Board of Governors

The Governors at St Hugh's play an important part in the running of the school. Members of the Board of Governors can most easily be contacted via the Clerk to the Governors, Mr Alistair Hamilton, Bursar and Company Secretary of St Hugh's. The Chair of Governors can be contacted directly by email or by writing c/o St Hugh's, Carswell Manor, Faringdon, Oxfordshire SN7 8PT. 

Mr Neill Lawson-Smith, Chair 

Neill Lawson-Smith is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and Chartered Engineer. He qualified in Birmingham and founded his IT practice in 1989, of which he is still Managing Director. Neill has been Managing Director and Angel Investor of several IT related businesses, as well as having taken senior positions with local charities/organisations. His career has been focused on consulting and advising a wide number of diverse clients around the World.

Neill is a member of the Finance & Estates Committee and his interest in the use of Information Technology to support modern learning opportunities leads to an active involvement in developing the school’s IT strategy.  Whilst Neill takes an interest in all aspects of school life, he particularly enjoys the Performing Arts and regularly attends concerts and performances at the school. He is married to Jane and has four children, three of whom were at St Hugh's. 

Mrs Judy Forrest, Deputy Chair 

Judy Forrest was Headmistress of Chandlings School, Oxfordshire for nine years, and before this was Headmistress of Upton House School, Windsor. Prior to that she was Head of Lower School at The Manor Prep School, Abingdon, Oxon, for twelve years. She is a member of IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools), served on the District Committee and ran the IAPS New Heads' Induction Course. Retired in July 2008, Judy joined the Board at St Hugh's in November of that year and she is now governor of several schools, advises on Pre- Prep education, is an IAPS mentor to new Heads and is an Area Rep for JET (Joint Educational Trust). Her son was a pupil at St Hugh's.

Mrs Lorraine Chitty, Safeguarding Governor

Lorraine Chitty is a consultant for a solicitors firm with offices in Wiltshire and London. She also sits on the Midland Circuit as a Deputy District Judge and specialises in family law with broad experience across most of these specialised areas. Lorraine is a key member of the Education and Compliance Committee. She is married to Roger, and they have two children who were both at St Hugh's.

Dr Anna Coull, Pastoral Governor

Dr Anna Coull was a GP and partner at White Horse Medical Practice in Faringdon for 30 years. She was educated at Queen Anne’s School and Birmingham University. She is married to Hamish and their two daughters both had a very happy time at St Hugh’s before going on to Cheltenham College. Both girls have now qualified as doctors and are training to be GPs.

Mr Sam Cover 

Sam Cover is a Chartered Surveyor, working for his family’s property development and investment company. He was born in Oxford and has many fond memories of attending St Hugh’s between 1989 and 1998. Sam and his wife Emma live locally and have two young boys and a daughter.

Mr Chris Davies, Chair of the Education, Welfare and Compliance Committee 

Chris Davies has been the Headmaster of two IAPS schools. He ran Abingdon Prep School and Edgeborough School, Surrey, between 1999 and 2017, before Chairing IAPS for three years and then setting up the IAPS Consultancy Service. He is now a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and an Associate of the Association of Education Advisers. He has been an Independent Schools' Inspector and has been on the governing body of independent schools since 2002. He is married to Jane and has two children. He is a playing member of MCC and the Chairman of the Eton Fives Association.

Mr Dimitrios Hatzis, Chair of the Finance & Estates Committee  

Dimitrios was born and went to school in Athens, Greece. He then studied engineering at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge. He also holds an MBA from INSEAD. Throughout his career Dimitrios has worked in advising, structuring and executing transactions. In addition, he has extensive experience in the governance and restructuring of large enterprises having held board level roles in commercial as well as in government organisations. More recently he has been involved in advisory work as well as setting up and running his own businesses. He has been a founding member of the Cyclades Preservation Fund, a charitable organisation aiming to support sustainable initiatives and to promote the preservation of the exceptional beauty and natural value of the Cyclades in Greece where he and his family have a second home. He is married with three adult sons and lives in Oxfordshire.

Mr Daniel Paynter

Dan Paynter is the Housemaster of Christowe House at Cheltenham College. He is a Physics teacher and has enjoyed teaching at Pangbourne College for 10 years prior to moving to Cheltenham in 2022. Dan’s main role on the Governing board is to support boarding at St Hugh’s as the Boarding Governor. Dan and his wife Harriet live in Cheltenham with their new-born son, Rory.

Mrs Nicola Sharff

Nicola is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAEW). After studying mathematics at Nottingham University she trained as an accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers. She then went on to spend 12 years at Goldman Sachs within the Financial Controllers Department. Nicola and her husband Matt have three children who enjoyed their prep-school years at St Hugh's from 2010 to 2022. Their sons, Joshua and Jacob, went on to Abingdon School, whilst their daughter, Georgina, is at Headington.

Mr Graham Varney, Estates & Development Governor 

Graham Varney was born in Oxford and attended the City of Oxford High School for Boys before becoming an articled pupil with John Laing Construction. He subsequently qualified as a Member of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors and of the RICS. He is treasurer to Besselsleigh PCC, and is heavily involved with the National Young Enterprise Scheme as a Business Advisor at a number of Oxfordshire schools, particularly at Oxford High School for Girls. Graham was previously a part owner and Director of Benfield & Loxley, an old established Oxford builder. He is married to Alison, a secondary school teacher, and has two grown up children: Oliver who was educated at St Hugh’s, and Martha.

Dr John Carlin 

Dr John Carlin is Deputy Head at St Edmund's School, Hindhead, where he also serves as Lead Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Director of Dgital Learning. He has extensive experience in educational leadership, teaching and learning, safeguarding, and the strategic use of technology in schools. A qualified scientist and marine biologist, John teaches Biology, Chemistry and Physics and has led a number of initiatives focused on digital innovation, device management and the effective use of emerging technologies to support pupil outcomes.

In addition to his leadership responsibilities, John has a particular interest in educational technology, artificial intelligence, digital literacy and citizenship. He works closely with staff, pupils and parents to promote safe and effective use of technology and has contributed to the development of school policies and practices in safeguarding, digital learning and compliance. John is committed to providing young people with the knowledge, skills and character needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world. He is married and has children of secondary school age.

Air Commodore Adrian Bettridge OBE RAF (Retd) 

Adrian Bettridge served in the Royal Air Force for 34 years and accumulated experience in finance, estate management and, especially, human resource management in a wide variety of settings and contexts ranging from the North of Scotland in peacetime to Afghanistan on operations. He finished his military career having been the head of his RAF profession and the Head of Armed Forces Remuneration in the Ministry of Defence. He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Since 2023, he has been the Bursar at Tudor Hall School where he has helped the Headmistress and Chair of Governors to steer the school through the significant challenges presented by the introduction of VAT on independent school fees alongside significant structural changes in people costs imposed by government policy. His daughter and son both attended St Hughs for the whole of their education from Reception to Year 8, his son having left in July 2026.