Governors

Jan joined the governing body in September 2009.  Jan is the former Chairman of the Police Federation of England & Wales, having joined Kent County Constabulary as a Cadet in 1971, retiring 37 years later as a Chief Inspector. Jan’s work in policing was recognised in 2006 when she received the Queens Police Medal. In 2008 she took up an independent government appointment to reduce bureaucracy in policing.  Both Jan’s children (Matthew & Hannah) benefitted from the uniqueness of The Prep during the 1990’s and she is delighted to have the opportunity to repay the debt by ensuring future pupils have the same opportunities.

Edward was educated at Aldenham School and became Assistant Head of Winchester House Prep School in 1968 where he gained his teaching qualification through the IAPS.  He became Head of Sevenoaks Prep in 1977 and founded Sackville School, Hildenborough in 1987.  Edward and his wife Janet retired from Sevenoaks Prep in 2005 and he has been on the board of Governors since  2006. He was a member of Seal Parish Council for over 20 years.  He was awarded the MBE in 2006 for services to education and to the community in Kent and the Sevenoaks District Council Lifetime Achievement Award for ‘Making It Happen In the Voluntary Community 2017’.  Edward has also been Chairman of Governors of Steephill School, Fawkham since 1989, and is Chairman of Sevenoaks Sports Council and Vice Chairman of the Sevenoaks Three Arts Festival.  He has been a Governor at St John’s Primary School since 2005 and St Nicholas House Prep School, North Walsham, since 2017.   He is a member of Sevenoaks Amherst Rotary Club.  Edward has been on many charity cycle rides throughout the world raising a considerable amount of money for national and local charities and is a Watford FC season ticket holder.

Marianne was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley in New York and London where she was co-head of Emerging Markets Asset Management and also held the position of CEO in Global Wealth Management Europe, Middle East and Africa in Citigroup and was Head of Private Banking for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Standard Chartered Bank. Other directorships include TCH, the social housing group, QIB-UK and Rosenblatt Law. Marianne is Pro Chancellor and Chair of the Governing Body at Greenwich University.

As a former Sevenoaks Prep pupil Tim has lived in Kent all his life. His mother taught at The Prep for almost 20 years and saw 2 of her 5 grandchildren enjoy their education at the school whilst delighting at the consistent development of the facilities on offer as well as The Prep ethos.  He has enjoyed a career in sales and marketing initially with Cadbury Schweppes in the UK and Africa and latterly running his own business.  He and his wife Eileen have been fortunate to bring up their 5 children in Plaxtol where they are actively involved with a variety of local organisations and junior sports clubs.

Rob has had 2 children at The Prep, Sorcha (now at Woldingham) and Oscar (now at Tonbridge), having both started in Nursery at 2 1/2.

A significant portion of Rob’s career was with Lloyds Bank where he held a number of Senior and Executive roles. Currently he holds a number of non-executive roles in the Challenger Bank and FinTech sectors including as a Board member of a SME focussed Bank and as Chairman of a Peer-to-Peer Property Development Platform. Rob’s main focus remains the bespoke flights and travel business which he co-owns.

As well as being a Governor, Rob is also the Chairman of The Prep Development Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the school’s 10-year plan including the state-of-the-art Centenary Centre.

Rob is a Trustee of KidsOut, a national children’s charity, and a rugby coach at Sevenoaks RFC.

Alexander was educated at Tonbridge School,  the Royal Agricultural College and Reading University. Following his education he worked for a number of multi-national Construction companies, including Balfour Beatty, before joining the local family businesses, which are involved with construction and property. He is now a Director of those four companies, which are based in Brasted, Kent.

He lives in Rolvenden with his wife Harriet and his children Alice and William. His spare time is spent walking his beloved cocker spaniel Loopy on the beach, playing hockey for Marden and driving his children between endless sporting events.

Tiffany was born and brought up close to Sevenoaks before studying law at Clare College, Cambridge.  She spent the first part of her career as a senior corporate lawyer at a leading City law firm and is now a freelance legal consultant (specialising in projects related to future training of entrants to the legal profession), and a law lecturer at BPP University in London.  Tiffany is a keen traveller and has lived in France and Asia. Tiffany’s three children, Olly, Rosie and Tom, started at the Prep in 2013.  Olly and Rosie have now moved on to Sevenoaks School and Tom is still at The Prep.

Phil was educated at Tonbridge School and the University of Cambridge (MA Modern Languages – Spanish and French), following which he completed the Law conversion course. Since 1997 he has practised as a solicitor, specialising in Mergers and Acquisitions, and he now is a Partner and Head of Corporate M&A and ECM at Travers Smith LLP. He previously had 2 children at the Prep (Tom and Annabel) and enjoys numerous great friendships that began through being a Prep parent. When work demands permit, he is an obsessive rugby fan, sporadic fitness fanatic and an enthusiast for Hispanic/Latin American culture and literature.

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Kevin and his family moved to Sevenoaks in 1995. He credits the decision by his wife Jane, a former teacher, for finding and enrolling their 3 children (Andrew, Sean and Kelsey) at The Prep. He believes that being welcomed by the Prep family is one of the prime reasons that his family integrated so quickly and happily in a new environment. Today, many of their closest friends are those that they met while their children were at The Prep.   

He was pleased to help with the establishment of the Prep’s Development Committee and to act as its chair for 3 years.   

Kevin worked in Finance for over 30 years, including 10 years in New York and at the time of his retirement in 2013 was Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for Global Distribution at Barclays. He is a keen sailor, skier, scuba diver and traveller.  

Mr. Simon T.R. Bailey BSc(Hons), MBBS, MSc, FRCS(Gen)

Simon was educated at Exeter School and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals in London. After training in the South East and Wessex, he has been a Consultant General, Colorectal and Laparoscopic Surgeon at Maidstone/Tunbridge Wells Trust for the past seventeen years. He and his wife Lucy, previously had three children (Rosie, Polly and Jemima) at the Prep and they cherish the fifteen years of extra-ordinary memories and friends made during that time.

When not at work Simon still tries to play league cricket locally, enjoys hill walking (knees allowing) and tinkering with his cars. He is a member of the Reform club and the MCC and is a senior examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Ceri was educated at a comprehensive in Bradford and read History at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (as well as representing the University at football). Ceri began his teaching career in 1992 at Bancroft’s School before moving to Caterham in 1996. In 2004 he moved to Tonbridge School where he ran a boarding house and was then Second Master. In 2013 was seconded from his role at Tonbridge to be Principal of the Marsh Academy a non-selective academy in New Romney, Kent. In 2015 Ceri became Headmaster of Caterham School.

He is a leader in innovation in education and in 2013 he set up a collaboration between the Sutton Trust, Cambridge University and 12 schools in Kent to promote access to higher education for disadvantaged pupils, and he is also a trustee of an educational charity working in the same area.

Arabella has lived in the Sevenoaks area since 1987 when she joined Sevenoaks School as a Biology teacher. She also taught hockey, netball and athletics, German and the Theory of Knowledge and was a pastoral tutor throughout her time at the school. Her husband Tony taught at Sevenoaks, and her two children, Emily and Alec, are Old Sennockians. During her 35 years with the school she ran a girls’ boarding house and, for the past 14 years, she was the Director of Admissions. She has worked closely with Luke Harrison for many years, and she oversaw the transition of many children from The Prep to Sevenoaks. Arabella retired from Sevenoaks School in 2022 and now runs an Education Consultancy, and she is the Concert Manager for a Central London choir.