Steering Committee

Below you can read about the lead members of our Steering Committee who are volunteering their time to establish the Greenwich Free School.

Jonathan Simons

Chair of Governors (Standards, Legal, Government Liaison)

Jonathan is currently Director of Strategy for Serco Education and Childrens Services, which works with schools, other educational institutions and Local Authorities to improve standards and increase opportunities for children and young people. Previously to this, he worked in the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit where he specialised in education and skills policy. Jonathan is also Deputy Chairman of governors of one of his local schools and is a trustee of World Wide Volunteering.

To contact Jon, please email .

Tom Shinner

Head of Strategy and Governor (Vice Chair)

Tom graduated with a first class degree in History from Magdalen College, Oxford. Having worked as a secondary school teacher of History and Politics, he now works as a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company and oversees strategy and financial matters for the Greenwich Free School. When he's not doing that, he's an officer in the Royal Navy Reserve, a keen sailor and dinghy instructor, and sits on the Governing Body of the England National Schools' Debate team, which he also helps to coach.

To contact Tom, please email .

Louise Buckley

Head of Communications and Governor (Communications)

Louise is currently the Director of Stakeholder and Ministerial Engagement at the Department for Business, helping the organisation to improve its engagement with a wide range of organisations and people, including those from business and the education sector, and those impacted by the changes in the higher education sector. She has over 10 years experience in a broad range of communications roles across the financial services sector and, more recently, in Government.

She is passionate about learning and development and helping people to realise their full potential, and is also strategic counsel to the CEO of The Transformation Trust; a Trust which funds extra-curricular activities in schools in some of the most challenged parts of England. In her spare time, her natural interest in people and what makes them tick means that she likes nothing better than to explore a new town or city, immersing herself in the local culture and watching the world go by.

To contact Louise - including with any media enquiries - please email .

Barbara Rhymaun

Governor (Education)

Barbara is an experienced educationalist who is currently Headteacher of a consistently Outstanding secondary school in South London. She brings her wealth of experience and expertise to advise the Greenwich Free School on education-related matters.

David Easton

Head of Development

David is part of the investment team at Bridges Ventures, the leading social investor, working on investments across a range of sectors and regions, but with a particular focus on environment and software businesses. He also works on strategy for Bridges as a whole.

David was previously Director of Strategy and Investment for the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative, having also co-founded the Initiative and led its work on government reform and private sector development in Sierra Leone. Prior to joining the Africa Governance Initiative, David was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company. He leads GFS' development initiatives, in particular focussing on developing partnerships and securing sponsorship and support

To contact David, please email .

Helen Puddefoot

Head of Operations

Helen is Head of Campaign Management at Comic Relief, coordinating both Red Nose Day and Sport Relief Campaigns. Prior to this she was a consultant at McKinsey and Company where she concentrated on public sector work, particularly Education and Health Care. She is a Graduate from the University of Bath with a first class Masters degree in Biology.

She has always had a keen interest in education and has long held the belief that with the right support and encouragement anyone can achieve their goals. Putting this into practice she was an ambassador for higher education while at University and acted as peer motivator on summer schools throughout her education, encouraging school leavers to investigate the possibilities of higher education and vocational courses to expand their horizons and achieve their ambitions in life.

Helen is in charge of operations for the GFS group, coordinating the huge range of activities involved in setting up a new school!

Vanessa Morphet

Head of Finance and Governor (Finance)

Vanessa has over 15 years of work experience across a broad range of financial roles. Vanessa worked for Goldman Sachs for 10 years where she was involved in mergers and acquisitions advisory as well as corporate treasury analysis. Following on from this she took on roles as the COO of a boutique M&A advisory firm and then as a business manager within a global asset management firm.

Most recently, Vanessa has worked on the launch of Social Impact bonds to finance early interventions for vulnerable children in or on the edge of the care system. Vanessa has three school age children and finds time to coach a hockey team.

Vanessa oversees the Greenwich Free School's finances and accounts.

Dr George Molyneaux

Clerk to the Governors

George studied History at Oxford, graduating with the top first in his year in 2006. Since then, he has been a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, where he researches, publishes and tutors in Medieval History. He has considerable experience of university admissions and has also designed and taught a course to introduce sixth-form students to the study of History at university.

Jack Anderson

Governor (Premises)

Jack is a barrister specialising in local government and public law with substantial experience of education law. He has long been interested in education, and currently serves as a school Governor in west London. Jack is advising our group on legal questions and oversees our relationship with Partnerships for Schools, who are responsible for procuring our premises.

Richard Goodman

Governor (Performance Management, Compliance)

Richard is currently responsible for the Ministry of Justice's workforce reform programme, having previously held a range of both operational and policy portfolios within the Civil Service. He also works in the educational travel sector, providing educational tours of Europe and training and development for those new to the industry. He read History and French at Oxford, where he took a First, and studied political sciences at Sciences-Po (Paris).

Ben Jasper

Deputy Head of Operations

Ben graduated from Oxford with a BA in Modern History and an MPhil in Politics during which he tutored undergraduates. He is now pursuing a law degree in London. Throughout his time at university he was involved in spearheading a new access campaign as President of his college student union and personally helping to run a range of access events with the University Access Office. He has five years' experience teaching students from a variety of backgrounds how to debate and speak in public.