The School is constituted as an educational charity and governed by a Board of Governors. There is a regular progression of membership to the Board, which represents a breadth of knowledge and experience to advance the interest of the School.
School Governors
Sebastian Rice BA, LLB (Chairman)
Solicitor and partner in a major City law firm. His two daughters attended Sarum Hall. He speaks regularly at international conferences and is fluent in Russian and Italian.
Phillip Ashton BSc(Hons), ACA (Finance & Audit Committee)
Graduated from the University of Warwick in 1981 and then trained and qualified as a chartered accountant at Coopers & Lybrand (now Price Waterhouse Coopers). He has spent 25 years working in banking and/or finance roles.
Alison Edelshain MBA, BA, MCIPD (Education Committee)
Human Resources professional with over 35 years’ experience. History degree from UCL and MBA from London Business School. Magistrate in adult and youth courts. Previously on governing body of two girls’ senior schools. Her two daughters, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law attended Sarum Hall.
Katrien McCarthy-Roppe (Education Committee)
MA in Art History and an MA in Cultural Management from the University of Louvain, Belgium, in addition to her PGCE from the same institution. Chief of Staff at a multi-award winning RegTech company in the Financial Services sector. Her two daughters attended Sarum Hall.
Emma McKendrick (Education Committee)
Emma is a linguist who was educated at the Universities of Liverpool and Birmingham. She was Headmistress of the Royal School Bath from 1994-97 and took up her appointment as Headmistress of Downe House in 1997. She has a great deal of experience as a Governor of a variety of independent Senior and Prep Schools and was a member of the Independent Schools’ Examination Board. She is a Trustee of the Prep School Baccalaureate, a Member of GSA, HMC and BSA and a Fellow of the RSA. She is married and has two sons. When time allows, she enjoys travel, the theatre and cinema, and spending time with her family.
Gordon Rustin MBBS, BSc, MD, FRCP, (Health & Safety Committee)
Consultant Medical Oncologist at Mount Vernon Cancer centre since 1984 and Honorary Professor at ICR and UCL. His wife and daughter attended Sarum Hall.
Jonathan Smith (Health & Safety Committee)
Chartered surveyor experienced in property development, investment and trading. He has been in partnership at United Consolidated Group since 2002. His early career was spent at Aviva Fund Managers, Singer & Friedlander and Close Brothers.
Vivian Thomas (Safeguarding and Education Committee)
Current Headmaster of Arnold House School, an IAPS school for boys in St John’s Wood.
