West London Free School Governors

Toby Young, Chairman

Toby Young is a British journalist and the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2001) and The Sound of No Hands Clapping (2006).

In 1991, Young founded and edited the Modern Review with Julie Burchill and Cosmo Landesman. Young moved to New York in 1995 to work for Vanity Fair, where he was a contributing editor from 1995-98. Young is now an associate editor of the Spectator and a blogger for the Telegraph. He has performed in the West End in a stage adaptation of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and, in 2005, co-wrote a sex farce about the David Blunkett/Kimberley Quinn scandal called Who's the Daddy?. It was named Best New Comedy at the 2006 Theatregoers' Choice Awards.

He co-produced the film version of How to Lose Friends & Alienate People and, more recently, co-produced and co-wrote a dramadoc for More4 called When Boris Met Dave. His teaching experience includes working as a teaching fellow at Harvard and a teaching assistant at Cambridge. He lives in Acton with his wife and four children where, for the past two years, he’s been leading the efforts of a group of parents and teachers to establish the West London Free School.

Sarah Gore, Vice Chairman

Sarah works as an independent strategy consultant within the education sector advising both private sector organisations and charities. She was a councillor for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham between 2006 and 2010, representing North End ward and sat on the Education and Children's Services Scrutiny Committee. She was latterly promoted to the executive position of Cabinet Member for Children's Services. Prior to entering local politics, Sarah worked in banking and management consulting, beginning her consulting career with the Boston Consulting Group.

Sarah has a degree in Economics and History from Cambridge University and an MBA from INSEAD. She was educated entirely within the state sector.

 

Cosmo Lush, Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee

Cosmo is a strategy and business development executive in the digital media industry where his expertise is in designing and launching innovative new consumer businesses. During the course of his career he has been involved in numerous high profile projects across a range of sectors including mobile phones (launching 3G services for Orange and 3 UK), television (running Channel 4's online TV service 4oD) and most recently music (looking after digital business development for EMI Music).

Earlier in his career Cosmo worked in the not-for-profit sector with a specialist media consultancy advising environmental and social justice organisations on their public advocacy campaigns.

Cosmo lives in Acton with his wife and three young children. He is actively involved with his children’s primary school, organising fund raising events and occasionally playing his violin in the school band. He is a Princes Trust Business Mentor and for several years was a Prison Visitor.

Cosmo has a degree in Geography from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD. 

 

Charlie Ben-Nathan, Chairman of the Education Committee

Charlie attended the University of Exeter where he read Economics. He then went to work in the East End of London in the packing case construction industry. After two years he decided to undertake an MBA which he completed at Middlesex University. Whilst on the course he was bitten by the teaching bug and so went on to earn a PGCE at the Institute of Education.

Charlie spent two years teaching Economics at Clifton College in Bristol before coming back to West London to teach at a leading independent school. Now the director of academic management, Charlie still teaches Economics as well as Business Studies. He has also contributed to the teaching of Mathematics, IT and thinking skills.

Charlie has done a fair amount of cycling to raise money for charity. In the summer of 2007 he cycled with three friends, unsupported, from Seattle to New York, a trip of over 3,200 miles. This raised close to £13,000 for various charities. More recently, with two colleagues he cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats raising almost £6,000.

John McIntosh, Responsible Officer

John McIntosh was the Headmaster of the London Oratory School for 29 years until his retirement in 2006.

He has served on the Education Advisory Council for the Institute of Economic Affairs and the National Curriculum Council and is currently Dean and Education Advisor of Academy of St. Cecilia in London, a member of the Abbot's Advisory Committee at Ampleforth College, Chairman of Governors of St Philip's Preparatory School in London, a Governor of More House School in London, a Trustee of the English Schools Orchestra and Choir, a Trustee of the London Oratory Schola Foundation, a Tutor at Buckingham University and a Trustee of the LOST Theatre Co. 

