School Council

Find out more about our School Council members below:

Mrs Alison McClure

Chair

Alison is a solicitor and until 2020 was a partner in Blake Morgan Solicitors where she was the head of the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Division. In 2020 she joined Foot Anstey and Enable Law as a partner in the firm's Southampton office. Alison has over 25 years board level experience in professional services.

In addition Alison is an accredited business coach with a particular interest in coaching and mentoring women in leadership roles. In 2018 she was awarded the NatWest/Venus award for Professional Woman of the Year.

Outside work Alison is married with two children and is secretary of the PCC at All Saints Minstead and a committee member of Minstead Community Shop.

The chair of the School Council may be contacted either by letter addressed to the school or by email.

Mrs Nikki de Kretser MA

Vice Chair

Nikki de Kretser (Dowson) joined the Council in October 2019 and is an old girl of the senior school. She read psychology at Newcastle University and holds a masters in marketing

Nikki has 20 years experience in the technology and telecoms sector, leading international cloud communications business to achieve accelerated growth. Nikki was named on the list of Top 100 European B2B marketers in April 2019.

Married with two children and living in Hampshire, Nikki is an ex-lacrosse player and takes an active interest in growing the sport through a non-executive director role at England Lacrosse. 

Cllr. Angela Clear

The Mayor of Winchester

Cllr Angela Clear is the 824^th Mayor of Winchester. It is her second time in the role having served as the 816^th Mayor in 2015.

Angela was elected as a Winchester City Councillor for Wickham and Knowle in 2005 and later for Southwick, Boarhunt and Newlands. She was also Chair of the Wickham Parish Council from 2005 until May 2021.

After her son attended the local Montessori School, she was inspired to first volunteer, then sit her teaching diploma before eventually becoming Head of the school from 1997-2008.

In her spare time, she enjoys giving talks on Agatha Christie. She is married to Peter and has two grandchildren who she loves spending time with. 

The Very Reverend Catherine Ogle MA, MPhil, DLitt

The Dean of Winchester

Catherine Ogle is Dean of Winchester. Before taking on this role Catherine was a parish priest in West Yorkshire (among the first women ordained to the priesthood in the C of E) and later became Dean of Birmingham.

Throughout her career she has built up churches and promoted them in mission whilst engaging with diverse communities. Catherine has extensive experience in interfaith working, chairing the award winning Interfaith Kirklees education project and establishing an innovative programme of arts activities uniting artists and communities of different faiths in Birmingham.

As the 38th Dean of Winchester Catherine is head of the Cathedral Foundation and a member of the Bishop of Winchester's senior team, supporting the mission of the diocese. She is an ex officio member of the Council and joined in 2017.

Prof Robert Adam DipArch RIBA, FRSA

Robert Adam is an architect and urban designer with 45 years in practice. He is also a director of ADAM Architecture, the largest UK firm specialising in traditional design. He is a participating member of the Art Workers' Guild, the Academy of Urbanism, the Prince's Foundation for Building Community, the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism, and is a Design Council Built Environment Expert. He was a Rome Scholar, has been a councillor of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), a Member of the RIBA Planning & Urban Design Group, and Honorary Secretary of the RIBA.

Robert also writes on theory and practice. His books include Classical Architecture: a complete handbook, The Globalisation of Modern Architecture and Classic Columns.  He lectures internationally and is visiting professor of Urban Design at the University of Strathclyde. Robert joined the Council in May 2016.

Ali Allan, MESc, ACA

Ali Allan was elected as a member to the Council in January 2023. Ali was brought up in Hampshire and attended Portsmouth High School. She studied Earth Sciences at St. Annes College, Oxford University and subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC in Southampton.

Having recently relocated back to the UK from Sydney Australia, she is currently the Chief Financial Operations Officer at Foot Anstey LLP and brings with her a depth of experience in executive finance roles.

Ali lives local to Winchester and is a keen traveller, spending most spare time exploring new places or hiking across the Hampshire countryside.

Dr Steve Bailey PhD, BEd

Dr Bailey has most recently been a Headmaster for 14 years, at Twyford School, Westminster Under School and Horris Hill School. Prior to this he taught History to A Level and Pre-U at Winchester College for 29 years, where he was also Senior Housemaster. He has a PhD in medieval history and education, and a Bachelor of Education degree.

He has authored and co-authored 6 books. Dr Bailey is Chair of the Safeguarding and Child Protection Association, and a Board Member of the Boarding Schools’ Association. He is a current ISI Inspector and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts. 

Mrs Emma J K Clancey BA (Hons)

Emma Clancey is an Employee Relations Advisor at Goldman Sachs. She previously practised as an employment lawyer at Herbert Smith for several years.

Emma is an old girl of both the prep and senior schools. She read English Literature at Durham University and has postgraduate qualifications from Nottingham Law School.

Prior to joining Council in 2016, Emma was a governor at a primary school in north London for nine years.

