Meet our Governors

Sheila PotipherMrs Sheila Potipher (Chairman)

Sheila is Chairman of the Governing Body and has been a member for 14 years.  She has retired as Director of an insurance company specialising in offering insurance advice and risk management to the construction industry.  She is actively involved in youth work in the local community and is an officer of the Girls’ Brigade as well as being a trustee of Girls' Brigade England & Wales.  She is also a magistrate sitting on both the Adult and Youth benches. Very recently she has become involved in Magistrates in the Community which visits schools and youth groups explaining the workings of the Magistrates court system to young people.  She is an ex officio member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee, Remuneration Committee and Search Committee.

Jeremy BeechMr Jeremy Beech CBE, QFSM

Jeremy is a former Chief Fire Officer for Kent and is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Port of London Authority.  He is also a Chartered Marine Engineer and works as a government adviser.  He is the Chairman of the College’s company, MKC Training Services Ltd, which administers the College’s contract to deliver training with the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks. He is also a member of the Remuneration Committee.


 

Edwin BoormanMr Edwin Boorman OBE, DL

Edwin is President of the family owned newspaper business the Kent Messenger Group.  He is a former High Sheriff of Kent and is a trustee of the Maidstone Trust (River Walk).  He has extensive experience in the voluntary sector including St John's Ambulance, Kent Youth Trust and Kent Air Ambulance.  He is a member of the Audit Committee.


 

Ian DanielMr Ian Daniel

Ian is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has retired from his role as Director of Finance with a firm that operated leisure centres across 10 London Boroughs.  He is Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.



 

Mike DowdenMr Michael Dowden

Mike is Principal Adviser at Kent County Council for School Improvement with responsibility for 14-19 and Specialist Schools.  He is a former English teacher and is a registered inspector for secondary schools.  He is the Governor with special responsibility for Quality.



 

Stephen GrixMr Stephen Grix

Stephen is Principal and Chief Executive of MidKent College. He began his career as a part-time bricklaying student at MidKent College - in total completing eight years of part-time study at the College.  Stephen’s career includes teaching at Bexley, Barking and Basingstoke colleges, as well as Principalship of a Sixth Form College, Senior Civil Servant at Ofsted and as Director of Education in Tower Hamlets LEA.   He is an executive director of the College’s company, MKC Training Services Ltd, which administers the College’s contract to deliver training within the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks.  He is an ex officio member of the Search Committee.

David HamiltonMr David Hamilton MBE

David is the Secretary to the Institution of Royal Engineers at Brompton Barracks, Chatham.  He joined the army as an apprentice soldier and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Royal Engineers after nearly 40 years' service.  He sits on various Engineering Council working groups.  He is Chief Executive and a Fellow of the Institution of Royal Engineers.  He is a non-executive director of the College’s company, MKC Training Services Ltd, which administers the College’s contract to deliver training within the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks.  He is Chairman of the Medway Campus Advisory Committee and a member of the Redundancy Appeals Panel and the Disciplinary Appeals Panel.

Rosie DouglasMs Rosie Douglas

Rosie is a Staff Member of the Governing Body.  She is eLearning Manager at the College and is the Governor with special responsibility for Child Protection.  She is a member of the Medway Campus Advisory Committee.

 

 

Adrian HorwoodMr Adrian Horwood

Adrian is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and retired from 33 years in predominantly branch and business banking roles in 2004, having spent the previous 20 years working in Kent. He has extensive experience working with schools, business organisations and charities and apart from involvement with MidKent College currently holds two Trustee Directorships for local organisations. He is Vice Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.
 
 

David InnesMr David Innes

David is Chief Executive of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, a national Care Home charity that runs 17 homes and looks after nearly 1,000 people.  His first career, as a military engineer, lasted 34 years and took him all over the world.  He was lucky enough to reach the rank of Brigadier and his last appointment was as Chief Executive of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.  He is a non-executive director of the College’s company, MKC Training Services Ltd, which administers the College’s contract to deliver training within the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks.
 

David NightingaleMr David Nightingale

David is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent and a lecturer in Classical Studies.  He is a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee.
 

 

 

Henry NydamMr Henry Nydam

Henry is a partner in a large solicitors’ practice in Maidstone and now works as a consultant.  He is vice-chair of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce.  He is Chairman of the Search Committee and Chairman of the Maidstone Campus Advisory Committee.

 

 

Candy WorfMiss Candice Worf

Candy is a Student Member of the Governing Body and President of the Students' Union.  She was formerly a Travel & Tourism student at the college.

 


 

Ken PullanMr Ken Pullan

Ken is an Operations Director specialising in recruitment and development.  He is a mechanical engineer and currently serves as a Major in the Engineer & Logistics Staff Corps RE (V).  He is a member of the Institution of Royal Engineers and a member of the Institute of Directors.  He is a member of the Search Committee and Chair of the Redundancy Appeals Panel and Disciplinary Appeals Panel.  He is a non-executive director of the College’s company, MKC Training Services Ltd, which administers the College’s contract to deliver training within the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks.

Julius PursaillMr Julius Pursaill

Julius retired after 20 years in investment management with a series of senior roles in Mercury Asset Management and Merrill Lynch to fulfil a portfolio of non-executive directorships.    He is Vice Chairman of the Governing Body, and a member of the Remuneration and Maidstone Campus Advisory Committees.

 

 

 Miss Gemma Austen

Gemma is Vice President of the Students' Union and is studying Travel & Tourism at the College. 

Tony Truscott Mr Anthony Truscott

Tony is a Staff Governor and is Head of the School of Health, Child Care and Public Services.  He retired from the army after 33 years having reached the rank of Captain from a Private soldier and went on to become a College lecturer in Public Services.  He is a member of the Search Committee and the Audit Committee and is the Governor with special responsibility for Health and Safety.
 
 

Jan WhitehouseMiss Jan Whitehouse

Jan is a Director of the Royal Academy of Music and Company Secretary to its Governing Body.  She is a public finance accountant and has extensive experience in local government and management within the public-sector arts and leisure organisations.  She is Chairman of the Audit Committee.

 

 

Christopher WoodleyMr Christopher Woodley

Christopher has had a long career in local government. In the past ten years he has been a strategy officer at Kent County Council (with a remit that included post-16 education policy) and, successively, Cabinet Secretary and Head of Policy & Partnerships with Gravesham Borough Council. He has been an advisor to the DCMS on national policy for public libraries and has managed an equalities project for CLG. As a member of the Governing Body at Thamesview School, where he chairs the School Development & Review Sub-Committee, he has been closely associated with taking the school out of Special Measures; between 2005 and 2008 the number of students achieving five good passes increased from 48% to 66%. Thamesview is in the top 10% of schools nationally for CVA.  He is a member of the Audit Committee and is Governor with special responsibility for Equality & Diversity.