 

 

 

Louise Allanach

Louise is a partner at EC Harris LLP where she is the national account leader for academies, free schools and trusts. A trained lawyer and programme manager, Louise was the project director on the West London Free School from October 2010.

Louise has managed the setting up of over 20 new schools in London and across the UK. Through the academies and free schools programme, she brings significant experience of governance structures, admissions and a breadth of experience of national and local education policy. Louise has previously been a director of two education charities based in west London. Prior to joining EC Harris, she worked in schools and with education charities in Pakistan, Rwanda, Ecuador and New Zealand. 

 

  

Stefan Bojanowski

Stefan Bojanowski is an economist by trade, but tries to use his free time more productively. Stefan's roots are firmly in West London, his mother grew up in Acton and is now Assistant Head of School at a local primary school, and his father grew up in Chiswick.

Stefan is grateful for the secondary education he received at the London Oratory School in Fulham. The Oratory's ethos was designed to resemble a grammar school with a traditional approach to both discipline and education. He is grateful to have had the opportunity to study Latin and thankful to the teachers for maintaining a studious atmosphere that ensured those who wanted to learn could do so.

His involvement in the West London Free School is driven by a desire to pass on the best parts of his education to those children who may otherwise not receive it, giving them the opportunity to forward their education, confidence and ambition in a similar environment.

 

Caroline Bondy

Caroline Bondy lives in Acton with her husband Toby Young and their four young children. Caroline was educated in both the independent and state sectors before going to the London School of Economics. She qualified as a solicitor in 2003 -- the same year her first child was born. Caroline now spends her time as a full-time mother. She is an active member of the PTA and volunteers as a classroom helper at her children's school. She previously volunteered at another state primary school in Hammersmith.

 

 

 

 

 Dr Elisabeth Cook

Lis started her teaching career with Lewisham LEA before moving to Kent (Dartford Grammar School) and then to the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music as Assistant Director. She is currently Head of Academic Development & Undergraduate Programmes at the RCM and, in this role, plans the design and delivery of music degrees, continues to teach and researches in particular areas of interest (including pedagogy training for conservatoire students).

As a Governor, she will take a particular interest in musical developments at the school and facilitate connections between the school and the internationally-renowned Royal College of Music.

 

Caroline Ffiske

Caroline Ffiske is currently a full-time mother looking after two girls under five. She grew up in New Zealand, trained as an economist, and worked for six years in the New Zealand public service before moving to London. In London she worked for ten years as a management consultant. Caroline also served for four years as a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham council, serving the North End ward.

Caroline is passionate about the West London free school bringing choice to parents. She will work tirelessly to ensure that parents from all backgrounds and walks of life are aware of the school, its ethos, and the opportunities it creates for them and their children.

 

 

Zaki Hashmi

Zaki Hashmi was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith and BrasenoseCollege, Oxford University where he read modern history. He is a solicitor-advocate and partner at Aston Clark Solicitors in Acton where he specialises in criminal defencework. He is a senior peer reviewer in crime for the Legal Services Commission. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzie Hobart

Suzie is one of the founding group behind the West London Free School, she is a Trustee of the WLFS Foundation Trust and a Governor of the school. Suzie is also a Governor of the local primary school her three young children attend and an active member of the PTA. She was educated at an Independent Grammar School and went on to study Engineering at Oxford.

Her professional life has been as a project manager and business process consultant in the IT sector.

Her passion is to create an academically excellent school for the local community within a socially mixed environment, and where staff, parents and children share responsibility for achievement.

 

 

Dr Jonathan Katz

Jonathan is the Stipendiary Lecturer in Classics at St Anne’s College Oxford. Prior to taking up this post he was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford and formerly a Visiting Fellow of the Humanities Council at Princeton University. He was Master of the Queen’s Scholars and Head of Classics at Westminster School, London, from 1987-2010.

He has published a wide portfolio of books, articles and reviews in Greek, Latin and Sanskrit literary subjects. His research interests also include Indian music theory and history, Plato, Greek philosophy and south Asian musicology and bibliography.