School Governors

Charles is a Chartered Engineer who has spent the majority of his career within the property and construction industry. He has lived in the local area for most of his life and is married with two grown-up children. Charles is extremely proud that his son is an Old Beaconian who left The Beacon in 2001 after 10 happy years at our School.

Charles has extensive experience as an independent school Governor, serving on the Governing board of Oundle School for 11 years, latterly as Vice Chairman.

In his spare time, he is a keen bridge player, keeps bees and enjoys cooking, sailing and skiing.

Charles is Chairman of our Board of Governors.

Marcus is a lawyer and Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in London. He specialises in business-related crime (corruption, fraud, money laundering and sanctions) and company investigations which involve both financial and non-financial misconduct.

Marcus has two sons who have attended The Beacon one of whom is now at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School and the other at Berkhamsted School.  Marcus was also a pupil at The Beacon, as were his brother and brother-in-law.

Marcus is Joint Vice Chair to the Board and also a member of the HR Committee.

Richard is a Chartered Surveyor who has spent the last 30 years specialising in commercial property investment, development and asset management at Strutt and Parker, where he was a Partner for 22 years.

He is married to Ann and they have two children, Victoria and Michael, who is a former pupil of The Beacon.

Richard is a member of Denham Golf Club and also enjoys travelling, going to the theatre and swimming.

Richard is a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee, and the Governor with responsibility for Property and Estates

Stephanie has enjoyed a successful teaching career in several Buckinghamshire Secondary Schools, most recently at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, where she taught English for over 20 years. In 2001, she was appointed as Assistant Head Teacher (Student Development), responsible for overseeing the learning and development of all students in Years 7 to 11, a busy but rewarding role. She has therefore known many past Beacon students and their parents.

With three grown-up children and now retired, Stephanie retains a keen interest in young people, education and learning, and is delighted to serve as a Governor of The Beacon.

Stephanie is a member of the Education Committee and the HR Committee. She is the designated Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding and Child Protection.

Paul is an Actuary and Partner at Aon. He specialises in providing advice to large corporate pension schemes and the trustees who manage those schemes. Paul and his wife live in Little Chalfont and have a teenage daughter who is now at University and a son who attended The Beacon from 2015 to 2021 . Paul is also a Governor at Charlotte House Prep School in Rickmansworth, which his daughter attended.

Paul is the Chair of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Jane is a Chartered Surveyor and has worked for over 30 years in commercial property, both in the UK and throughout Europe.

Now working part-time, Jane is spending more time on community projects and is particularly involved in actions to raise awareness of the climate emergency. Opening up opportunities for better work experience for all is a goal of Jane’s and she has worked extensively with Business in the Community to help achieve this.

Jane lives just outside Princes Risborough and has two grown-up children, the younger of whom is an Old Beaconian. Her interests include riding, tennis, the theatre and her community.

Jane is the Chair of the Admissions & Marketing Committee and a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Bhavin is a graduate of Manchester University and a Chartered Accountant who runs his own consulting firm following a successful career in financial services, both in the UK and US. He has a broad business background, with risk and finance experience, having built and transformed businesses during his career.

Bhavin and his family enjoyed living in Amersham before relocating to the USA for work (their son spent a year at The Beacon before the move). Upon their return, the family moved to Little Chalfont.

Bhavin has also been involved in volunteer activities including advising a charity that is using technology to solve the problems of homelessness and mentoring young people who are forging their way into the working world.

Bhavin is a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Dipen is the Business Risk Officer for the C3PRI division within the London Stock Exchange Group. He has over 25 years’ experience as a Programme Manager delivering Risk solutions in Financial Services.

Dipen and his wife, Seema, have lived in Amersham for 22 years, alongside their two adult children, including a son who is an Old Beaconian.

In his spare time, Dipen enjoys travelling, going to the cinema and playing badminton.

Dipen is a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Alexandra has spent most of her career working for a Precision Engineering Company that specialises in Medical Equipment and has held multiple management roles within the Group. Currently, she is responsible for the HR function for both UK and overseas employees. Prior to her present role, she worked as a consultant for one of the big four accounting firms.

Alexandra grew up near Amersham and moved back to the area after getting married. Her interests include cooking and gardening.

Alexandra is a member of the HR Committee.

Jenny Aviss has extensive experience in educational leadership.

A Head Teacher by the age of 30 she went on to hold 3 London Headships before becoming Director of Schools and eventually Schools and Colleges at the Alpha Plus Group.   In this role she performed an executive leadership and governance function for 14 Schools and 4 Sixth Form Colleges and was also responsible, in conjunction with colleagues, for the appointment of Heads and senior post holders within the group.

Additionally, during her time at Alpha Plus she initiated the development and founding of 3 schools which included Wetherby Prep, Cheptow House a Co- Educational school and a Special Educational Needs school, Abingdon House.

Jenny’s experience in school leadership and management covers Nursery to, IGCSE, IB, Boarding, and International.  Having already accepted ongoing governance roles for various educational charities Jenny also serves as a Magistrate in the Family Courts.Jenny is a member of the Education Committee

Alastair Land, Head Master at Harrow School, attended Manchester Grammar School where he was School Vice-Captain.  After completing his degree at Trinity College and PGCE at Cambridge, he began his career at Eton as a teacher of Biology.  Having then spent nine years at Winchester, where he was Master in College and a member of the Senior Management Team Alastair returned to Harrow as Deputy Headmaster for nearly four years followed by a move to Repton as Headmaster. He returned to Harrow as Headmaster in April 2019. He has retained his interests in outdoor activity and is Contingent Commander of the Harrow Rifle Corps. He remains committed to scholarship, teaching electives on Human Evolution and Consciousness.

Alastair is a member of the Education Committee.

David has been Headteacher of Dr Challoner’s Grammar School in Amersham since 2016. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in Geography, and completing his teacher training, he started working at Challoner’s in 1996 and has spent his whole teaching career there. In addition to teaching he has also been involved at the Royal Geographical Society, including acting as a trustee and Vice President. He lives locally and enjoys playing cricket for Amersham Cricket Club.

David is a member of the Education Committee

Tom Hadcroft joined Berkhamsted Boys School as Headteacher in January 2022 from DLD College London, where he was Senior Deputy Head, overseeing on the Pastoral and Boarding sides of the school for five years. During this time DLD College London were recognised with six national awards, including Boarding School of the year and innovation awards in Mental Health, Wellbeing and Student voice. Previously, he had school leadership roles at Collège Alpin Beau Soleil in Switzerland and St John’s School Leatherhead. Before his teaching career he worked in the finance sector and has completed a Masters in Educational Leadership, with a focus on coaching in education.

Tom is a member of the Education Committee.