Behavior and Attitudes) and Chair of Committee 4 (Leadership and Management). Mike is the Governor with responsibility for RE, Safeguarding and Cared for Children

He is a retired bank official and his main passion is local & family history and the Great War.

Ellen Watson BA (Hons)

Staff Governor

Term of Office: 27th February 2017 - 26th February 2025.

Ellen is a member of Committees 1 (Quality of Education) and 3 (Personal Development).

She has been teaching for fourteen years with thirteen years experience teaching Upper KS2.  She has worked both in urban and rural primary schools. Her subject specialism is modern foreign languages.  Within the school, she is currently Head of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, and Maths Lead.

Andrew Selwood

Parent Governor

Term of Office: 17th May 2021 - 16th May 2025.

Andrew is a qualified accountant who has specialised in working alongside non-finance teams, helping them to understand the financial results and impacts of their actions. He is a member of Committee 2 (Behaviour and Attitudes) and Committee 4 (Leadership & Management) with responsibility for Governors Training.

A parent with two children currently attending the school. As a parent, he has a vested interest in the school and welfare of the children and will continue to be a stakeholder of the school for a number of years.

A Bollington resident for 7 years, who relishes the opportunity to enjoy the local countryside, be that on foot or most often on his bike.

Dr Carl Mallia BSc MSc PhD

Foundation Governor

Term of Office: 23rd July 2018 - 22nd July 2022.

Carl has recently moved to the Macclesfield area and has a background in Chemistry. He is Maltese by extraction and in addition to that language is also fluent in Italian.

Carl is Chair of Committee 1 (Quality of Education) & a member of Committee 3 (Personal Development) with responsibility for Maths, IPC, Science, Sport and Global.

John Rogers BA (Hons) MA - Vice Chair

Foundation Governor

Term of Office: 7th January 2019 - 6th January 2023.

John runs two small local businesses - in clothing retail and in presentational/educational resources for the cultural sector. Prior to this he worked as an educational ICT consultant and as a social scientist, leading a collaborative research sector for BT and Lancaster University. John lectured and tutored part-time in the fields of Organisational Psychology and the Sociology of Work at Lancaster University for ten years.

John's daughter attends the school. He spends as much time as possible in the outdoors.

John is Chair of Committee 2 (Behaviour & Attitudes) and a member of Committee 3 (Personal Development) and has responsibility for Literacy and Phonics, Buildings, PHSE/SRE and Chair Community.

Dr Tess Phillips MSci MA (Cantab) MRSC FHEA 

Foundation Governor

Term of Office: 27th February 2017 - 26th February 2025.

Tess joined the governing body in February 2017 and is the Governor with responsibility for IPC, Science and RE. She is Chair of Committee 3 (Personal Development) and a member of Committee 4 (Leadership & Management). She has responsibility for SEN, Mental Health & Well Being and Pupil Premium

She is a Lecturer in Chemistry at Keele University. Two of her children attend our school, and a third will attend eventually.

Tess is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is interested in education at all levels and enjoys running science activities for children. She has come into school to run hands-on activities at St John’s during science week.

Prof David Skidmore Phd FCMI CSciTeach FHEA

Foundation Governor

Term of Office: 10th June 2019 - 9th June 2023.

David is now an Emeritus Professor and is involved in rural policy. His main interest has been in horticulture, trees and growing plants and he chairs a local arboretum. He is a Chartered Science Teacher and is concerned with education and environmental studies throughout the curriculum.

He has previously been a Parent Governor in the county and his family have strong links with Bollington and Macclesfield.

He is a member of Committee 1 (Quality of Education) with responsibility for Teaching, Learning and Assessment. Thanks 

Susan Roberts

Foundation Governor

Term of Office 1^st September 2021 to 1^st September 2025.

Sue has been an active member of St John’s community since 1993 and was employed as a Teaching Assistant from 2001- 2021.  She has had experience working across the whole school in classes of single and mixed year groups.  She has gained knowledge and experience of children with SEND and has covered Prevent, Safeguarding and Paediatric First Aid training. She has attended many residential visits with the children, nurturing their outdoor development and experiences. Alongside her two children, Mrs Roberts is also a former pupil of St John’s. 

In the community, Mrs Roberts has been Brown Owl for 1^st Bollington St John’s Brownies for the last 12 years. 

She can often be seen walking in and around Bollington enjoying the beautiful village she grew up in.

She is a member of Committee 1 (Quality of Education).

Rev Nancy Goodrich

Ex-officio Foundation Governor

Nancy was brought up in Bollington and has returned to the parish. After University she worked as a Chartered Accountant prior to being ordained. From 2012 to 2021 she was Vicar of Bolton-le Sands near Lancaster before taking up the post as Vicar of Bollington St Oswald’s.

She is a member of Committee 3 (Personal Development).

Rosie Hemmings

Foundation Governor

Term of Office 1^st December 2021 to 1^st September 2025.

Prior to retiring in September 2020, Rosie was the SENCO at Adlington Primary School and Bollington St. John’s School. Her responsibilities included managing the provision and support for pupils with additional needs, Pupil Premium, safeguarding, mental health and well-being within the school community.

Rosie completed her teacher training in Bristol and moved to Bollington, from London, in 1977. She taught at Adlington Primary School for 6 years before taking a break to look after her 4 children.

As a class teacher, Rosie had experience of teaching most year groups but decided to focus on developing the skills and knowledge to support more vulnerable pupils in school. She qualified as a British Dyslexia Approved Teacher in 2010 and was also the SENCO at Adlington, Pott Shrigley and St. John’s schools.

Rosie is delighted to come into school, twice a week, to provide some additional support wherever it is needed.

Page updated by Mike Akerman.