Simon is an Old Dunelmian (1977-1982). In his final year at Durham School he was Head of School and Head of School House. After leaving school, Simon went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment. After leaving the Parachute Regiment Simon returned to the North East where he worked for a Newcastle based IFA and then worked for Arthur Andersen, until it was subsumed into Deloittes. In 1999 he joined Dickinson Dees' Private Client Department as an IFA and he has remained there ever since. The firm is now known as Womble Bond Dickinson. In his role, he advises wealthy individuals and trustees on financial matters and helps to organise their complex personal affairs. In his spare time, Simon enjoys rowing; in 2011 he was appointed Chair at Tyne Rowing Club. In the role, he oversaw the funding, construction and adoption of Tyne Amateur Rowing Club’s £1m boathouse which was then opened by the Duchess of Northumberland in 2016. This work also included, converting the club from an unincorporated association to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. He continues to compete at regattas and head races and frequently encounters Durham School pupils and staff as they represent the school at events in the community and further afield.
Mr Keith Ballantyne is a highly experienced human resources generalist, whose strengths include excellent communication and inter-personal skills gained in FMCG, automotive, oil and gas, and technical business service sectors.
Alongside his career as a corporate HR Director, Keith also draws on his experiences running his own consultancy business, which offers a wide range of people management related services to clients across all sectors.
A former parent at both Choristers and Durham School, Keith brings to the board a passion for new challenges and significant experience in organisational development, change management, corporate governance, employee engagement and strategic business planning.
I am a proud lifelong resident of Durham.
After graduating from Durham High School in 1992, I left the region to study Architecture at Manchester University. In 1995, I returned to complete a PGCE at Durham University.
I began my career teaching Maths and Art at a secondary school in Hartlepool before returning to architecture at Newcastle University. Now, after 24 years as an architect, I am a Director at Howarth Litchfield, where I am one of five directors leading a team of architects, architectural technologists, interior designers, and building surveyors. We work with clients across the UK and in a variety of sectors.
Passionate about nurturing the next generation of architects, I work with Newcastle University as a Professional Examiner and Salford University as an External Examiner. I am always happy to offer advice or support to those considering a career in architecture.
I live in Durham with my husband, a former Dunelmian and business owner, and our two sons, one of whom currently attends Durham School.
Steve Bryan retired from a senior management position after a professional career in the European chemical industry. Born in the West Midlands and educated in the state sector, he holds BSc and PhD degrees in chemistry from Durham University. He joined ICI in 1983 as a catalysis scientist, progressing subsequently with ICI, Huntsman Corporation and SABIC through a variety of roles in product management, commercial operations, business development and external affairs. His later career was spent as a Company Senior Specialist in the field of energy and climate policy, in which capacity he served with both CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council, and the UK Chemical Industries Association. He has extensive experience of lobbying and advocacy engagement with the European Union and UK Government, was a member of the UK Government Chemical Growth Partnership Group and worked on a number of industrial policy initiatives with NE regional bodies. In retirement, his interests include local history and various outdoor activities.
Andrew qualified as a solicitor in 2003 and has since built a varied career, both as a practising solicitor and a Certified Turnaround Analyst, accredited by the European Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals. Recognised for his expertise in business turnaround, he won the prestigious ‘Turnaround Practitioner of the Year’ award at the 2016 TRI Awards. Andrew currently serves as a national board director for the Turnaround Management Association (UK) and is an active member of R3, the insolvency and restructuring trade body. In 2022, Andrew was appointed Head of Business Development for the UK’s leading Insolvency Litigation Finance company.
Andrew brings a wealth of legal and business expertise to his role as a governor, particularly in strategic oversight and financial stability, ensuring the school's continued success and growth. Andrew is a resident of Durham City and has previously served as a Governor of St Margaret’s C of E Primary School.
Chris was Head Chorister at The Chorister School and Music and Art Scholar at Durham School (1984-93). He holds an MA in English from the University of Glasgow, and a PG Dip, MMus and MOpera from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
With over 25 years in Executive Search and Leadership Development consultancy, he is the founder of Elliott Armstrong, a collective of senior headhunters, consultants and coaches, working with blue-chip & SWF clients through to start-ups across Europe and the Middle East.
A leading Birkman Certified Consultant, he helps individuals and executive teams understand how they can best achieve maximum productivity and happiness, and helps senior school and university students to make the right start in life.
Privileged to have worked around the world, he co-created the Executive Search arm of the largest Tech recruitment group in Europe, then in 2000 set up and ran the Executive Search division of Australasia’s leading dot com recruiter. There he also co-founded VC Watch, which became Australasia’s principal networking forum for Internet entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists.
Chris then joined Heidrick & Struggles, the world’s leading Executive Search Firm, where he specialised in Financial Services & Technology before becoming co-head of their UK Healthcare & Biotech Practice.