Mrs Julia Eager BEd, MSc

Julia Eager was the Headmistress of Leaden Hall School and having taught in girls’ schools throughout the majority of her career, is a strong advocate of the benefits of girls'-only education.

She attended the North London Collegiate School before training at the Froebel College in London, and then completing her Masters in Educational Leadership.

She has been a member of the GSA and has held the position of Educational Training Officer for IAPS District Five. Julia was elected onto the Council in 2015 and is a member of the Education Committee.

Miss Judith Feuchtwanger Ba (Hons)

Judith Feuchtwanger is an old girl of the senior school and went on to read Economics with Agricultural Economics at Exeter University.

She has worked in recruiting and HR for the best part of 25 years predominantly in the financial services sector. She firmly believes that if we are to influence the gender diversity of boards, it’s vital to ensure girls study STEM subjects through school and university.

Judith splits her time between London and the New Forest and is a keen horse woman and triathlete.

Mr Warwick Hill Bsc (Hons)

Warwick joined the school Council in 2022. He is an independent business consultant specialising in cyber security and IT.  

Formerly he worked for IBM as Vice President leading the telecommunications consulting business across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Warwick’s skills range from defining strategy to delivery of large and complex digital business transformation programmes for the worlds’ largest telecom businesses.

Warwick’s ambition and focus now is to apply his industry, management and IT knowledge to drive social and environmental change.

Warwick lives in Hampshire with his wife and has three children, two dogs, one cat, five chickens and 11 sheep.

Reverend Dr Tess Kuin Lawton, Ba (Hons)

Canon Missioner

Tess trained as a teacher at Durham, after taking a BA in Theology there. She was Head of Religious Studies at Parkstone Grammar School in Poole and later a teacher and Chaplain at Magdalen College School in Oxford, before becoming a tutor in Theology and Fellow and Chaplain of Worcester College, Oxford. She has an MPhil in Ecumenical Theology from Trinity College, Dublin and a doctorate in Inter Faith Theology, supervised by Prof Gavin D'Costa at the University of Bristol. 

Tess joined Winchester Cathedral as Canon Missioner in 2021, where she is responsible for leading the work of mission and evangelism across the Cathedral to build up its common life and enhance its contribution to the wider common good, while also developing new partnerships, engaging with diverse audiences and encouraging the growth and nurture of the Cathedral congregation.

Dr Heather Mycock

Dr Heather Mycock joined Council in 2017 having retired from a career in clinical medicine spanning more than 30 years. Working as an NHS GP Principal in three consecutive Hampshire partnerships she has also spent time as a GP locum in Victoria and Queensland both in Australian private practice and the ATSI health service (indigenous health). For most of her career Dr Mycock was a trainer in specialist GP training and education. 

Dr Mycock is a member of the Standing Committee, Education Committee and leads for Health & Safety on the School Council.

Daughters Jane and Amy were day girls between 1989 and 2004.

Mrs Anna-Louise Peters, BSc (Hons), FCA

Anna-Louise Peters (Morris) was elected as a member of the Council in May 2015 and is an old girl of the senior school. She went on to study chemistry at the University of Durham and subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant. She is Finance Director at Crondall Energy Consultants, having previously spent nearly 12 years with Deloitte doing audit and M&A advisory work in the energy sector, with a particular focus on the upstream oil and gas sector. 

Anna-Louise was elected as Honorary Treasurer in 2016 and is an ex officio member of Standing Committee; the Bursary, Fundraising & Public Benefit Committee; and the Nomination & Remuneration Committee.

Professor Claire Thorne Ba (Hons), MSc, PhD

Claire Thorne (Fatchen) was elected to join the Council in October 2015 and is an old girl of both the prep and senior school. She read Human Sciences at St Catherine’s College, Oxford and has a PhD in epidemiology.

Claire is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at University College London’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Her research focuses on maternal and child health, with a particular emphasis on HIV, viral hepatitis and zika virus. She leads research projects in the UK, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Claire is a member of the Education Committee and the Bursary, Fundraising and Public Benefit Committee.

Mr Richard Tyson BSc (Hons)

Richard Tyson was elected to Council in 2017. Richard is chair of standing committee at St Swithun’s. He is CEO of Oxford Instruments, which provides high-technology products and systems worldwide. He is an accomplished business leader and has over 25 years’ experience in high technology industries.

Outside of work, Richard is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and has been admitted to the Livery of the Salters Company. Richard is married to Louise. They have three children, two of whom are pupils at St Swithun’s.

Richard’s leisure interests include cricket, football, skiing, sailing and travel. He is a former schoolboy gymnast and national medal winner.

Mr Richard White Ba (Hons) 

Richard White joined Council in 2022. He lives in Winchester and his two daughters were day girls at St Swithun’s between 1999 and 2012

Richard recently retired as bursar at Prince’s Mead, is an experienced ISI Compliance Inspector and charity trustee having previously been a general manager in the agriculture, horticulture and food manufacturing industries

The members of council listed below have a specific interest and lead in the following areas: