Rokeby Educational Trust Limited is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.
The Trustees of the charity and directors of the company are known as Governors. Many Governors are parents or ex-parents of boys at the school. The Governors have responsibility for setting and monitoring the overall strategic direction of the company, approving decisions reserved to Governors and appointing key members of staff.
The day-to-day management of Rokeby Educational Trust Limited lies with the Head who has overall responsibility for the school, and the Bursar who takes particular responsibility for the non-academic aspects.
Governors’ Profiles
Ishminder Alg (known as Ish) was appointed a Governor in November 2018 and is a Rokeby Old Boy having left the school in 1992 for Dulwich College. Ish is a Chartered Accountant by background but now specialises in Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory work. Ish’s previous experience includes working for PwC and Morgan Stanley, and he currently works for Moore Stephens. Ish is married and has two boys.
Bernard Brenninkmeijer was appointed a governor in October 2018. He works as an investor and is also active on the boards of several charitable foundations and sits on the investment committees thereof. Previously he was an MD at Bregal Investments and prior operational and financial management positions were in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Pasadena and New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from INSEAD. He is married and has four boys who all attended Rokeby.
Fabienne Cheung is Head of French at King’s College School, Wimbledon, where she also has further roles working on academic enrichment across the school and as an equality, diversity, and inclusion mentor for race and ethnicity. She grew up in Surrey, and studied at the University of Oxford for her undergraduate degree in English and French, then her master’s degree in French, before moving to the University of Manchester for a PhD in French literature. She is shortly to be married and spends most school holidays up mountains or in the sea.
Stuart Cotton joined the Board of Governors in December 2022. He is a Managing Director with over 25 years experience working in the UK and internationally in a global consulting, technology and outsourcing firm. He lives in Wimbledon with his wife, Sylvie. Together they have three children: two daughters at university, who attended Wimbledon High School and Westminster, and a son who enjoyed Rokeby from 4-13 and is now at Tonbridge School. He can usually be found on the touchline or courtside somewhere on a Saturday afternoon!
Deirdre Davidson joined the Governors in March 2017 and was appointed Chair in 2018. She majored in Political Science and English Literature at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) She was a journalist for a number of years in the United States, working for publications including The Miami Herald, Legal Times and The Washington Post. She and her husband reside in Wimbledon and have three sons who all attended Rokeby.
Sebastian Henkes joined the Governors in November 2018 and became vice Chair in 2023. He is a Rokeby Old Boy having been at Rokeby from 1975 to 1983, when he left following a move to Singapore. He has a BSc in Physiology from the University of Bristol and a MSc in Philosophy of Science from King’s College, University of London. He has spent the last twenty years working in the technology sector. He is married with one son and one daughter, who are attending a preparatory school in Wandsworth and a secondary school in Surrey.
James Kelly was appointed a governor in October 2023 and is the Safeguarding Governor. James is currently the Assistant Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead at Falcons School. James grew up in London and went to City of London School and on to university in Leeds. James trained as a teacher in 2011 at the IOE (now UCL), worked in the state sector in Harringay and Ealing for 6 years before moving to the independent sector at Falcons in 2017. James has been the DSL for the past 3 years. James has a young family – 2 boys aged 3 and 9 months – and lives in East Sheen. When not teaching or being a parent, James plays cricket, cycles and runs. He was a football fanatic but a handful of knee surgeries forced him to hang up his boots.
Jolyon Knight (Joe) was appointed a governor in October 2023. He is currently the Deputy Head at Broomwood Boys Prep in Wandsworth (formerly Northcote Lodge), having moved out of secondary education after 21 years. He had previously been Deputy Head at Kingsley School Bideford and Head of Sixth Form at Brighton College Abu Dhabi. Before that Joe had worked as a boarding housemaster for 13 years at Millfield School, Somerset. Joe’s main teaching subject is Mathematics, but he recently he has led the Reasoning departments at Northcote, helping prepare boys for their Pre-Tests and secondary school applications. As a child he grew-up in the USA and India before returning to the UK to complete his degree and PGCE at Durham University, where he rowed and coached lacrosse too. Joe is married to Hannah, also a Deputy Head, and they have a young son.
Caroline Newsholme was appointed a Governor in August 2018. She is a partner at CMS London, specialising in M&A. She was educated at the London School of Economics. She is married and has a daughter at Edinburgh University and a son who studied at St Paul’s School, after being educated at Rokeby.
Ruth Mackaness was appointed a governor in June 2021. Ruth is a retired chartered surveyor with over 30 years of experience in commercial property. After many years as a fund manager, with a background in investment and development, she set up her own property consultancy company with her husband. She has two grown up boys who attended Wellington College. She plays and watches many sports and is a member of Richmond Rugby Club.
Correspondence for the Chair of Governors to be sent to her Clerk, The Bursar at:
Rokeby School
George Road
Kingston upon Thames
KT2 7PB
Email: bursar@rokeby.org.uk
Tel No: 020 8949 2908