Alongside his consulting career, over 14 years Chris devised and ran children’s workshops, first for the Edinburgh International Festival, and then Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) and the Arts Learning Festival Melbourne. He also acted as advisor to the CEOs of both ISV and The Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA) on structural reform, arts-centred education and other matters.
Chris is President of the Old Dunelmian Society, the body that represents all DCSF alumni. He also enjoys a career as an operatic tenor.
Having sung as a boy in Peterborough Cathedral and then as un undergraduate at St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied Classics, Richard Hillier came to Durham in 1982 to study for a PGCE (doing his teaching practice at Durham School) and then a PhD, whilst singing as a lay clerk in the cathedral, where he married Elaine in 1984. Richard taught Classics at Durham School from 1987 to 1991, when, on his appointment as Head of Classics, Richard and Elaine moved with their two young sons to Repton School, subsequently becoming Housemaster of Latham House in 1997. When not teaching Classics, housemastering, or continuing to sing on a semi-professional basis, Richard spent much of his time teaching singing or producing drama, directing a total of six plays and musicals at Durham and seventeen at Repton. In 2006 Richard was appointed Headmaster of The Oratory Preparatory School in Oxfordshire and in 2010 became Headmaster of The Yehudi Menuhin School, an independent specialist music school, supported by the Department for Education through the Music and Dance Scheme, in which capacity he also served as Chair of the Music and Dance Scheme Schools. Richard now spends much of his time engaged in academic research and is a Visiting Fellow at St John’s College in the University of Durham.
John Hind grew up in north Nottinghamshire where he attended the Manor Comprehensive School before studying History at Downing College, Cambridge. Completing his PGCE there in 1981 he spent four years at Exeter School before joining Durham School as second in the history department in 1986. Over the next eleven years he became Head of History and Director of Studies as well as coaching sport and serving in the CCF. He also completed a part time MEd degree and PhD. In 1996 he and Ginny held their wedding reception in Big School before moving to Surrey when John became Deputy Head of Kingston Grammar School. The family returned to the North East with their two young daughters when John was appointed Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools in 2004. Retiring from that post in 2020, John now works part time as Director of Education and Leadership for the Rank Foundation, a role which allows him time to serve as a trustee for a local academy trust and also to pursue his interest in campanology.
Young people, education and her native North East are Michaela's passions.
Educated at the then South Shields Grammar School for Girls and Durham University where she studied Law, Michaela's first career was as a solicitor. Married to a solicitor, she decided on a change in career after fifteen years in practice and moved into the voluntary sector. After four years with the Community Foundation serving Tyne and Wear & Northumberland as Director, Special Projects, Michaela accepted an invitation from Sunderland A.F.C. to help them establish a registered charity incorporating their education and community programmes, a pioneering model which has since been replicated by many other sporting institutions across the UK and which now operates as The Beacon of Light.
Now retired, Michaela is a North East Board Member of Maggie's Cancer Care Centres and a Trustee of St Nicholas Educational Trust.
She is married with two adult children.
Tom Mole is Principal of Van Mildert College, one of the constituent colleges of Durham University, where he is also Professor of English Literature and Book History in the Department of English Studies. He is a fellow of the English Association and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. The first in his family to go to university, he received his PhD from the University of Bristol. He has been a professor at McGill University in Montreal and at the University of Edinburgh, where he was Director of the Centre for the History of the Book. He is the author or editor of several books on literature and cultural history, most recently The Secret Life of Books (2019). He has also written for The Big Issue and appeared on In Our Time on Radio Four. His daughter is a pupil at Durham School.
Monika is currently performing the role of Academic Registrar and Director of Student & Academic Services at Durham University. With over two decades of dedicated service to higher education, Dr Nangia is a seasoned and trusted senior leader with an ability to drive transformative impact on university operations. Her commitment to inclusivity and support for learners from diverse backgrounds, particularly those facing disadvantages, has been instrumental in broadening access to higher education.
As alumnus of Goldsmiths University of London, Monika earned her PhD in Inclusive Education, a testament to her lifelong dedication to creating equitable learning environments. Her extensive experience spans both Russell Group and Post-92 institutions, where she has consistently advocated for progressive change. Beyond her role at Durham, Monika contributes her expertise as a member of a governing body at another university and was a trustee at a primary school in London, prior to joining DSCF as a Governor. She is a member of the Academic Registrars Council and is the Lead Consultant at the Association of Higher Education Professionals.
She is a passionate advocate for the advancement of women in leadership roles within higher education and actively champions the need for promoting greater diversity among higher education leaders, particularly for individuals from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. As prolific writer and a sought-after speaker, Monika’s influence resonates through the numerous conferences where she shares her insights. Her career began in the classroom, where she laid the foundation for her passion for education. Today, she continues to inspire through her work, mentoring aspiring leaders from minoritised ethnicities, and nurturing the next generation of educators and professionals.