List of Governors

Head Teacher

Mr Robert Adams

I have been Head Teacher at South Gosforth First School since September 2019 and I am so proud to be part of such a supportive, collaborative and successful school family. It is my job to report to governors on the latest school initiatives which we are working on, to update them on pupil progress and teaching and learning and to involve them in key decisions about the strategic direction of school. In return, the governors dedicate their time to provide valuable feedback and support, not just to myself, but to everyone in school in order to ensure that we maintain high standards and remain accountable to the community that we serve. I am excited to continue to work with the governing body of South Gosforth First School to see what we can achieve together in the future.    

Parent Governors 

Mr Allister Hogg

I am a former International rugby player. I have played professionally for 16 years, 8 years with Edinburgh Rugby and 8 years with Newcastle Falcons. As well as this, I gained 48 international caps for Scotland. I am currently working at Barclays Bank as a Wealth Manager. My 2 daughters have both attended SGFS in the past. I have enjoyed working alongside the other governors and helping with the management of the school, in particular sharing my knowledge and expertise around finance. I am a member of Resources & Finance committee.

Mr Jamie Dalrymple

I joined the Parent Governor team in January 2022, as a member of the Resources & Finance committee. I have worked all over the UK in the last 20 years for Santander in Business and Commercial Banking, with my current role involving trying to assist struggling customers as part of their Restructuring team. Being a local Newcastle lad (born and raised just over the other side of Jesmond Dene!) I’m very proud to see my daughter developed so well at SGFS, with my son joined in September 2022. In terms of the role, I’m hugely looking forward to playing my full part in the running of the school going forward.

Miss Laura Drew

I joined the Governing Body as a Parent Governor in December 2023 and am part of the Standards and Curriculum Committee. As a family, we are just starting our journey through the Gosforth school system: my son is in Reception and my daughter will join the SGFS nursery in 2024.

I have been a Social Worker for 10 years and have extensive experience in supporting families, safeguarding, care planning for vulnerable children and multi-agency working. In my current role as an Assistant Team Manager of a Local Authority Fostering Service, I am also involved in strategic planning, improving performance and allocating resources. 

I am passionate about supporting families and achieving positive outcomes for children. Through my role as a governor I would like to use my skills and knowledge to contribute towards making SGFS a place where every child feels safe, has a sense of belonging and is supported to thrive. 

Co-opted Governors

Mr Steve Bainbridge - Chair of Governors

Mrs Rebecca Harle

As a teacher, who has held a curriculum leadership role in a secondary school for 16 years, I am conscious of the disruption which the pandemic has caused all schools and am more keen than ever to help SGFS in achieving its goals. I have extensive experience of managing large teams and the associated budgets. I have regularly been tasked with drafting and developing improvement plans and analysing student performance. I believe these skills will transfer well to the work of school governance, helping the school to identify and work effectively to enhancing all aspects of school life.

In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I also have acted as an educational consultant, supporting local schools to raise the quality of planning and achievement. I have considerable experience in preparing to be OFSTED-ready and in liaising with inspectors.

My academic and professional success was built upon my excellent education within the Gosforth School system. I fully support the school’s vision and its dedicated staff who work hard to support our children. I am proud to be part of a governing body which nurtures children and helps them to achieve their academic and personal potential.

Mrs Catherine Burnett

I have been teaching at South Gosforth First School for 22 years and, throughout that time, have taught across all Key Stages and led several different subjects. As a staff, we have recently worked hard to design a creative and ambitious curriculum and, through my current roles as Literacy and EYFS lead, I have been able to work closely with governors to share the new developments in these areas.

Being involved in the whole school and wider community is something that I consider an important aspect of my role and I hope to further develop this through my position on the Governing Body.

I am extremely proud to work at South Gosforth First School and I am looking forward to working alongside the staff, governors and the whole school community as the school moves through exciting changes and developments over the next few years.

Ms Catherine Wallace

I was a secondary school modern languages teacher for eight years, working in two different schools across Newcastle and Gateshead. For the past 3 years I have worked in staff development at a local university.

Foundation Trust Governors

Mrs Kate Gingles

My name is Kate Gingles - I have been a member of the governing body since June 2016 and I have just renewed my membership for another term. I live locally to the school with my husband and two children. I am an Early Years Education Development Advisor for Durham County Council, so I have a particular interest in what is happening with the youngest children in our school. Prior to this, I was a Primary School teacher for 10 years and an Assistant Deputy Head of an outstanding Primary School in West London. I chair the Curriculum Committee and am really looking forward to supporting school with all things relating to teaching and learning in the future.

Mrs Charlotte Hodgson

My name is Charlotte Hodgson, and I am pleased to be a Foundation governor at South Gosforth First School. I am local to the Gosforth area and my oldest son currently attend one of the Gosforth Middle Schools’. I was a Science teacher for over 15 years and understand the needs of the students and families in our community. I currently work in Governance and hope to bring my expertise and support to the governing body. I am excited to be part of a journey which has our pupils at the centre of everything we do.

Local Authority Governor

Mr Mike Howard 

I joined the Governing Body of South Gosforth in November 2021. I am an ex Headteacher, and worked in Primary Education in Newcastle for thirty-three years. This has provided me with lots of experience of school governance, and I believe that an effective Governing Body can make an important contribution to a school, supporting it in meeting the needs of all children and achieving success in the broadest sense. I am currently a member of the Resources and Finance Committee.

Staff Governor

Mrs Amanda Logan

I have worked at South Gosforth First School as a Class Teacher since 2016 and joined the governing body in September 2020 as a Staff Governor.  

I really value how we provide a creative, broad and balanced curriculum for our children and I am on the curriculum committee which meets to monitor and evaluate subject/curriculum delivery and impact.  As a class teacher, delivering the curriculum daily, I feel I am well placed to contribute to its implementation during meetings. 

I feel passionately about the development of our school and take a great deal of pride in my role as staff governor, supporting the governing body to make strategic decisions that enhance our provision and engage our whole school community.