Chair of Governors

Sam Buckman. I have been a governor at Bethersden for around 10 years, and during that time my own 2 children have been through the school and have now moved on to secondary school. I am lucky to live in the heart of the village and my passion for Bethersden school is strongly linked with my love of the community of Bethersden. I am proud to be a Co-chair of governors at Bethersden school and to work alongside a fantastic team.

Vice Chair of Governors

Erin Hogben joined Bethersden Board of Governors in June 2021. She lives near Hothfield with her husband and two daughters, who attend the school, one in Reception and one in Year 5. Erin has worked for the Home Office and Border Force for sixteen years and is currently working in Operational Assurance after a variety of roles in Immigration, Anti-Corruption and Complaints.

Staff Governors

Lisa Moss joined the Bethersden Board of Governors in January 2022 as the staff governor. Lisa has worked in the school for over six years and has enjoyed teaching across the school from Year one to year five, giving her a good overview of the school and its curriculum. She has a particular interest in the teaching of MFL and PE. Lisa lives in Headcorn and her children attend local secondary schools.

Parent Governors

Martha Rutherford joined Bethersden Board of Governors in October 2020. Martha moved to Bethersden in February 2020 with her husband and two children. Her daughter attends the school, while her son has recently started secondary school. Martha previously worked in recruitment, training and wellbeing for a mix of multinational and medium sized businesses.

Annabel Rogerson joined Bethersden Board of Governors in October 2022. As a child, she grew up in the village and then moved abroad for 22 years. Annabel returned to Bethersden last year, from Thailand with her two children who now attend the school. She is a fully qualified teacher who has teaching experience working in both this country and in international schools abroad. Annabel is also a highly qualified first-aid instructor with 22 years of teaching experience in this field. In addition, she is the newly appointed Welfare Officer for Bethersden Tennis Club.

Community Governors

Awaiting update

Co-opted Governors

Keith Brannan has lived in Bethersden for 45 years and always been keen to support the school and local community. He works from home as a chartered architect with his wife Ann who attended Bethersden school. Both his 2 children also attended Bethersden, and two of his grandchildren are now enjoying going to the school which means that 3 generations have now benefited from our small rural school. Keith is keen to promote the school as being a key element within the well being of the community and to encourage as much interaction as possible.

He has been on the Parish Council over 40 years, was a founder member of the tennis club, had previously been a school governor at Bethersden for 20 years and an active member of what used to be called the Parent Teacher
Association, the fore-runner of what is now called FOBS.

Stuart Batt joined the Bethersden Board of Governors in December 2021. Having grown up in Smarden, Stuart and his wife moved to Bethersden 6 years ago and have two children who attend the school, one in Reception and another in Year 2. Stuart is an Architectural Technologist and works for a local practice in Charing specialising in offsite timber frame construction having previously worked with two Canterbury practices focusing on conservation and listed building works. In his spare time, Stuart is a keen cricketer, regularly playing for a local side and has recently begun work on his ECB support coach qualifications.

James Allen joined Bethersden Board of Governors in October 2022. James currently works for the London Borough of Croydon as a Performance and Intelligence Manager for Adult Social Care. He specialises in Performance Management, Inspection Readiness, Attendance and Exclusions and Child Safeguarding. James grew up in Tenterden and lived in Ashford before moving to Bethersden in 2017 with his wife and two children.