Governors
The proprietor of the school is the Governing body. The registered office of the Governing Board is the school office and the Chair of Governors can also be contacted at the school address.
Chair of Governors
Richard James
Richard has been Chair of Governors at Hopelands Preparatory School since October 2006. Prior to joining the school, Richard worked as CEO and General Manager of the NHS for 27 years and, more recently, Foundation Secretary to 3 large independent schools in Warwick for 3 years. Richard lives locally with his wife and has four grown up children. He is also the Chair of Governors to a local large State Grammar School in Gloucester.
Governors
Jan Lawry
Responsible for Safeguarding
Jan Lawry, Director of J Lawry Healthcare Management Ltd, has over twenty-five years’ experience in healthcare, health & wellbeing and healthy lifestyle promotion. From a background in sports physiotherapy, she now works with senior leaders in the NHS in the UK as well as politicians and business influencers in the USA and Channel Islands and is a writer for Middle East Medical.
Jan holds a BA (Hons) 2:1, an MA (Distinction) from the Open University, a post-graduate qualification in Sports Physiotherapy from Southampton University and is a qualified Mental Health First Aider. She is a member of the Institute of Healthcare Management and a former Macmillan Professional. She has written several major reports for NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups including two reviews of Mental Health services and is currently working on a Rapid Community Response Service and Complex Rehabilitation for those who are recovering from post-COVID19 respiratory trauma.
She is an active Rotarian and is currently President of the Rotary Club of Stonehouse as well as a member of the Gloucestershire Emergency Support Team. Jan lives in Nupend with partner, Max, and their beloved dogs Beryl and Dennis.
Robert Biggs
Responsible for Teaching and Learning.
Rob joined the Governance team at Hopelands in 2019. He has worked as a Secondary School teacher for over 20 Years, with experience of working in both the state and independent sector. He is currently a Senior Leader and the Director of Sixth Form in a local Grammar School. Rob lives in Cheltenham with his wife and two sons. He spends his free time coaching at his son’s rugby club and watching them play sport at weekends.
Sam Antrobus
Sam joined the Governance team in 2024. Sam is the founder and Chief Executive of the Wishford Schools, a leading provider of independent education in the UK and partner to Hopelands for the past 24 months. Sam brings with him, clear vision, shared expertise and a wealth of governance experience in the independent school sector.